Labor, Where Art Thou?

Update Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bodies_found;_ylt=AgzqXUIvRM5Tg4UzAcTQGUYDW7oF

I've been in organized labor for thirty years, screaming all the way down. There is not much left to fight about but the members sure find a way to release their frustrations. It seems they are not good followers of autocratic rule, nor should they be. Those that pay attention and possibly, maybe read their union's monthly magazine, can sense that partnership with the employers is a questionable tactic that has lead to little success.

So they get on their hindlegs and sometimes elect a fighting mad board of officers. These little internal democratic revolts are a direct result of the lack of respect on the jobsite floor towards the working people. They throw the bums out. What happens next inevitably takes a simple hopeful union thinking person and throws their dreams on the rocks. The International trustees the local and returns it tied with a big red ribbon back to the capitalist/Reagan thinking types, those that look at their fellow workers as necessary, but with contempt, to be ruled never to rule.

The next act is to start a big new 'organizing drive' to show how busy the appointed suckpumps can be. They make promises of doubling the membership, etc, never getting close and blame the legislators for lousy laws. They next fixate on electing new (meaning old) politicians to get laws in place to help these organizing goals. There has been no success to speak of in this tactic, yet it's safe to proceed because, Oh they look so busy and the photo ops are great PR. Meanwhile, the people with the Union heart and soul, their spirits are ground down, the fight is wasted on their own union and the workplace is getting worse and worse.

So I'm proposing to those members that have faced such a scenario of failure to try something new. I'm calling it "Internal Organizing". I know you haven't lost faith in your fellow workers. There are people you spend almost everyday you'd take a bullet in the neck for. I know you have seen how workers have banded to together for a common goal and won dignity and respect (it may have been a while ago, but you remember). I don't want you to drain your energy expressing rage at those oppurtunists sitting in your local officers chairs right now. I'm asking that you look deeply into yourself and evaluate your life. I'm asking that you give the respect to working people that you demand of yourself. I want you to deeply contemplate your work situation, look around and be aware of help and encouragment that can be offered, proceed to be a leader for your coworkers. Don't let the bastards grind you down by keeping a genuine smile as your shield. Not for the bosses' sake or more production or profit, but for your own sake.

We really don't need these bureaucratic stuctures overseeing our collective sick conscienous. We do need a better quality union person, one that deals in respect first and last. It may take time, for all we know a lot shorter than we think, so be good to each other and navigate the politics correctly. It's not who you are. Let's begin again caring for each other on a personal level, recognizing that some of us need time, training and forgiveness. Labor is the only constant in this society, all wealth comes from it, working people have diminished its' value. Let's proceed to reclaim it's ultimate role of providing a bountiful and prosperous existence for all.