September 7th, 2010
WITH the passage of the recent Labor Day Holiday and in this time of massive unemployment and during the midst of “The Great Depression” of the new millennium, one has to ask: What are the labor unions doing to get the unemployed back to work? Recently, one could hear the local union president for a nearby county local chapter of a major union state on the radio of how upwards of two-hundred thousand (200,000) of his union members had no work. On the other hand, it is being widely reported that national productivity is at an all-time high; meaning that employed workers are being heavily over-worked so that no new hires are necessary for any given company. So, it would seem about time that the question is posed as to what are the labor unions and their leadership currently doing to help the populace?
It would appear that modern-day union leadership has become like the typical politician whereby they seem only to care about themselves as they are ‘fat and happy’ on the ‘top of the food chain.’ In fact, much of the labor union leadership appear to be doing less than the average politician to right the nation’s current situation other than to vehemently back the campaigns of one politician or another. While many of the union rank and file, however, appear to have been left behind and those over-worked and under-employed workers may often have no union representation at all under which to voice their concerns that more employees or better wages are likely to be necessary.
As the labor unions may well have provided much of the impetus for corporate America to move many of our jobs off-shore, the modern union leadership appears content to allow unemployed workers to remain destitute and the over-worked workers to remain fatigued and likely unrepresented. One must wonder, is much of the typical union leadership now in the ‘back pocket’ of corporate America and beholden to listless politicians and is the union leadership content to make minimal efforts to help the workers of the nation? If so, maybe its time for new labor unions or at least new leadership that cares for the well-being of the workers of the nation.
Adam Trotter / AVT
After thought (Sept. 10th, 2010): I have since been possibly enlightened. It seems that latest proposed stimulus bill which states a goal of rebuilding infrastructure is to reward the labor unions for their support of the Obama administration. Well, good for them (if the bill is enacted). Hopefully that money will make it to employ workers.
