Reflections on the present union busting attempts in Wisconsin

The present labor unrest in America, as it is being played out in the media, and with both sides playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship … a game of political chicken, so to speak … is something that I take very personal. A little background:

I grew up in a very Republican and pro-union household. Back in the 40s and 50s those positions could co-exist in the same person. When we moved to Miami all my father ever knew how to do was treat steel in one of our nations defense plants. So he had to seek other types of employment. Doors were opened in Miami’s construction industry by some relatives and a few Masonic lodge brothers, but the pay was low and the work was long.

Eventually my father moved over to Home Milk first as a retail milkman. Remember how milk was actually delivered to your front door? Well, that was my father’s job. As wholesale routes came open he would “bid” on those routes and eventually was given the opportunity to move from retail to wholesale. It was backbreaking hard work and some of the conditions at the plant were not really safe. So based on my father’s experience as the shop steward at the steel plant he joined several other milkmen from other companies in an attempt to unionize.

The companies sent into their meetings some spies. Within weeks everyone who had attended the union organizational meetings found a note inserted into their paychecks which threatened them with being fired if they attended another meeting. It was then that dad shared his reasons for supporting unions. How he had witnessed the improvement in safer working conditions, better hours, better pay and some actual paid time off. He believed in unions and so do I.

Now I cannot say that all union activities and positions are good. I remember, while serving my first church in western Georgia, the Ford plant in Atlanta went out on strike. I thought some of their demands were a little more than a reach and shared as much one Sunday. The demand that got my attention was the per hour wage demand. All I said was that I found it interesting that Ford pays the assemblyman who bolts on bumpers more than we pay our teachers who mold and shape the minds of our precious children. A gentleman in the congregation got upset, got up and stormed out, slamming the door to the sanctuary. He never returned while I was there as the pastor. He was a one of the workers who was out on strike for a larger wage. To this day I still stick to my comment.

Some of the things that I find disturbing in this entire national discussion are those who are saying that what the public sector workers are doing in Wisconsin is Un-American. To which I would replay … No, it is very American. We have the right and privilege to speak our minds and backup our opinion with our actions by striking. If there is anything that is Un-American in all of this is the attempt to breakup the unions under the false pretense of balancing the state budgets. If the governor was so committed in balancing the budget then why did he push through the elimination of some taxes in January of this year?

The unions have given us a 40-hour work week, better wages for work done, child-labor laws, safer working conditions and a ton more benefits that we all have been ready to receive and enjoy.

The other criticism of the protesters that I find hard to understand is that they are doing it “on our dime.” Well, not really. If you are out on strike you do not get your pay. Just ask my brother who happened to be working for Eastern Airlines when they went out on strike not once, not twice, not three times, but five times in just a couple of years. He had a family to feed, the strike wasn’t about his salary or working conditions, he wanted to be supportive, but finally he sought other employment and glad he did.

The bottom line is that it behooves us all to read more widely and try to understand all of the issues beyond what the media is presenting. Get beyond FOX, CNN and NPR and discover the real issues. Why? Because it is coming to Florida and is starting to arrive with what our governor wants to do with our public school system and teacher’s pay. What is happening in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee is going to happen here. And, like it or not, what effects unions effects us all.

These are dangerous times for the average wage earner. It is great if you are among the upper 2% of income class or a big business owner, but for everybody else watch out the training is coming our way and it ain’t going to stop at our station!

Quote for today: Am I my brother’s keeper? ~Genesis 4:9