M
Michigan Farmer
Guest
--->> Here is yet another manifestation of fascism in America-see the note at the end of
the article <<<-----
Fear Remains a Reliable Weapon Keeping Labor Unions Out
http://www.counterpunch.org/macaray11232007.html
By DAVID MACARAY
As the late Senator Paul Wellstone liked to say, "We may be entitled to our own opinions,
but we're not entitled to our own facts." Even with organized labor's many problems
(shrinking membership, internal dissension, gutless Democrats, growing irrelevancy, etc.),
there's no disputing the facts.
Fact: Across the board, union jobs pay more (10-15% more), offer better health and medical
benefits, and provide workers greater on-the-job security and influence than non-union jobs.
Fact: Union facilities are demonstrably safer than non-union facilities; statistically, the
numbers aren't even close. Fact: If unions didn't represent a threat to management's greed
and unchecked authority, they wouldn't be so vehemently opposed by businesses and business
lobbies.
All of which raises the question: Given the post-Reagan assault on the earning power and
dignity of blue-collar jobs, why aren't more people signing union cards? Why haven't the
marginal and disenfranchised in the workforce wised up? Union membership used to hover at
close to 35%; today it's barely 12%. Worse, if only private industry were counted, it's less
than 7%. Better money, richer benefits, safer environment, more control . . . what's not to
like?
The short answer is that forming a union shop can be a complicated, even dangerous
undertaking. The site's employees not only require capable leadership, they need a plan of
action and a cadre of dedicated "insiders" willing to sneak around and get 30% of the people
to sign union cards (the minimum required by the National Labor Relations Board to sanction
an election). And even after getting those signatures and filing that petition, there's a
daunting up-hill struggle awaiting.
As for the "sneaking" part, while it's not required, it's strongly recommended. Ask anyone
who's done it. When management gets a whiff of union cards being passed around, hackles go
up, and they tend to punish the ringleaders, both as a practical matter and as a warning to
future activists. They fire people. The standard charge is "unsatisfactory work
performance." When employees who are paid by the hour are caught passing out union
literature (even on their coffee breaks), they're charged with "stealing" company time, and
are terminated.
Because it's perfectly legal to circulate union literature on the job (so long as it doesn't
"interrupt, restrain or restrict" the operation), punishing an employee for doing so is a
violation of federal labor law. Companies realize this; they know it's a violation. It's
just that successfully keeping out the union by any means possible falls into that category
of the ends justifying the means.
Of course, the fired "instigators" are more or less dead in the water. Not yet being union
members and, therefore, not having access to free legal counsel, they have little recourse
but to fight for reinstatement on their own. Even if they do manage to get their jobs back,
months or years later, the union organizing drive is likely to be ancient history.
In truth, intimidation and outright threats are common practices. The United Mine Workers is
a prime example. Although the UMW has filed numerous ULPs (unfair labor practice charges)
against coal companies, accusing them of coercing prospective members, the NLRB has seldom
moved beyond a preliminary investigation. Even though, in fairness to the NLRB, charges of
coercion are difficult to prove, the Board simply has shown little interest in taking on the
big boys. This has been particularly true during the Bush administration.
According to Phil Smith, Communications Director of the UMW, coercion and intimidation are
the main reasons why, even with the alarming safety record of non-union mines (92% of all
coal mining fatalities since Jan. 1, 2006, have occurred at non-union sites), less than 30%
of America's coal miners are unionized.
Coal miners are tough sons of bitches. Anyone who drills their way two miles into a
mountain, and then sets up shop there, eight hours a day, has to be tough. But the threat of
being black-balled by the industry or having the mine sub-contracted to an outfit that
refuses to recognize the UMW (a common ploy, according to Smith) outweighs taking the chance
of trying to join the union. Even tough guys fear losing their jobs.
When a company-any company-can't dissuade its employees from signing union cards, and a
petition manages to get filed with the NLRB, the management team shifts into its Def-Con 4
mode. Human Resources team goes on full-alert. It's been said that companies react to a
union membership drive roughly the same way a Swiss housekeeper reacts to finding a rat in
the pantry.
Let's be clear: If management didn't object to employees forming a union, they wouldn't
force them to go the NLRB route in the first place. Instead, they'd agree to recognize them
as soon as a majority of the employees (50% +1) signed cards. This method is known as the
"card check" system. Once fairly rare, it's become increasingly common as union and
community pressure has forced businesses to submit to democracy. But even with the
card-check method, intimidation and disinformation still occur. Meanwhile, the old guard
remains unmoved. Their view: If you want a union shop, you're going to have to do it the
hard way.
It's after the cards are in, and the Board is notified, that the real fight begins. During
the run-up to an election (which can take months to schedule if company lawyers use creative
stalling tactics), management launches a zealous, anti-union campaign whose aim is to
inundate the employees, break down their initiative, through terror, intimidation, flattery
and bribery.
Wal-Mart comes to mind. They have surveillance cameras in their parking lots to protect
employees from being intercepted by union organizers as they make their way to and from
their cars. Wal-Mart employees are required to report any person they meet who tries to
engage them in a discussion of labor unions, and are warned not to accept anything these
people may try to give them. (Isn't this the same thing people tell their kids about child
molesters?!)
Typically, Wal-Mart's anti-union campaign will include everything from mandatory
come-to-Jesus meetings where employees are "educated" about the evils of union membership
(via movies, slide-shows and first-person horror stories) to the awarding of previously
unannounced (surprise!) cash bonuses, as a token of management's appreciation of their work.
That these cash gifts occur on the eve of a union certification vote is dismissed as
coincidence.
Organizers in the field report the following (in no particular order) as the five most
frequently used propaganda weapons used by management:
Employees are told that any monetary gains will be wiped out by union dues, which run
as high as $300-$400 per month, and can be raised at any time. Fact: While monthly dues vary
from union to union, $50 is about average. And dues, initiation fees and officers' salaries
can't be raised without the membership's secret-ballot approval. It's the law.
Employees are warned that strikes will keep them out of work for months at a time,
ruining them financially. Fact: While strikes used to be fairly common, they are now rare,
especially the long ones. The recent strikes called by the UAW-against GM and
Chrysler-lasted two days, and six hours, respectively. The WGA, which has been out for
barely over two weeks, will be re-meeting with the AMPTP on November 26, with a chance of
settling.
Playing Mr. Nice Guy, management assures the workers that "carpetbaggers and
opportunists" aren't necessary, that any safety or labor problems can be handled in-house.
Fact: If that were truly the perception on the floor, the employees wouldn't be seeking
union assistance.
Employees are reminded that union bosses are corrupt, and that members aren't allowed
a say in who gets elected. Fact: The Landrum-Griffin Act guarantees every member the right
to vote. Even the Teamsters get to pick their leaders. Indeed, if American presidential
elections were as openly democratic as union elections, we wouldn't still be flogging
something called the Electoral College.
Management threatens to shut down the operation and move away. It's an illegal
tactic, but it's used nonetheless. Fact: Companies pull up stakes for lots of reasons, but
having a union shop is rarely the determining factor. In today's climate, if a business can
make more money by moving to Mississippi, India or Timbuktu, they'll do it . . . union or no
union.
After considering the many obstacles placed in the way of joining a union, perhaps the
question should be restated. Instead of asking why there aren't more people joining unions,
the proper question should be: Given the hassles, threats and pitfalls awaiting them, how is
any organizing drive ever successful?
David Macaray, a Los Angeles playwright and writer, was president and chief contract
negotiator of the Assn. of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Local 672, from 1989 to 2000. He
can be reached at: dmacaray@earthlink.net
------> Links to descriptions and exhibitions of fascism in America.
14 Points of fascism
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat
to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely
suppressed.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/10_labor1.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a new page describing the social aspects of American Fascism at
http://politicsusaweb.com/RootsOfFascism.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still the most concise explanation of how we are who we are:
"Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress
of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her August claims, have been
born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing,
and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it
does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor
freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the
ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the
awful roar of its many waters."
"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be
both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a
demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly
submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will
be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words
or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those
whom they oppress."
---Frederick Douglass
Source: Douglass, Frederick. [1857] (1985). "The Significance of
Emancipation in the West Indies." Speech, Canandaigua, New York, August 3,
1857; collected in pamphlet by author.
http://www.buildingequality.us/Quotes/Frederick_Douglass.htm
__________________________________________________________________
This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in
my efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights,
economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this
constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section
107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the
material in this post is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this post for purposes of your own that
go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
the article <<<-----
Fear Remains a Reliable Weapon Keeping Labor Unions Out
http://www.counterpunch.org/macaray11232007.html
By DAVID MACARAY
As the late Senator Paul Wellstone liked to say, "We may be entitled to our own opinions,
but we're not entitled to our own facts." Even with organized labor's many problems
(shrinking membership, internal dissension, gutless Democrats, growing irrelevancy, etc.),
there's no disputing the facts.
Fact: Across the board, union jobs pay more (10-15% more), offer better health and medical
benefits, and provide workers greater on-the-job security and influence than non-union jobs.
Fact: Union facilities are demonstrably safer than non-union facilities; statistically, the
numbers aren't even close. Fact: If unions didn't represent a threat to management's greed
and unchecked authority, they wouldn't be so vehemently opposed by businesses and business
lobbies.
All of which raises the question: Given the post-Reagan assault on the earning power and
dignity of blue-collar jobs, why aren't more people signing union cards? Why haven't the
marginal and disenfranchised in the workforce wised up? Union membership used to hover at
close to 35%; today it's barely 12%. Worse, if only private industry were counted, it's less
than 7%. Better money, richer benefits, safer environment, more control . . . what's not to
like?
The short answer is that forming a union shop can be a complicated, even dangerous
undertaking. The site's employees not only require capable leadership, they need a plan of
action and a cadre of dedicated "insiders" willing to sneak around and get 30% of the people
to sign union cards (the minimum required by the National Labor Relations Board to sanction
an election). And even after getting those signatures and filing that petition, there's a
daunting up-hill struggle awaiting.
As for the "sneaking" part, while it's not required, it's strongly recommended. Ask anyone
who's done it. When management gets a whiff of union cards being passed around, hackles go
up, and they tend to punish the ringleaders, both as a practical matter and as a warning to
future activists. They fire people. The standard charge is "unsatisfactory work
performance." When employees who are paid by the hour are caught passing out union
literature (even on their coffee breaks), they're charged with "stealing" company time, and
are terminated.
Because it's perfectly legal to circulate union literature on the job (so long as it doesn't
"interrupt, restrain or restrict" the operation), punishing an employee for doing so is a
violation of federal labor law. Companies realize this; they know it's a violation. It's
just that successfully keeping out the union by any means possible falls into that category
of the ends justifying the means.
Of course, the fired "instigators" are more or less dead in the water. Not yet being union
members and, therefore, not having access to free legal counsel, they have little recourse
but to fight for reinstatement on their own. Even if they do manage to get their jobs back,
months or years later, the union organizing drive is likely to be ancient history.
In truth, intimidation and outright threats are common practices. The United Mine Workers is
a prime example. Although the UMW has filed numerous ULPs (unfair labor practice charges)
against coal companies, accusing them of coercing prospective members, the NLRB has seldom
moved beyond a preliminary investigation. Even though, in fairness to the NLRB, charges of
coercion are difficult to prove, the Board simply has shown little interest in taking on the
big boys. This has been particularly true during the Bush administration.
According to Phil Smith, Communications Director of the UMW, coercion and intimidation are
the main reasons why, even with the alarming safety record of non-union mines (92% of all
coal mining fatalities since Jan. 1, 2006, have occurred at non-union sites), less than 30%
of America's coal miners are unionized.
Coal miners are tough sons of bitches. Anyone who drills their way two miles into a
mountain, and then sets up shop there, eight hours a day, has to be tough. But the threat of
being black-balled by the industry or having the mine sub-contracted to an outfit that
refuses to recognize the UMW (a common ploy, according to Smith) outweighs taking the chance
of trying to join the union. Even tough guys fear losing their jobs.
When a company-any company-can't dissuade its employees from signing union cards, and a
petition manages to get filed with the NLRB, the management team shifts into its Def-Con 4
mode. Human Resources team goes on full-alert. It's been said that companies react to a
union membership drive roughly the same way a Swiss housekeeper reacts to finding a rat in
the pantry.
Let's be clear: If management didn't object to employees forming a union, they wouldn't
force them to go the NLRB route in the first place. Instead, they'd agree to recognize them
as soon as a majority of the employees (50% +1) signed cards. This method is known as the
"card check" system. Once fairly rare, it's become increasingly common as union and
community pressure has forced businesses to submit to democracy. But even with the
card-check method, intimidation and disinformation still occur. Meanwhile, the old guard
remains unmoved. Their view: If you want a union shop, you're going to have to do it the
hard way.
It's after the cards are in, and the Board is notified, that the real fight begins. During
the run-up to an election (which can take months to schedule if company lawyers use creative
stalling tactics), management launches a zealous, anti-union campaign whose aim is to
inundate the employees, break down their initiative, through terror, intimidation, flattery
and bribery.
Wal-Mart comes to mind. They have surveillance cameras in their parking lots to protect
employees from being intercepted by union organizers as they make their way to and from
their cars. Wal-Mart employees are required to report any person they meet who tries to
engage them in a discussion of labor unions, and are warned not to accept anything these
people may try to give them. (Isn't this the same thing people tell their kids about child
molesters?!)
Typically, Wal-Mart's anti-union campaign will include everything from mandatory
come-to-Jesus meetings where employees are "educated" about the evils of union membership
(via movies, slide-shows and first-person horror stories) to the awarding of previously
unannounced (surprise!) cash bonuses, as a token of management's appreciation of their work.
That these cash gifts occur on the eve of a union certification vote is dismissed as
coincidence.
Organizers in the field report the following (in no particular order) as the five most
frequently used propaganda weapons used by management:
Employees are told that any monetary gains will be wiped out by union dues, which run
as high as $300-$400 per month, and can be raised at any time. Fact: While monthly dues vary
from union to union, $50 is about average. And dues, initiation fees and officers' salaries
can't be raised without the membership's secret-ballot approval. It's the law.
Employees are warned that strikes will keep them out of work for months at a time,
ruining them financially. Fact: While strikes used to be fairly common, they are now rare,
especially the long ones. The recent strikes called by the UAW-against GM and
Chrysler-lasted two days, and six hours, respectively. The WGA, which has been out for
barely over two weeks, will be re-meeting with the AMPTP on November 26, with a chance of
settling.
Playing Mr. Nice Guy, management assures the workers that "carpetbaggers and
opportunists" aren't necessary, that any safety or labor problems can be handled in-house.
Fact: If that were truly the perception on the floor, the employees wouldn't be seeking
union assistance.
Employees are reminded that union bosses are corrupt, and that members aren't allowed
a say in who gets elected. Fact: The Landrum-Griffin Act guarantees every member the right
to vote. Even the Teamsters get to pick their leaders. Indeed, if American presidential
elections were as openly democratic as union elections, we wouldn't still be flogging
something called the Electoral College.
Management threatens to shut down the operation and move away. It's an illegal
tactic, but it's used nonetheless. Fact: Companies pull up stakes for lots of reasons, but
having a union shop is rarely the determining factor. In today's climate, if a business can
make more money by moving to Mississippi, India or Timbuktu, they'll do it . . . union or no
union.
After considering the many obstacles placed in the way of joining a union, perhaps the
question should be restated. Instead of asking why there aren't more people joining unions,
the proper question should be: Given the hassles, threats and pitfalls awaiting them, how is
any organizing drive ever successful?
David Macaray, a Los Angeles playwright and writer, was president and chief contract
negotiator of the Assn. of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Local 672, from 1989 to 2000. He
can be reached at: dmacaray@earthlink.net
------> Links to descriptions and exhibitions of fascism in America.
14 Points of fascism
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat
to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely
suppressed.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/10_labor1.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a new page describing the social aspects of American Fascism at
http://politicsusaweb.com/RootsOfFascism.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still the most concise explanation of how we are who we are:
"Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress
of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her August claims, have been
born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing,
and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it
does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor
freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the
ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the
awful roar of its many waters."
"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be
both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a
demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly
submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will
be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words
or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those
whom they oppress."
---Frederick Douglass
Source: Douglass, Frederick. [1857] (1985). "The Significance of
Emancipation in the West Indies." Speech, Canandaigua, New York, August 3,
1857; collected in pamphlet by author.
http://www.buildingequality.us/Quotes/Frederick_Douglass.htm
__________________________________________________________________
This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in
my efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights,
economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this
constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section
107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the
material in this post is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this post for purposes of your own that
go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.