The Sad State Of Affairs In Our Country

How have we turned so far away from Labor Unions in this great country of ours? Yeah, I realize that a lot of the reasoning behind the anti-union sentiment is from the bottom line watchers; but still - Labor Unions built this country and got it into the progressive future of industrialization. For this great nation to be force fed a diet of anti-union propaganda on a daily basis from the political leaders and the heads of big industry is a shame. Those same leaders have more than likely never held a really crappy minimum wage job - nor were they abused by harsh working conditions or verbally abused and threatened by their supervisors. When you get a chance, take a look at this story about our brothers and sisters that work at the Motts plant in New York state. This is a real eye opener if you have not been following it, pretty much the way big industry tries to bully the labor force it has working for them.

Weakness At The Top

Well, I got a call the other day from a Shop Steward telling me about some concerns he had. He met the new head of his Local when the man came to the company and met the GM. This Steward is having unity problems within his rank & file because of the weak contract he has to deal with. They have a lot of newer employees that don't really know the value of a union contract, so, they question why they should keep paying the monthly dues. This Steward was hoping the Local leadership would make a strong first impression on the company, and that did not happen. The Steward told his Local that he needs a mini organizing event, and because of the scheduling of the drivers, he want's it to be 2 consecutive days. The Local said he would look into doing that. The problem is the Steward does not feel the Local leadership can instill the confidence in the rank & file that needs to be shown.

So, what can be done? It is definitely a tough situation: the Steward does not want to jeopardize his relationship with his Local, obviously, however he does know what needs to be done. So, we are going to reach out to the organizers and see if once the dates are set (provided the Local goes through with the promise) several boot camp organizers can show up for the event. We will go through the Stewards Biz Agent to help coordinate and see how that works out. Bottom line: if the Local leadership does not do what is in the best interest of the Local membership and the rank and file that the Steward represents, we will file a complaint of failure to perform with the IBT. Stay tuned.

Okay, the TDU... Does anyone really know what these people do? I have tried to talk to them and got nowhere...

So, the company is playing word games with us, they want us to be available on our 1 day off (today 4 me) but we aren't "on call". WTF? Yeah, I'm on it w/labor law dog.

What Happens When The Company Plays Games...

We have all been there; working at the company that insists on playing games and lowering morale. We feel powerless at times and frustrated, we wonder what can we do. Well, after you go through all the normal channels at a company with a labor contract - grievances and arbitration's - you still have options to send more pressure. Every state will have an OSHA office, and for the most part you can make anonymous complaints to these offices. Now, granted, anonymous complaints do not have the weight of giving them all of your information and then dealing with the illegal retaliation by the company that is sure to follow. That being said, it is your right as an American to report unsafe/illegal operations by the company you work at. Apart from OSHA, every state has an office of the DOT that can be contacted as well. Now, unfortunately, what we are running into is a manpower shortage at the federal agencies. That is they are either under staffed or the staff is brand new at a lower pay rate and is not fully aware of the all the rules and regulations that your company may be violating. Needless to say, the calls and emails still need to be made. These companies that are violating worker rights and abusing their workers have got to be stopped.My own son is in an unfortunate position at his new job... it is a manufacturing firm and non-union. He is being targeted and threatened because of his perceived "poor job performance" in reality he has been under trained for his position in the 2 months he has been there. The only thing I can do is go after them with code violations through the city/county. And, I am. I fully believe in poking with a sharp stick anywhere and any time, period. These people won't know why they are being investigated, but they will get an anonymous call from a pay phone explaining that they need to treat their employees better, or they will be poked again for other violations. Yeah, it's old school, but it works, and you just keep escalating the complaints until you get to the federal level if necessary.

It's Not Just Employers That Are The Problem.

That's right, sadly there are Union Locals out there that don't necessarily represent the rank and file as well as they should. We get emails about Locals that don't want to give the support to members that work at a small company. Yes, the members pay their monthly dues, but, some Locals don't want to be/can't be bothered with making the drive or doing their due diligence rank & file companies. The fact that Unions have become a victim of the economy like everyone else, is understandable; but when they decide that a smaller company is too far to come out to, or too small to spend the time discussing issues with is unacceptable. There are several Locals that are on our list for hammering due to this exact behavior. We won't tolerate it, and neither should you!

Thoughts...

There are companies out there that have a CBA in force and have several Locals representing the workforce, yet these companies try so very hard to get away with things that are not protected by the contract. These companies try to act like non-union companies and make life extremely difficult for the workers. We need to take a stand against the companies that are not respectful of the union contracts. We need to hold these companies accountable at every opportunity; be it through the grievance process, or bringing up legitimate claims of wrong doing at the JLM meetings (which, every one should be holding monthly!!), forcing grievances into arbitration and finally, hammering these companies where it hurts - compensation at contract time!! That's right, companies that don't respect the labor contracts in force, must be dealt with at the bargaining table - we have to hit them and hit them hard - agree to our terms or we'll see you on the sidewalk...period.

Why Indeed!

The current state of the economy and the current policies being used at 1600 Penn Ave. leave little doubt that our once great country desperately needs to return to it's Industrial Trade Unionist roots. Look at the mine disasters and the frequency of on the job related deaths at non-union companies. Some states still adhere to the at-will type of employment - in fact many more states are adopting the at-will employment standard. Our great country is at a cross roads, and our leadership is lagging. Organized Labor is the answer, it made this country strong and it will return us to our strong heritage. My intention of this blog is to let those of you in corporate America realize that running your companies without regard for your employees - you know, those people out there making minimum wage that put the money in your corporate bank accounts, those people - you have to stop treating them like they are dogs, one day the dogs are going to bite back and leave a very big scar. I also intend to talk to my brothers and sisters in organized labor, regardless of trade, and to start to bring a solidarity to the entire country through organized labor...it can happen - it will happen. The Labor Party will become powerful once again!!