Union-Busting Bigots

[Starry Messenger]

Caring about income inequality (which is ameliorated by organized labor) and caring about civil rights are not mutually exclusive positions. Bigotry and anti-unionism go hand in hand and progressives should target their fire on both.

https://www.laprogressive.com/indiana-bigotry/

“The labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature, spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. aptly observed.

No doubt he would add “LGBTQ-hater” and “LBGTQ-baiter” if he were alive today.

In Indiana, one of our northern neighbors, right-wing, union-busting Republican Gov. Mike Pence evidently is still happy he signed the “right to work” law his equally right-wing, union-busting, GOP-majority legislature passed in 2012.

<snip>

I’m proud – though not surprised — to see union leaders like Indiana State AFL-CIO President Brett Voorhies demanding the repeal of the measure in no uncertain terms. Dr. King would be proud to see it, too.

Bigotry has no place in union ranks. Equality for all is a fundamental principle of organized labor. Dr. King knew that.

<snip>

[guillaumeb]

1. great post

great quote

great picture

[Starry Messenger]

2. Thanks, I'm sure this won't get much traction.

People are wedded to the idea that "wedge issues" are the death of economic populism. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026445882

I disagree, and unions do too.

[guillaumeb]

6. I am a 40 year union member

and agree it should get a lot of traction. Considering how the decline of union membership mirrors the decline/stagnation of working class wages, this issue should be front page news every day.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Thanks brother.

I'm coming up on 10 years myself. Never want to work non-union again!

[Faux pas]

3. Kickin'

[Omaha Steve]

4. I'm happy to R one of Starry Messenger's posts for a change

[Starry Messenger]

5. Thanks Steve!

TGIF!

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Thanks for this thread. This gay Union member sees lots of verbose non Union members on DU

who are dismissive of LGBT issues and exploitative of Union issues.
They speak of Unions and LGBT as if they are two groups in opposition, not two groups with not only mutual members but mutual interests and very often organizational and political styles, for both movements are known for direct action and clear, confrontational speech when required.
These people are shamefully ignorant of not only history, but of current events. Not only about LGBT issues, but about Union and labor issues. This is because they are affluent straight white men, almost all of them are all of those things. The song they sing is a song of privilege.
You don't see minority people doing that, nor do you see Union members doing that. If they are, they are crappy Union members, trying to divide their LGBT brothers and sisters from the general membership in their rhetoric.
So ask these loudmouthed posers what Union they represent when they pull these sermons, make them own up.

"Working people believe in equality & fairness, we're happy to stand w/ millions of Americans & w/ Pres Obama in supporting marriage equality."

— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) May 9, 2012

[Starry Messenger]

9. +1 million

Thanks Blue. There have been a lot of disturbing posts & threads recently that have bothered me. Cosign your post!

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Disturbing is the word for many of these posts.

Enormously ignorant as well. That so many people are instantly in a tizzy that the Indiana law got strong backlash, that they insist this means 'their issues' are getting short shrift is really amazing, for lots of reasons. First, is shows that they forget that Indiana started with LGBT people being legislatively bullied. Second, we see they do not see LGBT victories as progressive movement victories. It means they do not understand that many LGBT people are working class, even white working class, lord have mercy. Poverty rates are higher for LGBT people, employment issues are more challenging and often lacking in legal protections, that among the leading issues for LGBT people all along have been labor issues.
These posts let us know that while they might have seen the movie with Sean Penn, they have no idea what Harvey Milk really talked about, no idea what the activism around AIDS looked like. A great deal of focus in early AIDS political action was toward Wall St, Pharma Companies and Insurance Companies, as well as a variety of Corporate interests. The folks who, on DU, claim to be revolutionary proles don't even seem to know about any of these actions, much less to have joined in, gotten arrested or any of that.

A couple of weeks ago, one of those posters was lecturing us that civil rights don't matter anymore in part because 'all conservative resistance to gay rights has vanished like the morning mist'. Yeah. Now this week, the same crowd says 'there is too much progressive response to the vast conservative resistance to gay rights'. Another one of the 'civil rights don't matter' people told me that my rights 'won't do me any good if I don't have a job 'you can't eat your rights'. His username indicates he resides in on of the 29 States that has no protections from discrimination in employment for LGBT people. Unaware or apathetic about the connection between issues of equality and economy?
It's disturbing indeed.

[Starry Messenger]

13. Facing down bigotry is facing down corporate power.

Great post.

[guillaumeb]

15. the IWW had it right

an injury to ONE is an injury to ALL

It does not matter who the one is. LGBT issues are as much civil rights issues as race and color discrimination. If you are oppressed we are all oppressed. This mindset you speak of must be related to the "gay is a choice" nonsense that the GOP promotes.

Division serves the 1%

[Sherman A1]

11. Agreed

Unions and all members of the working class have mutual interests. It matters not as to any thing else.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. Absolutely.

nt

[B Calm]

14. I worked 25 years in an Indiana union manufacturing plant. Thanks to NAFTA and a greedy CEO,

they closed down the plant and went to Mexico. 3 different wage and benefit concessions wasn't enough.