MSNBC Krystal Ball’s Timely Rant On Union Membership – Americans, Wake the “F” up!

[egbertowillies]

Krystal Ball gave an impassionate and prescient rant on unions on MSNBC’s, The Cycle. In her rant she urged citizens not to bask in the aspiration of President Obama’s speech. While the speech was a very progressive speech, she states that there is one issue that went unmentioned, the decline of the American union membership.

Union membership rates are at a 97 year low. She correctly implies that unions are to Democrats what big business and the wealthy are to Republicans. She correctly states that as labor unions go, so goes the middle class. One of her best statements was:

The America we know and love is the America we know and love because of unions. They fought for better wages, equal pay, equal rights, worker safety, and even the weekend. They continue to fight today for the vision of America articulated so eloquently by the President.

VIDEO HERE

Corporate America through groups like ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) are commanding Republicans to continue the systematic destruction of unions. This is done even though for all practical purposes businesses have their own unions (Chamber of Commerce and myriads of other trade groups) that lobby to force their will.

Many Americans because of subliminal programming tend to not support unions because union workers make more and they wrongfully believe union workers take more than their fair share out of the wage pool. Ironically what they should be doing is joining unions to form a united front to increase their wages and benefits. After all, individual workers do not stand a chance at negotiating against corporations or for that matter any business.

Every American worker should be in a union. Corporations have high paid lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce, and other trade groups. They use those resources to maximize passage of laws beneficial to the companies. Who represent thee workers? Unions do. As unions decline, so does the middle class.

[Bill USA]

1. good stuff. recommended.

[Sherman A1]

2. K&R

[samsingh]

3. recommend

[Demo_Chris]

4. I've always been impressed by how smart she is

[daleanime]

5. Damn, I think I'm in love....

[JDPriestly]

6. Unfortunately, our unions were organized for industrial workplaces.

It's been hard organizing unions for computer technicians, office workers, retail sales personnel and professionals.

Employees in the service sector from waiters and waitresses to the other professions I have mentioned need to organize for higher wages and fairer working conditions. But they often work in conditions that make them feel like they are just doing their job until they get something better.

And that makes it hard to organize them.

[EC]

7. Maybe it's time for

international unions. If all the countries combined, maybe we'd have more clout.

[Thinkingabout]

8. I have been an union member and still consider myself as a union member.

I was also a job steward and worked very hard for my coworkers for everything which happened to them might happen to me also. It was not about union members being lazy for that would result in a discussion from me and in plain words I would tell them they are on a course to losing their job and we would not be successful in getting them back on the payroll. Likewise there was rules of the workplace and when they were violated I met with those in charge to get them back on the right track
What many do not know or care about is unions worked together to get worker protections such as overtime pay for working over 40 hours in a week. We worked for retirement pensions, health insurance, breaks in our work day and many safety issues and some was passed by Congress, etc which benefitted working people who did not work in union jobs. There has been a push to root the unions out and the results of low or stagnant wages has been happening for several years. We can do better, united we stand and divided we have fallen.

[michigandem58]

9. Joining a union isn't an individual decision

And most people who belong to one hired as a union employee.

There are plenty of folks who would join up tomorrow. But the current environment strongly discourages organizing. And it's no secret trying to start an organizing campaign can cost you your job.

I agree with her point that unions are positive for our country. But expanding union memberships will be a function of a change in laws governing the formation of them and giving people the opportunity to join. Let's not blame the non-union employees.

[freshwest]

10. K&R