Why aren't third party hopefuls looking to the Unions? I believe that if I were to restart The Liberal Party of America, this time I would start asking the labor unions for support. It is generally accepted that the Democrats and the Unions like the Teamsters, AFL-CIO, and the others are in bed with the Dems, but why? Things have changed; the Democrats have stopped being the party of the working middle class a long time ago. Why have the leaders of the labor unions been so steadfast in their support of the DNC? I know the answer; they scratch each other's backs with power, and money. That is a given, but why? The Democrats have sided with the corporations. Now call me naive, call me anything you want (and I'm sue most of you will), but why do the unions continue to endorse the same party that is paid by the corporate and special interest PAC's?
It's probably the same reason that corporations and special interest groups give to political parties: influence. That's what drives the bus. Everyone knows it, so why am I writing this? I'm writing this to bring a few observations into the light of day, so that people might see something for what it is. Sometimes the biggest revelation is something that people have known forever, but nobody has brought it up because it is common knowledge and therefore not "News". Still, when people start talking about it, the powers that be get a little antsy. I think that this cozy cooperation between political parties, corporations, and unions is just one of those things that should be dragged out into the daylight and examined.
For the last ten years, I have lived in "right-to-work" states. That term is just as misleading as "The No Child Left Behind Act", and Bush's "Clean Air Act". They turn out to be exactly the opposite of their title. Right to work means that Unions can't keep non-union employees from working in a Union shop. That effectively breaks the backs of the Unions in "The Right to Work States". You may believe that Unions have outlived their usefulness, and in many instances that is true, but in "right-to-work" state, the average wage is sharply lower than the states that have Union shops. Most "right-to-work" states are south of the Mason-Dixson line, and it is many of those states that have the greatest number of poverty level families. So you see, there really is still a difference in states with good union representation, than in states that don't have good union representation.
Unions I believe have gone the way of the political parties. Most Union leaders are not involved in union activities or hold union office to help the worker's; they are there to help themselves. That seems to be an epidemic in this country. From the reality shows on TV, to unions, to political parties, even to some charities that take peoples money for "good" causes, many of the people involved are there to "help themselves" to everything they can get. Many people in this nation see nothing wrong with it. It seems to be the mantra of the twenty first century, Get what you can while you can get it, in any way possible, and screw morality. The reason I mention game shows is because the biggest liars and the best cheat's usually win, and they are actually admired by the audience. This seems to be true in almost all areas of life today.
Unions were formed to protect workers from being victimized by management. They were certainly needed when they were first started. They are still needed, although some have taken things too far. A sanitation worker in NYC shouldn't be making $90,000.00 a year, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure the sanitation worker feels he should be. Paid well for what he or she does. I don't believe many autoworkers should be paid three times more than what they are paid in Japan. If autoworkers weren't getting $75.00 an hour or more, than maybe they wouldn't be losing their jobs. Still, that's not my point. My point is this; Just as the Democrats must get back to being the party of the working man; the Unions must get back to looking after the interests of the working class. Both the Democrats and the unions have strayed far from what they were, to what they are now. They now are more like what they were designed to protect their members from. There are more sweetheart unions than real ones. People pay union dues to get victimized by two entities instead of one. Corporations fund the Democrats, not workers. Why should they work to protect the middle class? The only time that the middle class matters to them is at election time.
Here is a solution. Get the unions to get back to basics. They must be reminded of the original reason that they were formed in the first place, to protect the workers from being taken advantage of by owners and management of corporations. This needs to be done by the rank and file. If the unions don't get back to basics, the members should quit and form new unions. Once the unions are put back on track, than they should use their money and influence to put the Democrats back on track. The Democrats get almost as much from Union donations as they do from their corporate handlers. If the Democrats insist on being the clone of the Republicans, fighting for that corporate dollar, that the unions should back a third party. It has to start somewhere. This has to be a movement of the people. The bad news is that it's going to take a lot of work. The good news is that it can be done. Without a plan, we have nothing. Unless we have a plan, we are just frustrated people lashing out in anger with nothing to work on.
It's probably the same reason that corporations and special interest groups give to political parties: influence. That's what drives the bus. Everyone knows it, so why am I writing this? I'm writing this to bring a few observations into the light of day, so that people might see something for what it is. Sometimes the biggest revelation is something that people have known forever, but nobody has brought it up because it is common knowledge and therefore not "News". Still, when people start talking about it, the powers that be get a little antsy. I think that this cozy cooperation between political parties, corporations, and unions is just one of those things that should be dragged out into the daylight and examined.
For the last ten years, I have lived in "right-to-work" states. That term is just as misleading as "The No Child Left Behind Act", and Bush's "Clean Air Act". They turn out to be exactly the opposite of their title. Right to work means that Unions can't keep non-union employees from working in a Union shop. That effectively breaks the backs of the Unions in "The Right to Work States". You may believe that Unions have outlived their usefulness, and in many instances that is true, but in "right-to-work" state, the average wage is sharply lower than the states that have Union shops. Most "right-to-work" states are south of the Mason-Dixson line, and it is many of those states that have the greatest number of poverty level families. So you see, there really is still a difference in states with good union representation, than in states that don't have good union representation.
Unions I believe have gone the way of the political parties. Most Union leaders are not involved in union activities or hold union office to help the worker's; they are there to help themselves. That seems to be an epidemic in this country. From the reality shows on TV, to unions, to political parties, even to some charities that take peoples money for "good" causes, many of the people involved are there to "help themselves" to everything they can get. Many people in this nation see nothing wrong with it. It seems to be the mantra of the twenty first century, Get what you can while you can get it, in any way possible, and screw morality. The reason I mention game shows is because the biggest liars and the best cheat's usually win, and they are actually admired by the audience. This seems to be true in almost all areas of life today.
Unions were formed to protect workers from being victimized by management. They were certainly needed when they were first started. They are still needed, although some have taken things too far. A sanitation worker in NYC shouldn't be making $90,000.00 a year, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure the sanitation worker feels he should be. Paid well for what he or she does. I don't believe many autoworkers should be paid three times more than what they are paid in Japan. If autoworkers weren't getting $75.00 an hour or more, than maybe they wouldn't be losing their jobs. Still, that's not my point. My point is this; Just as the Democrats must get back to being the party of the working man; the Unions must get back to looking after the interests of the working class. Both the Democrats and the unions have strayed far from what they were, to what they are now. They now are more like what they were designed to protect their members from. There are more sweetheart unions than real ones. People pay union dues to get victimized by two entities instead of one. Corporations fund the Democrats, not workers. Why should they work to protect the middle class? The only time that the middle class matters to them is at election time.
Here is a solution. Get the unions to get back to basics. They must be reminded of the original reason that they were formed in the first place, to protect the workers from being taken advantage of by owners and management of corporations. This needs to be done by the rank and file. If the unions don't get back to basics, the members should quit and form new unions. Once the unions are put back on track, than they should use their money and influence to put the Democrats back on track. The Democrats get almost as much from Union donations as they do from their corporate handlers. If the Democrats insist on being the clone of the Republicans, fighting for that corporate dollar, that the unions should back a third party. It has to start somewhere. This has to be a movement of the people. The bad news is that it's going to take a lot of work. The good news is that it can be done. Without a plan, we have nothing. Unless we have a plan, we are just frustrated people lashing out in anger with nothing to work on.
