From Wisconsin To Ohio

[filkertom]

Protests against union-busting.

And one of the commenters, Celtic Union, makes a great point:

What is the Chamber of Commerce if it is not a union?

It has local chapters and a national organization. It richly funds political candidates and lobbies for legislation which benefits their business interests - many times at the expense of American workers and their very jobs. It shares information among its members. You have to pay to be a member. It works exactly like a union.

The thing about the Chamber of Commerce is that it is an organization which is dedicated to crushing the American Worker - it works to DEFEAT Americans economically. This makes it an anti-American organization. It fights against fair wages. It fights against decent benefits. It fights against organized labor and collective bargaining. It fights anything which helps the average American Working Person to get ahead. Look at the candidates and legislation it has supported over the years and tell me that this organization is NOT trying to defeat the American Worker! It is a group of businesses which has organized itself into a union which fights against working Americans.

[...]

... what is the Chamber of Commerce if it is not a union - a union organized for the purpose of defeating American workers and dedicated to achieving that goal?

That last bit is one of the tightest sound bites I've ever seen.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

... and yet, if Freedom of Association is to stand, legally the Chambers must continue to exist. You can soapbox against'em, take'em to court for unfair labor practices, unionize yourselves, and pay your own fat cats to schmooze with Congress... but to attempt to crush the Chambers with legislation? That way lies madness.

Personally? I don't much care for either of'em, on a grand scale. But I guess I'm just a GDI that way. Nevertheless, there's a reason freedom of association is right up there with religion, press, speech, and petition for redress... without it there would not *be* an America.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Labor unions don't have the same right of association as the Chamber.

Funny thing about that.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Golden rule:
Them with the gold makes the rules.
I belonged to a union ONCE.
The company (govt contracts) flushed us all out in the early 80's - branch chairman and all.

The place I'm at now is too small to accomodate a union even if we were a 100% union shop.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

This is partly due to the Reagan administration's anti-labor-union policies. Labor unions would be in much better shape if the National Labor Relations Board had not been stacked with anti-union people by Reagan. I don't know the current politics of the Board. But, really, the Board, as currently constituted, exists as much to constrain labor unions as to empower them--has since the passage of the Taft-Hartley act over Truman's veto.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

UK company, back in 82 just after the Falklands.....
Not "Mission Accomplished" but "Rejoice, Rejoice!"

Dear old Maggie. Human resource! lets strip mine it!

[tcgtrf.livejournal.com]

I was in the Machinists' Union during 1973-1982. The Union tricked our membership into putting in a pension fund in 1977 and then, when factory after factory was closing during the 80's recession, passed a new rule that if a plant closed with less than ten years vested in the pension fund, all of that money went to the general fund.

Wimpersinger, the Machinests' Union President got a brand new airplane in 1982 to fly around in while we were all looking for work down at street level.

The Unions in the 1980s were hopelessly corrupt--at levels comparable to what corporations are like in the 21st Century. The workers and employers turned against them and we are left with the remnants--too weak to accomplish anything except in the public sector.

The corporations should take a lesson from this--get too big, too abusive, and you'll fall. They did once before, at the turn of last Century.

Tom T.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

No argument. The point (as it so often is these days) is the hypocrisy: A union that exists to destroy other unions, to destroy even the ability to form other unions.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

The full term for labor union is, ah, labor union.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

As opposed to, you know, management union or corporate syndicate union

[caraig.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that the across-the-board, "everything on the table" tax cuts to domestic programs the are finally being noticed by large, public, hard-to-ignore chunks of the American populations?

Hard to tell. I'd like to think that more people are now starting to pay attention, but if nothing else we are in for one crazy-train of a ride in the next few months.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

My opinion is that every business with more than 40 people HAS to have an election (make it the same date as other elections in that state). Every two years, every business in America decides if they are union, or not union. If the business treats its people well, then the employees want to keep their money instead of paying union dues and no union is formed. If the union in place is corrupt, then they can be tossed aside and the corruption purged. And since businesses are so loathe to deal with unions, it gives them a carrot to treat their employees correctly -- or they'll have to deal with the union.

A simple law could improve life in America so much. No corruption in unions or mob activity. No big businesses like WalMart working everyone half time so they can pass the health costs to the taxpayer. A simple setup -- every two years all the workers decide whether or not the company is abusing them enough to warrant a union. If not, then no union. If so, then a union is created there.

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

Odd as it may seem, I've worked in at least two large places where the employer *wanted* a union more than the workers did. It's not that they were in agreement with the union about much, but the idea of dealing organization/bureaucracy-to-organization/bureaucracy appealed more than having to contend with employees as individuals.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

It's a rich businesses union. Pleh.

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

Ironically, one that is having some difficulties with local chambers over its political stance.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

Those anti-labor unions have been around longer than the labor unions. The monopolists of the Hoover era and the Robber Barons from the Age of the Cough Drop Presidents With Beards all had professional associations which met to make sure nobody's prices were too low, the politicians stayed bought and nobody on the black list would get hired.

At least it's an open shop union. As a self-employed professional with my own office in the commercial district, I was invited to join the local Chamber and pay dues for the privilege of having my name associated with campaigns against minimum wages, workplace safety standards and consumer protection.

They appeal to a professional's desire for prestige. The invitation was printed on fancy cotton blend paper that felt soft and fluffy when I wiped my ass with it.

[cathain.livejournal.com]

Someone I know brought up this point:
"As soon as the Chamber of Commerce gets the legal right to compel businesses to join and pay dues, it might be considered a union."