There is Power in a Union (and Open Thread)

 

"There is a Power in a Union" - Mountain Goats (John Darnielle)

Sorry for the radio silence yesterday.  I was traveling to Colorado Springs -- home of Focus on the Family -- for a meeting.  I am up early contemplating my lovely mountain view and trying not to think of how much craziness resides nearby. 

I wanted to post about this yesterday, on the thirtieth anniversary of Ronald Reagan threatening to fire striking air traffic controllers -- a threat on which he followed through -- an event which many rightly see as a seminal moment in anti-union activity in the country.  I think about the PATCO strike as the signal from the Reagan Administration that it was open season on unions -- a signal management was all too happy to heed.  (Having said that, even at the time I thought the strike incredibly foolhardy and arrogant -- an invitation to get slapped by someone who was waiting for just such a moment.)  But I think there is a slightly different lesson to be learned from this event than is subscribed to by most observers -- the PATCO episode showed the incredible resilience of unions and their appeal when the workers in question are allowed to organize without intimidation and coercion.  Before Reagan was even out of office, the air traffic controllers who had either crossed the picket line during the strike or had been hired as replacement workers began to organize a new union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.  NATCA has been an effective advocate for its members and has helped address issues of pay and working conditions that continued to be a concern for air traffic controllers after their first union was broken. 

In other words, left to their own devices, workers will more often than not seek the power of collective representation.  And this is why in the last few decades, the number of workers in the public sector who belong to unions has climbed, while representation in the private economy, where employer lawlessness is a sad fact of life, has plummeted to near insignficance. 

And this explains why the Republicans are seeking to change this fact at both the state and federal level.  The ability to crush all union power in the country is the path way to a scattered, politically incoherent, and ultimately impotent white working class.  And why this battle in Wisconsin is huge.

I must head off to a meeting, but have more to say on this subject.

Please join in on this or anything else that is on your minds.    

 

Comments

[kathy a.]

i did not know that bit of history from the air traffic controller strike.

the zealous pursuit of crushing workers is not a new thing, but it is at such odds with the idea that these are human beings, trying to care for their families, bringing something valuable to the job. it is startling that there is a wave of de-valuing workers at a time when the gap between executive compensation and worker earnings has grown wider than ever, when major companies continue to reap enormous profits -- to be enjoyed by shareholders, not the riffraff actually doing the work.

the anti-worker sentiment is so noxious that we've got people like bachmann suggesting we eliminate the minimum wage to "create jobs." never mind that in many places, minimum wage is not enough to support the worker, much less a family. moreover, these are the same people who want to cut the cord on social security, medicare, medicaid, and existing pensions -- preaching that the riffraff should be more "fiscally responsible" to deal with unexpected illness or injury, or old age.

profit for the few is everything. they propose a great race, in which the very few are outfitted with a moving sidewalk, and everyone else is racing in gunny sacks.

on the topic of profit as the sole measure of worth, gov. perry seeks to reform higher education by treating the university systems as profit machines. Among their suggestions: that individual faculty members be measured as profit or loss centers, that research budgets be separated from teaching budgets, and that student evaluations help determine how much professors are paid. this is the antithesis of the ideal of a broad liberal arts education -- which i feel strongly is important -- and it twists the objectives of education bizarrely into a narrow set of criteria, grossly undervaluing a great many academic fields.

[Paula B]

>>profit for the few is everything. they propose a great race, in which the very few are outfitted with a moving sidewalk, and everyone else is racing in gunny sacks.

A timely story in today's NYT:
Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves http://nyti.ms/qHQJyG

[kathy a.]

oh, fuck. another guy with a gun spotted at VA tech, which is on lockdown.

I. Hate. Guns. and i hate a political environment that values gun ownership above all, preaches hate and violent solutions, and then is surprised at the result.

paula -- my daughter and i sometimes go to Needless Markup for the sole purpose of laughing at the price tags. that $800+ pair of shoes is 2 months rent at daughter's current studio apartment.

[Paula B]

kathy---I know. it's sickening.

So far, the VaTech story hasn't developed into anything, but it's good they locked down first, investigated second.

As far as I can see, the gun lobby has done as much to ruin this country as any number of lousy politicians. Now that there are more guns than people in this country, we're stuck with figuring out how to maneuver complex lives within a maze of deadly weapons.

[kathy a.]

well, thankfully the VA tech story turned out not to be a massacre.

instead, the big story is fears of global recession. any guesses about how that story missed the national radar in the past few weeks?

[nancy]

SirC--If the lad is still undecided about future schooling, you might want to check out Colorado College while you're there, time allowing. They have a unique block-program where one course is taken at a time, and often off-campus. Students travel to content-rich venues for about six weeks a block, if memory serves. Our son, after acceptance, decided the student body was too small, but in retrospect, I wish we'd pushed a little harder.

Just a thought. (It is hard to reconcile that beauty with the outlying vibe).

Kathy--Would you please tell me where a studio apartment can be had for $400 per month? :-)

Paula, that NYT story reminded me of Rep. Ryan's $350 bottle of wine x 2. There's a movie line we use around the house a lot--'who are these people?' that comes out at times like these.

[Phil Perspective]

Sir Charles:
I think it bears mentioning that PATCO had endorsed Ray-gun. I wonder how many of them never voted GOP again.

[kathy a.]

nancy -- corvallis, OR. you can imagine our sticker shock, looking for a short-term furnished place near transit in DC for the fall internship. /faint/

i can kinda wrap my head around high costs of living in certain areas. will never be able to understand an $800 pair of shoes.

[Sir Charles]

nancy,

I'm very familiar with Colorado College. I have a nephew who went there and loved the place. He really fit the profile though -- very outdoorsy. He's an itinerant ski instructor who has also supported himself by juggling fire in the parks of major European citiess. A great kid.

My son, though, is a city kid all the way. He wants to do urban planning associated with mass transit. He's going to do an internship for a year in Massachusetts and then head off to Drew University (a similar sized liberal arts school) in New Jersey, where he will be a 45 minute train ride to NYC. His dream job would be working for the New York Transit Authority. (He wanted to attend a public hearing the other day on commuter rail.)

Phil,

Yeah, the PATCO guys got a rude awakening -- much like a bunch of these law enforcement and fire fighter types are getting at the hands of Walker and Kasich, et al.

kathy,

Hell, I rented a studio apartment in DC in 1985 and it was $670 a month back then. It took nearly one full paycheck (two weeks of work) to cover it. Somehow I ate and drank (a lot) but I am not sure how.

To this day, I buy one pair of shoes a year -- whether I need them or not. The pair I have on now -- actually a pretty expensive to me) pair of Italian loafers -- $300--are in embarrassingly bad shape. I generally wear them until they get holes in the soles.

[Paula B]

It's all relative. Here's what $800 gets you in NYC:http://on.msnbc.com/o34vNT

[big bad wolf]

great clip, SC.

i think it was easier to drink a lot for less in those days. the palate hadn't started to get spoiled.

[MR Bill]

Well, it's Friday, and markets are still tanking..Good job the teabaggers got most of what they wanted, and established economic terrorism as a political norm. Or then where would we be.
Sir Charles, one of the first purchases I made after my home burned was to get some good +$200 workboots (the brand named for a certain large member of the badger tribe, or a Marvel superhero with claws..). It is an investment, as I will wear them for years.

And now for something completely off topic: appalling, hilarious examples of taxidermy gone wrong, wrong..
Although the Pomeranian doing a handstand/split mounted on the globe of the world must mean something...
(via Joe.My.God )

[Paula B]

Bill, thanks for the weird photos. I expect to have nightmares for weeks.
And, yes, the markets are tanking. Did we expect anything different? You gets what you pays for. I just hope it's obvious to voters who is to blame.
It's interesting that unemployment is down and actual job growth made quite a jump over the previous month, and in the summer, no less. Maybe it's just the torque of stimulus and some responsible employers beginning to loosen up the reins on all the money they've been sitting on.
Of course, when the budget cuts go into effect, and tens of thousands are laid off from federal and state jobs, we should hear an incredible uproar. That should happen in the colder months, when everything is more costly, anyway. Again, remember who brought you the recession and who deepened it.
All Democrats should be out screaming from the rooftops in advance of the coming disaster, to make sure people know where the place the blame. The NYT has certainly let loose on the editorial page this week. I hope whatever got into them is infectious.
At the same time, Dems better be raising gazillions to offset SuperPac contributions to Mitt et al: http://bit.ly/rn2Fyh
Where they're going to get that kind of money in this economy, I haven't a clue.

[nancy]

MR Bill--All I can think of is the old Loudon Wainwright III song. 'Dead skunk in the middle of the road…….stinkin' to high heaven'.

[kathy a.]

MRBill, such a surprise, that with the world economy doing badly. paula's right that we have worse coming here.

heh, nancy.

i can't get that taxidermy page to load in a way that lets me see the photos. it's probably my stupid IE. drat. don't anybody lecture me about firefox, OK? or macs. maybe i'll do firefox later.

[Morzer]

kathy a., - so we shouldn't mention Chrome either? It's sad, sad day when you discover that good, intelligent, decent people still use Internet Explorer.

Of course, some people root for the Jets, so IE users are not quite in the uttermost depth of evil....

[oddjob]

(I hope Toast doesn't wander by in the near future..... ;) )

[Morzer]

Interesting little nugget here:

S&PStrikesAgain

Two government officials tell ABC News that the federal government is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the rating of US debt from its current AAA value. Official reasons given, one official says, will be the political confusion surrounding the process of raising the debt ceiling, and lack of confidence that the political system will be able to agree to more deficit reduction. A source says Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal will be part of the reason cited. The official was unsure if the bond rating would be AA+ or AA.

[nancy]

Morzer--That 'little nugget' is all over twitterville, as it should be. How's that sitting with the base do you suppose? They haven't all converted to gold bullion, have they?

I get laughed at in my corner of the world about my financial conservatism, but "under the mattress" seems kinda not entirely unsensible. Apple hit my kid's stop-sell number today.

[kathy a.]

go, tea party. y'all are showing some excellent patriotism, as well as critical thinking skills. saint ronnie was a doofus extraordinare, but he at least had a few people around who were not complete foofuses, and he raised taxes when needed. get a grip, already.

[oddjob]

I think I've read that Sen. Graham (R-SC) has observed that Reagan would find it difficult to be a Republican in today's Republican Party. I think he's right.

[nancy]

…'this ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around……'

No, it's certainly not.

[Morzer]

nancy, this Twitter thing you speak of, is it popular among the earthlings? I will say that no ponzi scheme is as nefarious as the pump and dump goldrush that Glenn Beck and his fellow Grand Wizards have been whipping up. A lot of people are going to find out the hard way that they've been played for suckers - and the realization ain't gonna be pretty, no how, no way. I just wish I could see a good outcome to our national situation in about ten years time. Sadly, I suspect we shall be witnesses to a national decline and impoverishment that's going to grind a lot of smaller folk into the dust, break a lot of young hearts and leave us with an angry, poorly educated and desperate population on our hands and a good number of self-appointed right-wing saviors with neither competence nor scruple to recommend them.

[oddjob]

I think if you were going to do it the time to buy gold was probably back in about 2004 or 2005.

[kathy a.]

morzer for a gold medal, for "pump and dump goldrush." quality commentary!

you guys know where i stand, "eyes on the prize" -- doing what we can do in the short term with the idea that we are going someplace better in the long term.

i think that means we need to do what we can to alleviate the worst of what the other side means for those among us who need the most protection; that we need to push for that protection; that we need to identify who is working for the good and support them against the evil. and, ya know, community service like jobs and meals is not inconsistent with calling out those idjits who think private donations are the answer when public safety-net funding dies.

[oddjob]

This statistical analysis regarding the societal influence of organized labor and the predictions it makes about where we'd be if our labor force was still as unionized as it was in '73 may be of interest to Sir C. (& others).

Hat tip, The Plum Line.

[oddjob]

Down to the swill in the teacup

[nancy]

Morzer--Twitter thing is probably not popular with earthlings, but it is expedient. And don't we love that these days? Luddite that I am, I miss the typewriter, carbon-paper, pen, envelope and a stamp. Not to mention, 'write it up, and put it away in the desk-drawer overnight time'. Taking time to reconsider and rewrite.

That said, Beck, Limbaugh, Fox and crew need to be countered minute by minute. And the young Twittercrowd tries to do that. No editors allowed.

Oddjob--They led us all to believe gold was sensible and solid while touting capitalism as unassailable. Whaaa. Help me out here folks.

[oddjob]

Gold's just another commodity. The only reason it's valuable is that people want it to be so - just like the dollar, or the euro, or any other currency people are willing to trade as a commodity.

All that "intrinsic value" stuff? Ask yourself what you find to have true inherent value.

The only things like that I can come up with are all edible or useful as clothing.

Goldbugs are daft creatures.

[nancy]

Oddjob--I meant that that was the sales pitch. How was that supposed to work? American exceptionalism and the market is practically perfecto. But 'buy gold'. And guns also. I gather to protect the gold as well as one's castle.

[Morzer]

"Goldbugs are daft creatures."

I guess all the goldbug variations out there have driven them baching mad.....

[oddjob]

OYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY......................................................

[oddjob]

But 'buy gold'.

Absolutely!!! Even though it's a commodity, it's magic!

IT NEVER LOSES VALUE, BECAUSE IT HAS INHERENT VALUE!

BESIDES, EVEN IN THE BIBLE GOD INDICATES THAT GOLD IS SPECIAL AND SUPER DUPER DUPER VALUABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(oddjob blows raspberries in Glenn Beck's general direction...........)

[oddjob]

I wonder if Beck will ever take up Liberian diamonds like Pat Robertson did?

[kathy a.]

oddjob for a diamond-encrusted medal. or zircon, who can tell?

there is too much crazy out there. has anyone started a list of the 100 top nutjobs contributing to teh republican party as it now stands? i know,, stiff competition! especially since dead people like ayn rand would need to make the list. but i'm pretty sure we could easily come up with more than 100, off the tops of our collective heads.

[nancy]

Sorry--I'm going back to listen to David Byrne again. Pacific Coast Time--I'm good to go.

Yikes. Barney Frank has thoroughly nailed today's S&P 'assessment'. And btw, who are these people?. See Rachel. Can we clone him? Wish he were my congressperson.

[Sir Charles]

Back in DC finally.

Will be up and posting again tomorrow.

Sleep well all until then.

[MR Bill]

Good Saturday morning: going to Greg B.'s to replace a leaking toilet (and possibly some floor) and then kick back. Greg is the guy with bladder cancer, and the first run of chemo has stopped the progression. So he's lookin' at another hellish 6 weeks..no rehersal till Monday.

Something that cheered me up is a crowd of angry voters yelling "Dick!" at Wisc. Gov. Scott "the Kochsucker" Walker. Those looked like some motivated folks.

[Paula B]

To cheer you even more: check out today's Google doodle.

[beckya57]

Hi everybody. I haven't had much to say, because I'm so fed up, plus a good friend is going through a personal crisis and that's taken a lot of my energy. The Wall Street guys finally realizing that the economy needs more stimulus I think was kind of the last straw for me, along with S&P noticing that GOP behavior is putting the whole country at risk. Of course these same $#%^&*#@@%&* are the ones who sponsored the Tea Party in the first place. It would be funny if so many innocent bystanders weren't paying most of the price.

[Sir Charles]

becky,

I've been up to my eyebrows with work, travel, and personal stuff as well, plus that sense of irritation and despair.

The dismal quality of our business elite is really bugging me.

[nancy]

Morzer--I guess all the goldbug variations out there have driven them baching mad…..

✔ Needed to translate that into a Boston accent. Very good.

SirC -- At least the business elite is dumping this S&P change square into the laps of the GOP Tea Party-owners. Some small comfort. Cantor however is still out peddling his poison pills without remorse . This battle is not going to taper off for a moment. No surprise I guess, but I thought a decent lull for the American people should have been suggested to all involved, most especially the House leadership.

Anyway, rest up all.