Left In Lowell

Unions certainly have a bad rep these days. Whether a police, state, or teacher’s union, you don’t have to be near the editor of the Lowell Sun to hear some negative opinions on labor unions. (Though, the worst bitching comes from the Lowell Sun, unnecessarily.)

It was a blah sort of day last Sunday, the sort of day you do your laundry and play poker while watching yet another omnipresent Democratic ‘08 debate. But it sure beat working all weekend, right? If you like your weekends, thank a union.

There was a recent report that showed that Americans are not taking their full vacation time, or are bringing work with them on vacation. It seems that this might be the case because of all the pressure on our workers in this day and age…competition from H1B immigrants and a global economy where jobs are as fluid as rain and nearly as fleeting. But you still get vacation, and holidays, and long weekends…well, thank a union.

What would happen if we lost all our unions? Do you like human fingers in your ground beef or 40 kids being taught ineffectively in an elementary classroom? That’s what would happen without unions, and the right for workers to organize and ensure their workplace is safe, fair, and sane. When unions are left out of the work equation, we have Wal-Mart violating fair workplace laws, depressing wages, and doling out no benefits, sloughing those workers’ health care costs onto the state and reducing their quality of life. Thereby ensuring a class of workers who can do no more than to afford the cheap imported goods Wal-Mart sells (sort of the reverse of Henry Ford, isn’t it?).

Yeah, sometimes unions are short sighted, myopic, and stubborn. Actually, that’s sort of a union’s job, isn’t it? They demand. Sometimes they demand too much, or won’t let go of something which is unfair to taxpayers. And yet, I am pro-union despite the bumps. Why? Because the democratic right to organize and advocate and speak with one loud voice is every bit a part of our best attributes as a nation as is the voting booth.

Unions, as the moderator at last night’s AFL-CIO 5th CD debate said, are not a special interest. They work in the interest of the little guy - specifically the ones who are members, but really, for all of us who work. If we as private citizens don’t love that idea, maybe we’re just jealous that our own economic sector isn’t unionized. After all, it’s not really that we despise others for getting a little slice of the pie. Maybe we just want a little for ourselves.

Well, get organized.