chefjavier wrote:Thanks for the inside!
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Two thoughts regarding the idea of getting rid of unions and strikes:
1. The strikers could be shot dead, arrested, or black-listed. After all, in the 1877 Railroad Strike and the 1894 Pullman Strike (not to mention the 1892 Homestead Strike) the Companies simply hired men to shoot striking workers; the government helped the Companies by perverting the law and common justice to serve the interests of the owners. While I would hope Mr. Ash wouldn't like to see this result, the tone of his comments reminds me of how many viciously anti-union people there are in this country, often, I think, out of jealousy or sour grapes. I bet there are many people in America who'd like to see strkers shot, even in 2008.
2. In 1936 when FDR was running for a second term, a man was quoted as saying he would vote for FDR because, "Mr. Roosevelt knows my boss is a son of a female dog." I think it's laughable that anyone thinks that bosses or Companies will look out sufficiently for the rights of their workers, simply out of the good of their hearts, which is paternalism. Workers are only able to negotiate effectively with Companies through collective bargaining (another word for unions), not individually, which produces divide-and-conquer results for workers.
Mr. Ash, as a young or new union member you may have been at the bottom of the union totem pole when you were let go. It's unfortunate, but it happens. But generally, if one can survive in a union job and gain some seniority, a cornucopia of benefits, and maybe even a nice retirement pension, can be earned or gained. Labor and unions, especially in American railroading, have a most important place in the history, and future, of our Republic.
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