THE HEART OF THE WISCONSIN PROTEST

American unions have been in the news a lot in the last few days. There have been protests in Wisconsin, rallies and marches in Iowa and Ohio. Many in this country don’t understand the issues behind the headlines. Some are even openly opposed to unions. A lot of words are used in the conversations surrounding the labor movement. Words like; collective bargaining, negotiations, workers rights and workplace rules. As a union member I would like talk about what the union means to me and add another word to the discussion; representation. This word, representation, and what it means to the rank and file union member is at the heart of what the union is. The union is our representation in the employee-employer relationship.
To start, the employee-employer relationship is a business contract not unlike any other business contract. Almost every aspect of business is governed by some form of contract. Real estate is bought and sold through contracts. Commodities such as oil, corn, wheat, and natural gas are all bought and sold by a contract. For union members a contract also governs and sets conditions of employment. The people who manage the companies that most of us work for also have contracts. These contracts set the conditions of employment and compensation, such as stock options and golden parachutes. Even professional athletes work under contract. To the union member it only seem logical that we to should have our employment governed by contract. A contract sets out clearly what is agreed upon and what is expected of both parties. The contract I work under doesn’t just place requirements on my employer, but also sets out what is required of me. The contract is there to keeps both parties honest. Without a contract the worker is nothing more than a wage slave.
Now when companies enter into any contract they call their “people”. These people may be lawyers, accountants, risk analyst, or human resource professionals. The leaders of the modern corporation will call any representation they feel they need to represent their interests in entering or implementing a contract. There is that word again, representation. The captains of industry would never give up their right to be represented in any business deal they enter. They would never give up the right to consult lawyers, accountants or anyone else they felt they needed to help them get what they want in a business deal. This is the heart of what the union means to labor. They are our “people”. The union represents us in our business dealings with management. They act as our lawyers and accountants in the negotiating and implementation of our contract.
With a basic understanding of what unions are and how important contracts are to , it’s easy to see why management doesn’t like unions. Anyone would want to negotiate with an advantage. Anyone would like to be able to change the conditions of a contract they are in without interference. I would love to change the terms of my mortgage, but I think the bank would have something to say about that. Many businesses have been lost because the owners have entered contracts that have had terms turn against them. Everyone at the Chicago Board of Trade has at least one contract they would like to take back. But this is not how business is done. A contract is a contract, signer beware. So why do CEOs and corporate management “cry foul” when they are held to a labor contract?
When the worker enters a business agreement with an employer it is always best if that agreement is under a contract. This is how business is done, with both parties in understanding and agreement. To enter employment without a contract puts the worker at a huge disadvantage. It is a fundamental right to have representation whether you are negotiating a contract to play in the NFL or drive a snowplow in Wisconsin. The right of representation is always retained by management; it should always be retained by labor. Any attempt to deny labor the right of representation is nothing more than an attempt to gain an unfair advantage in a business contract.

TONIGHT ONLY! JUNIOR AND THE 3Bs!!!!!!!!

Well, Winter fest Tummy Rub 2011 came to Morris Monday night and it was a hoot!

Adam Kinzinger (R) the frosh Rep. from the fighting 11th was the keynote speaker. The opening act was the Bottle Blond Babes of Morris, Rezin and Roth. Rezin was proud to announce that she had been appointed to the Illinois Senate after the “surprise” retirement of Gary Dahl. Rezin’s position was then filled by appointment by Pam Roth of Morris. Who made these appointments you ask? Why the Republican caucus that’s who! So in short, neither of the Triple Bs occupies a position to which they were elected. They were both appointed by the Republican Party! So much for elections!

Adam bounced onto the stage like the Christian rock star he always wanted to be. He told us that the pain train was a comin’. Big cuts to the federal budget where on the way courtesy of the Republican Party. No one mentioned the recent tax cuts for the rich. Then he launched into the old song and dance about regulation being bad. He stated that the EPA had overreached its power. I asked Kinzinger for a specific example. He told a story about a company he couldn’t name, that made a product he couldn’t tell me about that was beaten to market by an unnamed European company from some unnamed European country. This was his “specific” example. Then he mentioned that everyone in agribusiness knew about the EPA, but then he offered no specific examples how the EPA hurt them either. None the less, the EPA must be gutted.

There where two jaw drop moments during the night. The first came when Adam stated that Illinois now has the highest corporate income tax rate in the world! At first I chuckled. He wasn’t being serious, I thought. Then he said it again! The image that came to mind was a little boy telling everyone “Its da biggest n da whole wide world!” Nice try junior, how about NO. A quick check of Google and that bovine defecation hit the wall. But, the comment that really floored me was when he told all the little tea baggers how horrible Obama’s temporary moratorium on deep water drilling was. Even in my “be nice to paste eaters” mode, I could not let this one go. As God as my witness, I have no answer to why people think this way. The drilling rig is on the ocean floor, 11 people are dead, oil is pouring into the gulf at Biblical proportions and no one had any answers why it happened or how to stop it, but we should plow along “business as usual”! Kinzinger with all his boyish charm said “yes, it cost us jobs.” It makes my temples throb just thinking about it. Profit over people seems to be the theme of the Republican Party, and this is a perfect example.

If representation by close door appointments, and “profits uber alles” is what we can expect from the Republican Party, then God help us all!

DON'T BLAME SARAH!

We, Sarah Palin has finally broken her silence after the shooting in Tucson AZ. Many had wondered why she was so quiet as the media spoke about her “Targets Page”. What was she thinking? What would she say? Well now we know.

What she said was the intellectual equivalent to…WAAAAAAA!!!....I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I?

Sarah Palin is right. Why are we blaming her? We are the ones giving her a voice. We are the ones who keep her in the spotlight that should have faded long ago. The simple truth is that Sarah Palin is a failed politician from a small town in nowhere Alaska. She was thrown into the limelight by a twist of fate. When she dragged her party’s ticket to failure she should have slithered off to Alaska never to be seen or heard from again. Is anyone surprised that she survives on saying salacious, hateful and just plain stupid things? She has nothing to say and nothing to contribute to help solve the problems we face in this country today.

Sarah Palin is a puppet of the far right corporate machine. The sooner people realize this fact the sooner we can have conversations about how to solve our problems.

Turn off Fox News. Hell Turn off the TV altogether! Go have a conversation with your kids, your neighbors, and the people you pass all day and never acknowledge. You’ll find we can work through our problems without “2nd Amendment remedies” and targets on maps.

I believe one must lead, follow, or get out of the way.
It is time for Sarah Palin to get the hell out of the way!