Unions Have Support Of The People

There was a time in this country when workers had no rights at all. Companies could pay what they wanted (whether that was a livable wage or not), work their employees 12-14 hour days for six or even seven days a week, subject those workers to unsafe working conditions, and even work children that same way. But that was before unions.

Since the hard-won right to unionize was established, there have been many changes in this country. Whether they realize it or not, American workers owe a huge debt to unions for things like safe working conditions, a minimum wage, job benefits, the 40-hour work week, vacation time off, outlawing of child labor, insurance benefits and many other things too numerous to mention. And just the threat of unionization put pressure on non-union employers to offer better pay, working conditions and benefits.

The only thing a worker has is his labor, and unions gave workers a way to band together and bargain for a decent return on that labor. It was good for everyone, including businesses (since well-paid workers had a lot more money to spend on their products and services).

But after a period of popularity, unions fell on hard times. Part of it was due to the bad publicity that resulted from a few unions being connected to organized crime. But most of it has been due to a concerted effort by corporations (and their Republican lackeys) to demonize unions and union members. By the time of the air traffic controllers strike in the 1980s, about 60% of Americans had bought into the propaganda and decided that unions had too much power in this country. That view has allowed a lot of union-busting to go on.

People like the current governor of Wisconsin (and corporate tool), Scott Walker, are banking on the hope that there is still a lot of anti-union sentiment among the general population. But he and others are beginning to find out that unions are making a comeback in popularity among many people. The latest CBS News/NY Times poll shows that there is no longer a majority holding anti-union views. People are starting to rethink the issue and realize that unions are probably necessary to protect workers from excessive corporate greed.

Here is what the poll found about peoples' views on unions in general:

Favorable view of unions..........33%
Unfavorable view of unions..........25%
Undecided..........39%
Refused to answer..........3%

When the poll got more specific and asked about public employees in particular, the numbers got even better:

SHOULD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS BE TAKEN AWAY?
Yes...............33%
No...............60%
Don't know...............7%

It's clear that while the populace is re-thinking their stance on unions in general (and I believe they will regain their former prominence as the recession goes on), the population has already decided that the actions of people like Gov. Walker are not in the states or the country's best interest. If Walker, and his Republican cohorts in other states, keep trying to bust unions and cut jobs and benefits they may find a lot of worker anger waiting for them at the polls in 2012.

It's not the pay of workers that needs to be cut, although they have indicated they will do their part. Corporations and the rich must also do their part. They are doing better than anyone in this recession economy, and it's time they gave a little back to their country (in the form of higher taxes). If Republicans really want to cut the deficit, they should stop punishing those with the least and go where the money is -- to the rich and the corporations.

The poll showed this also. About 56% of the people opposed cutting pay or benefits of public workers to balance the budget. I'll bet you couldn't get a majority wanting to give the corporations and the rich more tax cuts or giveaways! In fact, most recent polls show people would rather tax the rich more instead of cutting services.