[Ducati] Re: [NDC] Strike at Harley

[Kathleen Corgan]

Ron,

That is a horrible experience to have to live through whether related  
to a union or not.  Unfortunately it's events like that that, carried  
out by a few thuggish individuals and (hopefully) not by a union  
directive, which stain all unions with a bad name.  On top of which  
the timing you described of the UAW's negotiations was horrible...but  
I would be very surprised if that schedule was set by them and not  
the Auto companies.

Either way, it sounds as if the contract was up at Christmas there  
was some bad union or corporate management faith going on...since  
many responsible contract negotiations are started way in advance of  
their due date, and any union that would willingly bring its  
membership to a Christmas strike was being either badly run, or was  
already "not holding the gun" as is the term in contract negotiating.

Getting back to your dad's experience, there was certainly a time  
when unions leaders abused their power and members felt and acted on  
that misguided hubris in ways that were completely contrary to what a  
union is supposed to be about.  Even now, as in any functioning part  
of trade and capitalism, whether labor or management, we are all too  
aware through the watching eyes of the media there is corruption to  
be found.  However, it's unfortunate that 40 years later unions are  
still getting a bad rap for the most egregious behavior, and many  
times from those who don't realize that their livelihoods may be next  
on the chopping block (again the media comes to mind!).

I think you'll find that if you look at the majority of unionized  
workers today, the number of those getting paid bloated wages for  
work they do, while not nearly extinct, is fewer and further between  
(the SEIU comes to mind).  A lot of the younger unions are merely  
looking to obtain or preserve working conditions that allow for a  
decent quality of life, something for retirement, and basic  
healthcare for workers and their families.

If you can get this without a union contract, then great...hopefully  
it'll still be there until that time when you really need it.  And if  
you don't need to join a union to work among the best in your field  
and have all your rainy day bases covered, then you're among an even  
more fortunate smaller number.  But in this age of bottom line  
profiteering and the recent tendencies of global trade to stoke the  
flames of a race to the bottom, some would prefer not to roll the dice.

kath

On Feb 4, 2007, at 10:31EST, Ron Ginter wrote:

> Here's my 2 cents:
>
> When I was a young boy, my father worked for GM.  At that time, the  
> auto industry contracts came up for renewal just before Christmas,  
> and on this particular year (I don't remember exactly, but circa  
> 1960) the target chosen by the UAW was GM.  Of course, a strike was  
> threatened.  My father went to a union meeting and made the  
> terrible mistake of getting up and speaking against a strike.   
> Following the meeting, he found a few union members waiting for him  
> at his car.  They proceeded to beat the crap out of him, leave him  
> lying in the parking lot, and slashed his tires for good measure.   
> He recovered, but learned his lesson, and never opened his mouth at  
> a union meeting again.  They did go on strike that year, and there  
> were no Christmas gifts under the tree in our household.
>
> So much for democracy in action.  So much for free speech and the  
> rights of the individual.  The end does not justify the means.   
> I've been anti-union ever since.
>
> ...Ron