WE ARE LABOR

Labor is good.  Labor works.  Labor built America.  Labor will meet the challenges of tomorrow.

If only we, the Unions, don't get in the way.

From the words in Genesis, "By the sweat of the brow, you shall eat bread" to the letter of  Paul, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat" whose word were echoed by our early settlers Miles Standish and John Smith, America has been built by the labor of our people.

From our early communities of shared property and limited prosperity, we progressed to a bountiful land of private property and free markets.  Unfortunately, much of that early prosperity was built by a labor that knew no freedom.  But thanks to the spirit of our American ideals, this nation came to fight against the plague of slavery.

But we find a lesson within our darkened past.  Despite all that we know of the evils that lurk within it, our free market economy is the greatest system of prosperity and wealth creation known to man.  But we must remain vigilant that sinful man in his greed is held in check from abusing the lowly station of the common laborer.  The sin of greed lies in the heart of all men, waiting to be released; in both that of the master and of the slave. 

Today we celebrate Labor Day, not for the excess of our unions, but for the work and productivity of our people.  Labor has organized to serve as a counterweight to the worst designs of our masters.  Like a balancing scale, the balance of power requires constant adjustment to maintain an equitable relationship. 

In Washington, many of our union masters fall under the same greed motive as the owners of production.  Despite their actions and words, the true power of labor resides in the heart of the working man.  We are at our best when we can all work together to make America the most productive nation on earth.  That desire must not be overshadowed and distracted by the petty issues of our union leadership.  Labor is much more than the words and desires of a powerful few.

We are Labor.
We are American pride.
We are the American working men & women.
We stand together for a better tomorrow for our families and a better, more united America for your family.
We are Labor.

Labor's Love's Lost

Once upon a time, families saw their fathers and husbands go out the door to work on jobs such as mine, not knowing if they would return home that evening.  I work at an underground limestone mining and processing plant in Missouri.  Unlike previous generations, the issue of workplace fatalities is not foremost in our minds. 

Today, we receive email notices of any fatalities that take place at other mining operations in order to make us aware of the dangers that lurk.  We have safety representatives from our union that meet with management's safety department.  Safety milestones are met with awards and/or bonus payments. 

Today's workers face a different workplace than our fathers and grandfathers.  Much of that is the result of their efforts to unionize nearly 75 years ago.  I am thankful for the foundation they laid in helping build a safe and prosperous company.

I can only imagine what it was like at that time.  The Great Depression was raging.  Their work was extremely dangerous.  The owners knew five men were waiting to replace any one of his workers, so pay was low, conditions were poor and too often a worker was seen as expendable.  Workers were caught between the twin specters of unemployment and the hazards of work.

The effort to form a union was contentious, but it wasn't born of greed; it was a move for self-preservation.  The workers at that time lived and died holding the short end of the stick.  Their efforts to stand together, in their eyes was no different than children standing together to fend off the playground bully.  They did not seek to conquer, but only to establish a truce.

I am honored to serve office in the union they established.  I understand that there is a balance of power between our union brothers and management.  I do not seek a power shift, but to maintain the status quo that has allowed our company to flourish.

I am also a realist.  As new businesses are started around this state and our nation, those workers will be able to reap many of the rewards that unions have previously fought for, such as a 40 hour work week, overtime pay, workplace safety, healthcare and other benefits.  In such an environment, I understand that the need for a union may not be seen. 

In that light, the continued decrease in the percentage of workers who belong to a union is expected.  In fact, something would surely be wrong in the workplace if unions weren't on the decrease.  But we must be cautious in believing that there is no longer a place for unions.  Unions exist to offer balance between owners and workers, even in non-union workplaces.  The potential to bring in a union is always in the mind of non-union business owners.

With all that said, I believe the national union leaders have lost their minds.  I won't go to the extent of quoting Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa Jr., since I try to refrain from including the type of language he used yesterday while introducing President Obama at a campaign rally.  [You can follow this link to read it yourself]  In essence, he seemed to be either inciting violence (at worst) or using crass language (at best) to claim that workers should be at war with the Tea Party and Republican leaders.

What Hoffa and other leaders such as AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka have forgotten is that they work for the workers, the workers don't work for them.  In today's world, the greatest benefit to union workers is a rising economy.  When the economy is growing, unemployment decreases, wages increase, businesses expand creating better opportunities for workers and our 401(k) accounts or pension funds thrive.

Instead of fighting for what would do us real good, they are out fighting a losing battle - trying to turn the tide of decreasing union membership.  Instead of encouraging Washington to find ways to grow the economy, labor leaders are looking to change the rules and make it easier for workers to unionize (even without a majority vote) while giving government mediators the ability to impose a contract against the workers wishes, force companies to recognize smaller partitioned groups and dictate where a business may locate new production.

It's time for our union leaders to stop fighting yesterday's battles and do what is right for workers today.  Just as it would be counter-productive for our nation to close its borders and stop importing foreign made goods, its futile to believe that we can return to the 1950's hey day of union membership.  That day and the need for it has passed.

It's time to find a future for Labor in America.  We can understand our place as the proper counterweight offering balance for the American worker in a growing economy, always ready to act when and where the need arises.  Or we can become parasitic dead weight, dragging the economy down with us.

In today's America, do we want to ride in the back of the bus toward prosperity or the front seat on the road to austerity.  That choice is up to us. 

For GOP, Right To Work = Obamacare

As the battle with the Public Employee Unions in Wisconsin continues to rage, some states have taken the battle as a cue to push for Right to Work laws in their states.  But just as Obamacare became the key vote in the Democrats losses in the 2010 elections, Right to Work laws may be the GOP’s undoing.

Labor-supporters and detractors alike have historically been opposed to collective bargaining for the PEUs, but as union membership began to decline in the 50’s and 60’s, the public employees were seen as fertile ground to gain members and dollars.  In 1959, progressive Wisconsin became the first state to sanction collective bargaining rights for public employees.  While the practice has spread to other states, today 24 states still restrict or limit that right, as does the federal government.

Defining the difference between the PEUs and private-sector unions is key for the conservative viewpoint to prevail.  This is why the union leadership, Democrats and others have sought to blur that line.  But the case for PEUs is not analogous to the private-sector unions.  As The National Review's Jonah Goldberg stated in his article, Public Unions Must Go,

"Traditional, private-sector unions were born out of an often-bloody adversarial relationship between labor and management....

Government unions have no such narrative on their side. Do you recall the Great DMV Cave-in of 1959? How about the travails of second-grade teachers recounted in Upton Sinclair’s famous schoolhouse sequel to The Jungle? No? Don’t feel bad, because no such horror stories exist."

If this distinction becomes lost, the GOP cannot win this fight. 

Today, conservatives sit at the table as the adults.  They were given this place of leadership because they promised to cut spending.  In light of the budget deficits, conservatives are making bold choices.  As many see it, Governor Walker’s fight is not against the unions, it’s a fight for fiscal sanity – a fight for the taxpayers.  In this fight, the GOP has the high road. 

But in taking on the private sector unions, the Republicans relinquish their lofty position.  Ceasing to be a budget battle for the taxpayers, it becomes seen as an attack on union households.  In swing states, the GOP cannot win this fight - there are too many average households that contain current or former union members.  In these states, the fight is against their daddy or their grandpa's union?  For good or bad, unions have a relevant history for many generations, even if union membership wasn't passed down to the current generation.  If Gov. Walker and other like-minded Governors are to be successful in their fight, it cannot be seen as a fight against the long history of the private unions in this country.

When the line between the PEUs and private sector unions is drawn clearly, the battleground becomes less hazy.  In the proper light, even long standing union members can see the difference between their battles with the business owners and the PEUs fight against the taxpayers.  The case for PEUs has always been illegitimate and this argument can prevail when it is not hidden behind the private unions.

In the media, the words of former AFL-CIO President George Meany and  President Franklin D. Roosevelt in stating their opposition to collective bargaining rights for government workers were coming to light.  But no sooner were the words beginning to gain traction that the GOP controlled legislature in Indiana rose up to shoot itself in the foot.  By making a push for Right to Work laws in the private sector, they effectively blurred the line without any outside help from the unions.  The momentum in Wisconsin began to falter, as the Democrats in Indiana went on the lam in a concerted move to equate the two very different battles.  Luckily for the GOP, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels wisely chose to cut off the Republican charge against the unions before it ever started.

If the GOP believes it can successfully take on all unions, they have misread their mandate.  While the Indiana lawmakers may claim they are doing what is best for Indiana, they and other state legislatures must understand that their actions are not happening in a vacuum.  As the average person sits down to watch the news, the bits and pieces from each state begin to form a whole.  Wisconsin , Ohio and New Jersey are battling public unions, while Missouri, Indiana and Michigan are battling for Right to Work.  The President says the Republicans are trying to bust the unions.  If a person weren't up on the issue, how would it appear?  Republicans can only win the debate against the PEUs by contrasting them to the private unions, but not while they appear to be attacking those same private unions in another state.

In many states, the so-called swing states, the GOP has risen to leadership only recently.  Here in my state of Missouri, Republicans lead the legislature, but we have a Democrat in the Governor's mansion.  My county voted for a Republican in the last Congressional race for the first time since I've been alive.  The GOP (thanks to the Tea Party) has made tremendous inroads into the local Democrat strongholds.  But those gains are tenuous today.  Moving Missouri into strong if not permanent red territory is within our grasp.  But with the wrong moves, Missouri could quickly swing back the other way.

In Jefferson City, GOP leaders are pushing Right To Work in order to capitalize while the opportunity presents itself.  But with Jay Nixon as a Governor, the only way forward is a ballot proposition.  As a union officer, I can say that the charge against Right to Work will be hard and heavy - it in fact has already begun.  The union media blitz will seek to overwhelm.  Winning a ballot initiative in Missouri is difficult enough.   Winning over the union machine may be a bridge too far.

In Missouri, ballot propositions turn into a Hatfield and McCoy type feud.  By the time the vote takes place, no one really knows what they're voting for and after it's over, it's not over.  The results of a hotly contested ballot initiative will soon be fought again during the next legislative session as the losing side "reloads".

In Missouri, riverboat gambling failed before it passed.  It passed with limits that no longer exist.  Recently, one of our riverboat casinos was built several blocks away from the river.  It's okay though, since the gaming floor is floating atop a small layer of water.  Those who congratulated themselves on winning the war against casinos two decades ago understand what I'm saying.  Risking the GOP gains in the state on a ballot proposition would be folly.

In early 2010, the House Democrats went through a remarkable set of events to pass President Obama's Health Care Reform law.  Today, many of them are no longer in Washington because of that vote.  Republicans now hold control of that chamber and with the gains expected in the next election cycle, they should regain control of the Senate also.  If a Republican should be elected President, the formal repeal of Obamacare would be the first order of business - even though it may have been found unconstitutional by the highest court at that point.  It would be a vivid display of what happens when one party seeks to over reach its mandate in a strict party line vote against the prevailing will of the people.  

Let the thought of such an image be burned into the back of the minds of statehouse Republicans as they risk their party's leadership for what may be a fleeting victory.  If they continue down this path, Right To Work will be the GOP's Obamacare.

* This post has been modified after it was originally published.  I accidentally included Ohio among the states seeking Right to Work laws, when it should have been listed as a state opposing public unions.  I have updated the post and it should be accurate now.