(February 20, 2011 at 4:53 am)padraic Wrote:(February 18, 2011 at 7:56 pm)theVOID Wrote:(February 18, 2011 at 2:28 am)Minimalist Wrote: They are all that the working man has.
That must be why they're in decline right? And why the vast majority of the working population doesn't use them? Or perhaps the minuscule wage rises that they bring aren't actually worth the fees to belong to one...
I was active trade unionist almost all of my working life.(When I was able) A union is only as good as its members and only effective when the members are in control.Once the executive stops being the servant and becomes the master, the union goes down the gurgler.
Trade unions arise in responses to exploitation. In my country the need is not as great as 100 years ago,when unions formed.
Thanks soley to unions, today we have things such as :the 40 hour week, safe working conditions, workman's compensation,paid sick time,paid holidays equal pay for women. The aim of trade unions as I've always seen it is a 'fair go' for workers, from unscrupulous employers,and I've worked for a few of them.less.
If you really want to see how things were before trade unionism,do some research on wages and conditions in nineteenth and twentieth century mine and factories--then have a look at the plight of outworkers in the rag trade in your own country today. They have no unions.
But that's my point Pad....those things you have cited ARE great wins for unionism...(err except the equal pay for women..I've yet to see that) But thanks to those wins we now have a workforce that is unable to work because of it.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
