Like many of you get a lot of e-mail—the vast majority of it is advertising from various places where I have either purchased something or have requested to be on their mailing list. Since I started writing for Daily Kos Labor I have been getting some interesting online correspondence. Most of it is from like minded individuals or businesses trying to get me to write about something they feel is important.
Today, I got a message that was sent to the wrong mailing list. As many of you know from previous posts of mine I am a staunch union supporter. If you don't know that from previous posts I will tell you, I am a staunch union supporter. Unions built the middle class, they gave us weekends, the forty hour week, employer paid health insurance, workplace safety and vacations just to name a few things.
Now, onto the e-mail from the "National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation" or as I like to call them and as I will call them throughout the rest of this post, union-busting bastards. The headline reads in a bold 24 pt. font, "Worker Advocate Challenges Obama Labor Board Pro-Union Boss Election Rule Change." Really, Union Boss? In the over 150 some odd years of labor unions in the United States you would think that the the forces of anti-union evil would be able to come up with something better than "Union Boss." But I digress, on to the sub-heading of the e-mail.
"New rule would allow union bosses ambush workers into forced-dues-paying union ranks." Wow this sounds bad...I mean really bad. I had better read on.
The foundation of union busting bastards...
... filed formal comments today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opposing the Board’s proposed new guidelines which will help give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees.
In late June, the NLRB proposed new rules dictating how union organizing elections are conducted. The new rules dramatically shorten the time frame individual workers have to share truthful information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization.
Moreover, the rules require job providers to disclose the personal information of workers (including their home address, phone number, email address, and shift information), thus opening up dissenting or undecided employees to intimidation, harassment, or worse.
So rules that level the playing field are bad, because of course we want our corporate masters to always have the upper hand, after all it is okay to allow the overlords to harass, intimidate or worse to pro-union employees, up to and including firing union organizers. Heaven forbid we actually allow union representatives an opportunity to tell their side of the story.
Foundation of union busting bastards...
...staff attorneys argue in the formal comments that ambush union organizing elections encourage forced unionization of workers who might otherwise be opposed to unionization, and that the rule requiring job providers to hand over the employees’ personal information to union bosses is a violation of workers’ privacy.
Soooo, the business that does not want the union finds one or two stooges who are willing to vote against their best interests and have them oppose union organization. My understanding is that if you don't want to join a union you can vote no. If you still don't want to be in the union and enjoy higher wages, better benefits and a safer work environment then you can always find a business that is non-union and will pay you crappy wages, no health insurance and provides an unsafe workplace. Your choice. Of course it is really a moot point because if you live in a non-right to work state you still don't have to join the union—you can just pay an administrative fee to cover your share of the costs related to collective bargaining. I bet the union busting bastards never mention that little tidbit of information to the stooges who claim joining a union is a hardship.
Now obviously I am exaggerating just a wee bit in the previous paragraph. The majority of non-union employers do provide a safe workplace, and many provide decent wages and benefits. Do you think that the union-busting bastards will admit that they just might be exaggerating? Nope, not on your life.
Now the question is who are the union busting bastards? Well according to their website they were...
...established in 1968, as a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by abuses of compulsory unionism.
Right—human and civil rights abuses because you have to pay union dues. What a bunch of horse hooey! And just who is giving money to a group that is standing up to those horrible "union bosses"?
The identities of donors are not disclosed, but some of its funding has been traced to conservative foundations.
Huh, what do you know about that they won't disclose their donor list. I am willing to bet that most of their donations are not coming from Joe and Ann Votingagainsttheirbestinterests. My guess is that they are getting their money from anti-union forces...you know, these guys,
Koch Foundations:
David H. Koch Charitable Foundation
Charles G. Koch Foundation
Claude R. Lambe Foundation
Scaife Foundations:
Sarah Scaife Foundation
The Carthage Foundation
Allegheny Foundation
Big Oil:
Exxon Mobil
Wal-Mart:
Wal-Mart
I am willing to bet that the cases this organization takes to court are cases where they find some unwitting pawn to go along with their scheme because he or she does not want to pay union dues but yet wants to enjoy the benefits that union membership provides. I am also going to wager that this group of evil human beings, if they can be called human, were hoping to find a sympathetic blogger to put this press release out verbatim and with glowing reviews of how wondrous it is to have such a foundation working so hard for the poor downtrodden worker forced into union membership.
HA! I don't think so. My message to the union-busting bastards is this—I don't like you, people like you have no soul and only care about the rich. You dupe individuals with talk about human and civil rights abuses, you speak of individuality and right to choose when all you want to do is bring back the days of the robber barons, a time where there were no labor laws and no worker protections. Yeah, you are all about freedom of choice, when it benefits the corporate overlords you protect. If you were truly about freedom of choice you would work towards a level playing field instead of against it.
You sent your press release to the wrong guy. I never knew you existed until today, now I do and I will work tirelessly to expose your heinous lies. I would have more choice words for you arrogant bastards; however, my son reads what I write so I will end with you have no shame. The people who fund you already have most of the wealth in this country...and now they want what little I have. Ain't gonna happen.