Some thoughts after viewing the Olympics while watching the old apple tree die…
I have been watching the Winter Olympics off and on. I tend to view it on CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. You get a different perspective from a country that has a strong tradition of winter activities. It’s a change from the “USA, USA, USA” jingoism we’re accustomed to and exchange it for a gander through another nation’s patriotic eyes.
CBC is “all in” for the games. They dedicate all but 3 hours of their schedule to it. (They have to squeeze in shows like “Coronation Street” in there some place.) Additionally, the events are aired at different times than NBC, so there are alternate channels to flip to during commercials.
There was one CBC commercial that just caught my eye while flipping...that was an ad promoting a union, I saw it twice, but I didn’t catch which organization it was promoting. I looked in vain to locate it on You Tube or some other video source, but I give up after an inordinate amount of searching.
But it got me thinking: When was the last time I saw an ad promoting a union on TV in the US? I can’t think of one for a very long time. Probably because of this:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said just 10.7 percent of American workers were members of labor unions in 2016, down from 11.1 percent the previous year, and down from 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year the bureau collected union statistics. The number of union workers dropped almost every year during the Obama administration.
It’s a long slow slide. I am fortunate to live in an area that is populated by union members from varied trades and professions, bucking an on-going decline nationwide.
I’m not really the person to write about this subject; I’ve never been in a place to belong to a union.
I am, however, the beneficiary of unions. My parents were union members, as is my sister. Even my son was a member of the UFCW before he went into an IT position with the grocery store chain he’s worked for since high school. Though my dad complained that the teacher’s union was weak during the period he taught, he was supportive, and would be glad that it’s stronger now.
We in the Democratic Party also are benefited to have an ally in the labor movement. Their financial support and their facilities help make our efforts more effective. Our membership is also bolstered with their brothers and sisters, who bring organizing skills along with their passion of equity for the working class.
…Just a few thoughts. It would be great to see a union revival. Maybe some day we’ll see something like this again…I always liked this beautiful promotion.
So as the crew takes out some aging trees in our back yard, I ask:
Are you now a union member? Have you belonged to a union in the past?
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