The Union vs. Corporate Showdown Has Officially Begun

[xchrom]

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/07/11



The attack on the U.S. labor movement just sharpened with the Harris vs. Quinn Supreme Court decision, aimed at the heart of concentrated union power — public sector unions. When you add in the Obama-led assault on public school teachers unions and the Koch brother-funded “Right to Work” laws, the labor movement appears to be facing imminent ruin.

At the same time, however, a powerful counter-force has emerged: the union movement has won significant victories around the fight for $15 minimum wage in Seattle and Los Angeles, and is poised to win in San Francisco where the strongest measure yet is headed for the November ballot. These wins and prospective wins have sent shock waves through the country, showing what’s possible if unions and community groups take the initiative and focus on inspiring demands that resonate through the broader community.

The 2012 the Chicago teachers’ strike set an equally powerful example for unions, which has been studied by unionists across the country. Chicago teachers re-taught the labor movement the importance of the strike and the prerequisite internal democratic organization of union members. Once organized internally, members rallied community groups and the broader population over popular demands like stopping school closures.

These advances for unions in the face of intensifying corporate attacks are forcing labor relations to a crescendo. Organized labor has, at long last, realized that fighting back is their only salvation. The tension inherent in this dynamic is volatile, and will inevitably explode as corporations relentlessly attempt to boost profits at the expense of workers’ wages and benefits.

[Wounded Bear]

1. Hopefully...

the Internet can provide the exposure that the M$M will not provide in this struggle. I expect the same blocking of news that occurred in the 19th Century, where many incidents of National Guard troops being involved in very bad ways happened.

We have to rely on Underground methods of communication. (Yeah, pun intended .

[NBachers]

2. Here's my picket sign from a newspaper strike I participated in

[daleanime]

3. K&R....

[Viva_Daddy]

4. the Chamber of Commerce is nothing more than a Union of BOSSES...

who are dedicated to making sure the system is rigged in favor of the 1%. No wonder they disapprove of all worker unions. Rigging the system in your favor is so much easier than negotiating fairly.