It's strange how the reflections of that shimmered against my consciousness.
I grew up in a place where unions were EVERYTHING (they had taken control of the government; heck, they WERE the government!) and when I contrast it to the world around me today I wonder whether balance could possibly ever be struck between "screw the ones who get ahead" and "screw everyone else, always". Surely humankind can figure out a better system!
i loved this, too bad we didn't have an american video like this to show, but the voices and the times are about the same. if it weren't for the unions coming in way back when my immigrant granfather and my other family worked the steel mill,my father, the construction jobs, my life wouldn't be near what it is this day and i know my daughter would never have been able to afford the education she did.
(not to mention the safEty rules and regs that the unions fought for)
thanks for posting this, bg. we need as many reminders as possible about what unions have done for us all (oh, like the 8-hr. day, medical benefits, stuff like that!).
Because our father, who worked in a paper mill, was in a union, we had medical coverage before Canada had universal access to health care insurance. Because as a social worker, I am in a union, I have extended medical/health care benefits, and dental coverage. The employer pays premiums, and so do I. Then there's all that other stuff...like job seniority, paid vacations, regulated hours in the day before getting paid overtime, no harrassment on the job. I think most of us know that unions would not be necessary if there were nothing for which we had to fight, or our forebearers did. We negotiate. It was just a few months ago that my union, the largest in the province of British Columbia, voted 96% in favour of a strike. We didn't have to strike and for the next few years, are not on the edge of losing job security.
It's strange how the reflections of that shimmered against my consciousness.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a place where unions were EVERYTHING (they had taken control of the government; heck, they WERE the government!) and when I contrast it to the world around me today I wonder whether balance could possibly ever be struck between "screw the ones who get ahead" and "screw everyone else, always". Surely humankind can figure out a better system!
i loved this, too bad we didn't have an american video like this to show, but the voices and the times are about the same. if it weren't for the unions coming in way back when my immigrant granfather and my other family worked the steel mill,my father, the construction jobs, my life wouldn't be near what it is this day and i know my daughter would never have been able to afford the education she did.
ReplyDelete(not to mention the safEty rules and regs that the unions fought for)
My new job is unionized (first job I've ever worked that had a union) and let me tell you that I signed up and paid my dues as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteBut being that this is still the South, the union is still very weak. I'm going to get more involved, of course, being that I'm me.
We really should celebrate this day the way the rest of the world does: on 1 May. We don't, however, because of the fear of godless Communism.
*rolls eyes*
thanks for posting this, bg. we need as many reminders as possible about what unions have done for us all (oh, like the 8-hr. day, medical benefits, stuff like that!).
ReplyDeleteBecause our father, who worked in a paper mill, was in a union, we had medical coverage before Canada had universal access to health care insurance. Because as a social worker, I am in a union, I have extended medical/health care benefits, and dental coverage. The employer pays premiums, and so do I. Then there's all that other stuff...like job seniority, paid vacations, regulated hours in the day before getting paid overtime, no harrassment on the job. I think most of us know that unions would not be necessary if there were nothing for which we had to fight, or our forebearers did. We negotiate. It was just a few months ago that my union, the largest in the province of British Columbia, voted 96% in favour of a strike. We didn't have to strike and for the next few years, are not on the edge of losing job security.
ReplyDeleteBilly Bragg is the bomb. And this is a great song, and a great video.
ReplyDeleteFrom a proud union member, and building rep and grievance committee heckraiser, Happy Labor Day to all you comrades.