SC Overturns Key Pro-Union NLRB Decision

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Thu Jun 7 18:34:21 PDT 2001


Ian Murray wrote:
>
> >>
> subject: SC Overturns Key Pro-Union NLRB Decision
>
>
>
> The 6th Circuit overturned the decision of the NLRB and the Supreme
> Court on May 29th by the usual 5-4 split affirmed the decision
> to bar unionization of registered nurses with even nominal
> oversight of other nurses.
>
> ==========
> While, yes this case does suck for union drives, RN's are sort of in
> the catbird seat over the next few decades simply by virtue of the
> fact that there is an extreme shortage of nurses acrsoss the US and
> there's no sign of things getting better.

A good deal of the damage the Supreme Court can do Unions comes in a context the unions helped create. It was an ill day for u.s. labor when the UAW refused to honor the picket lines of the Foremen when they went on strike back in the late '40s. This arbitrary split between workers and _workers_ (working supervisors) with the latter defined as "management" has to be overcome -- and overcome by direct action, not by pleading with presidents to appoint nice judges.

This is one of the reasons I get snarly about sneers at SUV drivers or other uncouth consumers: those are mostly workers being sneered at, and real working-class power depends on at least quite a few of them being brought into the self-conscious working class -- which won't be achieved by leftists or "real" workers sneering at them. To define them as middle class is a real boon to the ruling class in keeping workers divided.

The captains and lieutenants in the Normal IL fire department went to jail along with the rest of the union members for a month to win the right to be included in the union.

Carrol



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