[lbo-talk] a teacher in trouble and the union

Michael Hoover hooverm at scc-fl.edu
Sat Mar 4 09:32:24 PST 2006



>>> dhenwood at panix.com 03/04/06 11:38 AM >>>
Michael Hoover wrote:
>my own experience tells me that 'lefty' anti-union attitudes are often held
>by folks who have little actual experience - warts and all - with unions
>themselves...

I don't have much, aside from the dismal National Writers Union, but Fitch has plenty. I could turn this around and say that lots of left intellectuals and academics have a romantic idea of unions, and are unacquainted with the warts. Doug <<<<<>>>>>

well, i said that attitudes i described are *often* held by people with little personal experience, fitch may be *exception* to my point, i've read some of his stuff over the years, but will admit to not knowing his work very well, so i can't really say whether his attitude is akin to some recent comments on this list...

you said that you could turn things around in referring to 'romantic view' that 'lots' of left intellectuals/academics hold about unions, labor-reform types i've known are unlikely to fit into 'left intellectual and academic' categories/circles, and i can't recall any academics i've known who do labor studies having starry-eyed view of unions, of course, i don't know many left intellectuals/academics, so you may well have advantage with respect to knowing prevailing attitudes among them re. unions...

in any event, based on my personal experience, i'll stick with point i made in previous post that absence of union background contributes to left 'anti-union' views of type expressed on this list... mh (whose teaching job sometimes seems quite remote from anything resembling academic and/or intellectual)



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