On Jan 30, 2007, at 4:32 PM, Mark Rickling wrote:
> See also:
>
> Features > January 5, 2007
> Does Andy Stern Talk His Walk?
> High-profile victories by SEIU often run counter to its president's
> rhetoric about the 'power of persuasion'
> By David Moberg
>
> http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2974/
> does_andy_stern_talk_his_walk/
Where we read:
> But isn’t his call for partnerships between unions and companies at
> odds with this call for conflict—and also out of touch with the
> reality of what corporations are doing? “I think it’s in touch with
> what workers want from a union,” he says. “When we’re polling them
> or talking to them, what workers constantly say is what they want
> the union to do is solve problems, not create them, at the
> workplace. Our workers, particularly in child care, home care and
> health care, are very focused on trying to make a contribution in
> terms of their patients’ lives and quality of care. You have to
> start with ‘where are workers?’ not ‘where are employers?’ ”
>
> Having initially argued for conflict, he continues to reject that
> strategy. “I don’t think our model of unionism, when we start with
> the presumption that the employer is the problem, resonates very
> well with workers,” he says. “Most people don’t hate their
> employer. They don’t feel they have a voice sometimes. They don’t
> feel they’re compensated appropriately. But it doesn’t mean they
> want to have class conflict with their employer.”
This is just the thing that makes me want to cry or scream about American politics. The workers no doubt do think this way. They want to everyone be nice, to get along. But their employers want to fuck them over, and the workers either can't or won't see this. So starting with where the workers are may sound nice, but it's totally fucking fucked, because the workers are in the wrong place, and that's a good chunk of the problem. You may not want to start where the employers are, but they're the ones with the power. The workers are the ones with illusions.
Doug