I've mentioned before and still think it ironic that unions who protest at, say, anti-globalization demos, can be and are arrested (and jailed) by fellow union members (police unions, corrections officers unions).
Union members agitating to retain a prison reminds me of something: There have been debates in orgs like the IWW whether security guards should be allowed to join; the Pinkerton Agency is now a private security force and its members could form collective bargaining units and afaik the subordinates at Pinkerton meet all criteria for joining the IWW, despite the Pinkertons' awful history. I have personally known folks who've worked as security guards but who hated capitalism, etc.; they were just working as security guards 'til something better came along; they had no vested interest in security as a profession or anything like that -- a boring job to study college books while doing. However, in contemporary America, almost everyone by definition is doing what they're doing "'til something better comes along" (including romantic relationships) -- and this is itself a big obstacle to unionization faced by organizers. No one thinks they'll be at a certain job long enough to invest time in organizing, and besides, they will rise out of their class and be a boss someday themselves, so unionization seems silly. Unionizing is tantamount to throwing in the towel towards getting to the top of that pyramid, in other words. This is a huge barrier I don't think organizers know how to confront without sounding like a Captain Bring-Down: "Statistically, you'll probably never be more than a common wage earner, so, look, just ace facts and help form a union." No one likes to hear that.
-B.
B. wrote:
"[Check out the AFCSME logo on the "Save Our Prison" shirts at URL. -B.] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/us/24prison.html?ref=us"