On Feb 5, 2009, at 2:43 PM, James Straub wrote:
> I am stunned and horrified at the shit I see going down in the labor
> movement right now. Words fail me. It's insanity on a historic
> scale. We are literally going to not win efca because the two most
> dynamic unions in labor self-destructed at the worst imagineable
> moment. I literally can not believe the shit I'm seeing. And all
> indications are that this is the beginning of how it will be for
> several years to come at least. I have not previously in my life
> felt the way I feel seeing where this is headed from the semi-
> inside. God help us, who doesn't exist. I'm sure much will be
> debated on this listserve about the particular issues and conflicts
> involved as it emerges and unravels over the next year, but taken as
> a whole, I am simply stunned and horrified.
Yup. It's very bad news.
But they've self-destructed over some real issues. Centralized control vs. rank and file democracy. Renouncing the strike as antique vs. seeing it as the ultimate source of labor's (theoretical) power. Cutting backroom deals that workers barely know about vs. organizing openly. Seeing CEOs as your constituency vs. the working class.
Am I wrong?
Doug