On 2013-08-12, at 2:13 PM, Chuck Grimes wrote:
> Yeah, well the unions have to figure out an answer to the question.
>
> Why should I support a union where the members make twice what I
> take home? I don't ask these kinds of question, but that is nearly a universal sentiment--and a valid one.
It's a widespread sentiment, but I don't know that I would describe it as "valid". There's an old expression: There are those who are blind and want to see, and those who are blind and want others to be blind. In the current depressed economic and political state of the working class in the US and other developed capitalist countries, the latter sentiment prevails among large numbers of alienated and resentful workers, especially among whites. It's understandable perhaps, but not justifiable.
> So, unions will get a lot more support
> even solidarity if they can put up a good answer. The answer has to be some form of We Fight For You, and prove it in action so it can be
> pointed out when somebody asks the same question again and again.
Easier said than done. What actions would you concretely advise the SEIU and ATU to be taking beyond what they're doing in the current situation? How would you revise the content of this flyer, for example, declaring that "an injury to one is an injury to all" and rallying "members of the community and...fellow union brothers and sisters to speak out against the attack on all working class people!" There may well be more creative responses which the union leaders are overlooking or reluctant to undertake, but you have to be intimately connected to these struggles and have a good understanding of the relationship of forces to make an intelligent assessment of what may or may not be possible.
http://b.3cdn.net/seiumaster/e18a7f4eb3fdd0b818_n6m6bhpio.pdf