[Peace-discuss] 30 Years Ago, The Middle Class Died / a reminder of how Reagan destroyed theunions

Sun Aug 7 12:44:25 CDT 2011

Dave,

If what you say regarding the rank and file membership of unions is correct 
and they did not accept the firing of PATCO Air Traffic Controllers, then I 
stand corrected.  However, I would then raise a question, which you have 
already sort of answered and I agree with, as to why the rank and file 
members of unions did not take action both against the Reagan Administration 
and US Government - such as a general nationwide wild cat strike - and 
against the Union leadership - by threatening to withhold dues or even quit 
the locals and nationals unless their locals took action against the 
nationals and the nationals took action against the governmental actions.

My point is that many rank and file may have grumbled and complained, they 
were unwilling to engage in any sort of concerted action for whatever reason 
unless it affected them directly and personally.  We - and they - can offer 
all kinds of justifications and legitimations for the inaction; but the 
facts are that there was little if no actin taken by union rank and file 
members or  members of the so-called working class.  This, I take, is an 
indication that the rank and file union members and members of the so-called 
working class, for all intents and purposes - have a vested interest in the 
capitalist system and  in supporting the corporate establishment; and all 
desire to become upwardly mobile middle class bourgeoisie (both in terms of 
income and cultural values and norms) and tend to deny all cultural values 
which defined working class culture as found in Europe or Canada.

This brings me to another point that I feel should be made regarding the 
fact that in the U.S. we tend to associate classes almost exclusively with 
income and wealth while ignoring such non-economic factors such as class 
cultures and ideologies, class value and norms, class identity and pride, 
etc.  When one takes these non-economic factors into account, one has to 
question if there really is a "working class" in the U.S.  Even if one 
focuses on the economic factors exclusively, one still has to raise the same 
question given that many members of the so-called "working class" earn more 
and are wealthier than many members of the so-called "middle classes" (e.g., 
small business owners, certain professionals - musicians, fine and 
performing artists,and barbers - and white collar workers) as well as 
service workers in the restaurant, housekeeping, daycare, nursing home, 
gardening and landscaping, and other industries which also make up the 
proletariat.

-----Original Message----- 
From: David Johnson
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 10:03 AM
To: Peace-discuss List ; Laurie Solomon
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] 30 Years Ago,The Middle Class Died / a reminder 
of how Reagan destroyed theunions

Laurie,

The rank and file Union membership did NOT accept the firing of the PATCO
Air Traffic Contollers.
The Union so called " leadership " DID, at the urging of Lane Kirkland (
National Pres. of AFL-CIO ), who was one of many Union leaders at the time
who were actually right-wing conservatives with ties to the U.S.
Intelligence community.

I remember vividly when this happened, even in the more conservative
Building Trades Unions, how almost all of the various members of the various
Trades on the jobsites were ; angry, worried that the event would set a
prescedent ( which it did ), and thought that the leadership of the entire
Labor movement should call a General Strike for 1-week.

The problem then is still the same problem now, the Union leadership of MOST
( not all, in particular the U.E. ) Unions are ; cowardly. corrupt,
compromised, and collaborationists with corporate america and the DLC (
leadership of the democratic party ), where there is a revolving door
phenomena where many in Union " leadership " take jobs related to contacts
within the DLC.

Also, the national Unions, in particular the national AFL-CIO, have made it
virtually if not outright impossible for any change in leadership from
below, from candidates and slates of candidates from the rank and file to
remove them.
I know this ALL too well !

They use OUR dues money to buy the best corporate attorneys money can buy,
and have the political connections to assure that when the corporate lawyers
can't keep us down, then the Judiciary and politicians will.
Then they also collude with the employers to have the rank and file
challengers fired from their places of employment.

This is a major part of why things are so screwed-up in this country.
In most societies where change for the better has occured, it has been led
by the Labor movement.
Not so here, where they are bought off and at times ( which is the case with
Richard Trumka and Makintee of AFSCME ) are compromised ( blackmailed with
something they have on them ).
Or in the case of ex-Teamster president Ron Carey, who led the successful
national UPS strike during the late 1990's and then began a protest campaign
at the U.S. Mexican border against NAFTA, was framed-up on bogus charges and
forced from office by the U.S. Justice Dept..

I do not dispute the mind-set that you describe that SOME Union members
have, but this mind set is SIGNIFICANTLY more common in the general public
than amongst Union members as a group.

My only criticism of most rank and file Union members is that they are
unwilling to outright defy their leadership ( like in the PATCO firings )
and take action themselves.
But again Laurie, this is the common obedient mind-set of MOST Americans in
this day and age, we went for the most part, from being a country of outlaws
and revolutionaries to a nation of sheep.
I am afraid to think what hardships it will take to finally make MOST
Americans and in particular Union members to finally take action in defiance
of their so called " leadership ", that should have been done years ago,
like with PATCO in 1981.

David Johnson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laurie Solomon" <ls1000 at live.com>
To: "peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 2:04 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] 30 Years Ago,The Middle Class Died / a reminder of
how Reagan destroyed theunions

>
> And Karen, ironically, the other unions, union membership, the white color
> middle classes, and the general population  not only accepted it without 
> any
> resistance or consequences for the officials who supported said move but
> have continued to accept and legitimize it.  Now that the vultures are
> coming home to roost, many of these same people and organizations are 
> crying
> bloody murder and cannot understand why they are being regarded as the
> little boys who cried "wolf" one too many times and demand support for 
> their
> vested interests when they failed to offer support to others when they had
> needed it.
>
> Unfortunately, it was not Reagan or the Republicans or the corporate
> establishment alone that killed unions but the unions, their membership, 
> and
> those who identified as being working class but were really middle class
> bourgeoisie in mind, aspirations, and values disguised as being working
> class who not only lent a big helping hand but often supported such 
> actions
> by the establishment under the assumption that it was happening to someone
> else and would never happen to them because the Horatio Alger myth was a
> reality and upward mobility for them was just around the corner.
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Karen Medina
> Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:12 PM
> To: Peace-discuss List
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] 30 Years Ago, The Middle Class Died / a reminder 
> of
> how Reagan destroyed the unions
>
> "On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired every member of the
> air traffic controllers union (PATCO) who'd defied his order to return
> to work and declared their union illegal. They had been on strike for
> just two days.
>
> [...]
> "The AFL-CIO.
>
> "The biggest organization of unions in America told its members to
> cross the picket lines of the air traffic controllers and go to work.
> And that's just what these union members did. Union pilots, flight
> attendants, delivery truck drivers, baggage handlers -- they all
> crossed the line and helped to break the strike."
>
> Quotes are from:
> 30 Years Ago Today: The Middle Class Died
> Saturday 6 August 2011; Truthout
> by: Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com | Op-Ed
> http://www.truth-out.org/30-years-ago-today-middle-class-died/1312641859
> _______________________________________________
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