A UNION VIEW OF THE = LAST CENTURY

With all the talk of = the new=20 millennium, and all the lists of the greatest whatever of the last = century, the=20 media has been, as usual, completely silent about the progress of unions = in this=20 century. As a person who believes in the union movement, I thought it = necessary=20 that our members realize what has happened in the 20^th = century, from=20 a union point of view.

Recently, we had a = great orator=20 speak to some of our union members, at our human relations seminar. He = was the=20 Congressman from the 7^th district of Illinois, Danny Davis. = We=20 reprinted his speech in the last Local Line. One of the = things he=20 said was that, =93Many young people are growing up without recognizing = that had it=20 not been for organized labor, many of us who experience what we call = =91middle=20 class=92 living, would basically be an involuntary servant or living = under a=20 system of semi-peonage.=94 There is much to be learned from history; = those who=20 fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat = them.

If you go back over = the past=20 thousand years, which I am not going to do, you see a long history of = the world.=20 This history shows that the world has almost always been made up of the = very=20 rich and the starving poor, of nobleman and serf, of master and slave of = the=20 haves and the have-nots, of the millionaire and homeless, etc. In the = history of=20 the world, up until the beginning of this century, there has never been = a middle=20 class. There had always been only a very few ruling over the large = masses of=20 people, and these very few controlled the money, the government and the=20 military. The history of the world up until this century began, is a sad = story=20 of human misery, suffering and poverty.

The Way It=20 Was

=20 At the beginning of this century, life for most people was = markedly=20 different from the way it is now. If you were not born rich, you faced = the=20 following life:

1. = You were working from the age of six. There were no = child labor=20 laws. There was no free public education.

2. = You worked 18 hours a day. The eight hour workday was = unheard=20 of, and only a dream of the first few unions that were being formed. =

3. = You have no days off. Some of the first unions in = factories=20 asked for Sunday to be a day of rest, for church and family. The bosses = would=20 put up signs that said, =93If you don=92t come to work Sunday, don=92t = come Monday.=94=20 In other words, if you took off work on Sunday, you were fired.

4. = There was no overtime. There was no limit to hours = worked in a=20 week.

5. = There was no minimum wage law.

6. = In many jobs, you weren=92t even paid United States = money; you=20 were paid in company script. You could only use this company money in = company=20 stores, where the prices were very high. You ended up owing the company = money,=20 after buying food and clothing for your family. Remember the words of = the song,=20 =93I owe my soul to the company store=94.

7. = Unions were only in their infancy. Unions were called a = Communist plot to overthrow the government. Unions were called a = =93conspiracy=94 to=20 overthrow the government; union members were called traitors to their = country.=20 The company owners had the government bring out the military and the = national=20 guard to shoot at strikers and demonstrators.

8. = Since there were no unions, there was no recourse if = you were=20 fired. If the boss didn=92t like you, you were fired, and that was it. = There was=20 no dignity on the job. You had to endure whatever the boss gave out.

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=93Many young people are growing up without = recognizing that=20 bad it not been for organized labor, many of us who experience what we = call=20 =91middle-class=92 living, would basically be an involuntary servant or = living under=20 a system of semi-peonage=94.

---Danny Davis

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9. = If you were out of a job, there was no unemployment = insurance.=20

10. There was = no lay-off=20 protection.

11. There was = no social=20 security. There was no insurance for an on-the-job injury.

12. There were = no laws=20 about unsafe workplaces or unsafe jobs. Jobs were highly unsafe; workers = breathed coal dust, lost fingers and hands, inhaled chemical fumes, = etc.

The=20 Earth-Shattering Change

=20 But then look at what happened in this century. Look at the = difference=20 there is now. And it happened because the people came together to form = unions.=20 It was not easy. There was much suffering and bloodshed, strikes, = sit-ins,=20 marches and protests, and a lot of sweat and hard work. Many lives were = lost,=20 but by standing together, and with strong-willed determinations, unions=20 eventually were formed. It was brought about when the people realized = that there=20 were two kinds of power in the world =96 money power and PEOPLE POWER, = and when=20 the people came TOGETHER, they had the power to take what was theirs, = from the=20 very rich, greedy and ruthless.

=20 Standing together, the people brought about changes in the social = structure that had existed since the beginning of the world. There came = about a=20 =93middle class=94 of people who, though not fabulously wealthy, were = not helplessly=20 poor or starving. The whole world was changed.

=20 Slowly, unions were accepted by the public in the United States. = People=20 didn=92t buy the corporation arguments that union members were = communists or=20 traitors. They saw unions as a necessary counter-balancing force against = the=20 rich and the powerful. Eventually, in 1935, the Wagner Act was passed. = It has=20 since become known as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This law = states=20 that people have the right to join unions, and to form unions, and = cannot be=20 disciplined for exercising their grievance rights.

=20 When President Roosevelt signed this law, the rich people = objected. They=20 protested to the Supreme Court that the NLRA was unconstitutional, = because=20 =93everyone knew=94 that unions were a communist conspiracy by traitors = to overthrow=20 the U.S. government. The Supreme Court heard the case, and voted on it. = The vote=20 was 5 to 4, the narrowest of margins, that the NLRA was constitutional. = The=20 majority opinion went on to say that unions were in fact good for the = country,=20 because they provided a civil way to resolve the inevitable workplace = disputes=20 that arise. The use of the grievance procedure, and a hearing in = impartial=20 binding arbitration, is far preferable to violence in the workplace. =

=20 After the NLRA was passed in 1935, the union movement was largely = responsible for many other laws that soon came about. These are laws = that we now=20 seem to take for granted; important laws that we don=92t often realize = the=20 importance of.

=20 In the next five years after 1935, laws were passed that provided = for=20 social security, unemployment insurance, free public education, low-cost = public=20 housing, a prohibition of child labor, overtime (time and one-half) pay = after 40=20 hours, etc. None of this came easily. For example, in 1938, a minimum = wage law=20 was proposed in Congress. The rich and the corporations argued that the = hourly=20 amount that was proposed would cause them all to go broke. The law = passed=20 anyway. The corporations did not go broke. The first minimum wage was 25 = cents=20 per hour.

=20 Eventually, other progressive laws were passed with the full = support of=20 the union movement, such as the Civil Rights Act, the American With = Disabilities=20 Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. All of these laws provided = great=20 benefits to the average working person who was not born rich. Other = countries in=20 Western Europe have even more beneficial national laws, such as = guaranteed paid=20 maternity and paternity leave, guaranteed paid vacations in every job, = and=20 national health insurance.

=20 John F. Kennedy put it this way: =93The American Labor Movement = has=20 consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, = and has=20 been, good for all America.=94 Lyndon Johnson said, =93The AFL-CIO has = done more=20 good for more people than any other group in America in its legislative = efforts=20 . . .=94

How The Union=20 Helped the Postal Worker

Postal workers were = not=20 represented by a union until the strike of 1970.

1. = Before we had unions, postal workers (level 5) made a = starting=20 salary of $2.76. Now level 5 starts at $13.72.

2. = Probation was one year long. Now it is 90 days.

3. = There was no overtime pay. The Fair Labor Standard Act, = passed=20 in 1938, made it a national law that in any job, an employee would be = paid at=20 the time and one-half rate for all hours worked over 40 in a week. = However, the=20 law said this would apply to all jobs =93except postal and federal = employees=94.=20 Postal workers did not get paid such overtime until we had a union and=20 negotiated a contract. Now we have overtime and double-time.

4. = There was no Sunday premium pay. Now we are paid 25% = extra for=20 Sunday hours.

5. = There were no cost-of-living pay raises. Since we=92re = had a=20 union, we=92ve had two COLA raises every year.

6. = Pay increases came only if Congress passed a law, and = it did=20 not happen often. Since we=92ve had a union, we=92ve had raises every = year.

7. = Before we had a union, it took 21 years to get to the = top step.=20 Now, for level 5, it takes less than 10 =BD years.

8. = Without a union, there were no bid jobs. Friends of = supervisors=20 worked whenever and wherever they wanted. With the union, preferred jobs = are=20 granted by seniority.

9. = There used to be only seven holidays and now there are = ten.

10. There were = no=20 guaranteed work hours. Even if you were full-time, you could be called = into=20 work, and sent home when you got there if mail volume was low. Now, = full-time=20 employees are guaranteed eight hours per day, and 40 hours pay per = week.

11. There was = no layoff=20 protection. With the union, employees with six years seniority have a = guaranteed=20 no layoff for life.

12. There was = no binding=20 grievance procedure. Employees could be disciplined or fired at = management=92s=20 whim. Now we have a grievance procedure with binding impartial = arbitration,=20 where any disciplinary action can be overturned.

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=93The American Labor Movement has consistently = demonstrated=20 its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all=20 America.=94

&nbs= p; = ; = &= nbsp; &n= bsp; &nb= sp; &nbs= p; = ; =20 ---John F. Kennedy

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13. Before we = had a=20 union, any benefits we had could be changed, reduced, or taken away by=20 management, whenever they wanted. Now, we have a legally binding = contract,=20 negotiated by our union, where our rights cannot be legally taken away = or=20 reduced.

14. Before we = had a=20 union, we had no real rights in the workplace. With a union, we have = dignity on=20 the jobs.

= As you can=20 see, the union has made a real difference to postal workers on the job. = When=20 this century began, postal workers had none of these rights.

Where Are We Going?

=20 In the latter half of the 20^th century, the rich and = the=20 corporations mounted an aggressive attack on unions. Through years of = subtle=20 brainwashing, by rewriting school textbooks (eliminating labor history), = by=20 portraying union organizers in movies and TV as dishonest thugs, and by=20 unrelenting attacks in the newspapers, the rich and powerful have = successfully=20 convinced a great number of people that unions are evil and = unnecessary.

=20 They have moved good paying union jobs from this country, to = non-union=20 semi-slave labor areas in other countries, while continuing to sell the = product=20 at the same or higher cost. They have made every attempt to change laws = to take=20 away union rights. They have successfully reduced the number of jobs = represented=20 by unions, from a high of 36% in 1954, to the present 16%.

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=93The AFL-CIO = has done more=20 good for more people than any other group in America in its legislative=20 efforts.=94

---Lyndon Johnson

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Many union members = have=20 forgotten, or have not learned, or no longer realize, how life was for = the=20 average working person before there were no unions. Many take for = granted the=20 benefits that our ancestors gave their lives for.

=20 In the United States today, only 50% of us vote in presidential=20 elections, and only 30% in off-year elections. Many of us who do vote do = so for=20 the wrong reasons, such as which candidate is prettier, or wittier, or = who=20 stands what way on a relatively unimportant single issue, or some of us = vote=20 based on the candidate=92s color, sex, national origin, or what part of = the=20 country she/he comes from.

=20 Some of us choose not to belong to our union. Some give reasons = for=20 withdrawing from their union such as, =93My steward did not speak to me = today=94, or=20 =93One of the union officers does not smile enough=94, or =93one time = the union=20 mishandled my grievance.=94

=20 We need to wake up and get serious. Our lives and our livelihoods = are at=20 stake here. The rich and powerful are actively trying to take away our = rights.=20 We should all belong to our union. To quote Franklin Roosevelt, =93If I = were a=20 worker in a factory, the first thing I would do would be to join a = union.=94 Or as=20 I like to put it, =93Any postal worker who is not a union member is a = damn=20 fool.=94

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=20 =93If I were a worker in a factory, the first thing I would do = would be to=20 join a union.=94

&n= bsp; &nb= sp;=20 &n= bsp; &nb= sp; &nbs= p; = ; = &= nbsp; ---Franklin=20 Roosevelt

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=20 The union is not just about who your current steward is, or who = your=20 current local officers are. It is much, much more than that. When you = are a=20 union member, you are part of a great movement that has changed the = world. The=20 union is your only chance to improve the world, and to bring economic = justice to=20 your fellow humans. Union membership must not be taken for granted, or = tossed=20 away in a fit of temper. We simply must stick together, or we are all = doomed;=20 not only ourselves, but our children and our grandchildren.

=20 In this century, the average working person, who was not born = rich, has=20 made greater progress in his/her quality of life, than in all the = previous=20 centuries combined.

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=20 =93Any postal worker who is not a union member is a damn=20 fool.=94

&n= bsp; &nb= sp; &nbs= p; = ; = &= nbsp; &n= bsp; &nb= sp; &nbs= p; =20 ---Stanley Slupik

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Don=92t just throw it all away. If you are an = American=20 citizen, vote, and vote intelligently. If there is a union in your = workplace, be=20 an active member. Get involved in the great struggle for human=20 rights.