Labor Day?

Alicublog takes us through the hate that is being spewed out by the current crop of those who can be hired in this day and age to (so far only metaphorically) kill the other half of the working class. Not to suggest that those who write that crap are working class, but they would certainly not be considered part of the ruling class, at least not by the real ruling class. Rather, they are considered by the ruling class their lackeys. At any rate these are the people Jay Gould referred to when he made his rather nasty, but I suspect accurate comment.

So we start the day, called Labor, with a little remembrance of how bad things are right now (and were except for a few decades recently passed) and how both the political parties have joined together to screw the working man and woman, but by god we will see that you all get a three day weekend to drink beer and cook out. On the other hand, it does certainly follow the original concept of labor day as conceived by Grover Cleveland, another great progressive democratic politician.

Oh yes, please forget that other labor day that is celebrated by most of the rest of the world, on May 1, as a commemoration of a little something that happened in Chicago back in 1886 right around the time of our previously mentioned heroic democratic president's term in office:

So maybe it's a good idea to remember that in almost all the rest of the world that is what labor day is all about: the killing of union demonstrators who were asking for an eight hour day, by police thugs. Now they were good old American police thugs who were killing foreigners so we should be proud I guess about how far we've come, right?

In the mean time we go from Triangle to the most recent mine disaster in a non union coal mine in West Virginia.

Have a happy holiday, and don't hold your breath for card check, the unions worked and voted for the guy, and his co-president still says; "Fuck the UAW." Welcome to post class America we only have two classes here the very wealthy and those of us who are just too lazy. And if you are reading this (unless you are a computer owned by the NSA) you are definately not one of the very wealthy.

On the other hand I guess we could celebrate the birthday of Jane Addams something good out of Chicago.

Hmmmmmmmmm

Well perhaps I was a little too hasty yesterday. I guess everything is looking bad. I wonder how FDR would have handled it if he'd been elected just weeks after the crash. Of course, the decline has been going on for well over a year and no one seemed to notice.

Well I'm off to see the tax man it is I hope I make it back.

Would You Like Some Nice Apples With That Soup?

So the unemployment figures are out and one measure is 7.6%, but an other measure, also in the figures just released is 13.9% it's called the U6 and it measures the whole picture as it were. More accurately I would argue. That is part time workers who want to be full time and others. Read it and weep.

Malicious or Just Plain Mean and Dumb You Choose

So Bush is offering $17.5 billion to GM and Chrysler on the conditions that the manufacturers and the UAW agree to certain things. I'm not sure yet about the give backs he's demanding from the workers, retirees and laid off workers are something they should be agreeing to at this point, but I really don't know. But it does look like more of the same union busting tactics that were coming from the Senate.

I was wondering if this delay was a thought out thing or it was something that occurred because they (the right) are simply incompetent.

When I was involved in the union at Antioch, I was ranting about how the administration was cleverly acting intransigent to force the union out on strike. A professor said: "Perhaps, but do not assume premeditated maliciousness, when simple incompetent bullheadedness might be the answer."

On the other hand the Wall Street types get to keep their money and income. You know if Obama had pushed hard for a better plan there is the possibility that something better could have come from all this. Of course he didn't.

Union

So it looks like the right is really gearing up to oppose sign off cards for union membership. I've been tangentially involved in some organizing and I can tell you that once the employer gets word about the organizing activities they generally go all out to delay a vote and to fight against the union.

Essentially they use threats (both against individuals and of being forced to close the plant) and selective firings (try to prove it was because you were in favor of a union). They delay and delay and in the end through a distortion of anything resembling democracy they are often (usually?) able to prevent a union from being formed.

It is interesting that the people who are most squealing about how the card sing offs are not democratic were those who most favored Bush v. Gore. Just sayin'. Nothin' there of course and I'm just being unreasonable you know. Don't cha',

Wow, Just Wow

Well it looks like it is OK for the banks to give their employees "retention" bonuses for no particular reason other than they looted the U. S. Treasury and they can.

At the same time it is time attack real working people because they do not want to give away some of the money they actually need to live. The failure of the auto bailout is the fault of the U.A.W. Of course that would be the point of view of our rulers, now wouldn't it?

Oh yes, the $73.00 an hour rate is a lie.

Autos and the UAW

Boy things sure look grim for, oh a couple of million workers who will in all probability lose their jobs, plus many more who will probably have their hours and wages cut back.

I was at lunch today watching the 21st Century version of fiddling while Rome burns. On the T.V.s around us the "news" stations were continuously telling us about some bones of a small child found somewhere. With several experts explaining just what stuff meant. Then it was interspersed with reports on Gov. Rod Blagojevich (sp?) -- will he resign? Will he be forced to resign?

At the same time there is nothing at all on the bailout (or lack thereof). The reports that some of the Repubs are going to vote against it to try to destroy the UAW. Not only that but they are being pretty explicit about it. Yet these thugs could not be in power if the average job working class dude didn't vote for them. The T.V.s wouldn't be showing that kind of crap if the average person wasn't willing to watch it.

UPDATE:

Well yeah. This kind of thing doesn't leave the ugly images that explicit strike breaking did in the past. But here and now the shills for the real fascists destroy the ability of a union to get concessions for its workers and put them under the control of some czar and you destroy the union and put a pretty major crimp in any organizing for the future.

Auto Stuff

This is incredibly scary and bad news if it is true. First, a lasting gift of Bush, the destruction of the largest and most progressive union currently existing. Second, giving a czar complete authority to recreate the auto industry as a Bush insider thinks is best.

Ever since Nixon whenever there has been a problem we have seen fit to appoint a czar to deal with the problem. This is just such a good idea it worked so well in Russia for the Romanovs and has worked so well with the original American czar: the drug czar. That little problem has certainly gone away now hasn't it. What is it about the desire to create an administrator with total power in a country that is supposedly based upon the ideal of democracy? (Okay, even I am getting tired of pointing out the latter Roman Republic.)

You know if Obama said that this isn't what he wants and he just wants a two month hiatus for the industry until he and his people can make the major changes necessary after January 20, I suspect that is what would happen. Does it strike no one else that it is damn strange that the current lame duck and a lame duck congress are being allowed to make permanent structural changes to our economy only about two months before a so called new broom comes in and sweeps clean?

Or is it just the parting gift from Bush that he destroy this union.

Unemployment

Well unemployment may be down. Is it possible that we've fired so many people that there aren't that many left to be fired?