I have never worked in a union shop. I have never had the need to work in a union shop.That is until I went to work for Walmart. I am not going to sit here and bash Walmart.It was a horrible working experience and for the moment that is all I will say about it. What I will say, is that it taught me how lucky I had been, in my other work stops, along the way.And how grateful I am,the the union was born.
I am from a fishing town ,and I started working at a young age.There were a ton of fish plants and almost all of them were non-union.The biggest places in town were union.By these guys being union it kept the rest of the places honest.We all got fair wages and went by the union rules.As a rule most places treated the help with dignity and fairness.I now realize, if there was no union in town ,things would have been different .
When I first went to Walmart,that was when I realized ,just how important the union was and is. Unfair labor practices are their middle name ! And union busting is something they excel at.They even showed us a film during orientation that was against the union. I stayed with them for a miserable two and 1/2 years .
In 2006 I moved to NC . It was here, that I have really seen, how not having a union around, is hell for the workers .I have seen supervisors fire employees for not liking them ,or not working fast enough,with out any previous warnings. I have seen the color of a persons skin ,decide what job they get . Or the gender of a person .I have seen supervisors yell at the top of their lungs at the help ,with out one shred of dignity for the person . And most of all ,I have seen an unlivable wage .
I am grateful ,for having grown up with the union in my town ,although I didn't have that gratefulness ,then .With out the union around ,I have seen the ugliness.
On this labor day weekend ,I am giving thanks for those hero's, who put their lives on the line and some actually died, so we can have a fair, safe workplace . Those are among, the true hero's and patriots of this country..
Well written. I have been self-employed all my life but can understand your description of the working conditions without a union in the area.
ReplyDeleteWe never shop at Wal-Mart or the big box stores, shoddy Asian merchandise, worker exploitation and predatory practices against Main St. being 3 of the many reasons we avoid such places.
Happy Labor Day! - Douglas