Look what happened when they kicked the “reds” out of the unions…

A suggestion updated

http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010083530/america-strong-when-our-unions-are-strong#comment-13051

By Alan Maki | August 30, 2010 - 4:52pm GMT
Perhaps you should ask what happened in the years 1945 to 1948 if you want real answers to your questions... because, as Utah Philips always pointed out, this in when they "kicked the 'reds' out of the unions."
In fact, many unions have bargained away the 8 hour day. You conveniently use 40 hour week but it was the 8 hour day/40 hour week which was fought for; not ten hour days/40 hour weeks or 12 hour days/4 day weeks.
In addition, organized labor has never pushed for the kind of minimum wage legislation really required to end poverty based upon all cost of living factors... choosing instead to negotiate a poverty minimum wage for the workers they don't represent and working with management to enforce union contracts increasing productivity at the expense of the entire working class and the union members paying their big fat salaries through union dues.
Unions, deprived of the best fighters (the left) were then confronted with Ronald Reagan and were impotent in waging any kind of struggle to fight back. Believe me, I know first hand about this because Lane Kirkland threatened to place unions and entire labor councils under trusteeship if they didn't get rid of me--- a "red." And this happened to hundreds of working class activists--- blacklisted by management; blacklisted by the unions... and now you cry.
Figure it out, Utah Philips did; when the reds were kicked out the unions everything went to hell... union membership and the standard of living of the working class.
For years most of you have been afraid to utter the term "working class;" choosing instead to use managements' imposed term: middle class.
Since when are workers ever in the middle class when it comes to the class struggle?
Half the time workers in AFL-CIO unions don't even find out what is in a contract before voting... kind of like what we get from Obama and his Administration with legislation.
How is it the AFL-CIO would support legislation to save the jobs of some teachers when the same legislation involves cutting the Food Stamp program... do you really think that this instills in working people suffering the most from the impoverishment of the working class wanting to organize?
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council