Anniversary

Sorry - it's another political column on unions. Avert eyes if you don't like this opinionated political stuff.

I've heard recently about the Triangle Waist Factory - and the upcoming 100 Year Anniversary of the tragic fire that was the beginning of some of the labor movement. See a link here:
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/
Don't worry - it's not a union addie - it's a Cornell U. history site!

For those of you who don't wish to visit the link - the fire, in NYC claimed the lives of 146 young immigrants working in inhumane conditions. I first learned of these issues in Dr. Neil Harl's Ag Law class at ISU. What a teacher that guy is - and he's still taking Iowa's leaders (legislators and our governor) to task today. I believe I earned a C in that class. ;>( But as you can tell I learned a lot. It was fascinating!

The place was a sweatshop - with work contracted out and the middlemen pocketing the good money, and little flowing through to the workers. The workers got exploited. I recall hearing in class about severed limbs and other atrocities poor workers suffered. They were often underage and of course poor and foreign. They had no one to complain to!

On this occasion, a fire broke out and 146 of 500 workers died - leaving the others scared for life from the "pain and terror" they had witnessed. Doors were actually locked so people could not get out. Some of the young women (Italian and European Jews) jumped to their deaths rather than burn. Back then there were no codes and fire inspections. I get wound up thinking of the Tea Party folks who just want big government out of everything. Are these the rules and requirements they wish to forget?

Anyway - this tragedy was one of the reasons labor unions became so important in the US. They were huge in creating the 40 hour work week, vacations, overtime and many of the benefits we enjoy at work today.

That said - did some of them get corrupt? Did they go overboard? As with anything...do some members take advantage of rules? Yes to all of the above. And, due to those answers, and the unwillingness to negotiate in a realistic manner in a now global economy, many jobs have left the country. Not to say they wouldn't have anyway (see above - some companies are now able to pay much less overseas...why? Let's hope it's not because they're contracting workers...)

Labor unions have had an important place in the United States. Thugs? Outrageous demands that make non-Union people say "gimme a break!" Yes. At times. I think they still have their place though. Wouldn't we all like someone to have our backs, when our boss is being unreasonable? Isn't it crazy that some employers require people to work 80 weeks? Why should a wacko supervisor have total power over a supervisee?

Just think about it.

My obsession

Isn't it funny how one's point of view changes, depending on one's stake in the game. I remember complaining mightily about the "spoiled" teachers in our town when it was negotiation time in our town. And our city and county employees had cushy health insurance packages with little out of pocket expense - at least they used to, before health care prices kept shooting up, and the governments decided they needed to charge non-union employees for a portion of the cost.

That was back when I was in private business. If I wanted work health insurance, I had to pay a portion of the cost. Since Paul has been employed by the Federal Government, some 28 years now, we've always paid a portion of the cost of insurance. And we've never had a "Cadillac" type health care plan - paying quite a bit out of pocket before insurance kicks in.

Our pharmacy program wasn't so great back in the early 90's - I'd spend a lot of time with a migraine, sweating it out deciding whether or not I had a $10 headache or not. That was how much my Imitrex shots cost. A lot of $$ back then. And I'd think long and hard before making a doctor's appointment - that deductible was hard to cough up. (no pun intended..unless I did have a cough..)

So imagine my surprise when I found out I was an automatic AFSCME Union member when I took a job with the State of Iowa. Iowa is not one of those states where the union automatically collects dues from us, thank goodness. I've had mixed feelings about unions through the years. At Gits, my last manufacturing job, the union didn't seem to help the workers much, just cause problems. I've not joined the union, but I was glad last year when the voting members approved a concession of a furlough week to help with the budget deficit.

But I have to admit, the benefits at the State of Iowa are the best I've ever enjoyed. And I was shocked to find out I could take family insurance at no cost. It's the least costly of the optional plans, but still...that's just not right. I pay a portion of my IPERS (retirement plan) as a deduction from my check, and get around 4 hours of leave every 2 weeks. My salary isn't great especially compared to what some landfill directors make, but I enjoy what I do - most of the time.

I've been keeping an eye on what's happening in Wisconsin with the probable breaking of collective bargaining there - due to a Republican Gov, and both houses. Our Governor has threatened the same. We do have a Democrat controlled senate (by only 2 votes (gulp). But still...scary.

I believe our union needs to consider coming to the table to make some concessions. It's been said state workers got free insurance as a concession a while ago in lieu of increased wages. But those days are long gone. Public workers have to pay for a portion of their insurance and state workers should too. But I don't think collective bargaining should go away totally.

Public workers have been thrown under the bus by politicians, and I'm tired of it. Paul and I work awfully hard. So for all those people just wanting to hack away those government jobs, be careful what you wish for. We're the people who eat at your restaurants, shop at your stores and we are your patients. When we lose our jobs, our buying power goes away too. Along with our public service - and even though we don't make a product, the things we do are important to our world!

Okay I need to quit reading the anonymous comments on the articles about state workers - those are just damn depressing! The "lazy, load, coffee drinking, no good" comments are just too much...