Labor Day

Kids, what does Labor Day mean to you? Is it just another 3 day weekend? The last chance you can wear white before winter?

Although it's been and gone, if you raised a glass to the American working man, then good on you- and here's 36 reasons to thank a union if you're looking for them. (The challenge for organized labor: come up with 36 more for the 21st Century.) I'm cautiously in favor of unions. I think in the right circumstances when they're small and focused enough then can really get workers a good deal- but if, like too many in America are, they're big, corporatized nationalized organizations, then I think they're more about benefiting union bosses than actual workers- and I say screw that.

I'd be OK with being in a union in the right circumstances. When I was working security up at Mankato West in grad school (Go Scarlets, by the way!) they wanted to try and get the security people/hall monitors covered under the District union contract. As I'd stuck around for longer than most and been given maybe a dime of a raise for coming back, I thought any shot a better deal would be OK by me. I didn't stick around long enough to see any benefits, though...

Contrast that with my current two year stint working at the University covered by the warm embrace of an AFSME contract. I'm not a member of the union and I don't plan on being one anytime soon for the plain and simple reason that I don't get any tangible benefits from being a full-fledged member. To be blunt, in my experience this union protects crappy workers. If you show up and do your job, why waste money on a union card? The only use they're going to be is if you get shit-canned.

I'd like to believe in solidarity for working people out there, I really would. But I'm not willing to invest in an organization that ultimately benefits more people at some gargantuan national office than it does me and my pocketbook- not to mention the pocketbooks of other workers. If I'm presented evidence to the contrary, I'll be more than happy to be persuaded otherwise- but until then, I remain a cautious supporter of unions.

UPDTED: Hmmmm... but then there's this.