Union Breaking?

As I listen to the news this morning, I'm hearing people from both sides of the political aisle talk about union breaking efforts by the Republican governor of Wisconsin.  One side says it is, the other side says it's simply management of issues on the table.  In my professional life, I've been exposed to the stories from both sides of the issue of unions - protection of workers' rights, and the abuses that allow workers who should be fired to retain their positions.  Where do I come down personally, without a doubt I will support the union ideal while speaking of the abuses, and the need to address those abuses.  It is not right for a worker to fail to do their job, yet retain that position over someone else who hasn't been there long enough but IS doing the job is fired or down-sized out of a position.  Neither is it right for corporate America to say to an older worker, you're no longer needed, and your pension and benefits are hurting our bottom line, so you and those benefits are out!

This is especially true when one considers how well corporate America is doing!  Business is doing better than ever, the wealthy are quickly moving to the point where modern America will become a feudal state again, with corporations instead of political royalty in the positions of power.  We all remember that following Hurricane Katrina, or after the British Petroleum oil spill, the multinational petroleum companies were pulling down 300 % profits, while the workers of America and other countries suffered under the unreasonable increases in prices - yet they told us they WEREN'T gouging, but only covering reasonable business expenses -- really, guys? 

It interests me that the Republicans who did all they could to kill stimulus and hurt the middle class, now want us to believe they are truly concerned about small business and the muddle class.  I guess that's why they want to break unions, and allow corporate America to continue to raise prices, cut benefits, and exercise unfair business practices that discriminate against older workers, and allow companies to walk away from contractual promises to provide retirement funds to workers who helped those same companies gain the financial status they currently enjoy.  Somehow, it appears the word "fair," needs to be revisited, so we can again understand that it means to be "fair" to workers.

Think about it!  And remember that there are companies are doing everything they can to keep unions out of their workplaces.