By Mark Van Loon, Hamilton
If you get overtime after 8 hours, thank a unionist. If you get paid holidays, thank a unionist. If you get paid sick days, thank a unionist. If you have health insurance, thank a unionist. Even if you’re not in a labor union, you get these benefits because unions fought for and negotiated with management for them. For you.
In the late 1800’s you worked 12 hours a day, 5&1/2 or 6 days a week. Sometimes 7 days. Children too. No work, no pay. Time off? Ha! No sick days either – part of the reason disease and ill health were widespread. This continued well into the 1900’s.
The years after WWII were boom years and the strength of labor unions gave rise to a true middle class. But more money and better conditions meant a little less profits for the boss. The first union buster was Reagan who fired striking air traffic controllers. The Republican hostilities toward unions continued and reached so bad a point under Speaker Newt Gingrich that the AFL-CIO endorsed the Democrats.
Republicans have tried to dress up the fact that they don’t care about workers by saying non-unionized workers are just exercising their “right to work.” But that’s just the shortened form of the real proclamation: “I have the ‘right to work’ you like a slave even if I don’t own your ass.” OK, I made that up. But the sentiment is the same.
Maybe think about that on election day.