Happy Labor Day, Marxist Proletariats!
Monday, September 5, 2011 at 8:56PM I would have blissfully not even known it was Labor Day until I noticed the stock markets in the US & Canada didn't open on Monday. I glanced at my calendar. Oh, it's time to celebrate the great communist holiday. The day where we honor the proletariats. Those who, as Marx says, create all the wealth.
Interestingly, and not surprisingly, this holiday started in the Socialist Republic of Canuckistan (Kanada) and was taken up by trade unions in the US in the late 19th century.
A WARPED VIEW ON LIFE
As with everything Marx dreamt up after having been born into a rich family and having died a pauper (as would most who followed his unworkable theories) this view on life is completely warped.
Who actually thinks of themselves as a "worker"? Or a part of the "working class"? My god, if that's how you think it's no wonder you never make much of yourself!
Personally, I was born into a family of very modest means. And I have worked dozens of jobs. From newspaper delivery, football hot dog stand cashier, pizza delivery, mailroom, sewer worker and bank teller.
I never thought of myself as "the working class" when I worked those jobs. I was just happy to have a job to earn some money so I could survive while I either saved, invested or learned new skills so I could have enough capital to start up my own business operation.
This is how life generally is for most, no? Most are not born with much and have to work hard to get what they desire.
Some will point to "rich kids" and say, "they don't have to work hard!" And, they are right, to a point. Some rich kids are given their wealth or capital without having had to earn it. After having known many rich kids, however, the great majority live lives that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Why? Unless they are very well brought up (and most aren't... most spend most of their formative years in private boarding schools) then they have no basis by which to gauge the value of anything.
Those who have worked hard for it KNOW what the value of things are. Those who have had it given to them are completely clueless and because they don't have much motivation to do much (it's already been given to them) they generally degredate into very bad habits including excessive partying and addictions.
And, generally, most rich kids will end up wasting or destroying much of the wealth given to them on bad life and business decisions. Just ask Karl Marx.
So, rich kids aside, most people have to work their way up to being "property owners".
But, again, who are these people who think of themselves as "workers" or the "working class"? Is it their goal or intention to just stay at fairly menial and unskilled jobs for their entire life? If so, that is fine. But, why would we want to celebrate that?
TRADE UNIONS
The history of trade unions in the US is interesting. The US supposedly spent a large part of the 20th century "fighting communism" yet a big part of American life during that same time were the communist fashioned trade unions.
I've had a lot of personal experience with trade unions and none of them were good.
My first experience was when I worked for a City government job in the mailroom. The main workers were all unionized but I was a temporary worker so I was not part of the union. On my first week on the job it was incredibly clear to me that the mailroom which had about 11 employees could easily be run with only about 3 people.
I mentioned that to my boss. It wasn't much longer before I was fired.
After that I worked for another organization where I was a part of the union. Being a young go-getter, eager to prove my worth and move up the ranks, I worked extra hard and studied to improve my skills to move up. I soon realized, however, that in this union system the only thing that mattered was "seniority"... whoever worked there the longest got promoted. I also soon realized how this made the entire workplace a horrible place to work. No one ever did their job well or properly. And why not, there were rules against them getting laid off or fired and there was no incentive to do their job well.
The other thing I noticed about all my fellow "workers" were how unhappy they were. Not having any motivation to do anything they were just waiting for the years to pass for their promotions. This created the most unhealthy of atmospheres. If you want to see this type of atmosphere live and in person, fly Air Canada. All of the stewardesses are usually well into their 40s or 50s (doing a job that should be the domain of 20 year olds for a few years to see the world and have fun before learning a skill more useful than pointing out the exit rows pre-flight and asking you if you want chicken or beef) and they will literally do anything to ruin your day. It is almost as though they take pleasure in ruining your flight. I suppose, in their minds, they are miserable so they might as well make you miserable too.
GOVERNMENT UNIONS
Of all the unions, the worst are the government unions. It is also the most hypocritical.
Unions say they exist because without unions the free-market capitalist system would turn them all into slaves. They say they need government to enforce union legislation to protect "the little guy".
Okay. So, if that is the case, why do government workers need unions? The whole theory is that government protects us from greedy capitalists, right?
Well, as anyone who knows anything knows, unions aren't really there to "protect the little guy". They are there to be a legalized mob who can use all manner of non-free market techniques to get wages and other benefits that they do not deserve.
UNIONS DESTROY COMPANIES
On this labor day, the news of the weekend has been that the US Postal Service is on the verge of shutdown as they are billions of dollars in the red.
Guess who is mostly to blame?
The funniest part of this story is included in the following paragraph:
"[The USPS has been] pushing a series of painful cost cutting measures including... closing up to 3,700 postal locations and laying off 120,000 workers — nearly one-fifth of the agency’s work force — despite a no-layoffs clause in the unions’ contracts.
You read that right. Mailmen have a "no-layoff clause".
As with most union "no-layoff clauses" the layoffs will only be done when the company itself is on its deathbed. Until then, the parasites that are unions will continue to suck the enterprise dry.
Ask any auto manufacturer in Detroit and they'll tell you the #1 reason that the industry has been decimated is because of the unions.
UNIONS ARE NEARLY DEAD IN THE US
Thankfully, unions are almost dead in the US as can be seen by the following chart.
Jon Stewart's, The Daily Show, recently had an excellent piece (click here or on the video below) where they interviewed a Union manager who had hired "temp workers" to picket a Walmart for not employing union employees at "fair" wages. It is a must-see as it shows the hypocrisy of unions and how they don't really care about the "little guy", they care about their own union gang and coercing their employers into paying more than standard market rates for sub-par service.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Working Stiffed | ||||
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Reader Comments (4)
I have been saying for years, and will say it again. We live in the era of investor exploitation. Drop interest rates to zero (real rates below zero), force savers into the stock and bond markets - and shear them like sheep! Such is our age.....
Whatever you thought didn't change the fact that this was the class you were in and are still most of those you knew then who remained there since you left. But I agree, a few humans have managed to switch class some by loosing it all some buy wining.the jackpot.
Class exist, exclusion to and warfare class always existed. But you are right, thinking positive is a must to succeed and working many jobs to get there dont matter. Good day.
The very concept of a "Union" is not simply a voluntary association for collective bargaining purposes (damaging to the individual who wants to succeed on his own merit in and of itself). Rather it is based on force. Its power depends on the use of Force to keep the new workers from working..
Without using force, the Union would be dependent on the value and quality of their skills and knowledge. The Unions, from the beginning, discarded that approach. To this day, they do not hesitate to use threats, intimidation and actual force to keep competition from taking "their " job, destroying company property and preventing customers and suppliers from crossing the picket line.
Enjoying your writings Passing them along. Lynn A. Bloxham