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on two different means it means to made a i m in their army is a good bad or
long before or cracks kabir
the uh... you know the
celebrations of of changing to the seasons in the beginning of the plant in
seasonal economic
but it's also
uh... it's also a period time that there are any day hun which
uh... labor is
honored
that's right word
josh idols as well as later journalist maturity writing a nation in salon this
website josh charles and he ideal as though and dot
trash welcome back
thank you for having you back time
so uh... your thoughts on non labor day what's uh... what's the latest in the
world of labor it's going on
so or environment where we see unexpected folder billion in the u_s_
labor movement
an unexpected vitality out
there is no sugar coating on the fact that over the past few years we've seen
sciences
historic strength that birthplace of modern private-sector unionism in the
birthplace of modern concept unionism in the u_s_ become sites of devastating
defeat
michigan
wisconsin
other states where republicans have followed a similar league and the same
time we do see innovation in areas that have been
historically not only did not work our workers faced tremendous obstacles in
organizing
there is only has been a wave of one day hang on you know and low-wage workers
strikes
that shows industries that since they really relate well but
mystery or retail
particularly at organized
labor's biggest obstacle wal-mart
we're into feedback that he was smart phone and your skype system into things
occurred
your for your phone is dropped now so
uh... so e it would be inaccurate to say that those places worry that we've seen
the setbacks have been in the traditionally blue states that were very
labor friendly graphic
uh... down and then the michigan wisconsin
embedded mission particular just became a writer were from a state
where enormous amounts of coke brother in similar kind of money were poured
into queue to get a republican house senate and governor in a democratic
state injury democratic state
so that they could flip those states and and turn them into states like the rest
of the right to work for less states
will basically places of poverty
there are a couple things out and play here and in michigan is that it's a lot
of it
their dekh ke donors to the spinoff of the republican governors association
whether you're talking about
folks tied to the coca brothers or the cooks of michigan the diverse family all
our people
who heads
virulent anti-u_n_ records and have tingle with organized labor
and so
following the money is importing and it demonstrates in part
why we see
this become a top priority for the republican party at the same time though
we should be clear this is not only in the week phenomenon that's not only a
money phenomenon the truth is that
labor is also politically vulnerable
there is a actual resentment against labor not because unions have gotten too
big because unions have gone into small
as union density has precipitously declines in the united states
to mail below seven percent in the private sector
it's created real haller ability and as i saw reporting for so long in wisconsin
it means that
voters who couple decades ago would have been family members of the union members
here in union some sounds
now in some cases are more open to being hold that
getting the budgetary house in order requires taking a pound of flesh out of
union members
nam it's uh... there has been this uh...
is the the mean that has been being put forward by the republicans has been
you look at these uh... union members they're making so much money out you
know and you're not making that much money
that's not fair
and instead of saying you should make more money they're saying let's let's
cut the union members and in particularly you know the government
union members because they're it's one of the last bastions of unionization
uh... higher howie's organized labor responder
well their places where we see you later in the defensive crouch
there are places where we see unions
in tremendous danger
scarier to fight
in the israeli and fought you look at it case like
lockout at one twenty months that the american crystal sugar company
those are workers who
one were not used to getting into big fights with the boss pain every one of
the workers is become active around a lockout
and asked when were you guys active in the past and she said oh
when the company needed a tax break we would mobilize to help the company get a
tax break
workers were forced out
because the company wanted to take away their health care
t change it to a different system go after their benefits they tried a lot of
the comprehensive campaign tactics that unions turned you know politics around
the company's supply chain around consumers in media and those workers
lost
there are places though where you see aggressive fight back lead over the past
year
the strike that we saw in chicago where the chicago teachers union
first we saw left-wing caucus fight
within the union and take over and move the union a different direction and then
it
because of strong community organizing is a real partnership with parents who
have neighbors
even on the national media turned against the strike from the beginning we
still have the pragmatic
let's not forget
that's right there up against the democratic party so-called liberal media
but they won because they had the parents on their side and because they
were willing to use the strike weapon the union so often the go ahead
this is really the biggest victory for labor in the year going home
it was one of the most important in part because
the assault on teachers unions is one of the places where we see the most extreme
form of the sol on organized labor in the united states and it's one of the
places where it is
the most enthusiastic lead bipartisan
teachers unions are directly under attack from some of the leading
politicians in both parties
and we see the two national unions
walking and there are a line of not wanting to go too far in criticizing
even democrats who are openly calling for making it easier for their members
to get fired
soap the strike in chicago defined in some sense
not only rahm emanuel but the democratic party and not only the democratic party
but also the national leadership of the two teachers unions wall
people were publicly in support of each other
what happened in chicago's trading a very different course for how you fight
back against that attack
than the more moderate one that we've seen from the national leadership both
of the a_s_t_ and incendiary right
dot how do you respond to ghar alperovitz is stopper that's is um...
critique of unions in his last book
in which he suggested that
uh... he uh... you know that yes see you know ronald reagan declared war on
unions arguably the other polly party would taft-hartley in nineteen forty
seven declared war on unions the bigger unionization was in the early fifties in
about thirty percent and as you point out now a private mu sector union their
membership is below seven percent
that there are actually more people now who work for worker omd cooperative
snores who are owners of the companies that they work for
then there are member members of unions the united states and that what we need
to do is not so much
the rebuilding the union movement that that's something from the nineteen the
twentieth century but that instead we need to read invent capitalism or even
set aside capitalism go with cooperative zimmer whatever you want to call this is
something new we cannot make model
that the the the equally or maybe even in a greater way empowers workers
who thoughts on that
well workers should have a voice and what the economic model is in society
and in the workplace
you can't have a very robust form of democracy in the united states than any
country
if you don't have some kind of democracy in the workplace now workers have sought
out in different ways at different times and right now given the creaky craven
labor laws that we have given do extent which workers are explicitly excluded
or just betrayed by labor law
you see various kinds of different formations whether it's looking at a
cooperative model or it's a question of
workers organizing outside of collected
off
in josh i'm sorry earthquake years because you're coming in by skype as
soon as the earth is excessive dispute just mangal suspect
so but uh... thank you so much for being with us josh nelson
how do i think he had been usn dot com website internal security for the
nation's have thanks so much