[Mpls] re: Licensure and union bashing

[Eric Oines]

Goodness, goodness, for a bunch of Minneapolitans who probably have the day off with pay from their 40 hour a week, paid vacation, paid sick leave, OSHA safe workplaces, you sure are whining a lot about people who have the fortitude to organize for better wages and work conditions for themselves and their families.

All of the above (40 hour week, holidays off, vacation, sick leave, workplace safety - and much much more) was brought to you courtesy of union workers who were willing to go without food and pay, often to the extent of putting their very lives on the line, in order to secure your privilege of sitting in front of your computer this day, instead of toiling at an unsafe, low paid, insecure, job.

And before you start whining that you work more than 40 hours a week or have to work on holidays, then you ought to join a union or organize your workplace so you don't have to if you don't want to - or at least get paid time and a half for it. Don't want to take the risks of organizing the workplace (harrassment, termination)? That is the choice you make.

Are large unions perfect, incorruptable entities? Of course not. Is any large, organized instutution flawless and incorruptable? There has been illegal activity in every single employer I have ever had, and that's been everything from corporate to small business, to non-profit, to public sector. People aren't perfect, no matter where they work.

Minneapolis has a proud union history. A union organizer was the first African-American elected to public office in Minneapolis. Nellie Stone Johnson was a stalwart advocate for working people's rights for over 60 years.

The lobbying that unions do for higher pay and safety are nothing compared to the lobbying that management does to circumvent the same.

Every day I go to work, I benefit from what union activism has done for this city. So do ALL of you.

Eric Oines
Lind Bohanon





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