A Roundtable Discussion with NYC Nurses and Teachers

Employers and politicians force their policies onto the public by forcing us to choose between two bad options while maintaining the illusion that there is no alternative

It’s useful to start with an understanding of how things got so bad in the first place and why the move to reopen the economy now is so dangerous.

Today the United Auto Workers announced that it has dropped its legal effort to save three General Motors plants from closure. It’s sad evidence that even a union contract doesn’t guarantee job security for auto workers.

The Auto Workers’ strike against General Motors came to a close after six weeks on the picket lines, with workers voting to ratify a contract that was clearly unloved but accepted with a yes vote of 57 percent.

How Wrong They Were

The UAW’s long-term commitment to “labor-management partnership” is the parent of not only the festering corruption scandal, but also the union’s toothless and ineffective organizing. Both need to be washed away

“I shouldn’t have to give Volkswagen my body in exchange for the house that I live in and the lifestyle I try to provide for my family.”

If just threatening to unionize was enough to make Volkswagen finally address issues it ignored for years, imagine the results workers could get by actually unionizing and forcing the company to the bargaining table

The governor’s speech opened by marking his 100th day in office and the need for vocational training in the state to foreground his remarks about unionization