The Second Continental Congress was formed in 1775 as a united effort to present grievances to King George. The delegates were land-owning, white men from the thirteen colonies. They formed the first bargaining unit. After years of boycotts, riots and demonstrations, the colonists had reached their height of frustration when a series of laws, known as the Coercive Acts, were imposed by the British government.
They negotiated for months to reach an agreement. Some delegates wanted to continue their appeal to King George while others wanted to break from the crown. Some delegates refused to agree to form a new union if slavery was abolished and some would not agree unless it was. Obviously, they reached an agreement, although just barely. With the reading of the Declaration of Independence, the first union in this country was formed on July 4, 1776. As far as King George was concerned, it was a walk-out and he sent the militia to quell the unrest. So began the American Revolution.
Our new nation excluded many citizens. The Declaration states “All men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…” In reality these unalienable rights only extended to white, landowning men and not to slaves, women, natives or indentured servants. The founding fathers had built their wealth on the slave trade so America was born into labor unrest from the beginning.
In response to Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation the southern states formed a new Union, the Confederate States of America. Regarded as a “walk-out”, Abraham Lincoln ordered more troops to restore the Union. The Civil War lasted four years and 625,000 people died. They had renegotiated the conditions of the Constitution.
With the expansion of the West, industry thrived. Pioneers traveled in droves to settle the west and the Captains of Industry (or Robber Barons depending on your perspective) saw an opportunity to build wealth. Men like J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, J.D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt cornered the market on steel, railroads and shipping.
Although these men came from humble beginnings and eventually became famous philanthropists, their capital was less than virtuously acquired. There are libraries, universities, hospitals and music halls named after them yet they exploited their workforces, colluded with the government and each other, and monopolized markets.
Then as now, law enforcement and government often favor the wealthy. The wealthy can afford better lawyers, have powerful friends and fund campaigns. In the past, juries were comprised of white, land-owning men and they were the only ones who could vote or hold office. They inherently held more power.
By the mid-nineteen century, unions were formed to negotiate the rights of workers. They were formed as a response to long work weeks, low wages, and unsafe working conditions. When workers complained they were locked out. When they tried to strike companies called in strikebreakers to end it. Workers were killed, arrested and blacklisted.
Unions became strong because they created a mechanism to air grievances. They gained power in numbers and hired mobsters to counter the strikebreakers. Mobsters, formerly used by companies, now gained control of the unions. They too gained influence over law enforcement and government until both the corporation and the union became vehicles of power and manipulation
Today unions have evolved into non-profit corporations. In many ways they are like the corporations they negotiate with. They often represent many job classes and various bargaining units, often selling out one group for another. Some coerce workers to join just as the corporation coerces them not to. We have come to a stalemate in labor relations. Many corporations have shifted jobs oversees where the union has no authority. “The Corporation” has thus far prevailed. Unions represent only nine percent of the private workforce while forty-three percent of the workers are represented in the public sector, administrators included.
Even with the progress made with legislation, little has changed for the worker. The richest ten percent of Americans own seventy percent of the assets just as they did in the 19th century. The distribution of wealth has not shifted even with the organization of labor.
Even with the progress made with legislation, little has changed for the worker. The richest ten percent of Americans own seventy percent of the assets just as they did in the 19th century. The distribution of wealth has not shifted even with the organization of labor.
Love, Constance
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free my ass!
Arizona has thrown down the gauntlet with Arizona Senate Bill 1070 signed by Governor Jan Brewer. I have to admit when it comes to immigration I'm really not sure which party I side with. I suppose that's a sign that I side with neither party. Or it's a sign that neither party has done anything to rectify the situation. Nothing seems to change despite the fact that most people I know are irritated by the influx of Latinos.
Demands for immigration reform are nothing new. During the Great Depression Latinos were demonized as lazy, pot smoking, criminals who must be driven back south of the border lest the nation go to hell in a hand basket. In reality, because of the depression and the dustbowl, jobs had become scarse and there was no room for the excessive labor so they became the focus of a nationwide campaign to evict them. The Irish, Italians and Puerto Ricans have all experienced the same kind of blame. As the economy recovered the U.S. slowly got back to illegal labor. Welfare, unemployment and social security were implemented to protect Americans from falling as easily into poverty as they had in the 1930's.
Slowly the economy picked up and immigrants found their way north just as before because there were jobs. The farm workers like to boast that they do a job that nobody else will do. Personally, I find it insulting. Both my paternal and maternal families have harvested fruit, walnuts and hops for more than four generations. We did it for extra spending money, for school clothes, vacations and Christmas money. It was a family affair. I have watched as the orchards have been slowly replaced by vineyards and corporate farms have infested the fields. Hard working Americans have been replaced by illegal workers who do more than pick grapes. They work in many industries such as building, landscaping, maintenance and manufacturing, displacing the American worker. Often they work for minimum wage without benefits and often under the table. In the meantime their meager incomes qualify them for welfare and medical insurance. Their children attend public school and enjoy free bussing, free lunches and extra tutoring. In other words they use resources without paying into the system. No wonder people are pissed off. Now we are experiencing another deep, deep, deep recession (alright I thinks it's a depression) which has crippled the service industry. Combined with automated unemployment, jobs have become scarce and people want those jobs back.
Enter Arizona Sentate Bill 1070. A fence is not going to solve this problem. People will always pursue a better future where there are more opportunities. They will get here one way or another. Besides, do we really want governments telling us where we can and can't go. I don't. I just paid $85.00 to the State Department for permission, in the form of a passport, to leave the country. I could have purchased an ID card too but that just seemed to facist for me. Honestly, I shouldn't need their permission. The U.S. government rarely lets their citizens emmigrate. They don't even publish that data. In fact it is called "renunciation" and it is extremely rare. If they don't want us to leave I'm not sure why they care who comes in. They definitely have control issues.
The only way to reduce immigration is to make sure they can't get a job. You take away the incentive. OR you sign them up at the border , grant them citizenship and punish employers who use undocumentated workers. You ensure that companies are withholding taxes. By the way, no more 1099's either. 1099's are bullshit for the same reason exploiting laborers is bullshit, you undercut the worker. You call them an independent contractor and then don't give them benefits or withold taxes. It seems easy enough to clamp down on business. Let the IRS do the dirty work, it is what they are good at. That should solve the problem.
Nothing is done about it because the corporate world benefits from it. Just like walmart, they exploit labor and the community foots the bill. If you don't want illegals here then clean your own damn house, wash you own damn car, mow your own damn lawn. If that's too much for you, buy a smaller house. Don't buy shit made with exploited labor. After all that is Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The people that rant the most usually have Maria come in to clean their house once a week for fifty bucks.
So back to the Arizona bill. What's the big deal? We should be deporting nationals that have broken the law. We shouldn't be providing servies to entire families because they had a baby here. But that is not what this bill is. This bill gives law enforcement the authority to stop anyone on suspicion of being illegal. It is the responsibility of the suspect to provide documentation. That is a HUGE step backwards for freedom. Law enforcement only has the authority to stop people when they have just cause, with the exception of check point charlies (DUI and security checkpoints). Checkpoints and random, racial profiling are the beginning of the police state. It's a shitty bill designed to give the government broader authority to detain people. Fuck that.
Anway, long blog. Hope you're still here.
Love, Constance
Demands for immigration reform are nothing new. During the Great Depression Latinos were demonized as lazy, pot smoking, criminals who must be driven back south of the border lest the nation go to hell in a hand basket. In reality, because of the depression and the dustbowl, jobs had become scarse and there was no room for the excessive labor so they became the focus of a nationwide campaign to evict them. The Irish, Italians and Puerto Ricans have all experienced the same kind of blame. As the economy recovered the U.S. slowly got back to illegal labor. Welfare, unemployment and social security were implemented to protect Americans from falling as easily into poverty as they had in the 1930's.
Slowly the economy picked up and immigrants found their way north just as before because there were jobs. The farm workers like to boast that they do a job that nobody else will do. Personally, I find it insulting. Both my paternal and maternal families have harvested fruit, walnuts and hops for more than four generations. We did it for extra spending money, for school clothes, vacations and Christmas money. It was a family affair. I have watched as the orchards have been slowly replaced by vineyards and corporate farms have infested the fields. Hard working Americans have been replaced by illegal workers who do more than pick grapes. They work in many industries such as building, landscaping, maintenance and manufacturing, displacing the American worker. Often they work for minimum wage without benefits and often under the table. In the meantime their meager incomes qualify them for welfare and medical insurance. Their children attend public school and enjoy free bussing, free lunches and extra tutoring. In other words they use resources without paying into the system. No wonder people are pissed off. Now we are experiencing another deep, deep, deep recession (alright I thinks it's a depression) which has crippled the service industry. Combined with automated unemployment, jobs have become scarce and people want those jobs back.
Enter Arizona Sentate Bill 1070. A fence is not going to solve this problem. People will always pursue a better future where there are more opportunities. They will get here one way or another. Besides, do we really want governments telling us where we can and can't go. I don't. I just paid $85.00 to the State Department for permission, in the form of a passport, to leave the country. I could have purchased an ID card too but that just seemed to facist for me. Honestly, I shouldn't need their permission. The U.S. government rarely lets their citizens emmigrate. They don't even publish that data. In fact it is called "renunciation" and it is extremely rare. If they don't want us to leave I'm not sure why they care who comes in. They definitely have control issues.
The only way to reduce immigration is to make sure they can't get a job. You take away the incentive. OR you sign them up at the border , grant them citizenship and punish employers who use undocumentated workers. You ensure that companies are withholding taxes. By the way, no more 1099's either. 1099's are bullshit for the same reason exploiting laborers is bullshit, you undercut the worker. You call them an independent contractor and then don't give them benefits or withold taxes. It seems easy enough to clamp down on business. Let the IRS do the dirty work, it is what they are good at. That should solve the problem.
Nothing is done about it because the corporate world benefits from it. Just like walmart, they exploit labor and the community foots the bill. If you don't want illegals here then clean your own damn house, wash you own damn car, mow your own damn lawn. If that's too much for you, buy a smaller house. Don't buy shit made with exploited labor. After all that is Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The people that rant the most usually have Maria come in to clean their house once a week for fifty bucks.
So back to the Arizona bill. What's the big deal? We should be deporting nationals that have broken the law. We shouldn't be providing servies to entire families because they had a baby here. But that is not what this bill is. This bill gives law enforcement the authority to stop anyone on suspicion of being illegal. It is the responsibility of the suspect to provide documentation. That is a HUGE step backwards for freedom. Law enforcement only has the authority to stop people when they have just cause, with the exception of check point charlies (DUI and security checkpoints). Checkpoints and random, racial profiling are the beginning of the police state. It's a shitty bill designed to give the government broader authority to detain people. Fuck that.
Anway, long blog. Hope you're still here.
Love, Constance
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