Joe Hill 70 - The Political Elephant in the Living Room

You have all heard about the Elephant in the living room. No one talks about it, and everyone steps lightly around. Well, the "elephant in the living room" for unions usually turns out to be the elephants in the herd. What I mean by this is the Republicans who are also union members. So this raises the question "Can you be a good union member and be a Republican?" Now, before someone starts getting all uppity, Joe Hill is asking this question in all seriousness. In fact, Joe would be interested in your own reflections and thoughts on this very question on the BLOG.

But I will step out on that tiny little branch called a limb and answer my own question. The answer is YES. In fact, if unionists agree with their own rhetoric, we not only say yes, but welcome this diversity as it adds strength to the fabric of our organization. However, we should not blindly give our allegiance to any party unless they meet a test of support for our livelihoods. That is, after all, the purpose of our union. The union and our jobs are intended to be a means not an end. The end is our lives of enjoyment, our families, and the things that we think are important. If your job cannot provide you that satisfaction then do something about it by unionizing or move on.

So what is the test for all of us Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Independents and others to garner our support as unionists? I believe that there is five tests for any politician that wants to gain our support.

TEST ONE
Are you as a prospective elected official willing to support the right of all workers, the right to join and form unions, unfettered and without employer obstruction, including the right for dues check off so as to not cripple the union organization?

TEST TWO
IF an employer violates laws that protect the rights of workers in forming unions, are you willing to pass a law that would sanction these employers with fines first, imposing special tax rates on corporations and individuals second, and escalating these taxes until compliance is met by serial violators of the labor organization rights of workers?

TEST THREE
Are you in favor of arbitration for all employees as the ultimate means of determining a remedy for employer/employee contract disputes?

TEST FOUR
Will you work to repeal the Landrum-Griffen Act also known as the right-to-work law?

TEST FIVE
Will you support a law that requires the following:

1) recognition of a union by an employer if the union produces signature cards for 60% of the employees in a work place; 2) Further, this proposal would require the employer to arrive at an agreement on the first union agreement within the union, within 6 months of organizing and 3) if an agreement cannot be arrived at, then the parties would be required to submit their last best offers to binding arbitration for the first agreement.

Now, I do not believe that many Democrats could pass the Joe Hill Five Way Test, and in my honest opinion, no Republicans. The five way test is how many of the labor laws work in Canada where 40% of the workers are in unions. In the USA, unionization has fallen to about 10% overall. There is a reason for that. It is called the law. As long as employers hold nearly all of the cards, the rights of workers will suffer.

So Republicans, you are more than welcome in your union. We need you. But we need you also to support the five way test so that we have a greater chance at success. Believe me on this - if the Republican Party leaders and elected officials adopted the Joe Hill five way test as their policy, the union leadership and machine would be saying Hasta La Vista Baby to the Democrats unless they came around to the same level of support as our imaginary Republicans.

Lets get unionization right first here, in the USA. Then we circle the wagons and shoot at each other some more as this seems to be what we like best. But always remember, the employers are the ones on the outside of the circle of wagons most of the time laughing all the way to the bank.

In Solidarity,

Joe Hill

JH 70