Utah Phillips
In the united states the concept of a general strike is completely off the radar, some unions are prevented by penalty of law from striking at all. This nation has a bloody history of union busting forcing workers to continue their labor in unfair and unsafe conditions since it's very beginning. It is ironic to say the least that the nation itself is a "Union" that we are all expected to respect and serve without question. Unlike the workers unions, the union of states is really a union of bosses, of owners, of tyrants. When the bosses are faced with challenges they have called out the national guard, the army, and of course the police. Even the police have unions but they seem to exist in a vacuum having no solidarity whatsoever with the unions of working people, they exist only to protect the owners of our society, not society itself.
For those of you who are vague about the concept of a workers strike, it's time you understood that you have untapped power in your pockets. It's highly unlikely that the owner of the company you work for works there right beside you doing the tough job on the front lines. That's because they have the power of good old fashioned money, would you work if you could afford to pay someone else to work for you? Wealthy people are too smart to work, they make their money work for them, which is to say they make other people work while they spend their time enjoying their riches. They do the hard work of signing a few checks and cashing many more, oh yeah and they make some tough decisions like putting you out of work to move the factory overseas. The company just couldn't function without their wisdom and guidance, or could it?
Actually, it could. But one thing is certain, the company couldn't function without the masses of poor, hungry, desperate workers who will take the job for slave wages and work 'til their dying days. This country was built on slavery, the vast majority of wealth in the united states is ill gotten in its' origin and the thieves will never give up the goods. But slavery was only en vogue for about the first century, then it completely ceased to exist in any form whatsoever. Just kidding, slavery is alive and well in the united states of america, but not without being re-jiggered and re-branded to look more like freedom. That's right, you're free to work for any oppressive corporation you choose, until they outsource your job to people with less collective bargaining power. Hey, you're even free to own your own business, you too can sell your soul to the bank for a business loan that will hardly cover your tax burden.
But america is special, we have rights, we have votes, we have power! Which would all be great if our bosses didn't have more rights, more political power through campaign contributions, and a hotline to Capital Hill with an army of lobbyists. If this country was ever truly free (and it wasn't) it is now so totally slanted in the direction of the rich and powerful that it forever leaves the workers out in the cold. We have entered a new era of robber barons who control the direction of the country (and the world) and never intend to give it up. Unfortunately, they're also never satisfied, they can throw everyone out of their homes and out of their jobs and skim all of the profit from all of the resources and labor and they will not be done. They laugh and count their money monopoly while the workers willingly walk away from their jobs and into the streets to search for work that isn't there to find.
Why do we give up every time there is a challenge to our simple ways of life? Why do we give in when they want to take away from the few "benefits" and perks of our labor? Why do union bosses keep folding and never pull the ultimate weapon, the general strike? A general strike is when the majority of workers (if not all) simply stop working and go into the streets to demand fair and safe working conditions, benefits, wages, etc. They may even be content with their working conditions but they want to oppose the agenda of their government in an effective way, and there is no more effective way than to stop the profit system in its' tracks. As I write this the people of France are taking part in a general strike shutting down most factories and all oil refineries so that there is no fuel for cars, busses, trains, and planes, all because the president is planning to change the retirement age from 60 to 62. In the US the retirement age is 65.
It's no wonder we're taught to hate France, if we followed their example we might have universal health care, a higher minimum wage, 6 weeks of paid vacation a year, affordable housing, etc. Not that France is perfect, but it is far more true to democracy which, when allowed to fully flower inevitably leads to a system that takes care of its' people. We in the states have a system that takes care of its' rich at the expense of its' greater population, a crushing, lifelong burden for 90% of the people. This in itself is proof that american democracy is false democracy, no people would so consistently vote themselves out of work and out of their homes, no matter how effective the propaganda campaign waged against them. But in our collective fear and ignorance we simply go along with the status quo which has never resembled democracy no matter how much we are told that it is.
Demands must be made, a date must be chosen, and people must STOP!
No comments:
Post a Comment