Unions try to broaden appeal to gain new recruits

[Omaha Steve]

http://quotes.optionetics.com/optionetics/news.asp?Mode=Finance&Story=20060912/255g8993.xml

Unions try to broaden appeal to gain new recruits ( )
DETROIT, Sep 12, 2006 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- Cliff Green was leaving work a year ago when a union organizer handed him a leaflet for a rally.

Green, a 26-year-old Detroit janitor, normally would have discarded the flier, but he had just learned he was about to become a father again. He was drawn to the union message of a better living, job security, benefits and health insurance.

Green attended the rally, joined the union and set out to evangelize, signing up new members for the budding Service Employees International Union Local 3.

"I saw an opportunity to negotiate not just my paycheck, but my livelihood," said Green, a single father of two.

As unions face declining membership, experts say the labor movement needs more recruits like Green if it hopes to thrive again.

Unions must convince a new generation of workers that unions can deliver tangible benefits, experts say. They have to reach out to new groups - young workers, students, immigrants, day laborers and service-sector employees.


FULL story at link above.
-----------------------------------
EDIT: COPYRIGHT. PLEASE POST ONLY
4 OR 5 PARAGRAPHS FROM THE COPYRIGHTED
NEWS SOURCE PER DU RULES.

[whistle]

1. As the country watches the labor movement come increasingly

...under attack by the powerful and wealthy, I am reminded of this essay piece by Lawrence Britt:

<snip>
The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
by Lawrence Britt
Spring 2003
Free Inquiry magazine


Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.

The 14 characteristics are:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.


Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.


Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.


Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.


Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.


Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.


Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.


Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.


Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.


Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .


Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.


Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.


Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.


Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

[LiberalEsto]

2. GOOD!

We need to get younger folks involved in unions.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I have NO idea how this might work .... but there seems to me ......

... a natural affinity for the labor movement and microbusiness owners. I'm talking about the family owned gutter and siding companies. The small landscapers. Plumbing contractors. Driveway pavers. Small shop and store owners. Gas station owners. That sort of thing.

As I said, I have no idea how that might work, but it seems to me were talking about the very same people .... the only difference is some are employees and some are self-employed and maybe have two or three people working for them.

[Mend]

4. they should put back that ad on tv "Look for the Union Label"

that ad was great....of course, it shouldn't be run on abc or espn.

[Omaha Steve]

5. That union is gone to the orient and beyond!!!

Those ladies all lost their line of work and benefits.

From 1968 to the early 1990s the union lost more than 300,000 workers as a result of low cost imports and the transfer of factories overseas. In 1995 the 125,000-member ILGWU merged with the 175,000-member Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged in 2004 with HERE (the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union) to UNITE HERE. The combined union has more than 440,000 active members.

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/bus/A0825349.html


http://unionsong.com/u103.html

Look for the Union Label
play mp3

A song by Paula Green, music by Malcolm Dodds ©1975, UNITE
Union of Needltrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
(formerly International Ladies' Garment Workers'Union and other unions)

Look for the union label
when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse.

Remember somewhere our union's sewing,
our wages going to feed the kids, and run the house.

We work hard, but who's complaining?
Thanks to the I.L.G. we're paying our way!

So always look for the union label,
it says we're able to make it in the U.S.A.!

[Mend]

6. thanks so much, I downloaded the song into my itunes....cool.