Message from the President-June 2008

If we as union members are to make the idea of a collective bargaining group something workers want to be a part of and employers are a little less adverse to, we need to make sure that the products and services we produce are the best. We also need to remember that we must choose our battles wisely and make sure we do not make unions look like an “association of complainers”.

There is a saying union members use to express our solidarity and unity in the war for the working class. That saying is “if one suffers, all suffer”. What is meant by that saying is that we all are affected by the mistreatment of one of our members, as they are affected by our mistreatment and we need to get behind each other for the good of the entire union. Unfortunately, we grab hold of an issue sometimes that may be either not an issue at all or something that only becomes an issue when it affects us personally, despite how it affects our fellow members. We dig our heels in and want to pursue it no matter what the ramifications are for the others in our union.

We need to grow up and realize that union membership is not like being five years old and running to our mothers every time someone cuts in front of us in line on the sliding board. This is why many workers in this country don’t want to be union members and employers don’t want to have us in their workplaces. Of course we have legitimate issues, but if we challenge every thing management does, no matter how insignificant or trivial it is, then our legitimate issues get overshadowed.

So, remember we come to the worksite to work and make all union members proud; proud by our commitment to hard work, diligence, a positive attitude and respect for all those we work with and serve.