The Perpetual Struggle Of Labor Progressives

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Here are two videos that ultimately show the very same point: Organized labor's policies do not always represent the best interests of the workers they represent or the economic interests in the local economy that they represent.

It is my opinion that many of the progressives within these movements fail when they attempt to maximize their own interests to the point of exceeding the interests of the force on the other side of the negotiating table. In as much as there is so often a contemptuous relationship between these two forces - when the extremists are allowed to have their way - the "rank and file" are the main losers in the dust up.


France - Organized Labor Refuses To Yield Their Age 60 Retirement Entitlement

The issues are pretty straight forward.
The workers in France believe that they have worked long careers and have "earned" the right to retire at 60 and enjoy the rest of their years without having to work - per the social contract in France.

Those who are tracking the fiscal health of the nation are running the numbers and they see that as people live longer - they are drawing more resources from the system, thus bringing the "shared societal responsibilities" closer to collapse.

I have to credit American political operative Howard Dean for having a lot of insight upon people's behavior.  He said "once you give an entitlement to people you will never get it back from them", at least not willingly. 

Unfortunately this unwilling to yield is often followed by violent protest and a temporary back off by the resource distributing entity.  Too often it takes the collapse of this said entity and the resulting loss of the entire flow of the entitlement before hard hearts are softened.

New UAW President Fights Job Loss To Foreign Shores - Japan And Mississippi

The "perpetual fight for social justice" is the marque element of the progressive organized labor movement. 

The new UAW president promises to fight for the protection of jobs of his represented employees.  He points out how greedy corporations are seeking to move their manufacturing operations from high wage/high regulation states of Michigan, Ohio and California over to places where the less sophisticated governments afford more employee "exploitation"  - China, Japan........and Mississippi.

It must be hard to take for the UAW.  As the Southern auto manufacturing industry experiences expansion the more "enlightened" state which have been "won" are still hemmoraging jobs.

Today after righting against the "right-sizing" of the pay package - GM employees now make a salary that is only slightly higher than their partners at Toyota and Hyundia/ Kia - all of whom have recently constructed plants around the South.

For the UAW they have a choice between a "Cadillac pay package" that is asked to be scaled down to that of a "Chevy" or nothing.   Too often they have held their ground and now have nothing.   The economic eco-system around them having collapsed.

The Cost Of Progressive Economic Policies

The narrative of how the "Rust Belt" came to be is made up of "greedy corporations", "community abandonment" and "outsourcing to lower wage places in pursuit of profits".  This goes relatively unchallenged in most circles.

I maintain that there are two forces at the bargaining table.  This GREED is resident in both of them.
For organized labor they are guilty of doing what they accuse environmental polluters of doing - failing to enumerate the full costs of their actions, beyond the enumerated market costs.

When you look at a Trenton, a Cleveland, a Detroit - the cost of the compensation package that they would not yield from is:

• The collapsed real estate market
• The influx of crime
• The exodus of stable families
• The decline of peripherial businesses
• The loss of tax dollars to provide for government services

All of these ills have been dumped upon the corporation that has exhibited "corporate abandonment".   Few people make note of the fact that the city grew strong as these "consumers of labor" allowed the individual people to focus their work talents into a common goal - producing economic productivity in the process.  Recall during the early days, prior to the equal power of the unions - while the workers were "exploited" - the cities were still able to grow strong.  Today now China is the place of 'exploitation' and yet their economy is growing at a rate far faster than our own.

What good is it to be in a state of "non-Exploitation" yet being unemployed?