View more of the Sun's opinion section
In the last century, many people fought and died for the right to join a union. It was the only way they could have any say in what happened to them economically, and it was a way to band together to fight the greed of a millionaire class that used them to become even richer, while overworking and underpaying them.
Now, workers are under assault again in many “right to work” states, where people are discouraged from unionizing and where “right to work” just means right to work for less. It’s amazing that people keep buying into that idea without understanding what it really means.
I’m retired now but was a 30-year union member, and I’m grateful that I have a comfortable retirement, though I know many seniors who do not live comfortably in retirement. They count only on Social Security, which all seniors do, but that’s always under threat of cuts, as is Medicare. My union was the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and it guaranteed that I made the same hourly wage as any male engineer. The job you were able to hold and the money you made was differentiated by the amount of seniority you had, a fair system. I’ll always be a union supporter because I see how good pay and a level playing field benefits all of us.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy