Wednesday, February 16, 2005
I can't believe all the letters to the editor in The Gazette that back up Wal-Mart and deride unions as counter-productive, costly and ultimately bad for the consumer. Besides, as one genius wrote today, nobody is forced to work for Wal-Mart, right? Right. So because they couldn't get anything better they should just take any shit their employer decides to throw at them and shut the hell up.
The whole backlash against unions worries me. Unions not only fight for their members, they fight for all workers in a society. If it weren't for unions we would have longer work-weeks, lower pay, dangerous working conditions, and no recourse when employers stomp on employees' rights in their frenzy for "shareholder satisfaction".
In other words, we'd be like China and other Third-World countries.
And where does Wal-Mart buy most of its merchandise? You guessed it - China and Third-World countries. And if they were allowed to hire their "associates" there too, they would. Actually they are now, in Mexico.
Unions are not perfect, but I'm glad we've got 'em. Have you ever met an employer that cared about employee welfare for its own sake, never mind for the sake of loyalty and increased productivity? If they existed in retail, Wal-Mart likely drove them out of business.
Let's use our consumer clout and stop being brainwashed into thinking that he who delivers low prices is our friend and deserves our business. Give your business to companies that are part of your society -- or better yet, your own neighbourhood. Buy less and buy better. And fight the power!
The whole backlash against unions worries me. Unions not only fight for their members, they fight for all workers in a society. If it weren't for unions we would have longer work-weeks, lower pay, dangerous working conditions, and no recourse when employers stomp on employees' rights in their frenzy for "shareholder satisfaction".
In other words, we'd be like China and other Third-World countries.
And where does Wal-Mart buy most of its merchandise? You guessed it - China and Third-World countries. And if they were allowed to hire their "associates" there too, they would. Actually they are now, in Mexico.
Unions are not perfect, but I'm glad we've got 'em. Have you ever met an employer that cared about employee welfare for its own sake, never mind for the sake of loyalty and increased productivity? If they existed in retail, Wal-Mart likely drove them out of business.
Let's use our consumer clout and stop being brainwashed into thinking that he who delivers low prices is our friend and deserves our business. Give your business to companies that are part of your society -- or better yet, your own neighbourhood. Buy less and buy better. And fight the power!
# posted by becca : 10:59 AM
