(lurkers come out edition)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Reclaiming FDR’s legacy
Well known as a whipping-boy of the Right, where is the fervent defense of FDR on the left?
Roosevelt played an amazingly catalytic role in the politics of labor unions. Many union organizers signed up membership easily by portraying themselves as “agents of Roosevelt” rather than having to dwell in detail on the merits of unions as an economic or political force.
In 1936, John L. Lewis changed union politics irrevocably when he put the entire United Mine Workers’ resources behind Roosevelt’s re-election. His monetary contributions to FDR’s campaign alone set a new record for union political contributions, not to mention the organizing resources he lent to the campaign.
Lewis backed Roosevelt, and Roosevelt, in turn, backed Lewis. The first test was the fledgling UAW’s Flint, Michigan sit-down strike. In addition to Roosevelt’s landslide, the Democratic surge also brought Frank Murphy in as governor, which played a key role in the Flint strike.
(Lewis played little role in planning the strike in Flint – he was first of all interested in the steel campaign and the SWOC, while the UAW had autonomous leaders who planned the move against GM – but his one clear piece of advice was to by all means hold the strike until Jan 1st when the new governor comes into office. The UAW almost made it, but that’s another story. Once the strike was underway, however, Lewis backed it fully and was key in negotiating the settlement.)
The Lewis-Roosevelt alliance would sour, particularly when Roosevelt pulled back relief spending in late ’37, thinking the Depression was over, and then failed to back the SWOC in Little Steel, after company goons and thug cops gunned down 10 unarmed strikers. Roosevelt’s response: “A plague on both your houses.” For Lewis, this represented the turn back to the governmental norm, where private property rights always trumped the working-man’s right of association.
Roosevelt played an amazingly catalytic role in the politics of labor unions. Many union organizers signed up membership easily by portraying themselves as “agents of Roosevelt” rather than having to dwell in detail on the merits of unions as an economic or political force.
In 1936, John L. Lewis changed union politics irrevocably when he put the entire United Mine Workers’ resources behind Roosevelt’s re-election. His monetary contributions to FDR’s campaign alone set a new record for union political contributions, not to mention the organizing resources he lent to the campaign.
Lewis backed Roosevelt, and Roosevelt, in turn, backed Lewis. The first test was the fledgling UAW’s Flint, Michigan sit-down strike. In addition to Roosevelt’s landslide, the Democratic surge also brought Frank Murphy in as governor, which played a key role in the Flint strike.
(Lewis played little role in planning the strike in Flint – he was first of all interested in the steel campaign and the SWOC, while the UAW had autonomous leaders who planned the move against GM – but his one clear piece of advice was to by all means hold the strike until Jan 1st when the new governor comes into office. The UAW almost made it, but that’s another story. Once the strike was underway, however, Lewis backed it fully and was key in negotiating the settlement.)
The Lewis-Roosevelt alliance would sour, particularly when Roosevelt pulled back relief spending in late ’37, thinking the Depression was over, and then failed to back the SWOC in Little Steel, after company goons and thug cops gunned down 10 unarmed strikers. Roosevelt’s response: “A plague on both your houses.” For Lewis, this represented the turn back to the governmental norm, where private property rights always trumped the working-man’s right of association.
No "Mr. Nice Guy"
All organizing is accomplished under a banner.
An already existing banner is far preferable to a brand new one.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself:
I'm in my early 30s, I live in New York City.
I've worked in NYC's foodservice industry for about a decade. I went to culinary school, I ran my own (very) small business for 3 years, with one seasonal employee each year.
Running my own business convinced me of the importance of the union movement.
The easiest way to become rich in the food business is to hire on super-cheap labor. It's debatable as to whether there even is another way.
Exploitation is the coin of the realm. Even if you, as the owner of a food business, want to pay your employees the most you can afford rather than the least you can get away with, the premium you can offer your employees is extremely limited.
This is for one simple reason: you have to compete very directly with food produced by super-exploited labor.
The food business is very labor-intensive and price sensitive. Or, to put it another way: most restaurants are under-capitalized, low productivity workplaces, that survive only because of the low wages they pay their employees.
If you think, as I did, that just by being a "nice guy" you can substantially improve your employees' compensation, think again.
An already existing banner is far preferable to a brand new one.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself:
I'm in my early 30s, I live in New York City.
I've worked in NYC's foodservice industry for about a decade. I went to culinary school, I ran my own (very) small business for 3 years, with one seasonal employee each year.
Running my own business convinced me of the importance of the union movement.
The easiest way to become rich in the food business is to hire on super-cheap labor. It's debatable as to whether there even is another way.
Exploitation is the coin of the realm. Even if you, as the owner of a food business, want to pay your employees the most you can afford rather than the least you can get away with, the premium you can offer your employees is extremely limited.
This is for one simple reason: you have to compete very directly with food produced by super-exploited labor.
The food business is very labor-intensive and price sensitive. Or, to put it another way: most restaurants are under-capitalized, low productivity workplaces, that survive only because of the low wages they pay their employees.
If you think, as I did, that just by being a "nice guy" you can substantially improve your employees' compensation, think again.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
My dad sent me this article from the New York Times (clipped out of the newspaper and sent u.s. postal! my dad is wildly old-fashioned.)
It's sort of a received-wisdom thesis on the Gen X midlife crisis.
Is the word “crisis” useful in thinking about midlife?
Most of us, it is true, born between ’65 and ’85, have gotten to the point on our lives where we look back and take in the view. Some will doubtless feel pleased, others disappointed with their estimation of their accomplishments thus far.
In either case, the question “am I on the right track?” has a persistent validity. A sort of a “go straight or turn” moment where the question is not how to get to a specific place (Google Maps can answer that), but “where do I want to go?”
Damn this is rambling. I have to get a job with a quickness, that's my crisis. But who will hire me to do what I know needs doing?
Question: Is there anywhere “to go” in life?
(If that one doesn't belong in the GEN X FAQ :p)
It's sort of a received-wisdom thesis on the Gen X midlife crisis.
Is the word “crisis” useful in thinking about midlife?
Most of us, it is true, born between ’65 and ’85, have gotten to the point on our lives where we look back and take in the view. Some will doubtless feel pleased, others disappointed with their estimation of their accomplishments thus far.
In either case, the question “am I on the right track?” has a persistent validity. A sort of a “go straight or turn” moment where the question is not how to get to a specific place (Google Maps can answer that), but “where do I want to go?”
Damn this is rambling. I have to get a job with a quickness, that's my crisis. But who will hire me to do what I know needs doing?
Question: Is there anywhere “to go” in life?
(If that one doesn't belong in the GEN X FAQ :p)
Hello from planet earth
Do you know how to spot a suspicious person? (jump to 2:12 for the best part)
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