Labor versus Management…and the rest of us

There is no “right” to collective bargaining in the US Constitution. The fact unions are allowed the unique privilege to bargain with their employers is a violation of every non-union citizen’s Fifth Amendment right. It says, “No person shall…be deprived of….property without due process of law…”

If union and management reach an agreement at the bargaining table, any pay raises end up being a cost passed on to the consumer (or taxpayer). That’s me. And I wasn’t at that bargaining table, therefore I wasn’t represented. Therefore, there’s no “due process of law.” And yet, my “property” – that is, the purchasing power of my dollar – has been reduced due to those costs being passed on to the consumer/taxpayer. And that reduction deprives me of (some) of my property.

However, I am not anti-union as much as I am pro-independent. Only by getting Independents in office, completely replacing the Dem/Pubs, can we restructure our legal environment. Then we’ll have the level-playing field which pro-union (actually, pro-worker) activists have always dreamed of.

There was a time when unions served a purpose. And I salute the brave pioneers of the early days of the labor struggle. To be sure, a lot of workers feel like cattle that are being manipulated by their bosses. But seeking shelter in a union is not the best answer in this day and age. Far too often, the unions are in bed with the elected power structure.

There are three practical weapons in the hands of the average citizen that can bring about real systemic change:

ONE: Take your business elsewhere. For those of you who deal with the nation’s largest financial institutions – take your business elsewhere. You might say, “Smaller institutions won’t give me as good a deal as the big boys.” If, however, you look at the long-term detrimental effects of mindlessly supporting big business, any short-term gain you’d realize with them will be massively negated. Your continuing support will allow big business to get even bigger to the point of working even more effectively against your interests.

TWO: Vote for independents for office. Once people wake up to how truly horrible the Dem/Pubs are, they’ve got to make it known they’re in the market for alternatives. There are a lot of extremely talented leaders in this country who aren’t politicians. In fact, few politicians are even that bright – they’re only good at following orders from party leaders. But we’ve got to let these legions of the talented know we want them to step up to the plate. Writing in the names of your preferred candidates on election ballots would be a start – even if they’re not running for office. Even setting up web pages (for example, on Facebook) as a home base for Friends of Independents would send a signal.

THREE: Stop behaving so predictably. People who market for a living count on your predictability. Knowing how you’ll most likely behave, they can tailor their advertising campaigns accordingly. So dare to be different. It wouldn’t even take much. For in spite of what Obama said about “Change you can believe in,” real change scares the hell out of movers and shakers who thrive on your predictability. For instance, if everybody in Chicago stopped buying the Tribune for a month, that fascist rag would go out of business. And it wouldn’t even require “everybody” to boycott. But we’d have to start somewhere. And that’s the problem…we’re so predictable, no one can even muster the will to entertain the thought.

Because of the internet and the popularity of social networking sites, the common man has a lot more power now than he’s ever had. Problem is, he can’t quite escape thinking of himself as a common man.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“Join the New American Revolution – Declare your independence by voting for independents.”

Contact me at: bpa_cinc@yahoo.com