I'm disgusted ran into these two young kids now married they went to school with 20.

[Duncanpup]

These two work full time. Two young children one child a toddler the other child six months they were on their way to the W.I.C. office for the babies check up they just mentioned it in our conversation in the parking lot.
These two work full time yet they’re W.I.C. eligible to me this is just so wrong the young man works in warehouse and she works as a hairdresser.

I gave him name of a guy i know that works at one of the three union carriers that are left and hire dock workers. I said i know they’re still hiring as of now when you call the guy mention me I’ve worked with this guy he was man planner for us union drivers at company i drove for that went under in 2023.

I mentioned what they start at in wages i explained any time after eight is time and half any time over forty time and half two hours in wages are union dues monthly and you’ll have great health insurance for you and your family.
He replied wow that the staring wage would be an instant $17 hour raise in what he is making now. Not sure where I’m going with this bitch yet we all know have a real wage gap or wealth inequality in this country.

And healthcare costs through the husband employers that you can’t afford so you have to take your infant to W.I.C. to get a checkup i find it so sad. How does Thom Hartman say it ,they outlawed slavery yet gave us right to work.

And for forty five years my tribe of white people who feel they’re oppressed voted and still votes to make this the norm. In the bullshit the wealthy corporations if we don’t tax them accordingly will create good paying jobs so you can take care of your families.
Sitting here drinking coffee remembering the old heads the guys i used to work with in union freight in late 80’s up to mid 1990’s.
Those guys were Hoffa Sr men. A lot of them were WW2 Korean War Vietnam vets and man did i get an education from those men in break rooms eating lunch or later over shooting the breeze at night over the C.B. running the road oh and they hated Reagan as president and Robert Kennedy for going after Jimmy Hoffa.

Yet they never forgot in what they had to fight for and some of them would tell us young guys well i was young back then don’t fuck it up in what we done for you when we’re gone.

[gab13by13]

1. Oh you bet, union jobs made the middle class.

When unions were booming even the non-union companies had to raise their wages to stay competitive, a rising tide raises all boats.

Even if Krasnov was able to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, you can bet your last nickel that he would make sure they were non-union. I was a union official for 26 years, 50 years ago I attended our Quadrennial Union convention. I will never forget a speech that sweet little union member from Georgia gave to our convention. She talked about southern states passing "right to work" laws that was gutting her union. They just get young workers to vote against their best interests. She told our convention that this was the last convention we would see her attend.

Unions unjustly were given bad names. A good union is a benefit to the company.

[MotownPgh]

2. Unions were bad mouthed just like

other groups are today. Then the general public started taking up against them (overpaid, sleep on the job). The anti union campaign is so effective they even have UNION members voting for the bad guys. You have to give them credit, they stick to a message and it works.

[gab13by13]

3. People would work to organize a union,

but when right to work laws were passed, union workers were given the option to belong to the union, or not, as were new employees. People who chose to not join the union were given the same benefits as people who were paying union dues. You see where I am going with this? It didn't take long to bust the union, people voted against their own best interests.

[ShazzieB]

18. "Right to work" is one of the biggest lies ever perpetrated on working people.

The label sounds so innocuous, even positive. Who can object to having a right to work? Those who came up with that label knew exactly what they were doing, and they knew how to pull the wool over people's eyes with it.

That and "work on demand" are just two of the ways working people have gotten screwed by deliberately misleading terminology since I started working years ago. (I'm retired now.) It's appalling how few rights workers have now and how stacked things are in favor of employers who treat employees like a disposable commodity.

[BaronChocula]

32. Don't know if you saw or recall this but...

Back in the 2000s there was an impasse between autoworkers and automakers. The right-wing noise machine had idiot after idiot go on TV and parrot this script: "There's a guy sweeping floors at GM making 75k a year!"

More of those idiots showed up in MSM news programs parroting that same thing, with no challenge or curiosity from moderators, of course.

Around that time I was at the house of a friend who shared her home with her partner who I would describe as working-class... except he never worked. He basically sponged off her. But we were certainly friendly. We never discussed politics, but the TV was on a news channel covering the labor dispute and non-working working-class guy blurts out "you know they got a guy sweeping floors at GM making 75k a year."

And though that likely specious narrative became so woven in, no journalist (that I know of) tried to find that worker.

[MotownPgh]

33. Journalism is entertainment now.

No facts necessary. And empty headed impressionable fools will always exist I suppose. But how they convince the actual union members to not believe in their own unions is a truly remarkable feat, I've got to give them credit.

[JT45242]

4. My old man was an accountant, always convinced owners to pay more than local union

He convinced the owners that although front end wage was higher, without a union they would spend less overall. But he made sure they got same insurance as the management -- and since that was his family's insurance, it was always pretty good.

He did insist on getting pensions or retirement matching for the workers.

Old man was a contradiction sometimes...wanted fair treatment of workers but didn't want to deal with union demands... especially for vacation.

Back then (he died early 90s), smart businesses did what he did. Give higher wages and some good benefits to prevent the risk of strikes and even better benefits. Now, the businesses have no fear of unions and treat workers like the cogs of the machine in the old movie Metropolis or Marx's theory of alienation.

As a teacher, I was involved in the union. When Ohio effectively decertified teachers and other public workers unions it was an early step towards the current fascist hellscape we live in.

Unions are badly needed today...maybe more so than any other time since the robber barons of the late 19th century.

[gab13by13]

8. There were some unions that went too far,

but a good union was a benefit to the company. I worked in a factory and it competed with other factories in our corporation to stay in business. Our plant manager created a team of both company and union members to meet and brainstorm how our plant could cut costs.
Our local union made the stipulation that one item would not be on the table and that was cutting jobs, that would have to be done only by management.

Companies have rules, have a contract, and unions got the wrong reputation of forcing companies to keep bad workers. Here's how our union worked with the company. The company had rules and steps regarding absenteeism. If an employee missed X amount of work they got a verbal warning, if they missed again in a specified time period, they got a written warning, if they continued to miss work they were suspended pending termination. I was the union person who met with the employee and put his/her grievance in writing. Sometimes the grievant had a situation that our local union could fight for, for example, extenuating circumstances for why they missed work, and then we would schedule a meeting with the company that could even be pushed forward to getting the International Union involved.

However, if the grievant broke all of the rules, violated the contract, we would meet with the company and basically beg for mercy. If the company terminated the employee and our local union believed it was justified, we would not get the International Union involved, we would drop the grievance and advise the grievant that he/she could go the legal route. The thing is, if the grievant went to a lawyer he/she would be up against the company and the union believing that the worker was justifiably terminated.

[MotownPgh]

16. I know PLENTY of democrats in my

ex blue state that complain about teachers salaries, hours and pensions. The right has been successful in tearing unions down. Shoot alot of union members complain about dues and don't want to join

[JT45242]

17. I had a teacher quit the union -- because the union saved his wife's (music teacher's job)

The union voted to forego raises so that specials teachers (music, art, etc.) would not be laid off. BEcause it was good for the STUDENTS and good for our fellow teachers.

He quit when the union voted overwhelmingly to take a pay freeze to protect his wife's jjob and 9 other teachers in the district. "What about MY RAISE?" I said seriously, your raise wouldn't make up for your wife losing her job. 2.5% is not half of your family income.

"I don't care -- I want a raise and if the union won't stick up for ME. I quit."

I still cannot believe that this huy was smart enough to get a BS in Biology

[MotownPgh]

21. He got the things the union fought

for without paying dues. I tell my white collar friends with paid holidays and 9-5 jobs that they can thank a union for these things.

[Celerity]

5. The Democrats' One and Only Union-Busting Governor (Polis from CO, No Labels Problem Solver when he was in the US House)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220328807

[SheltieLover]

13. This one needs to be primaried & beaten to a pulp at fhe poles for anto-union bs

On edit: "No Labels" my ass. Repuke in sheep's clothing.

[Ray Bruns]

6. Yea but Trump Renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America

So promises not made but kept?

[enigmania]

9. No unions where I have lived,

and wages suck unless you have a relative that can get you on with a big company.

[Sharma Dreihund]

10. I know too many who fail to have a minimal quality of life status.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63ba0d84fe573c7513595d6e/68213a6dd9b89340782e1f76_MQL%20White%20Paper.pdf
Yet, our politicians fail to tax the rich and legislate worker/family/people friendly laws.

[chouchou]

11. Forgot who said this but I love it for the truth.

"Many countries look toward the United States citizens and they call us "Ants". It's not a compliment."

[democrank]

12. Kicked and recommended

Thanks for this, Duncanpup.

[SheltieLover]

14. It's the norm, Dunc, for workers at Wal-Hell, Home Depot, etc. to get SNAP benefits due to low pay

It's fucking corporate welfare!

Should be called right to slave laws.

The Kroger where I live STILL pays $7.50/hr! I was shocked when employees were telling me this! And, of course, mgmt complains "nobody wants to work..." Nobody wants to be a slave!

Ty for sharing with us & 20s old schoolmates.

[haele]

19. Back in the early 2000's grocery unions ensured higher wages

Even for the part timers - my neighbor (15 years senior cashier at the local Safeway) was making $14 an hour full time with benefits and her 17 year old was making $6 an hour "student wages" working 12 to 14 hours a week stocking and bussing carts before school and over the weekends. She could get OT, too (max to 8 hours a week) - and did more often once her youngest was old enough to be left home. She actually enjoyed being a cashier.
You could just about raise a family being a cashier at a major grocery store.

[SheltieLover]

20. Yup. My older daughter was a cust serv mgr at a grocery store in Chgo burbs back in early 2000s

& made a decent salary with 1.5x overtime & Sundays & double time for holidays because of union.

Many people worked there & reared families.

[DENVERPOPS]

24. ya know,

I lived with a gal back in the late 70's..........She had over 5 years as a checker at Safeway....... She was earning 22.00 an hour back in the late 70's, but Safeway only allowed them to work 30 hours, because if they worked more, they would get benefits.
I asked two experienced checkers at Safeway last week, what a checker who had more than 5 years earned right now
Both said 16-18 bucks.........FORTY FIVE YEARS LATER, AND MAKING LESS AN HOUR FOR THE SAME JOB???????????/

10-15 years ago Safeway checkers went on strike.......three different checkers told me they got a couple of bucks raise.
Then, I read the terms of the settlement, and it included that they agreed all new hires should be hired at half the wages of previous new hires.............I asked some of the checkers that voted for that contract, what they thought about where they would be if the checkers that preceded them had voted for that concession on new hires......
Of course, after Reagan crashed unions across the United States starting with PATCO, (Air Traffic Controllers Union), every Union employee's wages/benefits, contract or not, went down. Reagan neutered the NLRB and the unions had nowhere to turn......
A close friend who was a Union Electrical Journeyman said three weeks after Reagan trashing PATCO, the companies the Union electricians worked for took a major hit....He went from 22.00 an hour and 26% fringe, to 12.00 an hour and ZERO fringe.....
On his salary alone, he was able to buy a house, have a wife who didn't have to work, put two kids through college, and had two cars, and was able to take a two week vacation somewhere......
That was classic for a middle class worker's ability to support his family and have a satisfactory lifestyle...

In another industry, about that same time, the airlines hiring flight attendants changed their starting salaries for new hired flight attendants to half what it had been........United Led the way, and all the rest followed within a week.....

I guess with Union jobs, (or any jobs for that matter) WE AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET.......

[haele]

25. I remember the Safeway Strike...

I couldn't fathom why they would allow for the New Hires paid half the current new hire wage for the 5% raise with a small added benefits package. It also included a limit on OT on a monthly basis, and made it harder to promote and easier to lay off without compensation - especially if there were grocery store mergers - which was going on at the time.
The vote was split back then; most workers would have given up the raise for the benefits and did not agree to the hiring wage decrease, but my understanding was that Regional Union Leadership was more interested in a "W" and made a really shitty deal because the strike looked like it would be going on too long
Guess What?
Grocery Stores started merging like crazy, closing stores that were "close competitors (sometimes as far as five to ten miles apart) and not offering layoff compensation that the workers originally had to cover a store closure...

[DENVERPOPS]

26. Same thing that happened

with the Union RTD in Denver......(Bus Drivers) all new hires started at ten bucks an hour instead of 20+

The destruction of Unions was prominent with the Republicans, and definitely needed to destroy the middle class for the future....

And now, Dejoy is destroying the USPS so it will be privatized by UPS and FedEx, but what everyone has missed, is the USPS is one, if not THE largest unions in the United States............Two big birds with one stone.......

[mountain grammy]

15. When Hoffa went to prison

the trucks lined the highway in tribute.. an iconic photo that I can't find. My mom was furious at RFK for what she called the persecution of Jimmy Hoffa.
Maybe he's a crook, she said, but he's OUR crook! Ok ma was all I could say!

20 states still haven't raised the minimum wage above the federal $7.25/hour. It's a damn disgrace.

[Jean Genie]

22. Unions are wonderful

I'm old enough to remember the "resentment" the non-union workers had for the union guys. My dad - whose workplace refused to unionize - used to badmouth the union workers in our town as "money grabbers, lazy guys sucking on the public tit, etc. Pure jealousy fabricated by their (anti-union) overlords to keep them, poor, angry, resentful, and totally anti-union. It's another version of the game being played today by Trump, many republicans, and the people (who imagine they are) in power. And just as it sucked back in the good old anti union days, so it sucks today.
When will we wake up?

[ProfessorGAC]

23. My Dad Was A Union Truck Driver

In 1973, when the state scholarship commission based % of total award based on household income, we only got 40% because my dad made too much money.
I had a 4.0 GPA and a 1540 on the SAT and I only got 40% of an ACADEMIC scholarship because on one earner who drove a truck.
How much did he make? The 2025 equivalent of $174,000. The average truck driver today makes around $94k.
The diminishment of union influence on overall salaries has hollowed out the middle class.
Who killed unions? Rs and the big corporate donors to them. But, the average Joe & Jane think dems are the problem. SMH

[Diamond_Dog]

27. A big K and R for a big dose of truth

[pansypoo53219]

28. zombie reagan still rules our ekonomikks. no minimum wage hike keeps things down.

[Deuxcents]

29. Duncanpup..did you ever find out if your referral worked out for him?

[cannabis_flower]

30. You can actually make...

Quite a bit and still qualify for W.I.C. . The income limit is 185 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines, as adjusted. The Federal poverty rate for a family of 4 is $32150. So a couple with 2 kids making an adjusted gross income of $59,477. W.I.C. themselves will tell you that they are not a welfare program, they are a nutrition program.

[Figarosmom]

31. Yeah ( said sadly)

[JustAnotherGen]

34. This

And for forty five years my tribe of white people who feel they’re oppressed voted and still votes to make this the norm. In the bullshit the wealthy corporations if we don’t tax them accordingly will create good paying jobs so you can take care of your families.

I believe Corporations have two choices:

Pay a fair living wage where your employees do not need to obtain public assistance

or

We tax the hell out of you to make up the difference for your employees

Binary Choice. That simple.

[KPN]

35. My Dad was a teamster as a local truck driver. He

also was a Hoffa guy, retired in the 80s with a pension, and raised 9 kids together with our amazing stay at home Mom — who liked to call herself a child development specialist instead of housewife by the way — as a local truck driver. We weren’t wealthy, but we also weren’t poor. We lived in a big new home on an acre of formerly farmland in eastern MA, always had two cars one of which was always a big old, but relatively new station wagon my Mom drove to haul all us kids around in, had good health and — get this — dental insurance, and basically lacked for nothing.

Great post Duncanpup. Just wanted to share some proof from my life that you are spot on, plus do a little bragging on my Dad … and Mom. I’ve had and enjoyed a great life because of the economic and political system we once had. Reagan came along as you pointed out and along with Republicans and whackos thereafter ,fucked that all up royally. My three kids are living a far more difficult and dangerous one because of them.

Again great post and observations — as usual.