This post is the response that I gave in response to a question I posted on my class message board for Mexican American culture class. The individual who responded is a European immigrant. She let me know that she was a union supporter, and was very emotional as She thought that I was condoning the abuses that early migrant workers recieved under the hands of business owners. I do not, but this was my response.
Maybe I did not make myself clear. I realize that working conditions were bad. I do not condone the practice of neglect on any level. America is made up of immigrants and decendants of immigrants. My ancestors came here with a promise that the government would not prevent them from succeeding. They worked under some fairly inhumane conditions, but somehow they survived the entry level treatment of freedom. It is not always pretty, but they grew from the harsh experience and they moved to the next level of freedom. I grew up with the understanding that government was to promote the general welfare of the nation. Not provide it. We used to be able to take care ourselves, just fine without government interference. It wasn't until the 1930's when we went through the Great Depression that the government began to experiment with our economic system pushing it toward socialism, forming companies such as Fanny and Freddy, that without the government backing would have gone out of business a long time ago. Instead the government kept holding them up until not only did they destroy them selves but our entire economy. I believe there is a difference between a right and a privelege. A right is something that is mine simply because my creator allowed me to live. A privilege is anything that would make my existence a bit more comfortable while I am here. Privileges are nice but they are not gauranteed. Privileges usually have to be paid for. If I can not afford a privilege then I must rely on the mercy of someone to pay that price for me but I have no right to steal someone elses privilege from them. Whether I take it out of his wallet or I elect someone to take it out of his wallet. We have become a society that thinks having things and making money are more important than what we become by earning those things. No one deserves, to retire at the expense of someone else. To assume that all business owners are evil is arogant and an unfortunate effect of a media misrepresentations. The United States of America is the most giving nation on earth. That is not on accident. Business owners are not exempted from their generosities. Many of our greatest institutions benefiting humanity have been created because, these greedy S.O.Bs have created such an enormous financial empire that not only could they take care of thousands of employees, but they have also created foundations that will be self sustaining for many years if not indefinitely. The problem that I have with Unions is not so much what they do, as what they don't do. The unions did improve the lives of the workers, but they don't stop there. You yourself mentioned that your sister recieved great benefits from her work. Did this global crisis just happen? Or is it because governments have been giving us things that they had no right to offer, because they did not have the funds to back up their promises?Have the governments made us so dependent upon them that when they dissappear we will simply shrivel up blow away in the wind because we are incapable of taking care of ourselves? If you knew my heart you would know that I love people and I am fascinated with human relations. It hurts me to see such injustice, but I know that oppression comes in many forms. It is better to lift everyone up from the bottom than to cut off the head of those who have learned the secrets of true wealth.I am not saying that everyone who is rich is good, but if you eliminate the opportunity for good people to become rich then the human potential to do good will be lost. I suppose if I had read what I wrote thinking that I did not care how people treat eachother, I would probably been just as upset as you. I am not questioning the goodness of Ceasar Chavez's intentions. I am not even saying that something did not need to be done. I am just wondering if greed can be experienced from both ends of the financial spectrum? Obviously in the begining justice was enough, but once that was accomplished, we saw that the fight had to be notched up again and again or the unions would loose their cohesiveness. At what point does the cost of labor affect the ability of a business to make enough profit to not only pay it's employees, but also motivate the business owners to stay in business? If you start a business, is it because you see an opportunity to employ people? Or do start a business to make money by providing goods or services to others? I really did not ask this question based on the issue of the treatment of Mexican Americans, so much as the long term effect of the union on the minds and ability of laborers to break out of socio economic lower class. Paying them more does not automatically change the way one thinks about themselves. Is the psychological progress of moving from laborer, to supervisor, to management, to potentially owning their own business and creating more jobs, get interupted by the union and their seniority system? That is more my concern, because, I believe that individuality is swallowed up in unions and I think as much as the business owners should be accountable, so should the laborer. I appologize if you thought that I did not care about how the farm workers where treated. I am just as disgusted as anyone when it comes to the abuse of one people over another. But abuse happens on all levels, and injustice is often followed by revenge. So, are unions seeking equality or do they create hatred and a potential for an atmosphere of revenge?
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