Unions interest me. I see the cover picture of unions as a very powerful concept, the voice of the people joining together to force change for the better. Yet something has always bothered me about them. It started in earnest when I worked in Las Vegas for awhile and had to work at night for our own safety because we did not belong to a union. Before that I didn't feel comfortable with the idea, but I was not really against them either. As I have looked further into my own feelings my understanding has increased and I have come to a understand why I feel the way I do...besides the threats.
The idea of a union to increase the power of your voice is kind of alluring. It kind of reminds me of Ursula from the Little Mermaids. Ursula recruited those who wanted something better than what they had, but in order to get what they wanted they had to give up their power they already owned. She knew that once she had their power, she had nothing to worry about. She would never have to give them what they really wanted. She was EEEVIIIIL!!!!
I see unions as a threat to the individual. When we trade our voice in for a collective voice we lose our own voice. In the beginning, unions look good. They have great ideals, promises of a living wage, job security, and the power of your voice to reign in bad business practices. Once they have your voice, what you think is not nearly as important as the Union's agenda. You join because together the collective voice has more money, more power to get the attention of politicians. However, as each Union gets bigger the voice does get louder, but you do not recognize that voice as your own, instead of the collective sounding like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it sounds like Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem.
As Unions join with other Unions suddenly what you thought was a good thing starts to feel like you have no control whatsoever. It is then that you recognize Ursula for who she is. Your dues have fed this monstrosity that you have to feed in order to feed your family. Now you start hearing that tune of Doctor Proctor playing in your head. You know, "Doctor, doctor have mercy on me. Your cure is worse than my disease...."
We can not afford to compromise our individual power, by handing it over to any group. Like a candle on its own there is little light but two individual candles together work to synergize their power. One large candle may burn brighter than one small candle, but it does not have the same synergistic potential as many smaller candles working together on their own.
The idea of a union to increase the power of your voice is kind of alluring. It kind of reminds me of Ursula from the Little Mermaids. Ursula recruited those who wanted something better than what they had, but in order to get what they wanted they had to give up their power they already owned. She knew that once she had their power, she had nothing to worry about. She would never have to give them what they really wanted. She was EEEVIIIIL!!!!
I see unions as a threat to the individual. When we trade our voice in for a collective voice we lose our own voice. In the beginning, unions look good. They have great ideals, promises of a living wage, job security, and the power of your voice to reign in bad business practices. Once they have your voice, what you think is not nearly as important as the Union's agenda. You join because together the collective voice has more money, more power to get the attention of politicians. However, as each Union gets bigger the voice does get louder, but you do not recognize that voice as your own, instead of the collective sounding like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it sounds like Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem.
As Unions join with other Unions suddenly what you thought was a good thing starts to feel like you have no control whatsoever. It is then that you recognize Ursula for who she is. Your dues have fed this monstrosity that you have to feed in order to feed your family. Now you start hearing that tune of Doctor Proctor playing in your head. You know, "Doctor, doctor have mercy on me. Your cure is worse than my disease...."
We can not afford to compromise our individual power, by handing it over to any group. Like a candle on its own there is little light but two individual candles together work to synergize their power. One large candle may burn brighter than one small candle, but it does not have the same synergistic potential as many smaller candles working together on their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment