We see where this is going. Nothing
wrong with buying things made in the USA, but workers need more money. Can't
buy at the company store any more. No credit. Living paycheck to paycheck. How
can we buy anything? American,
Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Irish, made in Canada, from Singapore. Wherever. Our trade union leaders are missing
miss the big picture.
Buy American laws help nothing economically without an economic stimulus. Public works jobs!
Food Stamps (now called SNAP). We know that Food Stamps and Women and Infant Care
(WIC) coupons used at union supermarkets provide good jobs for union grocery
clerks and meatcutters which in turn encourages American farmers to produce
higher yields because more of their agricultural products will be sold. So why
is our President eliminating the program? Jobs in the Federal sector building
infrastructure create real jobs under Davis-Bacon. So why is Trump trying to
eliminate it? Right to work laws cut wages and benefits which means workers buy less because they have less
disposable income. Trump wants to make Right to Work (for less) a
national law.
Some American labor leaders don't get it. They suggest working
with Trump, but he doesn't want to work
with them. Trump’s presidency is all
smoke and mirrors to keep workers’ attention away from what is really going on.
When these geniuses wake up and realize what their members instinctively know
already, that the solution isn't “Buy American” or “Make America Great Again,”
it's class struggle and militancy to win better collective contracts, they
should be supported wholeheartedly. But at this moment union membership in the
private sector is at the lowest level it has been since the start of collective
bargaining in 1935 because the American labor movement lacks a class oriented
approach and a working-class vision. Workers lose confidence in organizations
that take their dues and fail to deliver, and understandably so. The bosses are
our adversaries, not our drinking buddies. Workers don’t want to join
membership dues clubs to get discounts. They want wages that reflect the real cost
of living, medical and retirement benefits, job security, and strong health and
safety language in their collective bargaining agreements. Workers are entitled
to leisure time to spend with friends and family. Working families deserve to
be able to afford a quality education. Union leaders should stop fooling around
with Donald Trump and join with the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU),
the most experienced, class oriented, democratic trade union federation in the
world.
Deals like NAFTA and CAFTA have hurt us. Our union leaders
admit that, so why this fascination with Trump? Products manufactured are no
longer made in one country or territory. Most USA made products including our
food supply are made with components and units or portions manufactured in
other countries by non-union labor, so the Buy American slogan benefits the
capitalists but does nothing to improve the material conditions of the workers.
That’s why “Buy American” is a phony slogan. Workers need solutions to the very
real problem of wage disparity, unemployment while others are working overtime,
speed up, and under staffing. It’s time
to take the gloves off. Donald Trump is no friend of the American worker. Deals
can’t be struck with the Devil.
www.labortoday.us
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