Posted by
Rix on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 10:47:47 AM
This morning when my alarm went off there was a commercial on the radio full of warm fuzzies for a local trade union. My grandfather was in a trade union. He apprenticed and study and worked hard to become a member of the printer's union, and on at least one occasion I know they saved his job by lobbying for job training when the printing industry switched from typesetting to computers. In recent years it has been questioned whether or not unions have out lived their usefulness.
They are not getting good press right now. The writers out in Hollywood are looking like spoiled brats. The big consequences of the strike are a loss of the awards show and millions of Americans finding something to do with their time other than watching t.v. Woman are spending less time watching housewives and more time being one. Sure it stinks that we don't have a new season of 24, but maybe Kiefer Sutherland will use this time to reevaluate his life and get sober (probably not, but we can hope).
Since 9-11 airlines have struggled. Gas prices, extra security, and new regulation have taken a real toll on their budgets. Instead of doing what they can to help the struggling business the pilot's unions threatened to strike if their demands weren't meant. No matter how reasonable the demand might have been ( I really don't know what they were) they came off looking greedy. They were going to shut down an entire industry and put thousands out of work because of what they wanted, that is what the rest of us saw.
Many people have talked about unions outliving their purpose. They wonder if it is time to rid the country of them. I think it is time to repurpose them. Labor Unions could be one of our best allies against illegal immigration. Right now they have the reputation that the union leaders don't care where their dues come from as long as the big guys get paid. Lets change that. Our country needs Union Labor to mean Legal Labor.
How does this sound to you? If you want to have a union you have to guarantee that your workers are legal residents. If you are caught with illegals being card holders the union will be heavily fined and with multiple violations you will lose your accreditation.
The real trick would be in getting unions to be realistic. For example, if they insist on members of a gardening union make $25 per hour they have priced themselves out of the market because you can find illegal workers for $10 per hour. I'm not saying they have to meet or beat that price, but be reasonable. Personally, I would pay about $5 more per hour for certified legal workers to put down mulch and pull weeds. Any more than that and I'll do the job myself.
What do you think? Could unions be trusted to help fight illegal immigration?