Laboring Along
Sometimes I watch the news or listen to people talk politics, and I just get really sad. Like this uncontrollable melancholy, and I lapse into silence. Because I'm thinking to myself, "What can I possibly say to someone like that?" Usually this happens when I hear all the old talking points come out from people imitating the pundits--those Glenn Beck and Rachel Maddow clones, the mini-Boehners and pseudo-Sarah Palins. It's at that point, I know that the person has really stopped communicating, and no matter what I say she or he won't hear it anyway. And so it makes me sad because an opportunity is gone.
I kind of crave that dialogue, where people critically examine the ideas that are being discussed. I try to think about who's saying what, what their reasoning is, what their evidence is, how that evidence is constructed, and on and on. My hope and my wish is that others are doing it too. I'm open to being convinced but only if you're willing to work really hard and only if you're also willing to listen to what I have to say. Again, my hope is that others share this conviction. It's all about learning. I want to learn from others, and I want others to learn from me. So this type of information and idea exchange is really important to me.
So when someone only says what I've heard a hundred times before, or they don't bother to vet their evidence or their reasoning before they say it, or worse, they spin evidence to fit their own purposes, or even worse yet, they fabricate evidence, I get sad. It's blatantly obvious when it's happening. I don't mind disagreement, nor do I mind contention. But basic decency, ethics, logic, care. It turns out these are things I really care about.
And yet, I've found myself being shocked into silence at the lack of these things more and more often lately.
Undeniably, we're living in interesting times. This is 1989 all over again, it seems, and walls are falling. I'd like to think that democracy is blossoming everywhere, but I guess that will remain to be seen. People are being heard; they're making others listen. But over and over again, the response they get is grounded in stubbornness and shiftiness, a kind of how-can-I-get-what-I-want-without-considering-other-people's-needs attitude. Selfishness. Greed. Lack of concern for others. Downright meanness. Evil, even. It's rampant.
What shocks me the most, though, are the demonstrations in Madision, which if you need me to explain, where have you been? I think it's because it's so close to home, a mere 100 miles up I-90 to Madison, where thousands of people have been camped out for over a week now because of a bill that would limit collective bargaining for state employees.
I'm okay with the idea that not all workers think joining a union is right for them. That may be the case. I can understand why business owners wouldn't want unions. There's less flexibilty in the employer/employee relationship when unions are involved. Things are much more clearly spelled out. But to say that unions shouldn't exist, that they should be done away with entirely is something altogether different. This is where I get lost in this whole situation. How can anyone but industry owners and exectutives think that outlawing collective bargaining is a good thing? We can jabber about how you have to work 60 hours a week so why shouldn't everybody else (That's horrible logic! You shouldn't have to work 60 hours a week, and I would suggest that the reason you do is that you don't belong to a union). We can quibble over whether public/private pay and benefits and pensions are equal all you want. (Talking points... ugh!)
Determining hours worked per week, how much one is paid, what benefits one should receive are important parts of what labor organizations do, but we can't lose sight of what's more important: saftey. Workers have the right to call attention to matters of safety on the job. Getting rid of collective bargaining rights really puts a stop to that. Things you wouldn't even think of. One firefighter in Ohio said it this way, without collective bargaining rights, firefighters won't have any say about how many people go out on a call. Fewer firefighters per engine would be cheaper, of course, but also more dangerous. The same thing is true for other unions as well: fewer nurses means more patients per nurse, a money-saving measure that could be potentially dangerous. Larger class sizes in schools is surely cheaper, but it means teachers will be less effective, who by the way are being more increasingly paid and promoted based on their effectiveness, and students will not learn as effectively (see previous post on this one). We could go on.
So we're left with a situation where American workers' working conditions are deteriorating, and without the right to collectively call attention to these concerns, their working conditions will continue to deteriorate into the future.
I kind of crave that dialogue, where people critically examine the ideas that are being discussed. I try to think about who's saying what, what their reasoning is, what their evidence is, how that evidence is constructed, and on and on. My hope and my wish is that others are doing it too. I'm open to being convinced but only if you're willing to work really hard and only if you're also willing to listen to what I have to say. Again, my hope is that others share this conviction. It's all about learning. I want to learn from others, and I want others to learn from me. So this type of information and idea exchange is really important to me.
So when someone only says what I've heard a hundred times before, or they don't bother to vet their evidence or their reasoning before they say it, or worse, they spin evidence to fit their own purposes, or even worse yet, they fabricate evidence, I get sad. It's blatantly obvious when it's happening. I don't mind disagreement, nor do I mind contention. But basic decency, ethics, logic, care. It turns out these are things I really care about.
And yet, I've found myself being shocked into silence at the lack of these things more and more often lately.
Undeniably, we're living in interesting times. This is 1989 all over again, it seems, and walls are falling. I'd like to think that democracy is blossoming everywhere, but I guess that will remain to be seen. People are being heard; they're making others listen. But over and over again, the response they get is grounded in stubbornness and shiftiness, a kind of how-can-I-get-what-I-want-without-considering-other-people's-needs attitude. Selfishness. Greed. Lack of concern for others. Downright meanness. Evil, even. It's rampant.
What shocks me the most, though, are the demonstrations in Madision, which if you need me to explain, where have you been? I think it's because it's so close to home, a mere 100 miles up I-90 to Madison, where thousands of people have been camped out for over a week now because of a bill that would limit collective bargaining for state employees.
I'm okay with the idea that not all workers think joining a union is right for them. That may be the case. I can understand why business owners wouldn't want unions. There's less flexibilty in the employer/employee relationship when unions are involved. Things are much more clearly spelled out. But to say that unions shouldn't exist, that they should be done away with entirely is something altogether different. This is where I get lost in this whole situation. How can anyone but industry owners and exectutives think that outlawing collective bargaining is a good thing? We can jabber about how you have to work 60 hours a week so why shouldn't everybody else (That's horrible logic! You shouldn't have to work 60 hours a week, and I would suggest that the reason you do is that you don't belong to a union). We can quibble over whether public/private pay and benefits and pensions are equal all you want. (Talking points... ugh!)
Determining hours worked per week, how much one is paid, what benefits one should receive are important parts of what labor organizations do, but we can't lose sight of what's more important: saftey. Workers have the right to call attention to matters of safety on the job. Getting rid of collective bargaining rights really puts a stop to that. Things you wouldn't even think of. One firefighter in Ohio said it this way, without collective bargaining rights, firefighters won't have any say about how many people go out on a call. Fewer firefighters per engine would be cheaper, of course, but also more dangerous. The same thing is true for other unions as well: fewer nurses means more patients per nurse, a money-saving measure that could be potentially dangerous. Larger class sizes in schools is surely cheaper, but it means teachers will be less effective, who by the way are being more increasingly paid and promoted based on their effectiveness, and students will not learn as effectively (see previous post on this one). We could go on.
So we're left with a situation where American workers' working conditions are deteriorating, and without the right to collectively call attention to these concerns, their working conditions will continue to deteriorate into the future.
posted by Brad Smith at 3:46 PM
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