Boy* ** in These titles mean nothing.

A rough 12 hours. I wrote about a large part of it in a private entry and now I’m trying to decide what to write for you to read.

Some of you probably know what’s bothering me. Some of you might feel the same way. Others will feel the opposite way. That’s how life goes. We don’t all think the same way. We wouldn’t even want or expect to all agree on everything.

So much of life depends on which way the wind is blowing. Yeah, you know.

I am sailing through early morning YouTube. The last long term commercial directed at me was from Americans For Prosperity. This one was centered in the state of Indiana and it describes the fight for and victory of a state law making the state a Right to Work state. Right to Work means unions cannot require workers who work at a workplace with a union to belong to the union. Iowa has never been a right to work state. Everyone has the right to decide not to belong to a union. Of course any benefits from belonging to the union go to all workers whether they are paying union dues or not. It doesn’t outlaw unions but it outlaws the requirement to belong to a union.

I have a little personal experience with a union. My old old old job - the one I was at for 33 years had a union. The first nine and a half years I was there I worked as an hourly worker on the production floor and thus was eligible to belong to a union. I joined as soon as my probationary period was over and stayed a member until I was offered what I thought was a better job in what might have been called management.

The new job paid a little more and offered better and cheaper medical insurance and perhaps and probably more opportunities. It did turn out to be a better job though it had drawbacks too. I’m glad I took it. I could say I learned a lot. What I don’t know is if I would have stayed in my production job for my whole 33 years. It’s like staying married. In fact it’s a lot like staying married. There are benefits to stability but there’s always the wonder if something more suitable isn’t around some blind corner or another. And then in the end, it probably doens’t matter. We choose easy decisions or hard ones and then we live with the consequences. That is exactly what life is all about.

What I want to say though it that my experiences with unions have been positive. Even in the years after I belonged to one. Our union was a pretty tame union. As far as a I know there was only one strike in the whole history of the company. That strike ended with the closing of the plant at which it happened and the opening of several other plants including the one where I worked. That of course colored everyone’s union experience, including the union’s own performance.

Our union worked with management - not totally, but to a great deal. It was a stable avenue of communication between labor and management. There was a system of complaints and answers to complaints. There was a contract with regular raises for all employees, union members and non-union members. Of course those of us in the office did not always get annual raises. Most years we did but there were some when we didn’t. One year we didn’t get raises but we were allowed to wear jeans to work. Believe it or not, wearing jeans was not preferable to a raise, but it was better than nothing. I liked being able to wear jeans to work.

Back to whether people should be required to belong to unions. I see it as mainly as Democrat/Republican issue. Red states - those with Republican majorities - tend to be Right to Work and blue states - those with Democat majorities - tend to be non-Right to Work.

Much of our government seems to be black/white, red/blue - more than it was ever before. Iowa has always been red but there were times when we had Democrats in Congress, as Governors, and an occasional majority in the at least one house of the state legislature. Honestly I can remember a lot of good Democrats in and of Iowa. Indulge me with a little list:
Harold Hughes
John Culver
Tom Harkin
Tom Vilsack
Mary Jo Wilhelm
John Beard
Lennie Burke*

I have to wait for JIm to get up so he can help me remember names.
The two I can’t remember are the state legistlator who used to paint water towers who said at a county committee meeting we needed to pass marriage equality because it was the right thing to do, and the county supervisor* who was quoted in the Des Moines Register saying we had to take care of our land because the God for sure wasn’t making any more of it.

=================

It’s Friday. It rained overnight. The sky is still gray with clouds.
Jim says John might be coming down tonight.
I hope to find a way to be a good mother.
That last line made me smile.
I’m not a bad mother.
I wasn’t a bad union member.
In fact that job - both the union part and the non-union part helped support my kids and the farm. It helped me take care of my husband. I remain grateful for the opportunities it gave me. It allowed me to do genuine work. It gave me a regular paycheck. I was fortunate to have had it.

Last updated June 28, 2024