WE ARE ALL WISCONSIN

 FDR signing the
National Labor Relations Act, 1935

We work too hard.

Those of us who enjoy the right to work at all, that is. This notion was addressed in Juliet B. Schor's landmark 1993 book on the subject "The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure."


MORE SIMPLE TRUTHS

Those who read my last blog post, "THE SIMPLE TRUTH," will know what I mean when I say you don't even need to read a book on the subject to know it's been going on for a long time. It seems in so many jobs we're asked to work longer and longer hours, while "benefits" (such as they are in this country) are constantly eroding, salaries are shrinking, the minimum wage is a human rights abuse, and it's an employer's market. So if you dare "do an Oliver" and ask for a little more, it's straight off to the unemployment line for you.

Which is why we should be equally concerned about labor representation -- or the lack thereof -- in America. And recent events in Wisconsin show us that the worker doesn't have the whip hand, thanks to the incestuous relationship between capital/corporations and the body politic. Now, I've had my fair share of experiences with unions and I know they aren't perfect. But they at least give the working person a leg to stand on.

Of course, unionization is anathema to our faux capitalism and the money grubbers who make all the profits. To such an extent that corporations like Wal-Mart (a notorious example) will videotape and badger and fire their beloved "associates" if they even look like they're talking about forming a union. (Check out the DVD "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" for more on this and other delightful W-M practices.)


WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

Until we remove our faux capitalism and install a fairer, more meaningful, system of production and distribution, we should all care about labor representation. I'll give you just a few basic reasons from my personal experience and observations:

1/ Overwork affects your physical, mental and emotional health.
2/ There are social costs: less time with family and friends, for example. Less time to engage in chosen endeavors. Less time to do worthwhile work in your community.
3/ And less time to agitate politically! This is no accident. The people who own the system want to keep you busy so that you don't have time to cause them problems and take away any of their power. They also want to keep you scared. And who isn't scared of losing their job?
4/ We're losing basic rights, like the 40-hour week and safer working conditions, that came as a result of a great deal of struggle by a lot of brave people. (Which proved it can be done!)
5/ You're working your life away.


SUCKED IN

The many ladder-climbers I've seen who are absorbed by their careers, seem to have bought into the whole game and lost their way. They want to be promoted, they want to buy sexy things like BMWs and big houses, they want to have "prestige."

But to what end? Are these things even real? Really important? And what "progress," what greater good, is their energy poured into: Making more useless stuff for us to waste money on? Or, in the case of a company I worked for, Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment), to get as many people as possible to gamble away as much money as possible. And all the good little MBA-owning execs would slit your throat (metaphorically) to top the sales charts and get promoted.

My "greater good" argument does not generally apply to nurses and doctors and others who provide essential services, and aren't just involved in selling crap, fantasies, or Wall Street's "funny money." Although they have their problems too. Furthermore, any privatization of essential services like health, education, the judicial or prison systems, or public safety is just plain wrong (as is privatization in general).These things are meant to serve society, not be profited from. It's a plain conflict of interest.

Pro-labor protesters rallying at the Wisconsin Capitol.

CONCLUSION

This is not an easy road. It can be a risky, painful one. I know this from experience. But corporations -- and other types of bully employers -- are just like any other bullies: If you let them shove you once, they'll shove you again and again. The light at the end of the tunnel is, as with anything, over time, things can change. Maybe for us, or maybe for our kids.

Think about where you stand and what you can do. (Go here to lend your support to the workers of Wisconsin on April 4.)

Take care,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at THE HYPOCRITES ON THE HILL -- LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

VALE HOWARD ZINN

This blog entry is way overdue.

On January 27, 2010 we lost someone very special. That day, historian and activist Howard Zinn passed away.

If you are really interested in "great Americans," here is one you should read more about. Zinn was a brilliant, courageous and gentle soul who affected many lives in a very positive way and left a legacy that will be with us always.

It would be simply too much to try and tell this man's story here. Below I have listed some URLs if you wish to learn more about him -- and I dare say you should. But here are a few "highlights":

-- Zinn came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, the son of Jewish immigrants;
-- He worked in the shipyards before becoming a bombardier in WWII, an experience that would shape his later political views;
-- He earned his B.A. at NYU and his M.A. and PhD at Columbia University;
-- From 1956 to 1963 he taught at Spellman College in Atlanta, a black women's college. Here he was both an inspiration to his students and a civil rights activist. One of his students, the famed novelist Alice Walker, called him "the best teacher I ever had";
-- In 1980, Zinn published his best-known book: "A People's History of the United States." A brave departure from the standard American history book, "A People's History" looks at the struggles of the country's true heroes and denounces the invaders and demagogues, tyrants and rulers. With an original print run of just 5,000 copies, the book has sold more than 2 million copies, including condensations such as "The 20th Century" and "A Young People's History of the United States." (His one-time neighbor, actor Matt Damon, mentions the book in the Academy Award-winning movie "Good Will Hunting.")
-- Zinn published several other important books, including his autobiography, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train."
-- Zinn's activism included brave stands against racism, the Vietnam War, and labor injustices. He was always willing to back up his words with his deeds.

It is a sad commentary on our culture that a great man like Howard Zinn isn't a household name. But this is also a tribute to the perceived threat he was to the elites who run the U.S. Folks like Zinn are too dangerous to give Oprah-like exposure to. Sad also that "A People's History" is not a standard textbook in every American high school.

And it is very sad that we have lost Howard Zinn.

But he would not have it that way. The always-smiling Zinn would not want us to be sad at his passing. But that would be out of humility. In fact, we should celebrate this great man's life and give thanks that he lived for 87 years, setting us an example with they way he used his life on Earth.

So take the time to read some Zinn. And smile. His was a wonderful life.

VALE J.D. SALINGER

Ironically, on the same day that Howard Zinn died, author J.D. Salinger also left us.

Since the 1960s Salinger was a recluse, publishing nothing (though still writing for himself) and refusing interviews.

He is best remembered for his masterpiece "A Catcher in the Rye," widely regarded as one of the 20th century's great novels. Published in 1951, the book is narrated by 16-year-old Holden Caulfied, who has just been expelled from prep school.

The voice of the book was groundbreaking and grabs the reader right from its powerful opening:
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

It is unfortunate that Salinger decided to withdraw. One imagines that he might have been a great teacher or lecturer. But he chose not to go that way and we must respect that.

May he rest in peace.

Take care,
Adrian Zupp

Links for Howard Zinn:

Obituary article in The Washington Post

The Howard Zinn website

"A People's History of the United States" full version online

Go here and scroll down to "Editorial Reviews" for two synopses of "A People's History"

WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR COMPANY? -- PART 2

Let’s climb back into this saddle for a bit.

I left off in Part 1 talking about how disingenuous the leaders of corporations can be. How they sing a song of unity with the workers but have little in common with them and show little real care for them.

It seems to me that, especially in tough times, the calls for those lower down the totem pole to tighten their belts is, well, diametrically wrong.

How about this: How about they pay us more and we work less? How about they slash their salaries to something nearer to a sane level and put the money back into the salary kitty for us all to divide up?

Can’t you just hear them howling foul? Because when leading execs say “We must tighten our belts,” what they’re really saying is “You must tighten your belts.” The word “We” is not really in the Fat Cat Lexicon.

And I can give you an example that’s really close to home. In 2009, Gary Loveman, the president and CEO of Harrah’s, made 666 times more than I did. (I know that the 666 sounds like a gimmick, but that’s what the calculator came up with.) Now, I may not throw my heart and soul into my job, but I have to think that Mr. Loveman, Harvard pedigree and all, is not working 666 times harder than me.

I know the arguments: He's a wonderboy specialist; he’s supremely skilled; he has connections on Capitol Hill; he works 100 hours a week; he knows God personally. Yes, I got it. Let me repeat: 666 times what I make! Personally, I don’t care if he’s laying golden eggs, that’s just plain obscene.

Of course, Mr. Loveman did speak to we corporate peons at the Christmas party in the ballroom at the Rio in Vegas. He even brought slides of his family because, y’know, he’s just a family man like us. Except that he flies around on a private jet and doesn’t have to worry about medical bills, rent, heat or paying for his kids' top-drawer college educations. His smarmy speech reminded me of the title of a Warren Zevon (pictured) song: Even a dog can shake hands.

When I look at people like Loveman, and even middle managers and lower ranking "yes men/women," I wonder how their brains work. What is it they’re striving for? If they bust their humps for the corporation do they think they’ll achieve some kind of capitalist or personal nirvana? To me, there seems to be no meaningful end for all the means applied. As they say, there’s no “there” there. On my deathbed I hope to be able to reflect on something a little deeper than how many rungs up the corporate ladder to nowhere I climbed. And let’s face it: Corporations don’t really do much good for anybody. They're profit machines. Period.

So that’s the gloom. Where’s it leave us?

Well it’s easier to pontificate on this stuff than to solve it. And most people need to work regardless of what they’re doing: razing rainforests, crunching numbers for insurance companies, or coming up with ways to get people to gamble. It’s easy to feel hopeless and just not think about it.

But that’s the biggest mistake we can make. If you want a better life for your children, if you want a better world, it’s going to take a bit of suffering. The good news is that the dividends are much more gratifying than those you get suffering for a corporation.

I suggest talking to colleagues. Reading up on corporations and the history of the labor movement. Writing down on a piece of paper, in priority order, the things in your life that are most important to you and why. If there’s a union available to you, join it. If there’s not, think about how you might bring one into your workplace – though, admittedly, that’s a very tough undertaking.

You can speak up more to your boss. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets oiled; sometimes it gets fired. You’ll have to weigh that up.

Consider going into the non-profit sector and working for a worthwhile organization and helping to fight the good fight.

But even if you can’t readily change your work situation directly, there are many things you can do outside of work to try and change the economy and the culture of greed. Join groups (even if they're online groups), sign petitions (again, even if they're online), contact your local politicians about issues, make your voice heard any way you can.

Let me give you a very concrete starting point that might fire up your own thinking on the subject. Go to the website of Corporate Accountability International (http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/) and look around. If you pull on that thread, you’ll soon be starting on your own tapestry.

My final point: The day will have to come when we don't just change certain issues or particular workplaces, but we change the very institutions that shape our society, our economy and our thinking. That is the Big Task. But it is attainable. As this blog goes on, I'll talk more about how we can do some serious world changing.

Til next time, keep smiling,
Adrian Zupp
PS: I've emailed Gary Loveman a couple of times asking when Harrah's employees might expect to have their sick leave benefit reinstated. So far, no word from the big man.