“Yeah, the Union should…” When you hear one of your co-workers make this statement you probably think about your Stewards, the Union Office, and the people at the front table at your membership meetings. There is another Union though. The Union that started the whole Labor Movement; you, the worker.
You are the true power of the Union. The truth is that the only power any Union Officer has is the fact that you have their back. Solidarity is what gives the Union its power. This is why our Solidarity is always the target of management.
In every shop I’ve worked in, it’s been the same. The good-natured humor from the Company about that co-worker who always makes mistakes, or doesn’t get enough done. The Company nods in agreement that the other department, other shift, other plant, is the problem. It’s always been a mystery to me that no one in management can ever do anything about the other department, other shift, or other plant. I have worked all three shifts, and I have always believed that the shift I followed was the problem. Why did I believe that?
Unity is your strength, so division is your weakness. If the boss disciplines a worker from the other department, other shift, or other plant, we feel like something is finally being done to fix the problem, but the problem being fixed is the problem of solidarity.
Speak to one of your Union brothers who has high seniority. Ask them if the boss ever fixed the other department, other plant, or other shift. You know the answer already, because you are the other department, or the other shift from their point of view, and the same jokes, head shaking, and hopelessness is pointed at you by their boss.
Management would sit up and take notice if you, the real Union, stood up for your brothers and sisters in the other plant, other shift, or other department. This is the hidden power that you have, but no one has told you you have. If five workers walked up to the boss, without a Steward, without a Grievance Rep., or without a Union, the boss would understand the power being displayed in this act.
My family has issues. I will be the first to admit it; however, I will defend my family if someone criticizes my family members. I have faith that, in a crisis, all the members of my family would unite and support each other. Someone outside the family attempting to divide us, and pit us against each other would find it extremely unpleasant once we figured out what he was doing.
By supporting your brothers and sisters you are using your power. I worked in a Union shop where it was common to see a supervisor screaming at a worker. Had we known that we all could have simply stood behind the person being yelled at, and looked at the Supervisor, we could have stopped this behavior. We didn’t know, and we didn’t act, and I didn’t want the Supervisor to come yell at me next, so the behavior continued.
When I lived alone, I used to say out loud “Somebody better wash those dishes!” It’s the same for the Union. When we say “The Union should…” it only means that we have to gather our brothers and sisters around us, and use our power to make the thing happen.
The other Union is you.