Ranting to /dev/null

Disorganized labor

It's finally happened. Andy Stern, leader of the Service Employees International Union, has, along with the Teamsters, abandoned the AFL-CIO, taking about 25% of its membership with them.

This can only be a good thing. Organized labor, as it stands, is a parasite on the economic and political face of the nation, driving costs for businesses through the roof while subsidizing political agendas opposed by the majority of union members. There's a reason that the two of the industries with the highest percentages of unionized employees - auto manufacturing and airline transportation - are nearing or in bankruptcy. Organized labor today does not represent the interests of the common, blue-collar labor-force it claims to protect.

Organized labor, as it has been in the past and should be in the future, should operate with the goal of furthering business interests, not opposing them. It should cooperate with the corporations whose employees it represents. And it should faithfully represent the wishes of its members, not the personal agendas of its organizers. When workers aren't getting paid, union bosses shouldn't either.