Regarding “The Big Squeeze”

I have received some feedback from my blog titled “The Big Squeeze” and I would like to amend a comment I made. I quoted this paragraph from “The Big Squeeze:

“At many unions, the notion of union democracy became an oxymoron. Many union presidents saw themselves as presidents-for-life. Too often they surrounded themselves with yes-men who were scared to challenge them or raise fresh ideas. And too often union leaders deliberately kept the rank and file uninvolved and in the dark, usually because they knew that an informed, invigorated rank and file could someday rise up against them on anything from bloated leader salaries to terrible contracts. A movement that was once inspiring became a champion of the status quo. It had lost its vigor, its vision and its way.”

In quoting this I didn’t mean to imply that every part of this quote seemed similar to our union. However, when Greenhouse said, “union leaders deliberately kept the rank and file uninvolved and in the dark” this does hit home. If nothing is asked, then little will be given. Why doesn’t our leadership ask more of our members besides our dues? Why haven’t we been asked to form and join committees that are in our bylaws, but currently don’t exist? Part of the duty of a union is to educate, but we don’t even have an Education Committee. We are currently in an election year, but where is our Political Activities Committee? Unions across the nation are campaigning for Senator Barack Obama and his promise of a seat at the table for unions, yet our union is silent. It just makes me frustrated and sad that our leadership doesn’t ask us to be more involved in our own union. Unions are a lot like families. We may disagree, argue, and even fight, but in the end we are all brothers and sisters with common hopes and dreams. Diversity of opinions only makes our union stronger, and involving more members through committees is a great way to move our union forward.What I would like to see at the next union meeting is sign up sheets put out for people to sign up and join the available committees listed in our bylaws. And maybe our leadership is right. Maybe nobody will sign up. But maybe a couple of people will sign up. And maybe those people will recruit more folks to join their committees. The possibilities are endless. But we will never know what kind of union we can become if we are not asked.