Unions.. This bein Labor Day...this post seems appropriate...it'll piss some folks off...

Well Sir...two posts ago I wrote about my bad experience with the TSA and why I, and others, saw the need for some group protection against an abusive and FUBAR management. We turned to a Union for help.

Now Sir.....the main thrust on my article was not supposed to be about Unions, but was primarily regarding the fact that Veterans all across the country...who work in ANY Federal job...are now potentially unprotected against unlawfull terminations. Our Veterans rights protections have been stripped from us by a Federal Distrct Court ruling. Certain Government agencies DO NOT have to abide by laws set forth to protect Vets, and this case now sets a precident for all other Government agencies to follow suit and terminate Vets unjustly.

Okie-Dokie....Now I'm a gonna tell y'all a little more about the Cookster that y'all didn't know...has t'do with Unions......

My father and mother were staunch and extremely active Union folks. My father grew up in Pennsylvania/West Virginia mining country at a time when Unions were badly needed in this country. He knew John L Lewis (Pictured above-United Mine Workers of America) and Walter Ruther( United Auto Workers) personally...and fought side by side with them during the establishment of the UMWA, CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) and UAW....a time by the way when Labor/Management battles were often fought with baseball bats, knives, company goons/cops and guns. Later...my father went on to be a President of the United Auto Workers...and after that fought for Senior Citizens rights across our country. My mother was a Secretary for the UAW.

So Sir...now that y'all got the picture that I knew quite a bit about Unions, their infrastructure and operations...it might come as a surprise fer ya to learn that most of my life I personally believed that Unions had done more to hurt this great country than any other thing, aside from wars that is. No Sir...if ya'd have ever asked me about Unions... I woulda gone on fer hours about what a bane they were t'this here country and how they were THEE cause of out of control spiraling inflation and every other ill facin the United States....how they had the power to bring this nation to its knee's if they wanted to (and a Truckers strike by the Teamsters almost did). Yes Sir...I truly disliked Unions.... a course...ya should also know that through most a my life I was in Management!!!

So...when this here Cookie found hisself on the receivin end of continued and excessive management abuse...my perspective changed quite a bit...yes sir...quite a bit indeed. A wise person once said "people only care about, or get involved in a cause...when it begins to affect them."

I decided to write this article because several of the comments left in the previous post regardin the loss of Vets Rights were about Unions...and the views were...not surpisingly...split. After 62 years of life...here's the Cookie's view regardin Unions...any Union.....

The need fer em is comin back! Yes Sir...the proverbial pendulum is swingin back to a time when we're gonna need them agin mate's....at least in the Government sector. I witnessed first hand an attitude that permeated almost all of the TSA management people I had contact with...and that was that..."we can do any damn thing to you that we wanna do...cause we're Feds." Yupper...gotta admit that after all these years...I was wrong and my folks were right! We need Unions......

Now Sir...knowin a might more about people and life than some folks...I know that this attitude was filtering down from above. These nasty folks that were indiscriminately hurting good people wouldn't be doin things the way they was if'n they were fearin any negative consequenses from above them...No Sir....and by above...I'm talkin about our current Government administration. Now...before y'all jump on me...let it be known I'm a dyed in the wool conservative Republican and voted fer most a the folks that are now in office, something I rue to this very day....anyway...that's beside the point.

My understanding is...and I can be wrong about this, so someone correct me if'n I am...is that certain government workers no longer have "Whistle-blower" protection. I guess it's felt that pointing out corruption, eneptitude, wasteful and inefficient management people or practices will be counter productive to an agency's function. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong regardin this...cause I'm not completely sure.....but I believe I'm correct. So the question now becomes....WHERE THE HELL ARE THE CHECKS AND BALANCES???

So here we are....a loss of Vet's Rights, no Unions to protect certain Government workers...and no "Whistle-blower" protection fer those folks who might say...."Hey...this is wrong."

So...as Fox News would say....."You Decide."....but I guess this is just my way a thinkin....Cookie....