"Union Facts"

[Seth]

This is a self-proclaimed "labor union watchdog."

A lot of their videos on YouTube are promoted videos. This is clearly a well-oiled propaganda machine.

A sampling of some of their videos:

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How can we respond to this?

ps the YouTube linking is dumb on this forum.

[Susurrus]

THE. FUCK.

http://www.youtube.com/user/unionfacts

[Geiseric]

What a moron.

[Aspiring Humanist]

Paid for by Concerned Management of Corporate America

[Yuppie Grinder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcj3o89VVAs&feature=channel_video_title
adorable

[Seth]

It's too bad revleft's video project is dead. Otherwise you could respond to this.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

So school elections would be more entertaining if they were run by labor bosses? :laugh:

[RadioRaheem84]

Why is every union boss a greasy haired ethnic Italian/Greek mobster looking dude?

Every person being strongarmed a nice Anglo Saxon?

[Jimmie Higgins]

How can we respond to this?By helping to build an effective labor movement with rank and file power and involvement.

The ruling class will always try and demonize the labor movement, who cares, they demonize alcohol and pot and people still go to high school parties and get fucked up more often then not - why because the propaganda doesn't work if they say pot will make you crazy and then you go home and your brother and people in the neighborhood smoke weed and it only makes them crazy for soda and chips.

To neutralize the demonetization and propaganda, there needs to be an effective labor movement so that working people know that defense of their interests at the job is beneficial. If the labor movement is not fighting and there is little internal democracy, then it is easy for the ruling class to argue that they are useless at best and corrupt and harmful at worst.

But why a movement and struggles with rank and file power from below and more internal democracy, specifically... not because it's "nicer" but because it would be more effective for workers and radicals and have a higher level of involvement so there was less space for the ruling class to push these messages onto working class people.

While the ruling class will demonize on the one hand, it will also co-opt it on the other (or when the demonetization propaganda is not effective). In Wisconsin, the demonizations only made people more resolute, but the co-option disarmed the movement.

[CAleftist]

While the ruling class will demonize on the one hand, it will also co-opt it on the other (or when the demonetization propaganda is not effective). In Wisconsin, the demonizations only made people more resolute, but the co-option disarmed the movement.

Right. It was unfortunate that a lot of the energy in Wisconsin ended up being sucked away into the Democratic Party political apparatus. That doesn't mean we can't at times work with liberals for practical reasons, but we should always be wary of liberal activists who seek to use the popular movement for their own gain, which is always a reactionary tendency.

[Feodor Augustus]

Why is every union boss a greasy haired ethnic Italian/Greek mobster looking dude?

Every person being strongarmed a nice Anglo Saxon?

In America, this has been pretty much the standard anti-union trope for decades. Yet in reality, where mob control of unions has occurred, employers have tended to have little quarrel with it, even going as far as to aide it. For employers this is ten times more preferable than having socialist, or even moderately social-democratic, union leaders - which unless I'm mistaken is still proscribed under American labour law.

By the way, good post Jimmie - said everything that needed to be said.

[MustCrushCapitalism]

What asshats.

[Red Commissar]

This plays off the traditional 'anger' some people might have towards unions, especially the bloated ones that tend to work with management.

Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) these are trying to redirect the anger towards workers feeling they can handle this on their own, getting 'merit' style payment and benefits rather than all working together.

It's been divide and conquer for a long time and it's sad that people'll buy into this shit.

[Niccolò Rossi]

The second video is actually pretty funny.

Nic.

[citizen of industry]

From Wiki:


The Center for Union Facts is an interest group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interest_group) critical of union officials’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_union) activities. It is one of several advocacy and public relations groups created by Richard Berman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman). Berman’s Washington, D.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.)-based public affairs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying) firm, Berman and Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company), specializes in research, communications and advertising.
Berman’s website says he founded the CUF "to make employees (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee) and the general public (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_public) more aware of the questionable activities of labor officials.” Sources used are from primary documents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source) taken from government sources, including the Department of Labor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Labor), the National Labor Relations Board (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Labor_Relations_Board), the Internal Revenue Service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service) and the Federal Election Commission (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Election_Commission).



Richard Berman (born 1942) is a Washington-based lobbyist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbyist). Through his public affairs firm Berman and Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company), Berman runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom)[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman#cite_note-0) and the Center for Union Facts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Union_Facts).[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman#cite_note-1) Berman's companies have run numerous media campaigns downplaying the dangers of obesity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity), smoking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking), mad cow disease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_cow_disease) and drunk driving (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_driving), as well as criticizing the minimum wage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage).[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman#cite_note-usatoday-2)[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman#cite_note-60min-3)

[RadioRaheem84]

Though Berman and Company do not publicly name their clients, 60 Minutes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes) obtained a list of the companies that fund them. Among the parties named were the Coca-Cola Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_Company), Tyson Foods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyson_Foods), Outback Steakhouse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outback_Steakhouse), Wendy's International, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s_International,_Inc.), Brinker International (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinker_International) (parent company of Chili's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili%27s) and Macaroni Grill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romano%27s_Macaroni_Grill)), and Arby's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arby%27s).[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company#cite_note-60min-2)[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berman_and_Company#cite_note-cfe-5)


Don't forget their clientele.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

2nd video:
Yeah! If those pesky unions weren't around, all races would be equal, it's a proven fact!


...wait a second...

[ericksolvi]

I'm glad to see that people on this site recognize that there are some problems with modern US unions. Having worked with some personally I can say that they fall far short of the ideal. Even my mother's teachers union is filled with politics, in fighting, and blatant favoritism.
The ideal union, one that could form a solid basis for a workers council, and be an asset to bottom up organization, does not exist in the US at this time.
They are object lessons for what can go wrong with a workers movement. In a revolution we will be able to use the mistakes of past unions to help us better construct the workers councils that will form the basis of our new society.
For the time being we should all support union reform. Some of these organizations could be made to represent our highest ideals, the needs/good of the workers over the greed/despotism of owners.