Jefes Pay Dues To Lobbyists, Workers Pay Dues To Unions

By René Lara, Political and Legislative Director of the Texas AFL-CIO

Workers can form a labor union when they organize in an industry or job site for better wages, benefits and working conditions. Employers, the big bosses, also belong to organizations such as the local chambers of commerce or trade “associations.” The jefes and jefas pay dues into these groups to lobby the legislature and Congress, plus they hire lawyers to represent them. That’s okay. This is America — a free country. But when workers try to join a group that represents them, hijole, no les gusta.

The need for workers to join a union and become politically active is especially important right now. Workers are getting squeezed from all sides. School budgets are getting cut. Teachers’ school class sizes are getting bigger. State employee positions are being eliminated. Firefighter and police pensions are under attack. Jobs are being outsourced through free trade agreements. The patrones are winning. They are getting richer.

No te dejes! Fight back. Join a union, register to vote and get out on election day.

Workers gain power when they band together. It is a simple concept that has existed since ancient times. Remember the Bundle of Sticks story from Aesop’s fables: A dying man teaches his sons a lesson by asking them to break a bundle of sticks. None of the sons can break the sticks despite all their efforts. He then asks them to untie the bundle and to pick one stick to break, which they easily do. The father says, “You see the meaning — union gives strength.”

Aesop’s lesson remains valid in modern times. In the workplace, unionized workers can be more effective at bargaining for better wages, which cuts into the corporations’ profit. Workers can become more effective at electing better candidates and passing laws that favor the worker. Eso no les conviene a los patrones.

There was a time in America when using child labor was legal and the minimum wage law was non-existent. Also, worker pensions, Social Security and Medicare would have never been created without worker unions’ support.

So, next time you hear anyone bash workers’ labor unions, watch out. They are on the side of the bosses, not the workers’. If you are asked to join a union, you should do it. And, just as important, if a political candidate says they oppose unions or collective bargaining between workers and management, vote for the other guy!

René Lara of El Paso is the Political and Legislative Director of the Texas AFL-CIO, a state federation of labor unions representing 220,000 working people and their families at the Texas state capitol.