Despite Democratic politicians’ lackof fidelity to big labor, unions are still forced to support them. Major changes this election cycle, however, have redirected funding awayfrom the national level, as unions focus more and more on the state andlocal levels. Read More “The Future of the Democratic Party and Big Labor”

The Art of Manipulation

In the world of “the union” organizing is a game played to win, to succeed by any means necessary. Empty promises made and lies are told. The workers believe in the organizer like a sheep led to pasture by the butcher. They want to believe, they need to believe. Read More “The Butcher and the Sheep”

When Minds Blend Into One

A skilled union organizer mastersthe psychology behind “mass persuasion”. These mind games are an important tool in the organizers arsenal. Read More “The Art of Manipution”

Any Town, USA

All union organizers, myself included, believed that we made a difference in the lives of the workers. I believed I helped, and most importantly, the worker believed it too. My promises were sincere. I knew the issues and knew how to make the worker feel included in the organizing process. The union was the workers, not me or the other unionofficials.

My job was to give them ownership and control over their campaign. Again, the illusion was that they would have a “voice”, they would meet with management and get what they wanted. Management was the workers’ enemy, and therefore became my enemy. The union campaign became the battleground, a chess game, and I never lost. My job was to do whatever it took to win, which was a simple task when I won over the trust of theworkers. The workers looked to me for the answers. I never really had any, but always provided them with the ability to hope. Read More “Setting: Union Hall”

In January of this year, Hostess filed for bankruptcy, just three years after emerging from their previous bankruptcy with ninety-three billion dollars in sales. This is compelling news, especially since the Teamsters are threatening to strike Hostess while in their weakened condition. The union is refusing to accept concessions as the company is trying to negotiate to maintain the ability to operate and show profitability. In essence, the Teamstersare willing to take Hostess to the brink of destruction and beyond if they don’t get what they want. Read More “Redemption through Pain”

Rise to Power… Fall from Power – The Union Sell Out

As the debate about public sectorunions heats up we are hearing more stories about the abuse of power within the unions and how it affects the communities they serve and how this affects the people who these unions represent. Most organizers and local union officers start off with good intent. In the beginning, they truly feel they are doing a service for their coworkers and the community. Most local union officers never get to rub shoulders with international union bigwigs but for those who do start to move up, it can be a dramatic experience. Read More “Public Sector Union Leaders and Their Agenda”

In my past, I worked as a high-ranking union official and National Organizing Director within the union machine. Back then; we would set our sights on the easiest targets to quickly raise our membership levels. There were many circumstances that factored into our decision ofwhether or not to accept an organizing request from the employees. It could have been an issue involving layoffs in a facility, changes in benefits, regional politics, and safety issues.Sometimes these issues were a concern throughout an entire industry. Then the whole industry became the “low hanging fruit”. Read More “Organizing on the Killing Floor”

Taking Advantage of Exposed Pressure Points

For those who have read Confessions before, you already know that I spent many years serving as an Organizing Director with the Teamsters and Steelworkers and have writtenabout how I was the conductor in an orchestra of chaos during campaigns. The campaigns that were the most fun (before I was on your side) were organizing workers in a hospital environment. There were so many sensitive pressure points that we would make jokes behind closed doors about how we would get hospital leadership to bow down to our demands. Read More “Organizing in Healthcare”

It Really Was This Easy

EMS companies are all very vulnerable to organization, because public opinion and perception of them is critical to their success and ridiculously easy to attack. Read More “Organizing Emergency Medical Services”

All of the tactics used to sway the employees to unionize were based on deception, but there were specific times in my career when that deception reached levels that weremost shocking.
Read More “Immigrant Workforce; An Easy Target”