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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A retired teacher writes why she supports unions. « Fred Klonsky's blog

A retired teacher writes why she supports unions. « Fred Klonsky's blog

A retired teacher writes why she supports unions.

I’ve been thinking about what I was going to say on this blog ever since you announced it Fred, and it is difficult, not because I have nothing to say, but because there are so many reasons to support unions.

My first thoughts are with the coal miners, the railway workers, and even the women of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory who died in a horrific fire because their efforts to unionize for safe working conditions were halted. Without their bravery, tremendous sacrifices and loss of lives, millions of people would be working in conditions that give them no control over their environment.

But unions are more than that, and people who aren’t fortunate enough to have union protection,