[Jewelry making - Article 01213] - Re: [Orchid] Should Goldsmiths Unionize/Organize

[Starstones22]

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    The power of a union relies on the solidarity of  it's workers and
    their ability to impact their employers by withdrawing their labor.
    In the 19th century when the labor union movement  began,
    manufacturing was in the hands of a few robber barons and  their
    response to strikes, whether on in the coal mines, steel mills, or
    cotton mills or on the railroads, docks every other place  labor
    sought to organize, was to hire goons and strike-breakers. Today we
    are dealing with a different reality. Robber barons are now
    multi-national corporations and instead of using intimidation they
    simply take the jobs "off-shore". The only unions that have retained
    their power are those whose jobs cannot be exported. I know that the
    promise of a guaranteed living wage sounds wonderful, but
    unfortunately today a union cannot deliver on that promise. 

    Today I must compete not only with other silversmiths and goldsmiths
    working in my neighborhood, but also with some 10-year-old working in
    a sweatshop in Taiwan. The best way for any of us to  protect our
    work is to get better at what we do. It is our creativity and our
    skills which will protect us, not a union or a government regulation.

Batya Stark

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