[Jewelry making - Article 00030] - Re: [Orchid] Should Goldsmiths Unionize/Organize

[David L. Huffman]

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>      It is our creativity and our skills which will protect us, not a
>     union or a government regulation.

Hello Batya;

    If skills and creativity were really that hard to come by, you'd be
    right. Even so, you will find yourself up against interests that have
    the power to lock you out of your market or just steal your ideas and
    beat you to the showroom floor. 

    Suppose we take your reasoning to the next step. Should we abandon
    government protection in it's form as copyright protection and
    trademarking? That's government. What do you think will happen when
    the minimum wage laws and the 40 hour work week are overturned as
    unconstitutional? You won't have to worry about the 10 year olds in
    Taiwanese sweatshops, you'll have them right here in the good ol'
    U.S. of A. And what about that Taiwanese 10 year old? How long are
    we, in good conscience, going to let that be a part of our industry?
    I know I'm getting political here, but I'm sorry, there is always
    going to be an element of politics in business, and most of us here
    are involved in business, ours or somebody's. There is a fine line
    between protectionism, or socialism for that matter, and having the
    disposition to bargain collectively and have legislation that keeps
    the playing field level. In the best of all possible worlds, we
    wouldn't need locks on our doors, everybody would be honest. Same
    goes for labor relations in our trade as anywhere else. Anybody who
    doesn't think they have a dog in this fight is mistaken. My opinion
    is, I'd rather stand and fight together than die alone. 

David L. Huffman

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