Ahhh... So what you're saying is that people have a RIGHT to vacation?Originally Posted by Lainey
Ahhh... So what you're saying is that people have a RIGHT to vacation?
yes! It's inalienable. It's in the Constitution. Oh, wait...
Along with a right to a short commute and a schedule that fit's my needs rather than the employer's?
What we each actually have a right to do is to bargain with prospective employers to secure benefits we find desirable. If we don't find them at one place, we have the right to move on. Why is that such a foreign concept?
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
Maybe because it would require an individual to take action to produce a result. Action carries an implied responsibility. Such a course would be counter to the trend of removing all sense of responsibility for members of the hive...errr, electorate. Responsibility just doesn't fit well enough onto a spoon to be viable.
"Work will set you free!" i used to have a tiny sign at my desk expressing this sentiment in its original German. Talk about cynical irony. At any rate, I did my time, and i am now free.
I often think it's a life sentence with no possibiility of parole, all those lies we put our money into that are going to pay off someday like 401ks are merely lies noone can really be dupe enough to believe.
Trees don't grow on money
Ah yes, the attitude of the privileged (are they clueless or smart foxes?). "Just get another job!" "simply move on!" "There are sooo many options" except, of course, using our government to set standards and rules to help the powerless.
But, in the elite, I-got-mine-to-hell-with-you, everyman for himself utopia, this country would be like china/Taiwan/Korea where workers work long days for pennies and don't dare ask for a little time off cause there is always someone waiting to take that job. Lords and Serfs...ahh, the good ol days of 1776. Now we know why they want to turn back the clock.
But, funny thing about that 'simply organize for more power in the workplace' ideal, the same people who espouse this as THE WAY, are also the ones who are trying to take even that away.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...nst_unions.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1244422.html
http://www.americablog.com/2011/03/r...ons-moves.html
http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2...against-p.html
So, what is a worker to do?
Interesting stuff peggy, but it continues to dodge the question: is vacation time for workers a RIGHT? Lots of discussion that can follow, but really you either feel it is or it isn't.
Some would argue it has been taken away to some degree since as early as Taft-Hartley or before! (the law did set restrictions on what unions could do). Look at what is outlawed: "Secondary action (also known as a secondary boycott or sympathy strike) is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in another, separate enterprise". "In the US and UK workers can typically strike against their direct employer only. In continental Europe, secondary action is generally lawful and the right to strike is seen as a part of broader political freedom."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seconda...#United_States
(wow it's kinda amazing to know all that has been outlawed. This war began long ago .....).
See I suspect OWS general strike is actually illegal (and well I know not going to be terribly effectual in changing anything immediately especially as we dont' have unions!), still I support it generally.
And well union power has definitely diminished more since they started busting unions hard in the 80s and so on. Oh and it's not just the global marketplace, yes fine a global marketplace exists and has it's influence, but in countries with stronger unions the unions still improve life for the workers despite the old global marketplace. If those who support unions and not government were truly interested in how unions can be strengthened and made more powerful, I would listen, because it's long past time. I do have doubts that there is any political ability to do anything even via government without a strong labor movement!
Last edited by ApatheticNoMore; 4-16-12 at 1:17pm.
Trees don't grow on money
It's part of the 'American Dream' Package. Is a coffee break a right? Lunch break? Time off when you are sick? Health care (apparently not) or any of the other things that make up this whole package called workers rights, whether written or unwritten, that make working life in the United States of America what it is.
The real question is, do you really want to accept lower standards for workers than what we kind of enjoy and accept today? Why would you advocate for lower standards? What kind of country do you envision? Do you really think we should model our work standards on China?
It really puzzles me how people can just spout off the mantra of how our country is the best and the envy of the world, blah blah blah, without really understanding WHY it is the best and the envy of the world.
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