tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19817992.post2006824657764332191..comments2023-09-23T10:42:30.066-04:00Comments on Maureen Wittmann: The NEA Sets Us StraightMaureenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306638938982553941noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19817992.post-86365625282787715912007-10-02T10:12:00.000-04:002007-10-02T10:12:00.000-04:00Let's not get too hasty here Pauli.You sell people...Let's not get too hasty here Pauli.<BR/><BR/>You sell people short when you paint unions with such a large brush, using such large brush strokes.<BR/><BR/>Have you ever read the papal Encyclical "Rerum Novarum" written by Pope Leo XIII? Or how about "Laborem Exercens" and "Centesimus Annus" by Pope John Paul the Great.<BR/><BR/>I am a union member. I belong to the International Association of Fire Firefighters, (IAFF). Much to my displeasure, I am usually at odds with the candidates that are endorsed by my union. On the national level, the IAFF was the first and most vocal in support of that rediculous "Catholic" candidate John F. Kerry (the "F" stands for "Fake"). I used that situation as an opportunity to teach other people in my union local about authentic Catholic moral and social doctrine.<BR/><BR/>The reason I belong to a union is pretty simple, and it doesn't involve envy or greed. It involves sin and man's fallen nature. All managers and bosses are not ethical, fair, moral, and just. Many of them are corrupted by their power and authority and weild it in an abusive manner. Workers unite in unions for much the same reason that states form unions (e.g. United States of America) or nations form alliances (e.g. NATO), because there is strenth in numbers.<BR/><BR/>A labor union exists only to ensure that workers are treated with justice, specifically in regards to their wages, hours, and working conditions. I can assure you that much/most of the safety equipment you see firefighters using (e.g. breathing apparatus, personal alerting devices, radios) would not be there or of very high quality if it wasn't for the efforts of the labor union in getting industry standards and legislation passed to make it so. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, unions suffer from the same sin that afflicts the rest of the world. Union leaders get corrupted by their power and authority and act the same as the unethical, unfair, unjust, and immoral bussiness and corporate leaders that they are supposed to fight against. Then it all turns in to power politics and the lofty ideals are discarded in pursuit of political and social power.<BR/><BR/>I can't stand the NEA, they usually make me want to vomit. In my estimation they have become "yap dogs" on the leash of the Democratic Party. They have something else going against them also, they buy in to the secular liberal social and intellectual elitism that is the culture of our college and universtiy system.<BR/><BR/>But the attitude of America's union leaders and their goose stepping with the Democratic Party are solely to blame for the decline in "unionism" and organised labor in recent years. Unions are their own worst enemies.<BR/><BR/>p.s. take the time to talk sincerely with a union member, you may find that you agree with them on many things. I have never voted for a union endorsed candidate in a national election. Don't believe that all union members just "vote as they're told"Pyrosapienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939337381965082033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19817992.post-42535993598760785972007-10-01T12:22:00.000-04:002007-10-01T12:22:00.000-04:00NEA = Union = Envy + GreedNEA = Union = Envy + GreedPaulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17506171638613025839noreply@blogger.com