July 22, 1978 (I was 33)
Contract Negotiations
The organizer did all the real work
but no one called it that
figuring it was his life.
He had to explain the issues
explain that it was all right to demand dignity in labor
explain that the work was noble and good and valuable
explain that no God was appeased by sacrificing family
explain that the Company had big profits to share
that a job was a mutual transaction
that one need not be thankful to have and penitent to hold
that the collective power of the Worker is a force to be respected
that their division fostered the autocratic arrogance of management.
The organizer did all of that
and when he called for the vote and lost
he told them Some were meant to be peasants and slaves after all
something they had already known.
He left town and they went to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment