I guess it’s true. I’ve nearly become a dyed-in-the-wool Republican.

I’m not sure when it happened… somewhere around the time that I came to faith, and Pres. Clinton came on Monica. They pretty much coincide.

I can’t hold to the right to carry a concealed weapon, but everything else pretty much works for me. I guess. Hell, I don’t know.

There’s a strike going on here in St. Louis. The United Food and Commercial Workers wouldn’t accept a contract, and decided to walk out on one of the big three grocery chains here. The other two joined hands with the first and locked the rest of employees out.

Har! This is funny to me. Here’s why:

I worked for the UFCW, back when I was 15. Ages 15 to 18 I worked for one of the local chains, first as a bagger and then in the bakery. I think I might have paid $10 per month in union dues. But here’s what I received: Nearly a dollar more an hour than all my friends working retail; Sundays and any holiday you can think of at $1.50/hour more than my already-staggering wage; and after one year, a full week’s paid vacation (a free 20 hours of pay for part-timers). When I left for school in Springfield I had a guaranteed position waiting for me over all the holidays and summers.

Those were the days I wouldn’t dream of working through a break. No way! The union made sure we received a full break for every single shift - even three hours.

Union meetings (hey, I actually attended one - because I had to) were rah-rah stupidity. These folks are making quite a bit more money than the average bear, merely because they are union. There’s no additional training or educational standard because you’re union; there’s nothing to set anyone apart from non-union employees. We just sign a piece of paper, have $X taken out of our check, and reap our rewards.

My last trip to Dierbergs (one local chain) I saw that a gallon of skim milk is $3.15. Funny, huh, because at Target (blissfully non-union) it’s $2.59. Same brand. General Mills cereals are $3.99 on sale at the grocery stores, and $2.54 at Target. (I know this, because I’m a Cookie Crisp glutton.) Gee, I wonder why everything is so much more expensive at the grocery store?

Here’s my stand: there was a time and a place for unions. Before OSHA, before regulations, before the government paid a damned bit of attention, unions saved people from a miserable existence and much pain and suffering.

However, that time was fifty years ago - or more.

No one has been able to convince me that there’s a positive side to unions. They make U.S. products more expensive due to the high wages required by unskilled and skilled labor alike. This makes the U.S. less competitive in manufacturing, which in turn drives big business away from the U.S. Sure, union employees are Well Paid. But how long will it be before there’ll be no one left to pay them?

I’m not condoning sweat shops. I’m not saying that paying someone $3 per week to work in horrific circumstances is the right thing. I’m just saying, hey, we’ve got regulatory agencies to watch your back now, folks. Isn’t it about time this union thing slipped away into the night?

Pro-America (though everyone will argue),

michelle

p.s. By the way, the parking lots at the grocery stores are still full and it’s business as usual.