WolfLarsen
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2011
- Messages
- 48
Let's Build Big Strong Powerful Unions! Union Jobs and Union Wages for Everybody!
An Interview with Wolf Larsen
Question: Why do you want to kick out the trade union bureaucrats, as you call them, and replace them with a militant leadership?
Answer: Because the trade union bureaucrats are always selling out the workers. The trade union bureaucrats are too close to management. What we need is to kick the union bureaucrats out and replace them with trade union leaders that are more militant. We need militant trade union leaders that will fight for the rights of workers! We need militant trade union leaders that will fight for better wages, fight for free quality medical care for all workers, safer working conditions, free quality child care for all female workers, equal pay for equal work, etc.
Q. Why do you say that the trade union bureaucrats are always selling out the workers?
A. Because that's what they do! Often when there's a strike the trade union bureaucrats don't want to have real picket lines that mean nobody crosses. In addition, the union bureaucrats often don't care about the concerns of rank-and-file workers. A lot of these trade union bureaucrats seem to be more concerned with what's best for management. Many of these trade union bureaucrats are too close to management, they're too buddy buddy with management. There's labor on one side and there's the bosses on the other and you're either on one side or the other.
Q. You seem to be very passionate about workers rights. Does this passion come from your own experiences in the labor force?
A. When I was in my teens and early 20s I worked in restaurants, supermarkets, and offices. Then I worked on commercial fishing boats in Alaska for nearly 2 years. On some of those boats I worked over 100 hour weeks. Because there was no union we got screwed lots of times and in all kinds of ways. We were virtually slaves. You have to work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska to see what I mean. Later, I stopped working on the commercial fishing boats. I started working on the docks. The first jobs I did on the docks was throwing 44 pound boxes of frozen fish for 12 hour shifts. Each man had to throw 3 tons of boxes per hour – that was the minimum! We stacked the boxes in rows up over our heads to the ceiling in the cargo holds of ships. We worked in freezer holds that were cold – up to 10° below zero Fahrenheit (-25 Celsius). Having just gotten off commercial fishing boats I thought this kind of work was easy at first. And we even got a break every two hours! I thought that was great! It was nice having the union. Because I actually got paid for my work. On the fishing boats we sometimes worked for free. Anyway I continued working as a longshoreman or dockworker for the next 10 years. I did stevedore work, which was throwing boxes, and I also did container work, which was lashing barges and ships.
Q. Were you represented by a union on the longshoreman's job?
A. Yes, I was represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union or I.L.W.U.
Q. That's supposed to be a good union!
A. It's one of the most powerful unions in the country. Maybe it's better than other unions, but as far as our own union local was concerned, well we used to call the union business agent Lameass. Lameass was his nickname. He was the main union bureaucrat in our port. Whenever we rank-and-file workers would say we want such and such changed the answer of Lameass was that that wouldn't be good for management. That union bureaucrat was more concerned about management than he was about us workers. What made things even crazier is that we were casuals. Even though we paid union dues we weren't actually members of the union. Anyway, I worked as a longshoreman in the port of Dutch Harbor Alaska on a seasonal basis for 10 years. I put in long hours twice a year – up to 100 hour weeks – and I took a lot of the year off to write and travel.
Q. What was being represented by the I.L.W.U. like?
A. In some ways it was good, real good. The pay was good. If you got fired you only got fired for that day. You could come back the next day to work again. They couldn't get rid of you just because maybe some asshole foremen didn't like you. As long as you showed up on time and did your job it was difficult for them to fire you. That was good. They couldn't just replace you with their cousin, or their drinking buddy, or whatever. That was because there was a powerful union. The union controlled hiring. However, the people who lead our union local were very lame. I remember walking the picket line and watching scabs do our job. There was no effort to stop the scabs from doing our job. Instead of making a serious effort to unionize all of the dockworkers in the port the union would try to organize people in other lines of work that had nothing to do with the port because I guess that was easier. It was pathetic! The union gave away a lot of our work on a silver platter. Lots of work in that port that used to be union is now non-union.
Q. I see, and you feel that most trade union bureaucrats are pretty lame?
A. Most of the trade union bureaucrats are a bunch of Lameasses! What we need is a militant trade union leadership that is not afraid of leading a real strike. We need picket lines where nobody crosses! Scabbing should be hazardous to one's health! Massive picket lines should be set up everywhere where there is no union. Everything should be unionized!
Q. Everything should be unionized? Even small businesses?
A. Not necessarily small businesses. But what I mean is all major industry should be unionized. All major employers in the country should be unionized. All large employers should be unionized. Unions mean better wages for workers. Unions mean better benefits for the workers. Unions mean better job protection for the workers. In a strong union you can't be fired just because the manager doesn't like you. They have to have just cause to fire you if the union is strong.
Q. Many trade union officials make six-figure incomes. How do you feel about that?
A. I think that's awful! Trade union officials should only make as much as the workers that they represent! If the trade union officials make more than the workers then they don't have the lifestyle of the workers, they get out of touch with the workers, they don't understand the workers. Trade union officials should only make as much as the workers they represent. If the trade union officials decide they want to make more money than they better fight to raise the wages of the workers they represent as well.
Q. Many trade union officials have close ties to the Democratic Party. How do you feel about that?
A. I think it sucks! The Democratic Party doesn't care about workers anymore than the Republicans! The Democrats are a bunch of two-faced so-and-so's just like the Republicans are. We're basically living under a democracy of the rich. And both parties represent the interests of the rich. The Democrats call out the police against picket lines just like the Republicans. The Democrats support union busting legislation just like the Republicans. The Democrats aren't our friends. All that money that the trade union bureaucrats are giving to the Democratic Party is a complete waste of our hard-earned dollars. Instead of giving our money to the Democrats the unions should put the money in a strike fund, so the workers can go on strike whenever they have to!
Q . Some people say that unions are bad for the economy. How do you feel about that?
A. Unions are bad for the rich people's economy, but unions are good for the working people's economy. Unions put money into the pockets of working people.
In these "interviews" I answer questions I imagine people may have about the evil system of capitalism and what we can do about it. There's simply too much war, too much unemployment, too much poverty, too much homelessness, too many people working their rear ends off for miserly wages, too much racism, too much sexism, too much homophobia – there's just too much human misery. I realize I am no deep theoretician, but perhaps the reader will be thankful for that, as the "interviews" are relatively easy to read. I am no labor leader, but I have worked at both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. I am simply just another face walking down the street.
An Interview with Wolf Larsen
Question: Why do you want to kick out the trade union bureaucrats, as you call them, and replace them with a militant leadership?
Answer: Because the trade union bureaucrats are always selling out the workers. The trade union bureaucrats are too close to management. What we need is to kick the union bureaucrats out and replace them with trade union leaders that are more militant. We need militant trade union leaders that will fight for the rights of workers! We need militant trade union leaders that will fight for better wages, fight for free quality medical care for all workers, safer working conditions, free quality child care for all female workers, equal pay for equal work, etc.
Q. Why do you say that the trade union bureaucrats are always selling out the workers?
A. Because that's what they do! Often when there's a strike the trade union bureaucrats don't want to have real picket lines that mean nobody crosses. In addition, the union bureaucrats often don't care about the concerns of rank-and-file workers. A lot of these trade union bureaucrats seem to be more concerned with what's best for management. Many of these trade union bureaucrats are too close to management, they're too buddy buddy with management. There's labor on one side and there's the bosses on the other and you're either on one side or the other.
Q. You seem to be very passionate about workers rights. Does this passion come from your own experiences in the labor force?
A. When I was in my teens and early 20s I worked in restaurants, supermarkets, and offices. Then I worked on commercial fishing boats in Alaska for nearly 2 years. On some of those boats I worked over 100 hour weeks. Because there was no union we got screwed lots of times and in all kinds of ways. We were virtually slaves. You have to work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska to see what I mean. Later, I stopped working on the commercial fishing boats. I started working on the docks. The first jobs I did on the docks was throwing 44 pound boxes of frozen fish for 12 hour shifts. Each man had to throw 3 tons of boxes per hour – that was the minimum! We stacked the boxes in rows up over our heads to the ceiling in the cargo holds of ships. We worked in freezer holds that were cold – up to 10° below zero Fahrenheit (-25 Celsius). Having just gotten off commercial fishing boats I thought this kind of work was easy at first. And we even got a break every two hours! I thought that was great! It was nice having the union. Because I actually got paid for my work. On the fishing boats we sometimes worked for free. Anyway I continued working as a longshoreman or dockworker for the next 10 years. I did stevedore work, which was throwing boxes, and I also did container work, which was lashing barges and ships.
Q. Were you represented by a union on the longshoreman's job?
A. Yes, I was represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union or I.L.W.U.
Q. That's supposed to be a good union!
A. It's one of the most powerful unions in the country. Maybe it's better than other unions, but as far as our own union local was concerned, well we used to call the union business agent Lameass. Lameass was his nickname. He was the main union bureaucrat in our port. Whenever we rank-and-file workers would say we want such and such changed the answer of Lameass was that that wouldn't be good for management. That union bureaucrat was more concerned about management than he was about us workers. What made things even crazier is that we were casuals. Even though we paid union dues we weren't actually members of the union. Anyway, I worked as a longshoreman in the port of Dutch Harbor Alaska on a seasonal basis for 10 years. I put in long hours twice a year – up to 100 hour weeks – and I took a lot of the year off to write and travel.
Q. What was being represented by the I.L.W.U. like?
A. In some ways it was good, real good. The pay was good. If you got fired you only got fired for that day. You could come back the next day to work again. They couldn't get rid of you just because maybe some asshole foremen didn't like you. As long as you showed up on time and did your job it was difficult for them to fire you. That was good. They couldn't just replace you with their cousin, or their drinking buddy, or whatever. That was because there was a powerful union. The union controlled hiring. However, the people who lead our union local were very lame. I remember walking the picket line and watching scabs do our job. There was no effort to stop the scabs from doing our job. Instead of making a serious effort to unionize all of the dockworkers in the port the union would try to organize people in other lines of work that had nothing to do with the port because I guess that was easier. It was pathetic! The union gave away a lot of our work on a silver platter. Lots of work in that port that used to be union is now non-union.
Q. I see, and you feel that most trade union bureaucrats are pretty lame?
A. Most of the trade union bureaucrats are a bunch of Lameasses! What we need is a militant trade union leadership that is not afraid of leading a real strike. We need picket lines where nobody crosses! Scabbing should be hazardous to one's health! Massive picket lines should be set up everywhere where there is no union. Everything should be unionized!
Q. Everything should be unionized? Even small businesses?
A. Not necessarily small businesses. But what I mean is all major industry should be unionized. All major employers in the country should be unionized. All large employers should be unionized. Unions mean better wages for workers. Unions mean better benefits for the workers. Unions mean better job protection for the workers. In a strong union you can't be fired just because the manager doesn't like you. They have to have just cause to fire you if the union is strong.
Q. Many trade union officials make six-figure incomes. How do you feel about that?
A. I think that's awful! Trade union officials should only make as much as the workers that they represent! If the trade union officials make more than the workers then they don't have the lifestyle of the workers, they get out of touch with the workers, they don't understand the workers. Trade union officials should only make as much as the workers they represent. If the trade union officials decide they want to make more money than they better fight to raise the wages of the workers they represent as well.
Q. Many trade union officials have close ties to the Democratic Party. How do you feel about that?
A. I think it sucks! The Democratic Party doesn't care about workers anymore than the Republicans! The Democrats are a bunch of two-faced so-and-so's just like the Republicans are. We're basically living under a democracy of the rich. And both parties represent the interests of the rich. The Democrats call out the police against picket lines just like the Republicans. The Democrats support union busting legislation just like the Republicans. The Democrats aren't our friends. All that money that the trade union bureaucrats are giving to the Democratic Party is a complete waste of our hard-earned dollars. Instead of giving our money to the Democrats the unions should put the money in a strike fund, so the workers can go on strike whenever they have to!
Q . Some people say that unions are bad for the economy. How do you feel about that?
A. Unions are bad for the rich people's economy, but unions are good for the working people's economy. Unions put money into the pockets of working people.
In these "interviews" I answer questions I imagine people may have about the evil system of capitalism and what we can do about it. There's simply too much war, too much unemployment, too much poverty, too much homelessness, too many people working their rear ends off for miserly wages, too much racism, too much sexism, too much homophobia – there's just too much human misery. I realize I am no deep theoretician, but perhaps the reader will be thankful for that, as the "interviews" are relatively easy to read. I am no labor leader, but I have worked at both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. I am simply just another face walking down the street.
