INDIVIDUAL AND


COLLECTIVE POLITICS

But why can't we be involved in all these issues as individuals?
Why are union politics necessary?

The political power of a worker, when he casts his or her vote, does not match the political power of the stockholders who own the companies that employ us. Those with control over the productive wealth in our economy not only influence election campaigns with the money they have, but also influence elected politicians with their threats to scale back modernization plans, invest elsewhere, import more and export less, close sown plants and destroy communities.

Such influence is used to affect everything we've been discussing earlier: union rights, legislated standards, social programs, taxation, inequality, the environment, the quality of the cities and communities where we live.

The most important workplace lesson we learned
over the years was that, individually, the worker is in no position
to challenge management. Collective action is absolutely fundamental
to defend our interests and achieve our goals.
The same lesson is true politically.

To balance the political power that employers have, workers must go beyond trying to act as individual citizens and move on towards acting collectively. Our unions are a fundamental base for such collective political action.

Moreover, we should be proud, not defensive, about expanding the union's role to include politics. The involvement of unions beyond collective bargaining is fundamental to a democratic society. Unions provide a base for challenging society's domination by the corporate few and for putting forth other priorities and alternative policies.

Think what politics - and life - in our country would
have been like if unions hadn't led the fight for
pensions, medicare, and unemployment insurance. Consider what
kind of political debate there would have been
if unions weren't actively involved in
opposing free trade.

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