dagblog - Comments for "Now What ?"

A lot of good ideas. ...The

Resistance1 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:29:54 +0000

In reply to Now What ?

A lot of good ideas. ...The election may be over, but the work isn't.

No time to rest.

Things may look ugly for the other side if we do this right....Let them reap what they sowed.

Thanks. These are some ideas

cmaukonen — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 03:13:18 +0000

In reply to Great article, c! It's a lot

Thanks. These are some ideas I have been thinking about as well. We too often get stuck is a particular frame of mind and need to be shaken up a bit to get our thoughts moving again.

Great article, c! It's a lot

SleepinJeezus — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:26:27 +0000

In reply to Now What ?

Great article, c! It's a lot to digest, but I will be getting back to it and will probably be referencing a lot of the ideas (especially as it regards the Labor Movement) in my writings. Much food for thought!

I agree about the miles of

Donal — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:23:25 +0000

In reply to Now What ?

I agree about the miles of service business. High speed is just an effort to compete with jets.

There is a lot of good food

kgb999 — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:00:34 +0000

In reply to Now What ?

There is a lot of good food for thought here. One issue that has really been in my mind is the labor movement. I am not convinced the consolodation into mega-conglomerates has ultimately served the best interest of the workers. And they certianly seem to have abandoned the idea that solidarity with *all* workers - even those who are not able to join unions - is important. At times it seems as if the leadership has aligned it's interests with the corporations and are more acting like a talent agent than union organizer.

There are two thoughts I have that are related. The increasingly mobile nature of the workforce makes the traditional structure of unions very difficult. And the current economic situation is just making it worse. This has been an issue in IT for years where there is little if any union presence even as it becomes one of the most important sources of employment (and corporate wealth) in the nation.

I can't help but wonder if the next evolution of the union movement shouldn't look to the structure of the unions for musicians; ASCAP and BMI for ideas. By definition this also is a very mobile workforce. It's more of a loose glue than a traditional orginizations and as implemented really does benefit certain segments of the membership than others. But it does allow members to group together and try to use the scale to get things like affordable insurance.

I haven't really thought the whole thing through completely, but it just seems like we need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to how we are going to organize in the face of some brutal new realities.