I read Michael Richard’s Friday letter suggesting that Boeing use the Machinists’ strike as an opportunity to break the union. Richards says that the Machinists shouldn’t strike because their salaries are relatively high and they have good benefits. I think he misses the point.
The wages and benefits are there because of the union’s past solidarity and unwillingness to accept less for their hard work, not because Boeing CEOs are such nice guys. Unions consistently bring higher wages and benefits to their workers than non-union workers in the same industry.
There is all this talk about how workers should show more loyalty to employers and accept cuts because everyone needs to tighten their belts . Should workers really sacrifice hard-won, and hard-earned benefits just to keep a multi-national corporations’ profits up, so they can keep what is left of their jobs? I’m not saying these corporations are inherently bad, just that they are powerful, and workers need power as well to get a fair shake.
Ellie McDonnell
Everett
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