Before unions many people worked in squalid conditions for up to 14 hours a day for six to seven days a week with no guaranteed breaks for low pay. Some of those same conditions are still going on today in third world countries as well as for managers and supervisors not covered by union agreements. It is called white-collar exploitation. Some examples of this are department supervisors required to be on duty an hour before their shift starts and stay until the paperwork is turned in. This can add several hours to an already full day. Because they aren’t union they aren’t guaranteed lunch or bathroom breaks.

In some industrial plants workers are required to work a swing shift that starts from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for a seven day period. They get two days off to adjust to an evening shift lasting from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. for another seven days. There is a one day break before these same people work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for another seven days with a four day break before the cycle repeats. They do get paid overtime after eight hours because the law mandates it. The supervisors do not. They are required to be in early and can only leave when the shift is handed off to another supervisor. If one of the supervisors is out because of illness or vacation the remainder are obligated to pick up the slack often working 12 to 14 hour days.

Very few industries allow their supervision to join a union. You are either a white hat (supervision) or a blue hat (hourly) employee. The white hats are salaried employees not usually eligible for overtime. Only the top few percent ever see a bonus and most of those work at the company headquarters. Thankfully physical conditions have improved but that is mostly due to OSHA and the unions.

Not every company in the US is run this way. A quick look at The Hundred Best Companies to Work For will show some very progressive corporations. For every company named in that book there is one or two determined to exploit their workers hence a need for representation. Yes some lazy employees do take shameless advantage of union protection. There are also those who might wind up owing their souls to the proverbial company store without it.

My mother was more than a role model she was a compassionate gifted person. She dedicated her life to helping others. She never preached she led by example. I can’t remember a time our door was not open to others in need.

I grew up watching what I said because we lived overseas or on military bases most of my childhood. We knew that some opinions were better not expressed because we were guests in a foreign country. On base what we said or did would reflect on our parents and that could affect a career. When we came stateside I was amazed that humans could and would spew any opinion without fact checking or just to be heard. Over the years I’ve seen individuals tarred and feathered for things they haven’t done. Nobody took into account the fact that they were found guilty in a kangaroo court of public opinion until proven innocent. By then lives and careers were often in ruins.

It is just a matter of time before the courts begin to regulate some of the unfounded venom touted as free speech on hate radio or in published blogs. There was a recent ruling where Google was required to give the name of a person posing ugly and malicious comments about a person she knew. The court that ordered this individual out said, "Blogs serve as a modern day forum for public opinion including invective and ranting and shouldn’t be regarded as fact." I’d never advocate restrictions on free speech but we can expect it to happen if people don’t use common sense and regulate themselves.