The Wealthy Have 'Worked Hard' And Deserve To Keep Their Money

[freshwest]

108. That was what they did with us, to break our solidarity with each other, in teams of 10 or less.

I saw what was lost, the others did not, but then I was not much for team sports in school before that. Not that I didn't do okay there, but if I could do a sport that tested my own performance, I preferred always going for that 'personal best.' The competition being within oneself, that is.

Soon the company did more to divide people from the blue collar, clerical, inside and outside technical, paper shufflers, engineers, marketers, etc. People forgot they were employees of a corporation at all. Many began to think of themselves in terms of managers.

So advancement was less in terms of more measurable criteria than who curried favor with the bosses. By the time we went on strike as they cranked down on benefits, started a two-tier system of wages and benefits for existing versus new hires, instead of welcoming them into the fold, they were seen as less valuable workers. They weren't.

Those who scabbed in the strike I was in, got special treatment for dropping out of the union to come in, but we still had to represent them in their future troubles with the company. In a way, if we want to look at the team method being used, the union was team, too.

But we also had union leaders who were beginning to get special treatment as management began paying them for all kinds of meetings and giving them perks that regular workers did not get. They became lukewarm in their work and eventually a lot of people didn't want to be in the union anymore.

Now the trusts holding the retirement benefits are giving out notices that those pensions may not come to pass for the older tier of workers. Not that 401ks served those I know who worked in salaried or non-union jobs any better. They were all robbed years ago. It's been a 'every man for himself' mentality which doesn't fit Democratic politics.