Unions Make Me Sick

Trade Union leaders make me sick. There, I said it; light a bonfire under my laptop and call me a right-wing capitalist. Of course, if you did do any of that, I’d have to say “yeah right!” I’m about as capitalist as the guy down the road sweeping the litter off the street. I believe in people getting a fair pay for a fair day’s work. I also believe that people should be able to work in safe and sanitary conditions. The difference between me and the average union member is that I believe in fighting my own battles; if I have an issue at work I go along and have a reasonable discussion with my manager, or his manager. The difference between me and the average union leader is that I don’t believe sulking and downing tools achieves anything but a huge pile of animosity and enmity that leads to a lot of bad feeling toward those that have been convinced to go out on strike.

Image via Wikipedia

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, the other thing that marks me out as different from the average union leader is my salary. Unlike the rabble rousers that dictate when workers go on strike, I earn a moderate wage, not the £100,000 + that the likes of Tony Woodley and Bob Crow take home. That’s right, these people who we hear moaning on and on about so-called ‘fat cat’ salaries, take home nice fat cheques themselves. Hypocrites.

It really is quite unbelievable that these men who claim to be the representatives of the ordinary man are so far above ordinary men on the social scale that they probably can’t see them for the clouds. They rake in subscription fees from poorly paid workers and then force them out on strike at the drop of a hat, further reducing their income due to the lost earnings from being on the picket line.

And then there’s the selfish nature of our beloved union leaders. Take Novembver 5th, for example. Bob Crow has convinced firefighters to go on strike on November 5th. To my kids that’s like telling Santa to go on strike. How do I explain that bonfire night has been cancelled due to some arrogant, overpaid tosser with an axe to grind? Do I sit my 6 year old down and put in those terms? Perhaps. Or maybe I should take the union approach: “We’re doing it for the good of the community, for their safety”, which roughly translates to “We’re doing it for our wallets and maximum media exposure”.

I suppose they didn’t achieve maximum effect in the summer after the courts ruled the BA strikes to be illegal. It a shame that a strike that will put people’s lives in danger can’t be declared illegal. I mean, let’s face it, people aren’t going to just abandon their Bonfire Night plans because the unions say so. The potential for disaster is massive. Maybe Crow and his rabble should think about that.