Sunday, March 6, 2011

Ronald Reagan: "Where Free Unions and Collective Bargaining are Forbidden, Freedom is Lost"


In a Labor Day address in 1980, Ronald Reagan said:

These are the values inspiring those brave workers in Poland ... They remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.

(Reagan starts praising unions at around 2:00, but the main quote starts a little after 7:00).

Of course, Reagan subsequently broke the back of the air traffic controllers union in America.

Senator Sherrod Brown - without mentioning Reagan - made an interesting comment last week:

History teaches us that unions are a very positive force in society that creates a middle class and that protects our freedom. So don't tell me you're against – don't tell me you support unions internationally but you don't support unions here. Don't tell me you support collective bargaining in Poland but you oppose collective bargaining in Zanesville or Dayton, Ohio, because frankly that's inconsistent and ultimately it's not taking the side of people whom we are supposed to represent.

Brown also said:

I look back at history and some of the worst governments we've ever had, do you know that one of the first things they did? They went after the trade unions. Hitler didn't want unions. Stalin didn't want unions. Mubarak didn't want independent unions. These autocrats in history don't want independent unions.
He subsequently apologized for going too far with his comments.

H/t: Orang.

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6 comments:

  1. jo6pacMarch 6, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    Poland

    Yep and by the time ronnie-ray-gunn got done with them they knew the true meaning of Shock Doctrine. Oh was this before/after he fired ATC workers?

    ReplyDelete
  2. StockMarch 6, 2011 at 8:29 PM

    This is kind of off topic, but I posted some cool whale pictures I took today in Honolulu. Also posted copper charts and copper inventories. Did you know that inventories were rocketing upward at the same time the price was rocketing upward. Makes you say....hmmmm

    http://oahutrading.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Orangutan.March 6, 2011 at 11:08 PM

    On the Senate floor, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, known for his progressive views, said: "I look back at history and some of the worst governments we’ve ever had, you know one of the first things they do? They went after the unions. Hitler didn’t want unions, Stalin didn’t want unions. Mubarak didn’t want unions."

    ReplyDelete
  4. nemoMarch 7, 2011 at 4:58 AM

    Yes but there is a huge difference between public unions that eat at the trough purely of the taxpayer and are protected from dismissal for even abjectly poor performance, and private industry unions that have to work with management to remain competitive in their respective industries because they are subject to market forces.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SovereignMoneyMarch 7, 2011 at 7:40 AM

    Since when is history something to apologize for?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Seo onlineMarch 26, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    I admire your blog http://www.limodc.net

    ReplyDelete

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