Vigilance, in all things.
The Ideal of employee protections was to ensure ruthless employers were no longer allowed to turn America’s workforce into slaves, working them 22 hours a day with no breaks, at far below minimum liveable wages, for example. Why is it, then, I was worked 22 hours, in the USA, at 50 years old, by an employer, who used the Right to Work laws to threaten my compliance? Because, with the Right to Work legislation, all the protests, strikes and and lobbying of 50 years for employee protections has been done away with: We are all now SLAVES again. What happened?
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has posted on their website the glowing words of one of our founders as a Defense of Right to Work Laws:
“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” -Thomas Jefferson
“These words of warning, written in 1786 by the father of American liberty, have gone unheeded in today’s labor scene. Federal labor laws have, since the 1930s, permitted and encouraged the growth of compulsory unionism arrangements between union officials and employers, forcing millions of employees to pay dues to unions as a condition of employment.
Workers subject to these forced unionism schemes have been denied their freedom of choice as to joining and financially supporting a labor union.The power to compel employees to financially support a labor union is still granted to union officials by federal law in 26 states. In these states that have not yet passed a Right to Work law, this power has led to abuses of workers’ human rights and civil liberties.
Even in the 24 states that have such a law, enforcement is very difficult. Many employees are never told by union representatives that they cannot be required to join the union-a practice that is illegal-and most do not know that there is a law protecting their rights. In addition, many union agents take advantage of the special legal privileges and immunities they enjoy under federal law to institute the “pick-handle closed shop”-join the union or else!”
(www.nrtw.org/b/foundation_history.htm)
Isn’t it interesting how history is coloured by the opinions of those who view it? The unionization of employees was INTENDED to stop the enslavement of the workers in our nation. Does no one remember their history? Have you never read of the terrible riots in New York City? Have we been so ignorant of our future we have voted to our detriment the men and women bent on the enslavement of the American worker? So it would seem. How, then, did this happen?
Well, Alexander DeToqueville was right, and, MAN, am I sorry to say that!
As soon as the American public recognized they could vote themselves monies from the national treasury, those who promised them this windfall could pass whatever laws they wanted. “As long as I get my money for nothing I don’t care!”, has been the prevailing attitude of the immoral majority of our nation.
In the rushed ideals to stop forced unionization, whose ideal I DO agree with, these well intended laws, called, ironically, “Right to Work”, have caused the very conditions SO MANY men and women fought and died to preserve, the end of the Free Employment of the American Worker.
We asked for it, we got it, America!
Recently I was employed as a system administrator and, after only 30 days into the promised 1 year+ contract, with no explanation given, no compensation for ending early, and no apology, I was told there was no more work! In fact, when I asked why they needed to end my employment so early, after I had done such good work every member of my team was congratulating me, a member of their senior management had me escorted from the building, like I was some kind of common criminal! And what, you may ask, was their justification for this highly inappropriate action? What laws protected their right to be ruthless and uncaring? You guessed it…
“Right to Work” = Slavery
Under “Right to Work” legislation, passed by bi-partisan support I might add, employers can let you go, FIRE YOU, without notice, without two weeks pay, and without explanation of ANY KIND, at any time. The justification for this in the laws themselves is that you,a s the employee, have the same “right” , you can also leave as abruptly. Yes, their right to remove all of your protection from predatory employers is touted as your ability to leave any time you choose. Yeah, RIGHT. Go ahead, give that a try, just try and leave without notice or explanation from your present place of employment. You will be grilled and treated terribly, and not given a good reference. Your employer will tell you that no matter what the law says you don’t have such rights. And they’d be right, because neither do they.
These laws, intended to protect a worker’s right to work, have instead created an environment for the employer to return to pre-1930s practices of treating their employees like chattel, like SLAVES. Sweat shops are popping up (90% contracted workforce and Managed Services contract departments). Employers are extending hours well beyond 8 hours (contracts have NO LIMIT to hours worked) and full time (permanent) employment is now nearly NON_EXISTENT. And even contracts are now getting shorter, and shorter. I have signed many a contract which has no guarantee of employment term. And, if you ask for a guaranteed term, you don’t get the job.
Was THIS what was intended with Right to Work legislation?
“Right to Work” = Discrimination
Bias in employment, under the Right to Work laws, is now RAMPANT. Just ask C.L.A. in New Jersey, a legal entity that was designed to defend against religious discrimination, and they will very unhappily tell you how many employees are presently being discriminated against in the United States of America, for just being a Christian in the workplace, with NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. I was told, when I was threatened by a company for daring to speak about Jesus at work (I am an ordained Minister), at a workplace that allowed anyone to speak about anything, a truly open discussion workplace (which I wanted and liked), they said you can’t do anything about it. If you object they can let you go and are not required to give ANY explanation under the Right to Work laws as to why. Months later that company did indeed let me go; C.L.A. was right. No severance, no notice, just an instantaneous severing of a 4 year employment where I helped bring their Terminal Servers to an increase of 60% performance. What was their justification? They had the RIGHT. They are so wrong.
What was the REASON Right to Work laws were enacted in the first place?
To stop GREED, plain and simple.
Unions have been allowed by their members to become organizations of greedy PREDATORY employers. I remember working as an apprentice electrician years ago. The dues were so costly I could not afford to live on my left over pay, so I didn’t join. When I got injured they let me go. The law created the very thing they were intended to prevent.
WHY? Why does this keep happening? Why is it that every time we work to prevent oppression by what is set in place. that very protection, intended as the preventative, becomes the catalyst for evil?
Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
Pride = Fall
What we have is what we are; Our destruction is because of our pride. We have been greedy so we have greedy representation, whether in Congress or in our Union representatives. If we expect to be protected, we must protect; Eternal vigilance against the corruption of our laws and our way of life is the answer. There is One Who will set all things right, once and for all (literally), when He establishes His Reign, but, until He comes, we must be the defenders of what is Right, what is True and defend the Honorable: We MUST protect the innocent and defend the oppressed. We must NOT let this sanctuary God has built called the United States of America, corrupt as it has become, to fail without a fight. So what do we do?
If the recent Republican victories in the US Congress have shown us anything, it is that we can make a difference, though many of these newly elected officials have already said they refuse to enforce what they ran under as a platform to carry out.
Believe = Vigilance
We must hold their feet to the fire, as we do ourselves, as we keep vigilance against our own hearts. There is not one of us that is better, or worse than another. We all have to watch ourselves, hold fast against our own temptations, stand firm in the promises we have made, require honesty in our representation, run ourselves if needed, and cross the lines to honor decent people. We must leave when we have to; Stand against Evil actions and evil people, when required. And, above all, we must hold true to the One we have dedicated our lives to Honor, Jesus, The Christ, the One and Only Savior.
Trusting Jesus = Changed Actions
The way you change a man’s heart is by the Gospel, in trusting Jesus Christ. We must hold up the mirror of God’s Law to this Lost and Dieing Nation to reveal the Magnanimous Mercy of God’s Compassion in the Sacrifice Jesus made for our greed, our complacency, our evil. And, if we Believe ourselves, we must act on what we believe and seek the Lost in our defence of the Oppressed, and those who cannot defend themselves.
“He who wins souls is wise.”
If you want to learn how to Biblically share your faith, the way Jesus did, go to www.WayoftheMaster.com. Just like you had to learn HOW to drive a car, you must know how best to share the Glorious Gospel. What, you thought it was just something that would miraculously “come” to you? No. nowhere in Scripture does God say this. indeed, He says JUST THE OPPOSITE. You must study, you must be prepared, you must obey the command of our Messiah to:
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone.”
VIGILANCE, in all things.
And then, if you Believe the Cross, “What are going to do about it?”
Patrick J Burwell, OnlyJesusSaves.com
