Posted on 03/03/2023 11:23:39 AM PST by aimhigh
In 1891, the same year Pope Leo XIII responded to revolutionary economic and industrial upheaval with the encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” the first car powered by electricity made its debut in America. More than 130 years later, dozens of Tesla employees in Buffalo, New York — a still heavily Catholic area — are alleging the electric auto manufacturer fired them in retaliation for attempting to form a union.
Tesla faces a complaint before the National Labor Relations Board over accusations the company fired more than 30 employees at its Buffalo facility within two days of workers launching their campaign Feb. 14 to unionize the Autopilot division at the Tesla plant. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has vocally opposed unions, but the company claimed the firings were unrelated to the union push. OSV News’ request for comment went unanswered by Tesla, while Tesla Workers United representative Sara Costantino declined to indicate if solidarity was sought from the Diocese of Buffalo (which also had no statement). Additionally, the New York State Catholic Conference withheld comment, characterizing the dispute to OSV News as a federal issue.
But neither Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum” — nor church teaching that followed — is silent on the subject of labor unions. While urging workers to organize “societies for mutual help,” the pontiff emphasized “the most important of all are workingmen’s unions.” Pope Francis echoed the teaching in December, telling members of the Italian General Confederation of Labor, “There is no union without workers, and there are no free workers without a union.” In 2022, Gallup found 71% of Americans approve of labor unions. Yet nationwide, only 10.1% of wage and salary workers — 14.3 million employees — are union members, almost half of what union membership was in the 1980s and the lowest rate on record, according to a January 2023 U.S. Department of Labor report.
See website for rest of the article.
In the OLD USA, Unions would be charged with RICO violations, for sure, and their tactics and buying of politicians is rivaled only by the Global Warming scam and Cheap Labor Express-funded business interests.
What a joke.
1) The working conditions in the late 1800s are not comparable with an auto plant in the 21st century.
2) Remember in the early 80s when Lech Walensa and the Polish “Solidarity” movement ‘inspired’ American union members to put the Solidarizcu or whatever bumpers stickers on their cars, as if the Polish fight for unions and against communism was equivalent to the American auto workers, who, I might add, were at that time manufacturing some of the worst pieces of shit to ever come down the line.
3) I doubt 70% of Americans like unions, must have been how they phrased the question.
4) Pope Francis said “There are no free workers without a union”. True class warfare, socialist bullshit. The average business owner works much harder than any unionized worker, with the possible exception of construction once in awhile, but certainly automotive.
5) I wish I knew this analogy decades ago, but it’s basically the same as hiring a third party corporation to insert itself into the company-employee relationship.
If you have any merit you don’t need a union. F’ them all.
During my prior working life-—HAD To join 5 different UNIONS.
HATE THEM
In the OLD USA, Unions would be charged with RICO violations, for sure, and their tactics and buying of politicians is rivaled only by the Global Warming scam and Cheap Labor Express-funded business interests.
You and me both... it was an embarrassment and they squandered the tens of thousands of dollars I was forced to pay them on booze, graft, and corrupt leftist politicians.
My experience with unions is that by their very nature they are against the corporation. It’s like employing saboteurs. Sometimes my dad would come home early from work all disgusted because someone in a different union was upset over something, usually something stupid, and all the other unions had to walk off the job in support.
When my dad ran for treasurer in an effort to reduce the amount of corruption in the IBEW a bunch of men showed up at our front door and invited him out to “talk.” He pulled out a gun and invited them to leave and they did. On the job supporters of his position had to protect him from accidents. He lost the election because the other side rigged the vote.
It isn’t. The current occupant of the Vatican is “pro Communist” which is all you need to know about this.
1) The working conditions in the late 1800s are not comparable with an auto plant in the 21st century.
So, yes, working conditions today, aren’t comparable Pope Leo XIII’s time.
Not that surprising.
The Catholic Church has a very long record of theft through their network.
They seemed to have forgotten the parable about the vineyard master and his ability to hire for wages as he opted.
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