WWMLKJRD?
LAPD and union organizers joined forces to script a protest march during Thursday afternoon rush hour near LAX. Hundreds of people were arrested according to plan. The arrestees, who were registered with LAPD and took a class in preparation for the event, even got t-shirts and a gift package that included a meal (put together by union organizers, not their cellmate).
I’ve worried that unions have embarrassed themselves in recent years, becoming top-heavy machines remarkably similar to the corporations they claim to protect labor from. Tonight’s charade, so-called "civil disobedience," is enough to make icons like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi roll in their graves.
Civil disobedience is an important weapon in the fight to defend human rights. It is for a noble and valiant cause, performed by noble and valiant people. Its champions become icons, not merely mentioned in text books but heroes in stories passed from father to son, mother to daughter, and generation to generation.
Today’s arrestees don’t even deserve a mention in the family newsletter.
Sitting in traffic, I listened to KNX 1070 warn Angelinos to avoid Century Boulevard and plan on delays headed to LAX. The warnings were hours ahead of the event. While some people were inconvenienced, there was minimal impact on our city. That’s probably because no impact was necessary.
"I decided to come here today because I want the rest of my people to be OK," explained Elena Martinez, one of the protesters objecting to hotel workers near LAX making only $10 per hour [story on KCAL 9, link to follow] (hotel management countered with a claim that their average worker makes over $14 per hour).
If Elena’s people aren’t OK, they are free to organize a union and go on strike. No protest is necessary, just a picket line. That's why unions exist, and that's how they protect workers. They have saved lives by stopping dangerous working conditions, abusive management, and insulting wages offered to people who can’t go elsewhere for help. They've also served a practical day-to-day function by offering benefits like insurance and retirement packages. These are all great things.
Unfortunately, union leaders have another motivation that may not be in line with their membership. They want to raise money for their Political Action Committees, so they can concentrate their wealth and wield political power and the perks that come with it.
Today's organizers recognize that OSHA and its state counterparts do most of the noble work for them. And they also know that workers at these hotels are making almost 50% above minimum wage, if not double. A picket line isn’t going to do much good, because people will cross it. Scabs wouldn’t mind making a decent wage for jobs that aren’t hazardous. Travelers at LAX aren’t likely to help, since accommodations near airports are limited (what economists would call inelastic). Workers know they could find similar jobs nearby. What’s a money-grubbing union to do?
What Elena doesn’t realize is that she’s just a pawn in a very dirty game. Today's event was merely a media stunt, where the leaders threw their lemmings to the wolves in order to raise attention and, ultimately, money. That's what organizers seem to care about, not meaningful impact on their members' lives. If it were really important, they would have held a real protest that impacted everybody.
Adding insult to injury, a day before the protest, police warned organizers that six people should reconsider their participation. Presumably they had warrants out for their arrest. In other words, they belong in jail but LAPD told them how to stay out of it. That makes me feel safe. In Santa Monica.
AP Photo