HONESTY demand insults BIG LABOR

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right. If you want a true picture

    of BIG LABOR even today, view that all time great film " On the

    Water Front " . Not for nothing a CORRUPT labor union like the

     Teamsters has a cozy relationship with the Republican White House.

     Normally the ONLY union leaders a self-respecting capitalist can

    stand are dead ones. But the likes of James P. Hoffa - son of a

    legendary  CORRUPT  Teamsters president - " Jimmy " - can find

    himself invited into the first lady's box during a Bush  State of

    the Union address. As long as the labor leader is more like Johnny

    Friendly ( played brilliantly by Lee J. Cobb ), the ruling class

    will HONOR him. To be honored for betraying the rank and file of

    your union,  betraying the working class in general !

               But  I read today that the Secretary of Labor, Elaine

    L. Chao has insulted and infuriated big labor leaders like Hoffa .

    The reason ? " Stricter financial disclosure rules for labor

    unions ". ( NY Times story, Feb. 27 )  .

              There is no such thing as  DEMOCRACY in most labor unions

    today. Not even the rank and file is entitled to know about where

    union funds are going. A good guess -around election time - is

    into the pockets of some Democrats - all tested " friends of Labor ".

                Here Hoffa is a bit of a maverick - finding a friend in

    George W. Bush, FREE ENTERPRISE Republican.

               Organized labor has forgotten its roots. Do you know

    that the Teamsters  union was founded by radicals in the 30s , not

    just radicals but Trotskyists ?

                 If organized labor can recover some of that old militant

    spirit - " ORGANIZE THE UN-ORGANIZED ! " - it might begin to grow

    again. And blue collar America might be able to hope again.