I am not going to be able to begin to properly address this issue in the 5 minutes I am stealing to post this, but I will do my best.

One of the more frustrating parts of my job is the level of success that the bosses of unionized employees often utilize in order to keep their workers divided and unable to resist their policies.  It is my job, then, to overcome these divisions, and get everyone in the shop to start thinking as a unit.  When it happens, it is the best high in the world.  While you're doing the long process, though, it can be infuriating.

I have spent some time thinking about prejudice amogst people of color.  These past few weeks, there has been a frequent occurrance of prejudice against certain racial or cultural groups by people who claim to speak for their whole department, culture, etc, and it has been a tough edge to walk.  On one hand, I understand the frustrations of the workers, especially when management has been seen to outsource jobs to lower-paid workers of a different ethnicity.  Moreover, I think that prejudice amongst different people of color is more complicated than say, Chaz Frat Guy says the same things.  In the end, it's still wrong, but macroscopically, somewhat different.  (I can't get into a detailed explanation just now) 

The RL example that prompted this post, is that a few individuals claiming to speak for every Spanish-speaking person in the building (at least 1/2 of the workers) that there is a rift between the Spanish-speaking union memebers and the outsourced Agency folks, who are predominantly from the Phillippeans.   There is also a huge element of anti-semetism, going so far as to question my loyalty to the union since "I look like a Jew and have a Jewish name" and that Jewish folks happen to run a lot of the facilities that we oversee.  Obviously, the people speaking are very frustrated with Management who is taking advantage of them, and the Union, which has dropped the fucking ball on their workers in almost every conceivable way.  It was the first time I had encountered this in this job position, and I am sad to say that I didn't do much to challenge people.  I did keep it professional by mentioning that everyone is potentially their Union Sister or Brother, and that they need to stick together, as everyone is being screwed.  It is also obvious that some folks besides these 3 bigots need to be involved in this process...

Anyway, in my mind, this is just The Man working here.   A common colonial tactic is to separate racial groups, and then treat them differently.  While it isn't perhaps overtly on the basis of race, I do see how it is aggrivating an already bad situaiton - and in the end, it only benefits the boss.

And so much of the youth wonder if they'll ever get a job where anti-racist training is relevant.  If only they'd realize that it is relevant and NEEDED at any sort of job, club, or social situation they participate in.

I want to take the time to address this divide and conquor, since really, it is the fundamental example of why unions and organizing work - people united cannot be isolated, and people united have power.  I need to get back to work though.

I apologize that I wasn't able to get too deeply into this, and that I frankly haven't even re-read what I am about to post.  But I am hoping that at least by putting something out there, some folks can witness and perhaps ponder what I have been pondering.

In solidarity,

Peace Love Respect.