Civil Society/Unions/Theme

 Anti-union campaigns latch on to every story of union corruption as evidence that union dues are a waste. They try to push the point of view that unions limit competition, promote the laziness of some, and punish the dedication and hard work of others. It's an unhistorical and patently false narrative, of course, but it's been successful in keeping unions out of white collar sectors.

 Where developers can't union bust, they resort to hiring non-union labor. This has contributed to numerous accidents in and around the city of Philadelphia. In 2013, a non-union work site demolishing a building for a local land developer caused a wall to collapse onto an occupied adjoining building, killing numerous people. The city inspector who granted the work permit committed suicide, and the land developer washed his hands of the whole affair, pinning the blame on the city. The crane operator, who tested positive for drug use, was charged with manslaughter. Meanwhile, the development of the lot continued almost without incident.

 Then you have incidents like the indictment of Johnny 'Doc' Dougherty, caught up in corruption investigation that toppled members of the city council and union leaders across the Delaware Valley. Men like Johnny Doc use their unions as unmonitored checking accounts, funding the campaigns of political allies and leveraging their support for contracts for the developer cronies. It's a seedy circle of profiteering that has proven difficult to break up without federal involvement, further tarnishing the reputations of Philadelphia's local unions.

 So what's your story? Are you another working stiff just looking to make a good life for yourself and your family? Or are you one of the ones sick of simply getting by who are now determined to get what's rightfully yours, damn the consequences?