I am more aware than most of the reasons the Union movement was so popular in the United States around the turn of the century, and through the 40’s and 50’s.  I am also more aware than most of the reasons Union membership has declined so precipitously in recent decades.

Coming from a long line of Coal miners (and still having some relatives in that industry today) I am painfully and personally aware of the working conditions and treatment of workers that lead to Unionization.  The unbridled expansion and growth of the American economy from the end of the War of Northern Agression, and the hard times of the Depression, led to widespread and horrendous abuse and mistreatment of emplyees, and horrible working conditions, in many industries.

A lot of things began to change after World War II.  Criminal takeovers of some Union leadership, the transformation of America into a manufacturing and industrial powerhouse, and the return of millions of war veterans changed the complexion of the workplace.

Had the opportunity (mostly work related - really!) to travel to Jalisco and Nayarit states in Mexico recently.

A few things struck me while I was there, that I thought worthy of sharing:

-CNN International makes CNN in the States look like Fox News.  The shear anti-American slant to everything on the channel reminded me of the BBC.  The most memorable part was a “correspondent” (with a British accent) in Iraq pointing to a whiteboard, with a tally of dead in the area.  His comment was that “these weren’t numbers, they were people” was belied by the smirk on his face:  You could feel his smugness, and the underlying theme of his piece that thing were just going to get worse while America was in Iraq.