Machinists Help Millions of Jobless
To Form a Union of the Unemployed

Millions of unemployed workers can now join together in a union of their own to fight for jobs and economic survival, thanks to the initiative taken by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The Machinists have designed an easy-to-join, grass-roots organization known as ”Ur Union of the Unemployed,” that enables jobless workers to unify their numbers and combine their strengths in a unique way.

The basic structure of the jobless union is simple to understand and easy to follow. “UCubed” as the union is nicknamed, connects the unemployed within a zip code address into cubes of six people each—the start of ending their feelings of being alone and helpless.

Nine cubes make a neighborhood. Three neighborhoods form a power block that contains 162 activists. Politicians cannot easily ignore a multitude of power blocks, nor can merchants avoid them. The union is built from the ground up. UCubed activists will select their own leadership in each cube, neighborhood, block and higher group as well,

Machinist. President Tom Buffenbarger insists that with the new union, the unemployed “can pressure the federal government to respond faster and more effectively to this job crisis.” He explains why the Machinists have taken the lead in building a union of the unemployed.

“Over 35,000 members of our union have been laid off,” he says. “Others are working fewer hours each week because their employers do not have orders to fill. And the real recovery, not the false one on Wall Street, still seems years away…And Ur Union of Unemployed is a way—I think it is the best way—for thousands of unemployed to get and stay active during those dreary days and sleepless nights,”

A Favorable Reaction to Idea of a Union of Unemployed

An impressive list of major trade unions have agreed to partner with the Machinists on promoting the concept of a union of the unemployed on their website, blogs or other publications. Their active support came just a few days after the website of the new union was unveiled by the I..A.M.

To date, the list includes the AFL-CIO and some of its major international union affiliates, such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). Also, the National Education Association, an independent union with three million members, and Working America, which has three million adherents. More endorsements are expected in the weeks ahead.

It has become evident that, although some 31 million people are unemployed or in part-time jobs involuntarily, the Obama administration is not giving the jobs issue the top priority it deserves. The barrage of e-mails and phone calls to Washington have had little effect. The same is true of the five-point jobs plan of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Meanwhile, the situation, especially for the long-term unemployed, is becoming more explosive with each passing day.

There is a growing feeling that only a tidal wave of desperate unemployed workers can shake members of Congress to meet the demands for massive work projects, similar at least to those during the Great Depression. How much longer can we abandon those 31 million people without work, while our government lets companies shift hundreds of thousands of jobs each year to other countries for the sake of higher profits?

The unemployed need a union, because it may provide the only way they can fight for themselves.—Harry Kelber

LaborTalk (33) will be posted here on Tuesday, January 21, 2010 and on our two web sites: www.laboreducator.org and www.laborsvoiceforchange.org