Collective Bargaining Story

[brightknightie]

I support collective bargaining rights for all workers.  Surely everyone who knows the history does.  Of course, those rights, like any rights, can be misused and abused; that's reason for ongoing vigilance, prudence and reform in all human institutions, not for eliminating the institutions.

Many people are out in the winter cold across the US today, seizing this "teachable moment" of the Wisconsin drama to make that point in public gatherings.  I'm not doing that, but for what it's worth, I pledge to write a fanfiction with historical flashback content on what unions have done for us all and why collective bargaining rights matter.  I don't commit to a deadline, but I'll aim for within 2011.  The story might be either Forever Knight or Highlander, whichever yields the best story idea.

If you'd be interested in reading such a story by me, please feel free to let me know what story elements you might like to see!  If you'd like to chat calmly, reasonably and relatively briefly about how the existence of collective bargaining rights does or does not benefit the entire society, we can do that, too. ;-)

Comments

[mackiedockie]

I'd certainly be interested in an HL story. We know MacLeod worked with the coal miner's union at one point. If you include 'Evening at Joe's', Joe's father was in the fireman's union in Chicago. And you could say that the Watchers are one big damn union *g*.

The legislators in the French Fry state caved and gutted the teachers union. It's a nationwide campaign.

[brightknightie]

The unfortunate incident in which Duncan's union-sympathizing, college-man friend was killed by his father's Pinkerton employees was the first thing that leapt to my mind, too. (I'm interested by the differences between times when Duncan intervenes for justice, and when he hangs back and doesn't interfere. Many writers like to portray him as forever jumping in, putting things right and imposing justice, but it seems to me that that's far overstating; first and second-season flashbacks, particularly, are full of times he lets things go their own way past a point, or up to a point. He rarely sets out deliberately to become involved in larger events after Waterloo and Darius.)

I've never yet read Evening at Joe's; it's been on my Amazon wish list forever and ever. :-) Thank you for the supposition about Joe's father! I like that.

>"And you could say that the Watchers are one big damn union *g*."

Well, we could perhaps say that they are a worker-owned business? :-) Oh, the mysteries and improbabilities of financing that organization in compliance with canon! ;-)

[mackiedockie]

At the very least, the Watchers have got to have long-time associations with the Gravedigger's Guild...*g*