tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post806231392402472266..comments2023-10-25T08:46:20.242-05:00Comments on The Distributist Review: Steelworkers with MondragonJohn Médaillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16463267750952578888noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-54531016607969990252010-04-17T16:28:37.315-05:002010-04-17T16:28:37.315-05:00Tom
Can you let me have a URL for the Witherall ...Tom <br /><br />Can you let me have a URL for the Witherall speech? It's a great piece, and I'd love to try for an airing of it here in Australia.Race Mathewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03797718609004852376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-66162437208163164512010-03-29T17:53:38.804-05:002010-03-29T17:53:38.804-05:00Mr. Laney,
True. Plus I think Americans are more ...Mr. Laney,<br /><br />True. Plus I think Americans are more individualistic these days. The prevailing attitude is: "I've got mine, so I'm alright Jack."Mr. Piccolonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-89218965060485756372010-03-29T06:24:17.633-05:002010-03-29T06:24:17.633-05:00Thanks Pic. Seems to be a losing battle. Never tho...Thanks Pic. Seems to be a losing battle. Never thought American workers would go so quietly but the fake unions are a big part of it.Tom Laneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811615310314303793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-32406421567614644312010-03-27T11:28:52.592-05:002010-03-27T11:28:52.592-05:00@Mr. Laney,
Thank you for posting this article. ...@Mr. Laney, <br /><br />Thank you for posting this article. You are correct about today's unions and especially their leadership. Not a lot of imagination there. I wish you all the luck in the world campaigning among your fellow workers; that is the kind of thing we need today, and you are right about bringing Distributism and similar ideas to the factory floor. There needs to be a new labor movement in this country, and the goals have to be ownership and management, not just concessions. <br /><br />Thanks again, and good luck.Mr. Piccolonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-73302743600753432010-03-27T08:32:36.075-05:002010-03-27T08:32:36.075-05:00Kind of surprised there isn't more interest he...Kind of surprised there isn't more interest here in what I see as the biggest breakthrough for Trade Unionists in my life. (I'm 68.)<br /><br />The major unions today are not much more than corporate appendages marching point for the interests of Big Business. The new union leadership is corporatist and the programs are dog-eat-dog - not Solidarity. That is why I am surprised the Steelworkers took this initiative with Mondragon. <br /><br />The UAW is not interested at all, even though they are in a capitalized position now to help autoworkers buy up parts plants and keep them open as worker-owned co-ops. <br /><br /><br />Rob Witherill is doing American workers a big service by taking the Mondragon philosophy and virtue to the rank and file. I wonder how long he'll last in the USWA bureaucracy? <br /><br />I am going to distribute his talk directly to the working stiffs in my Local Union, encourage them to take it up and make it an issue on our plant floor. See where that takes us. <br /><br />In the longer run, I'd like to see Joe, Richard, John, Dale Ahlquist, etc. head up a seminar on Mondragon and Distributism keyed to us factory-folk. <br /><br />Maybe sooner than later because Forduaw plans to close our plant next year.Tom Laneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811615310314303793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-10719190284991646792010-03-25T21:14:08.256-05:002010-03-25T21:14:08.256-05:00What is interesting is that there used to be a rel...What is interesting is that there used to be a relatively strong labor tradition that had as its stated goal the ownership and management of productive enterprises by workers, for example guild socialism and the syndicalism. Then, for reasons beyond my knowledge, these labor traditions declined. My guess is that the post-World War II consensus gave organized labor much of what it wanted in terms of consumption (although not control) and this was good enough to satisfy a lot of people. <br /><br />Now to get on my soapbox: <br /><br />Broadly speaking, I think there are three types of labor conditions in an economy (well, an advanced economy, at least). <br /><br />First, labor can have no organized power at all, with business owners and managers having pretty much all the power, usually with State backing as well. But this system produces all kinds of injustices and is basically a form of industrial tyranny, so it will eventually generate some kind of opposition. <br /><br />Second, you could have a kind of tripartite alliance between labor unions, business, and the government in order to come to some sort of harmony of interest. I think this was roughly the system we had under the post-World War II consensus. Not a bad situation, but I think it is perhaps untenable in the long run for a variety of reasons (continued conflict between labor and capital/management, labor's demands are essentially negative, business will try to wiggle out of the Triumvirate and will likely succeed as they have the greater funds to influence the State, etc.).<br /><br />The third option, having workers own and manage their own enterprises is, in my opinion, the best option, for several reasons. First, it ends the conflict between labor and capital/management. Second, it is essentially positive and not restrictive on the enterprise's operations. And finally, it does not really requite a lot of State involvement, although I suppose business organization law would change drastically in a society where worker-ownership and worker-management was the norm and not the exception.<br /><br />Note: I intentionally left out Soviet-style central planning, although interestingly it probably looks most like the first option of industrial tyranny. But I don’t know enough about the subject, so I left it out of my rant.Mr. Piccolonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-21779231178093302262010-03-25T16:07:27.465-05:002010-03-25T16:07:27.465-05:00Your are correct; this is why unions in the past h...Your are correct; this is why unions in the past have often been hostile to cooperativism; it leaves them with nothing to do. Now, perhaps, some unions are seeing that their opposition may be short-sighted.<br /><br />The union still has a role within the enterprise. In the Mondragon Cooperative, this role is fulfilled by the Social Council, which represents the owners as workers, while the general assembly represents the workers as owners. Each worker-owner fills a dual role, and therefore needs two institutional bodies to represent him.John Médaillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16463267750952578888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-18125054787653122602010-03-25T15:59:53.769-05:002010-03-25T15:59:53.769-05:00I'm really pleased that this is going forward....I'm really pleased that this is going forward. <br /><br />One thing I wonder about, however, is the extent to which the cooperative model makes unions redundant... I can't imagine a union promoting cooperative arrangements if this were the case, but on the other hand, I can't see what need there would be for collective bargaining if the workplace is owned and run by workers. <br /><br />Who will they bargain with? Themselves?<br /><br />I suppose I could see how a union could transform into a cooperative, though. Is that the plan?Joe Hargravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05348644452651343624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608702.post-26277061825073073042010-03-24T18:19:29.797-05:002010-03-24T18:19:29.797-05:00This is going to be fascinating to watch. Not sur...This is going to be fascinating to watch. Not sure if a "hybrid" can develop or work, but its sure worth a try. I wish them well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com