Unions going to Pot?

Let me start out by saying that I am NOT a Union member.

During my career, I have, in turns, been invited, encouraged, cajoled and somewhat intimidated into joining a Union.  I have always declined.  It has always been my belief that unionization “levels” the playing field to such an extent that the “hard chargers” and “go getters” are penalized by having to share pay and benefit increases with those who are less so.

Even so, even here in Texas, some “union” priorities have been incorporated into State benefits.  Several years ago, the State created a “Sick Leave Pool” to which employees could “contribute” a small amount of their sick time.  Ideally, if one were faced with a catastrophic illness where they exhaust their own sick leave, they could draw from the pool in order to maintain their paycheck for a period of time, hopefully long enough for them to return to work.

Many of my co-workers flocked to the idea, contributing small amounts of their time to the pool, generally the minimal time required to participate.  It didn’t take me long to realize that these were the people who never seemed to be able to accrue more than a couple of days of sick leave because they were taking it almost as soon as they got it.

I felt that, were I to contribute my time to the pool, chances were that it would be distributed to persons who, through their own mismanagement, had squandered their own time, thereby providing them with a benefit that they neither earned nor deserved.

When I left state employment after almost 10 years, I had over 240 hours of sick time on the books.  That is AFTER I took 120 hours off for “Paternity Leave” after my daughter was born.

To say the least, the lure of unionization has never held any kind of interest for me.

Now there is the great news on the Union front from California, where workers in the “Medical Marijuana” industry are flocking to the Unions in order to gain collective bargaining powers.

The New York Times reported in May, that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 5 in Oakland had enrolled about 100 employees in the “Medical Marijuana” industry into their Union.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/us/29pot.html?_r=1

“This is a natural for us,” said Ron Lind, the president of Local 5, who’s 26,000 other members work primarily in groceries and the meat industry. “Our union’s primary jurisdiction is retail.”

As reported this week by Fox News, about 40 workers in the marijuana cultivation industry have joined the Teamsters Union, Local 70.  http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/10/11/in-california-unions-go-to-pot/

Now remember, I am not a Union man, but these recent acquisitions of these particular workers beg answers to a few questions.

1. Since marijuana cultivation and distribution remains a Federal Felony (despite the lack of enforcement), couldn’t the Unions be seen as entering into a criminal conspiracy to violate Federal Law by encouraging and facilitating the cultivation and distribution of an illegal product?

2. If California passes Proposition 19 in November, will the Union provide legal representation to the marijuana growers and distributors in the lawsuits that are guaranteed to come?

Some of you are old enough to remember during the Vietnam War when the Union leadership came totally under the influence of the Democrat Anti-war Leftists.  Thousands of union workers LEFT their unions because they could not support what their supposed leaders were doing.

There was film on the television and photographs in the newspapers and magazines of the “hard hats” counter-protesting at anti-war rallies.  “America, Love it or Leave it” was their common slogan and there were documented incidents of these people assaulting the “hippies” who sat in doorways smoking marijuana.

Do you think that the Middle America union member who is just trying to keep his job at a decent wage is going to embrace these people who make their living in an illegal trade?

I wonder…