Dear Mr. or Madam President:

In 1981, when 13,000 air traffic controllers went on a strike demanding higher pay, President Ronald Reagan responded by simply firing all of the picketers. This resulted in undermining the bargaining power of American workers and their labor unions. How should we categorize our next president if  the reply to a strike is simply firing people of a Union? Our Unions, which undergird our jobs in America, are in need of support. 

According to Dictionary.com, "a union is an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests." This is the hallmark definition of a union. A union to the middle class is a supporting pillar to their fragile fate. These unions that have been making life possible for the middle class, are in danger of being disbanded. In the most populated states like New York, Hawaii, Alaska, Michigan and New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reports that unions have suffered big losses in their market share of construction jobs, with more doors opened to non-union workers. Respected firms like Tishman Construction and Turner Construction in recent months declined to sign agreements promising to use labor unions for everything from high-rise residential projects to retail, hospital, office and hotels construction. According to The Atlantic, the citizens had to protest to bring awareness to this issue.

From securing collective bargaining rights to social security, from overtime pay to paid vacations, and from 8-hour work day to weekends without work, unions are capable of helping workers sustain a well-lived life. According to Union Plus, there are other advantages that we must thank the union for. Unions being a non-governmental organization, who don't even require governmental financing, are still affected by the government and corporations. 

Corporations take advantage by relocating to states that have weaker unions and fewer labor laws, and that's if they stay in the country at all. According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 700,000 jobs were lost mostly in manufacturing sector. Thanks to the NAFTA in 1994, in which the so-called corporations had simply used the labor for time being and left the citizens, taking their profits to themselves and probably some politicians. According to the Business of America is Lobbying, about $2.6 billion were spent by lobbyists to settle their business policies in U.S., and this system is completely legal and supported by the conservatives.

Not the legislative body, but the politicians filling their pockets out of this system ought to be seized. And the best cover to this legal system is to blame the taxation set up by the system. According to a survey conducted by "Wealth for the common good," taxations from wealthy people have halved from 1966 to 2004, that is a decrease from 60% to 33.6%. This will simply result in higher taxation on the middle class.

This will never give the union a fair play and will always boil down to cry for reform. Will politics continue to influence business and investments? Are corporations aware of the unemployment they create? Are our politicians ready to treat labor unions fairly? 

Sincerely,

Anjli