American workers better off because of union help

Bonnie Amaya, Las Vegas

Sunday, March 6, 2011 | 2:02 a.m.

Let us give recognition where it is due.

Do you know that it was organized labor that helped bring about child labor laws? Organized labor also brought us decent wages for a good day’s work, retirement benefits and medical insurance offered by large businesses.

Without organized labor, we would not enjoy an eight-hour work day, the 40-hour workweek or paid vacations. Yes, people shed their blood and gave up their freedoms so we could have these benefits.

This fight has been going on for well over 100 years. It was started because big business thought it should enjoy all the rewards for the hard work of the laboring class. These businesses thought people who grew the grain, picked the fruit, ground the flour, gathered the spices, refined the sugar, milked the cows and made and baked the pies should not get a piece for their own benefit.

Today, when some people talk about everyone sharing the burden of the debt that has accumulated (real or imagined), why do they not go after just the bonuses of the Wall Street executives or the lobbyists in Washington, D.C.?

Why is it that the working class, which has sacrificed the most to build this great country, is the one always burdened with the sacrifice? Do you realize had we not let our textile and commodities unions fall by the wayside, we would still have good-paying jobs in the country?

Unions believe every American deserves a good education, so each has the skills necessary to choose and reach their goals.