Nationwide, unemployment reached 9.8% last week. However, in the construction industry, unemployment is nearly 19%. This is causing union bosses to think ‘outside the box’ on how to get work for their unemployed members–even if it includes stepping onto other unions’ turf.
In April, the Carpenters’ union in St. Louis did what, in the union building trades, is the unthinkable–it set up an electrical union to compete with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). That led the IBEW to launch a counter-offensive in June.
On Tuesday evening, the IBEW hit the Carpenters’ Union hall with 600 picketers to protest the encroachment.
Now, that’s solidarity.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
