About Unions
The following is a sermon delivered by Dr. David M. Baxter, an Evangelical Protestant Minister. He had been asked for advice by a group of workers as to whether or not they should form a union at the plant where they worked.
"As long as there is organized capital, there will be organized labor. And, that is as it should be in a democratic society.
The true union member wants to help not hinder, his employer. He realizes that the more successful the business is, the more successful the employee will be...if he receives fair value for his labor, and a fair share of the profits he has helped produce.
A working man's life is valuable. Every time the clock ticks, there goes a second off that life. When he sells the hours of his life to make a profit for someone else, he is entitled to all he can get for those precious hours.
Workers try to get as much as possible for the hours of their lives that they sell to their employers. By himself, this is difficult. He can be broken like a stick. But, breaking a bundle of sticks is not so easy!
This is why working people organize unions: to help in getting a share of the profits they bring into a successful business. Unionization has brought about, in addition to reasonable pay, better working conditions, more job security, and more leisure time for workers to enjoy vacation and pension benefits.
It is an ignorant man who values his life cheaply, sells it cheaply, and works hours to make his employer richer, to the extent that he keeps himself poor.
Well-paid organized labor is a good thing for any town. The more a worker earns, the more he has to spend. And the more he spends, the better it is for the merchant, the farmer, and everyone else."
