Forum Post: Hijacked by the Unions?
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 6, 2011, 4:58 p.m. EST by endthefed
(30)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
It seems this movement has been hijacked by the unions... Yes they bring more people to the movement, but they already have their agendas. Do you think they will come out with demands that protect themselves? How much influence do they already have with the media? Are they going to change the movements natural course? When I read OWS news articles, the unions are first to be mentioned. They already have leadership, money, bylaws and an objective... do we?
I share the concern about being co-opted by unions and MoveOn.
Think about this:
The unions say its about fair working conditions. Various MSM are saying its about students swamped with college debt. Some say its about corporate bailouts. Or other monetary policies. Many claim its about humanity and equal rights. Others say its about a variety of other things.....
The truth is, its about ALL of those things, and MANY others. And the fact that they're all saying its about various different things, is really what I believe this whole movement is all about. Exposing the magnitude and multitude of problems this country faces.
The conversation is happening nationwide. And its about time.
You are not imagining things ... this IS being hijacked by the unions (and MoveOn). It will only be a matter of weeks before the original spirit of this movement is gone.
Same thing happened with the Tea Party. Started off as well meaning protests about the bank bailouts but then getting coopted by professionals with a right leaning agenda (with the MSM's help).
When the pro's join the party, all original intent is lost.
No, this is not the same thing at all. The big Tea Party gathering was advertised for weeks before it happened. Most FOX shows pushed the gathering. The Koch brothers funded (and founded) one of the most active Tea Party groups. (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer).
Having union support, MoveOn support, and the support of individual politicians is just that: support.
You bought the whole claptrap, hook,line and sinker. The original movement of the tea partiers were just like you guys are today. They were part of the 99% fed up with what was happening. I know. I was there. I stopped when the larger forces took over and made it a right vs. left agenda.
I debated whether to join OWS last weekend and then heard about MoveOn and the unions involvement. I backed out. To me, they are part of the cog. They get into office who they want to get into office and they definitely don't always play by the rules. Why do I want to march arm and arm with them?
I would love to join my 99% brethren but I won't close my eyes to the corruption, no matter which side of the political fence it falls.
If Union members want to join as independent citizens of this country like everybody else, that would be fine with me. But to have union corporations join, it makes me wonder.
http://amateurassetallocator.com/2008/11/10/unions-are-corporations-too/
What is Moveon.org ? who are they and what role are they playing there at the Liberty Park
here is their role:
http://front.moveon.org/the-big-secret-about-who-is-actually-marching-on-wall-street/
Both sides of this discussion make valid points. Unions have a voice, but unions are us. People are categorizers by nature. We organize information and compartmentalize it in order to make the universe make sense. The organic nature of the protest comes across to people as chaotic or disorganized, and they simply don't know where to put it, and this means they are less likely to get behind it. Establishing your own agenda that is free from political rhetoric protects you from being overwhelmed by the unions (who I believe really want to help) and it helps your unity, which is required to make an impact, because it prevents MSM from singling out fringe ideas to make you look ridiculous or one-sided. Organic is great, but consider that even in nature structure exists. A little structure now can save the movement for the long run, and maintain your identity as free from partisan ideology.
No number of paid Federal Reserve shills stand a chance distracting people from the real issue. The Tea Party was slammed as a right-wing movement and now #OWS is being slammed as left-wing when in actual fact left-right paradigm is BS and people are seeing through it to the banks that pull all our politicians strings.
Let the media/Soros/Obsama/whatever try to hijack. It will just further shatter left-right paradigm.
No. It hasn't.
They simply have a common grievance with the protest in general.
Again, the message is what is important. NOT the messenger. Keep the message (which carries many voices and forms) in focus, and it doesn't matter if a "group" partakes in the protest or not.
If a politician (of either party) came to the protest saying "hey, I AGREE with "this particular part of your message", should that automatically disqualify them from participating? I wouldn't think so. They should be as welcome as anyone else, for as long as they don't try to control the direction of the message.
The medium is the message.
The message is represented by the medium, and the medium are the protest members.
WE ARE THE MESSAGE.
The unions have not hijacked this movement. Stop trying to divide us. We are the 99%.
What is happenning is awareness rather than hiding your head in the sand.
Believe when there is a movement this size , all sort of forces will hijack it .
Sure, forces will try to hijack it. But do you have any PROOF that unions are trying to hijack the movement? If you do, please tell. If you just want to issue a warning, then sure, warning noted.
Look at the news entry a few posts down ...
It's going to fizzle out.
Support is not being hijacked.
I hope not but Faux News is already calling it an anticapitalist protest.
Well sure, but Faux News is going to be against it regardless. The movement is against the corporate rule of American politics, and Faux News is 100% in bed with that group.
I hope you're right. But this doesn't look good. Unions are corporations that exist under a specific exemption to anti-trust laws. To allow anti-competitive behavior that is illegal for other corporations. I'm not anti-union. As long as participation is voluntary, I'm all for it.
what about this website? It has union all over it.... http://occupyparty.org/
This website has explicitly said on the front page that it has nothing to do with this website.
Exactly.. you dont see that as an attempt to hijack OWS?
Wait, what? First, how does occupyparty have anything to do with unions (I don't see it)? And secondly, how is the existence of that site an attempt to hijack OWS? Maybe they are trying to gain by association, but they are clearly not succeeding in hijacking anything.
Im not trying to divide anything, Im have a discussion to protect our solidarity! Being naive or overly trusting could be counterproductive.
Okay, that's fine. But having solidarity with the unions is important. Many of the things they want and fight for, as members of the 99%, are the same things we are fighting for. It makes no sense to disallow them from being our allies. I disagree with what a lot of right-wing people want too, but if they want to come out and help us restore democracy than I'm all for it. They can even march under the Tea Party banner for all I care.
Ha good point. I wish the (original) tea party group would. Maybe then the media wouldnt be so quick to twist this into a liberal movement, rather a movement of the people.
That's exactly what we need... the media would explode because it couldn't say Left vs Right! Look at this: http://www.reddit.com/r/occupywallstreet/comments/kyjo2/an_open_letter_and_warning_from_a_former_tea/
The tactics/media group, if there is one, should make this happen!
I have read that... its a very good article explaining what very well could happen to us.
This union takeover definitely concerns me. We need to approach the issue from multiple angles, however. That's why I am pushing Term Limits for Congress: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/introduce-legislation-place-term-limits-all-members-congress-two-4-year-terms/4J81sHWy
Getting rid of career politicians is half the battle.
Feet on the street.
Since the unions were invited, perhaps we should be inviting the 'political right' to come and at least respectfully debate these issues with us. What would the media do if there was a clip of tea party members and OWS supporters respectfully discussing the issues and working to reach a consensus on a starting point. Maybe then we could find a demand/action/issue that perhaps at least 80% of people could agree on..
Do you realize that when the Tea Party movement started it was because of the bank bailouts? They were protesting that taxpayer's monies were being used to bail out thieves when the rest of the country was hurting?
You already have a lot in common with folks who sympathize with the Tea Partiers but didn't join the movement. And do you know why they didn't join? Because it became known as a bunch of right wing nut jobs. They don't deserve that label but the fact remains, it has stuck.
The same is happening to this movement but in the oppositie direction.
Trust me, the MSM is probably salivating at the thought of a Tea Party vs. OWS showdown.
It's just too bad too. You are two sides of the same coin.
That's exactly what I'm talking about though- not a showdown, but a respectful discussion working to find common ground.. How could the media turn it into extreme Left vs Right if we were working together- We have to work together if we have any right to even consider the claim of being the 99%!
If there's an action that the unions have taken that you disagree with, I suggest you air your grievance. Fear of any ally "hijacking" the movement will get us nowhere.
what about this website...?
http://occupyparty.org/
Of course the unions... and especially the union leadership have their own agendas.
The rank and file union members have their pensions invested in Wall Street. It is against the rank and file members interests to protest Wall Street. The rank and file need Wall Street.
The union leaders have other agendas then the rank and file.
Yes... They are co-opting the "movement".