In solidarity

Prior to working for the union that I currently work for, I will admit I was a somewhat vocal opponent of unions.  Unionized workers are dog fuckers with gold-plated pensions, and all that.
In my beautiful, short time on this increasingly erratic planet, I have learned that unless you have actually experienced something fully, you might think you know what it's about, but you don't have the full picture.
I used to hate Americans.  Just one generic blanket of hate.  They were stupid and rude and ignorant and they invaded other countries illegally, etc, etc.  And then I started visiting the States.  They were so nice to us in San Francisco that I wanted to write them a letter thanking them for their kindness and hospitality.  Boston is one of my favourite cities ever.  When we were in Chicago we saw an Occupy march and scant hours after arriving there and inadvertently getting off the train in the wrong part of town and uncover cop flagged us down a cab so we could get our white asses over to the Fairmont.  New York?  Hands down the second best city I've been to.  People helped me in the subway - the subway - twice, because I'm that much of a moron.  I want to move to Portland and I actually viewed a condo in Fairhaven, Bellingham.
Working for a union for the past three and half years has exposed me to an even higher level of bureaucracy than what I encountered in the private sector.  Do you know what one of the fun parts of my job is, though?  That I'd never experienced before?  Cutting really big cheques to grassroots organizations trying to affect change from the ground up.  Gay Pride parades.  The environment.  Local organizations and talent.  The union I work for donates a lot back into our community, something that private organizations do not tend to do.  We have a safe and fair work environment and we strive to ensure that our members experience the same.
A few years ago my mom lamented where all the hippies from the 60s went.  A lot of them went on to Wall Street and created totally implausible, complicated and unsustainable investment vehicles that penultimately shifted wealth out of the pockets of the middle class, and into the the pockets of the people with large homes and fake wives that live on the Gold Coast.
Our economy was raped in 2009 and we've seemingly forgotten about it.
And people still want to shut the Montreal students down for first protesting against tuition hikes, and then protesting against the draconian laws enacted to limit their ability to protest at all.  When things get austere we want to cut public sector jobs and benefits.
I get it.  I have a nice job, I don't work overtime and I get paid a great salary and have generous benefits.  I am the very pristine example of a unionized worker.  Do I live high on the hog?  My one bedroom apartment that my parents paid for says no.  I have a comfortable life, but I don't have a Coach purse (not that I want one), nor do I get manicures (not that I want them), or have a brand new Mini with the associated car payments.  I eat out more than I should, and my biggest extravagance is travel, which I try to do as cheaply as possible.
When you attack union jobs, you attack my job and you attack the middle class.  The middle class is what keeps our economy functioning, and it's been under siege for a while now.
Come after us.  Advocate union busting.  Make it alright for individuals, who stand up to corporations and create a mutual contract with their employer, to have those very rights randomly taken away.  Give more power to the employers, to the corporations.  Vote for less power to the people. 
For god's sake don't try and throw anyone from Wall Street in jail or try and reign in any of the utterly exuberant bonuses that these fat cats rake in.  They've earned it, what with all their hard work.
Instead, in a time of absolute economic uncertainty, stick it to the one faction of the working class that already shoulders so much: the middle class.
One place I've never been is Wisconsin.
Well done, you.