Google workers push for their rights

I have been delighted to see Google’s high-tech employees walk off their jobs in protest.

President Ronald Reagan broke most of the unions in this country, beginning with his order for air traffic controllers to abandon their protest and return to work immediately.

The extremely wealthy have always done their best to prevent or destroy unionization. Men have literally fought and died attempting to form unions to give workers some bargaining power.

Corporations have a long, ruthless history of exploiting workers as if they were less than human. In fact large corporations when planning to open a new industry refer to the potential employees as “containers.”

Workers were called socialists, which resulted in help from the National Guard to violently disband walkouts.

President Eisenhower said, “Today in America unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of unreconstructed reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women the right to join a union of their choice.”

Eisenhower went on to scold those who might consider turning back the clock.

I applaud Google workers’ great demonstration of democracy in action. It was long overdue.

Bruce J. Walters Bethlehem