To the editor:

I enjoyed the comic article “Unions affect American life, Twinkies” in the March 22 Daily.

It was great to have the elitist viewpoint of the upper class lampooned in the press.

What a clever idea to present American workers as spoiled children whose naughty strike denies privileged managers access to their Twinkies.

Implying that unions are agents of Satan was dead-on satire. Thanks for poking fun at all those American managers who follow the Bill Gates philosophy, i.e. “The people with the money deserve it,” and its corollary, “The lower classes should accept what they are given. Quietly.”

This aristocratic point of view cannot accept that workers have the same expectations as their better-paid betters, such as work that is well-paid, secure, safe and satisfying.

I also appreciate the juxtaposition of criminalizing Charleston workers defending their jobs from strike-breaking scabs.

This is perfectly in character with the elitist notion that simple-minded truckers and longshoremen should have no say in working conditions.

After all, when was the last time the police were called in to force an employer to live up to its labor contract?

With a wry twist, the article then justifies unionizing by college teaching assistants demanding benefits.

But after all, they are people like us. The entire article was filled with similar gems.

Thanks for using humor to demonstrate the vital importance of unions and organized labor in today’s world.

Bruce Hanway

Staff

Parks library