The American Dream Are We There Yet?

America...Our great nation has long been known as the land of opportunity, a place where everyone has the chance to make their dreams come true. But many workers across the country have been having a hard time turning their dream into a reality. For many of us, it's been difficult just to make ends meet. Greater debt, longer working hours, and diminished or threatened health care benefits are just a few of the many economic problems facing workers today. For many years, workers believed that these problems were personal or problems of their own making. This is far from the case. U.S. workers are increasingly facing problems, in large part, because of declining power for working people generally and the union movement specifically. In other words, ever weakening unions have meant that working families have been taking it on the chin.

Here's a list of union activities. Do you see anything on this list that might help you get a little closer to your American Dream?

• Negotiations with unionized employers over wages, benefits and working condition with enforceable, written terms.
• Grassroots lobbying of elected officials to provide a voice for working families.
• Mobilization of workers and our communities on working family issues such as Social Security and Medicare.
• Campaigning to elect worker-friendly candidates to political office.
• Fighting for fair treatment in the workplace for all, not just some.
• Organizing workers into unions to give them a voice on the job.

To counter corporate America's economic plan, workers must have their own agenda. Labor's agenda is a working families' agenda; strong unions can change our economic situation!

The economic struggles faced by working families are, by and large, not the result of their individual failures to work hard or make good decisions. Their problems are not personal ones -- they are part of a national pattern that can be addressed only through organizing and collective action. Through our unions, we must fight for our economic security. If not now, when?

Learn about The Union Difference. Union members earn more money, have better benefits, are more productive and have greater job security than nonunion workers. Get the details about this "union advantage," plus a look at who belongs to unions.

Teamsters Local 830 works in many diverse industries and has helped thousands of workers benefit by using the "power of many".

Call us at 800-321-9850 or e-mail Danny Grace for more information.