Adrianne Shropshire

Ah, the French

I know we're supposed to hate the French, but dammit I love 'em. When it comes to gettin' in the streets to protest what's wrong or stand up for what's right there are not many who can hold a candle to the French. The recent protests by unions and students over Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's proposals to change labor law demonstrate this fact once again. Tens of thousands of people in street to protect one category of workers from what is seen as an unfair practice, is almost unimaginable in this country. We could imagine ten people, maybe a thousand people (on a really good day) out chanting and carrying signs about refusing to weaken labor law.

It's hard not to make the comparison between workers' rights struggles here and what's going on there. The transit workers, and other municipal unions, struggled mightily for core quality of life issues - health care for ones self and family and a pension for dignity in old age. They still have no contract. They were vilified in the press. There was constant worry about how long the public would "tolerate" the striking workers. In France cities are getting shut down, not for health care or pension, but in order to prevent businesses from being able to terminate youth without cause. No one is being called thugs or criminals, and this could go on weeks before the general public began to whisper complaints.

Here, we see these goings on through the lens of disdain provided by our press. We bristle at the thought that these efforts are protecting a "social-welfare state" or "entitlements", unable to see or even understand the deeply held belief that all work (and workers) should be valued, respected, and rewarded and that government has a role to play in codifying our beliefs into laws and policies that reflect our values. We could debate whether or not smashing car windows is the best strategy, but at the end of the day, this fight is what all worker fights are about -dignity, respect, and fairness.

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Posted at 7:42 AM, Mar 22, 2006 in Labor
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