Shame On Shame On

Downtown Denver is full of shame on its streets. Not vandalism, broken sidewalks, drug addicts, or gang thugs, of which there is plenty. No, the shame is not urban decay, the shame appears to be on construction companies who don’t hire union employees to build the several new buildings going up around town.

Across Downtown, red letter signs are displayed along the sidewalk, and say something to the effect of “Shame On XYZ Corp. For Jeopardizing The Standard Of Living Of Hard Working Coloradans.” In other words, shame on XYZ for paying the market rate for labor to remain competitive.

Shame? “For Shame” is something more often heard by a third grade student being disciplined by his home room teacher. Cops don’t often tell their perps “for shame, for shame.” The union bosses can’t come up with anything more adult than “shame” because they are the ones operating at the fantasy level.

In the real world, or at least Colorado, people are forced by harsh reality to work hard to earn whatever they can. They know that other people are competing for their jobs and that simply wishing for more money is futile. Concepts like fairness, or shame, are for fairy tales, not the work force.

Of course, no construction contractor much cares about how “shamed” he is for only paying a competitive wage and providing a safe workplace. Why, then, do the unions stage these daily silent protests? They must know that the job site isn’t going union just because they wish it so. The unions are really speaking to the political process. They know that Colorado is on a rocket sled to the left, and they have a governor who is highly favorable to their agenda.

Now, it is illegal to just leave a 15 foot sign on the sidewalk, not that Denver’s far left government would enforce such a law against unions. Such a sign must be manned at all times. That is why at least one person must touch the sign at all times. A team of usually two people sets up these protest signs, holds them, and takes them down each day.

Since the sign handlers are union employees, they receive an above market wage, health care, paid vacation, and a portable toilet on hand at each protest site. Wait, none of that is so? They are not union employees? They get paid the minimum wage with no benefits or safety infrastructure? How could the union betray the standard of living of these working people? Shame!

Better still, spend some time with these mistreated pawns of the labor unions. They don’t speak English, which explains the silent protest. Now, speaking only Spanish does not prove one’s immigration status, and hiring undocumented workers is just fine by this blogger, but it speaks volumes to the unions hypocrisy. Unions feel fine dictating whether a company can afford extra for labor, but they know full well that they can not afford to pay extra for their labor to further their political agenda.

So, Shame On the “Shame On” folks. The next time you see a group of protesters casting shame on a business, why not show them that actions speak louder than juvenile words: drop by and see if that business is selling anything you can use.