You can offer to the righteous
The good that you have won,
But down here among the unclean
Your good work just comes undone."
-Lyle Lovett

I guess I should go ahead and write a bit about the reasons I didn't blog much for a while … for the approximately 1.4 people who'll give a crud. This also ties into my recent spell of depression.

There's a lot going on at work. Long story short, there's a very real chance that the hourly workforce at my workplace (and I'm a part of it) is about to strike. I've been down about that, and you can stop reading now and know all you really need to know. If you're so inclined, however, you can read the gory details…

I recently got out of the union at work for personal, political, and religious reasons. I won't go into all of that now, this really isn't the forum for it, but I'll say that I'm confident that getting out of the union was the right thing for me to do, and it's been coming for a while. It was the right thing, but it's been difficult. It's often difficult to do the right thing.

If there is a strike (and, right now, I'm slightly betting that there will be), I'll have to decide if I'm going to cross the picket line. Honestly, though, I'm certain that I won't. I have at least 50 good reason why I should cross the picket line, and only one reason why I won't: I'm afraid to cross it. I'm afraid of what might be done to me and/or my family if I cross the picket line. That's cowardice, and it's no excuse to miss out on the wages that support my family, but it is the truth. I won't cross the picket line simply because I'm afraid of the basest elements of the labor union. I lack the courage of my convictions. I could come up with other reasons for not crossing the picket line that might sound better, but they wouldn't be true. I won't cross the line because I'm a coward … but at least I'm not a liar, too.

I guess I'll wait out the strike with whatever job I can find.

Although the industry in which I'm employed has nothing to do with steel work, the local I recently left was absorbed by the United Steel Workers last year. In '04 and '05, the USW absorbed a number of seemingly unrelated labor unions in a successful bid to become the biggest industrial labor union in North America. And, well, you know what they say about absolute power.

The USW is the union responsible for the debacle that is the Goodyear strike. I feel awful for the Goodyear workers and I see them as the victims of a purely political process. As labor unions become more and more of an anachronism, they become less and less politically viable. Goodyear's hourly employees are pawns in a game that the USW is playing in an attempt to remain relevant. Some reports indicate that the Goodyear locals are starting to realize that the USW isn't really looking out for their best interests. For it's part, Goodyear has handled the strike as well as a corporation can. Goodyear has held out, the unions will soon have no choice but to cave in.

When the USW comes out of this looking bad, I'm afraid that they'll be ready to back up and punt. They might call for more strikes and try some new techniques and see if they've learned anything from Goodyear. I worry that my workforce will suffer from one of those "guinea pig strikes."

I'm part of a small but growing number of hourly employees at my workplace who've been "mugged by reality" and put away our idealized notions about labor unions. A few, like me, have actually left the union. Others do what I used to do, simply stay in the union, keep their mouths shut and try not to make waves. Those of us who've come to see through the union tend to stay mum and simply exchange our shared views with knowing glances and quietly rolled eyes.

Then, there's another minority in the union … the opposite number of the minority I'm part of. These other people are "unionists." For them, "union" is their only real religion. They might claim Christianity as their faith, but it's a nominal label at best. If you listen to them talk for five minutes, it's clear that "unionism" is their real religion. And oh-boy do they ever talk. They're constantly prostylizing for their faith. The union hall is their only real church and the only god they have any allegiance to is an imaginary divinity called "solidarity." They drag this false idol out of storage every time a contract is up for debate and they shout his name with constant, vain repetitions. What's more, these "unionists" are fundamentalists. You simply can't talk to them. These are the kinds of people who Bob Ulrich was talking about in a recent editorial:

I want to be upfront about this: In my experience, unions are narrow-minded. Like any of the companies with which they negotiate, they have strong viewpoints about right and wrong. However, if you don’t follow their viewpoint, you are not only wrong, but also undeserving of respect…

I have talked with union members, union executives and Goodyear representatives. I have read editorials in the local newspaper from both sides. I have visited YouTube to see a very dramatic and pointed ad posted by the union, and been privy to correspondence between Goodyear and its employees. Ultimately, I can only go by what I see and hear.

Based on all my experience, the union has a black-and-white view of things -- it is always right, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. Offer a differing opinion and the USW will take its ball and go home.

I feel certain that the vast majority of the hourly people at work fit into a different category than either of these minorities. The people in this third, largest group are simply good, honest, hard-working people who've found themselves in the terrible position of trying to sort out the truth from the lies being distributed by both the union and the company. They count on the union and our employer for a fair shake, and they just want to keep working and keep making their house payments. I hope they can. I hope we all can.

There is a contingent among the "unionists" which can not be satisfied, no matter what the company does. The company could give us the moon and stars and some of these people would still want to strike because they hold ancient grudges against the company over long-forgotten slights, both real and imagined. These are the people who represent the real threat to our livelihoods. They want to sink the company and they're more than happy to sink with it. Unfortunately, this small group of people makes up a very vocal minority and they keep contentions stirred up as much as possible.

So I've been depressed about all of this, and for other reasons, too. I've written here about the unrest caused in my family by my conversion to Catholicism. Things are getting harder there, as well. One person in my family, one of the most important people in my life, played an early and enthusiastic role in my conversion. However, this person's sensibilities are mercurial and they've since soured on Catholicism. This person has, in fact, become rather hateful about the Catholic church. This hurts my feelings a lot. It's especially troubling to me since it indicates that I might not really have what it takes to be a decent Christian. After all, Christ plainly told his followers that we should expect this. From Matthew 10:

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and 'one's enemies will be those of his household.' Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Translation: Grace ain't cheap.

It's a tall order, and I often wonder if I can fill it. My charge is to continue loving the Lord and continue trying, in my pitiful way, to live as a Christian … and to continue loving the person in my family who's hurt my feelings. In fact, I have to love this person more, not less, and if I truly love Christ then my love for this person will manifest itself without me even trying. It's hard. I'm weak.

This blog is a good creative outlet and a good distraction from those problems. When that Britney Spears parody popped into my head the other day I felt myself really wanting to blog for the first time in what seemed like a long while.

And reading the blogs in my blogroll is good for me, too. You guys are a great bunch of writers and people, and I'm happy to "know" you.

So that's what's up with me. If you don't mind, I'm going to ask that my Christian and Jewish blog pals remember me in their prayers. The Christians are a no-brainer, of course, since I'm Christian. As far as Jewish people go … well, after all, Yahweh was your God first. I hope it doesn't seem vain of me to ask for your prayers, but I'm of the belief that God's chosen people have a very important "inside track," if you will.