Business Unionists ‘Organize’ Jobless to be Lobbyists

UPPER MARLBORO, Md., Feb. 27 — In an apparent show of concern for the millions of workers facing long-term unemployment in the current economic crisis, the officials of the corporatist International Association of Machinists have sponsored the formation of a new “union” for unemployed workers.

Dubbed “UCubed,” for “Ur Union of Unemployed,” this new project is designed to group unemployed workers together in ways that maximize their potential power.

The UCubed project emerged from the IAM’s “Jobs Now!” campaign of last fall.

Telling workers, “you are not alone,” the website of UCubed outlines a basic method of organizing: six people in a given area form a “Cube,” nine Cubes are a “Neighborhood,” three Neighborhoods form a “Power Block.”

This method of organizing is supposedly meant to make it easier for workers to mobilize for action to fight for their rights (even though UCubed offers nothing in the way of education or training of Cube members).

In fact, apart from the IAM leaders at the top of the UCubed project, there are no leaders, no elections — no structure at all.

This is the first clue as to the real character of the UCubed organization. The second can be found in how the IAM sees the “power” of UCubed members being exercised.

The goal of UCubed, based on the resources offered, is “survival,” not empowerment. The website offers links to “survival guides,” job matching services, and companies giving discounts on eyeglasses and shoes. Nothing is said about actually organizing to improve the situation of unemployed and underemployed workers.

What there is for UCubed members, in terms of action, are links to letter-writing campaigns to members of Congress and the White House (all by the IAM, of course).

In the world of corporatist business unionism, which rejects independent workers’ political or economic action, there is no such thing as empowerment, only impotent letter-writing and “purchasing power” corporate campaigns. Anything actually resembling on-the-ground actions that are meant to organize against capitalism are dismissed.

For that matter, it can be said that the structure of UCubed is perfect for a business union like the IAM (and other AFL-CIO unions, for that matter). Since there is no real structure, there is no concern about demands for democracy; the “Delete” works on them as easily as it does on spam e-mail.

At the same time, with concerns of the economic crisis not improving and long-term unemployment only growing, an organization like UCubed offers the business union officials an “in” to keeping unemployed workers disorganized and immobilized.

“It’s still too soon to say what exactly will come of UCubed,” Martin Schreader, the Organizer for the Workers’ International Industrial Union, told WPA from Detroit, “but I think it will disappoint workers looking for real opportunities to organize. If unemployed workers are looking for a real union, they are welcome to join the WIIU.”