I’m named for a Labor Union man – my grandfather Atticus. When I was sixteen, I didn’t get a car or anything like that. My grandmother gave me my late grandfather’s union card. She bequeathed me the legacy of the working man. In 2025, there’s still real needs for workers and relevant roles of organized labor. But, as I’ve written for about 20 years, today’s labor unions won’t do what is right. They don’t even know what right is. Union leadership are mindless minions of Human Secularist Totalitarianism – the Left. The Democrats.
The Labor Leaders who support Trump, but not the GOP, are the exception proving the rule.
My Virginia is a Right to Work state. It should stay that way. You can be fired for any reason on any day after any amount of faithful and good labor. I agree with fundamental right of the employer to decide about employees.
Yet, the opportunity for Labor is to delve into the relationship over time between the employer and the employed.
Everyone’s labor matters. If the person at the bottom of the corporate ladder, the one cleaning out the bathrooms doesn’t do his job, then there is a cost in productivity. It may be measured in pennies while the decisions of corporate leadership can mean life or death for the business and, increasingly, amounts of money beyond any meaning in normal Americans’ lives.
Therefore, the employee is part of the success of any business. The employee can be part of the failure, but, more often than not, isn’t the fault and is just the victim.
Some of that relationship is captured in unemployment benefits. Here is how Grok says they work in Virginia – sourced from the Virginia Employment Commission:
In Virginia, unemployment benefits are funded entirely through taxes paid by employers under the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act. No portion of these benefits is deducted from employees’ paychecks.
Benefits are calculated using your wages from a base period, which consists of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim (the Sunday of the week in which you file).
Your weekly benefit amount (WBA) is determined by adding up the wages from your two highest-earning quarters in the base period and dividing that total by 50 (rounded down to the nearest dollar if necessary). This is subject to a minimum WBA of $60 (requiring at least $3,000 combined in those two quarters) and a maximum of $378 (requiring at least $18,900.01 combined in those two quarters).
The total duration of benefits can range from 12 to 26 weeks, depending on your overall base period earnings (with higher total earnings qualifying you for more weeks).
Look at the minimum weekly benefit of amount of $60.00 and the maximum of $378.00.
Shouldn’t the minimum and maximum be raised significantly?
Since Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.41, then a 40 hour week equals $496.40 in weekly wages. So, the minimum weekly benefit should be more than the $258.13 weekly which Grok calculates (on last year’s $12 minimum wage).
Even if the employee did something egregious, his past labor should guarantee a higher, temporary safety net.
Maybe change the divisor from 50 to a much lower number? If you get fired, should you get 1/50th of what you earned while you look for a new job? Does 1/50th properly value the average person’s contribution in labor?
Or, consider shifting the burden from solely the employer to a shared funding? Employers pay taxes to fund unemployment benefits. How about employees paying a tax as well? But, do something special and keep accountability for that money in the employee’s name.
Only that employee can draw that money – which should grow over time if the Government invests it like the Virginia Retirement System is managed – when he becomes unemployed. Give that money back to the employee if he is never fired when he retires. Give that money to the employee’s family if he dies before he can collect it.
Forced savings may be resented, but it’s a plenary power of the states under our U.S. Constitution.
I recall my Grandmother’s pride on getting Railroad Retirement benefits instead of “socialist” Social Security. The distinction, however ironically insignificant, mattered to her. This a real suffragette born in 1893 speaking!
Office workers have no advocate. Their only appeal is to government authority within the politically correct group identity claims.
If Unions understood the role of capital in the economy. If Unions got how capital creates jobs (labor) and how not to kill capital, the Unions could be advocates for individual workers. The Human Relations (HR) departments protect the corporations from government. HR doesn’t serve the workers. Unions could be advocates for individuals. Unions could address grievances other than jumping through the hoops of identity group politics.
Regardless, none of the above will happen without a political constituency and a champion politician. Don’t see either on Virginia’s horizon.
Enjoy your Labor Day cook out.
Perhaps, remember there were really good reasons for Unions way back when they started.
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