Standing up to power

As often happens, Seth Zlotocha has posted
a commentary on something that I'd been ruminating about but hadn't gotten around to -- the Harley giveback blackmail.

Nothing surprising that the company asked the workers to amputate their own limbs, sell out future co-workers with a two-tier wage scale, and swallow some poison brew. That's par for the course these days.

The surprising thing is that in 2006 the workers stood up and said no.

A demand for concessions made by a pin-striped Chicago lawyer, sitting across the bargaining table, changed my life -- for the better.

It's not easy to say no. It's frightening. Management holds all the cards. And if you think the National Labor Relations Act protects workers, think again.

But once you take a stand, you'll be forever changed. Life may get harder economically, but you'll hold your head higher and stand up straighter.

Hats off to the Harley workers.