Why I Left the #LaborUnion: An In-depth Look at the Evolution of Labor Organizations | Ebie Lynch

Welcome to Bay Area Innovators. This is Steve Esparza. I'm glad to introduce our innovator today, Abby Lynch. The changes that are happening right now within the unions are exactly what the unions fought against initially. Abby is the president of the Coalition of United Represented Employees, an organization that focuses on the education of the workforce in organizational and financial They never asked the people what they wanted. They made the decision for us and that's not democracy. A veteran of the United States Air Force, she's been a longtime member of the SEIU union. We used to say, well the corporations are doing this against us, the corporations are doing this against us, and yet that's exactly what most unions have become, the corporations that go against the members. Abby will share her experience and history of unions and how they are currently operating in the United States. Abby, welcome to our program. Well thank you for having me. So you've been involved with unions for a long time, the SEIU, and we want to get an understanding of what was the original reason the unions were founded. So the labor unions were founded because there was a need. Back in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act was formed because so many people were fed up with the conditions that they were under within the industrialized U.S. We had people who were dying and there was no protections for individuals as they were working in unsafe conditions. We had children who were working in these conditions for long hours. So because people started to rise up, the government got involved and the National Labor Relations Act was formed in order to help to ensure that we didn't have the continuous strikes that were happening. So the premise of the National Labor Relations Act was to give the workers rights and protections. And from there we have gotten more protections over the years. I think that the initial reasons for unions being formed and how they are being run now has deviated quite a bit. So give us some background on the people's education level at the time that the unions were formed. Definitely. So in the 1930s, most people didn't have a high school diploma. I believe that they said that we had less than six percent, about six percent of males had a college degree. Six to eight percent of males had a college degree. And I think it was even fewer for black males and black females, whereas only about 50 percent of our population even had an eighth grade education. So it made sense that we had that top down type of structure within unions where only a few people would speak on behalf of the masses. However, a lot has changed since the 1930s, 1940s, and even 1990s. We had in 19, I believe it was 1991, from the 1930s to 1991, we had over 80 percent of our population who had a high school diploma. And that includes male and females. And quite a jump in individuals who had a college degree. And over the decades, those numbers are rising. And yet we still do business the same way within unions. We have a top down structure. And when we first started, we had it where a lot of the decisions were being made in the workforce at the work sites because we had union meetings within the work sites. We no longer really have that now. I think that's a tragedy because the premise of unions is to make sure that individuals in the work sites have their needs met. Well, now most unions are incorporated and the board members make all the decisions. Is it fair to say that in the beginning the unions were helping, if there were a lot of people who are even illiterate, they were helping the population to understand the laws, to understand the structure of the work. But you're saying that that has not changed the way that business was conducted has not changed and the unions operate the same. So the way unions traditionally were operating is to make sure that individuals understood what their rights were and make sure that their rights were protected. Ways that they did that were to strike when labor management did not meet the needs of the workers. And they made sure that the focus was on the workers and the needs of the workers. However, now what in my experience, I see that labor unions are more politicized. So fewer and fewer of the issues that are being brought up are about the work sites. Now they're more about politics and unfortunately the work sites and the needs in the work sites are no longer being met as they were originally intended to be met. Can you give us some examples of some issues that are politicized or they're being used that shouldn't be in the work? Well, I will speak to my experience. I was part of a organization that within the union that was formed specifically to give money and to support politics. And in that organization what I found was a lot of our members didn't even know that most, I would say over 90 percent, if not more, of the money that was being collected was only given to one party. And yet our membership is so much more diverse than that. We had half of our members of one party and the other half of another party. So basically we were not representing the wishes of half of our members and they weren't aware of that. There's a recent report that the University of California is suing a union because there were strikes. The union had strikes, had to do with a Gaza-Israel conflict. And the UC California is suing saying that this is a political issue, not a labor issue. So we've seen in the news how this is being used in politics. Do you see more of that? Unfortunately, in my experience, I have seen more of that. I haven't seen as much emphasis being put on the work sites and what we need within the work sites. But I have seen, and I have even been asked by our union, the union that I belong to, to come and make phone calls for politicians where we don't do the same for our work site issues. Most of the time when we're asked, in my experience, I saw that we were asked to come and walk for different politicians, different individuals in politics. We even gave money to a politician who did not help us. We gave money to that politician twice. And when the members spoke up about it, the ones who spoke up about it did not get very good responses back from our union. Well, so you've been involved with the unions for quite a while and recently you started your own organization, CURE, which is an alternative to a labor union. Can you tell us the deciding moment where you thought it's important to start this company to give people other options other than the union? Yes. So for me, going back to my personal beliefs, I am a Christian and I believe in giving every opportunity to an organization to be able to change, to give them the opportunity to explain why they have the stance that they have, why they have done the things that they have done. And I found that when I went to our leaders within the union and explained to them that this is not what our members are asking for, over and over again, we were met with rejection. We were met with hostility. And basically we were told, yes, we will listen, but their actions were the opposite. And I thought that maybe some change can come within. And I realized that the change would not be able to come within because there was just way too much corruption. And so I decided that our voices needed to be heard and we needed to be educated. I saw that a lot of people weren't getting the information that they needed to make educated decisions about their membership, about where their monies are going. And we needed some somewhere to go to be able to get information. So after praying about it, I said, well, if not me, then who? I didn't see that type of organization being planted and being started. So I just went ahead and started it. Your story might be somewhat similar to Tolgabert. You were a lifelong Democrat and then you switched parties. Tell us about that. And is it related to the union experience? Most definitely. I grew up where my family, my family are immigrants. We came from Nigeria and I saw a lot of things over the years here in the States that I was very proud of. The fact that here in the States, we have the ability to speak our mind. We have freedom of speech. We have the opportunity to go from nothing to become millionaires, even billionaires with hard work and determination. And in some other countries, that's not easily attainable. So I thought that my parents were Democrats and that's what the Democratic Party stood for. And I was very happy that I was part of that. Unfortunately, as I saw some of the things happening within the union, and I saw that they were only backing certain parties, certain individuals, I saw that that democratic way of governing was not truly happening. And in the democratic, I was a Democrat and I didn't see the people that I thought we needed to have in power. And so when I went over and started doing my research, I found that my values were actually represented better on the Republican side. And so I am a Christian, like I said, but I am a Christian. You work hard and you fight to get to where you're supposed to be, whether monetarily or otherwise, you should have a right to be able to keep what you fought for. And I think that the choice that I made has actually been more in line with my beliefs. Would you say it's the nature of the union to not be able to tolerate different views within itself, because they have to be united in their message? And if that's the case, how would that be handled? That's a great question. So I can speak about my experiences and the experiences of those individuals that have shared their experiences with me. One of the examples that I can give is that in 2021, our union voted in a president that was about change. He was a radical. He still is a radical in that he wanted us to change the way we thought about unions and unionizing, that the old way of doing business was not effective any longer. And he opened us up to freedoms that we never knew before. People were begging for these freedoms, for this type of change. And yet that president was taken out of his position, not by the members who voted for him, who wanted him to be in power, but by the corporation board members. And I think that goes way against what we as unions, as united peoples are supposed to do. We promised our members that their voice mattered. And yet when it came down to showing them that their voice mattered, that's not what happened. They took the opposite actions. Until this day, there are a lot of people who are still very hurt by that because they voted. They said, vote, your voice mattered. And they did. And then they went against their vote. They never asked the people what they wanted. They made the decision for us. And that's not democracy. So when you say they, who is they and who actually controls a union, in your opinion? So in my opinion, I think that the unions now, instead of being controlled by the masses, and instead of being controlled by the members, by the grassroots members, they're controlled by board members. And that is a corporation. We used to say, well, the corporations are doing this against us. The corporations are doing this against us. And yet that's exactly what most unions have become, the corporations that go against the members. So we need radical change within unions. We need to get back to grassroots and having the members run the unions. That's just not the case any longer, in my opinion. Is that something that can be changed with the resolution or with the structure of the union, or it's beyond that? I think that for, in my opinion and what I've seen in my experience, I think that most of the ways, the unions that are out there right now, structural changes will only continue what we already have. A slight change is not what we need. We need radical change. We needed the president that we voted in. And I've seen other presidents and other people who try to radicalize and say we need true change within these unions so that we can have the members' voice heard. And those individuals have not lasted. They were railroaded out in one way or the other. So we need a different system because that can happen again within this current system. Can you tell us the name of the president that was voted out so our audience can help if they would like to? Sure. His name is Richard Lewis Brown. He was voted in in 2021 for SEIU Local 1000. To this day, he is fighting to get his position back. And what they have done is use our dues monies in order to fight him, even though we are the ones that voted him in or asked for him to be our president. So that's why I say that the current system will not work. How do you feel, how do you feel the union members feel when that happens, when someone they voted for gets removed? Well, I can tell you what members have told me personally. They said there's no point in being a union member if I tell them, I write to them, I speak out, I picket, and all they do is call the cops on me, tell me I'm a liar, tell others that I'm a troublemaker and disenfranchise me. So I can say nothing to that because we are supposed to be protecting the members, the members' interests. So how can you protect the members' interests when they take the time to listen to you, to hear you, to vote, to make their own decision and go out and vote and then you take away their voice by deciding that no, they made the wrong decision so they're going to put somebody else, illegally put somebody else in position rather than the individual that you voted for. A union has a president and then there's a board and then just like a corporation, so the board can, so who elects the board? So the members are supposed to elect the board. So they, the problem with that is that quite a few people don't even know when it's time to run for a board position because I don't know why, I hear this over and over again as I talk to different people in different unions even, oh I didn't know that I could run for a board position, I didn't know when the time to run is because it's kept almost secret, hush hush. So the same people are elected over and over again and that's not democracy. So the president position is much more visible, that's when you get elected, but the board member is much more quiet kind of election. So it's all done at the same time and some boards I believe now have it where they elect what is called a chair position, so the members don't even get to elect that chair position and this chair person is supposed to make all the decisions or a majority of the decisions concerning the corporation. Well that should be someone that the members elect and the changes that are happening now right now within the unions are exactly what the unions fought against initially. So that's the ironic portion of it, that's why we need change. What is still the positive effect that unions bring to workers? We know what it should be, but these days what remains a positive effect? Well when unions are done right, what you get is camaraderie, what you get is better working conditions, truly better working conditions. What you get are innovative people who want to come to work, who feel like they're a part of the system, that they're a part of the answer and I think it's better for everyone because the management sees that people instead of calling in all the time are coming in to work. We have people who from all walks of life come together and figure out solutions that if it was just one individual or just a few people we couldn't figure out because we need the minds and experiences of the collective, of everyone and we do better jobs. I think that the unions when they're done right are a great thing for society. That's what we need in all facets of union life. And do you think that can come back, the spirit, this camaraderie that you're talking about? I do, I do. I believe that we can get that back but it's going to take all of us to be honest about what's really going on within the unions. We have to stop covering up the illegal actions and they are illegal because if we don't say anything then they're just going to continue the same way. And then again you're involved with a new organization that provides this you know these other options for employees. Tell us more about that. Yes, so CURE is the Coalition of United Represented Entrepreneurs. So one of the things that I have seen in the workforce is that we have people in all walks of life that are highly educated. Traditional education and through their experience, educated through experience and they bring that to the workforce. However, the way we treat them is still the way we treated them back in the 1930s, from the 1930s. So we need to capture all of that experience and teach people how to be able to use that experience to generational wealth. There are different ways of being able to get a pension for yourself, to get health care for yourself, to have stability in the workforce. And I think we now have to restructure the way we involve ourselves within the workforce and make sure that all that innovative collective energy is harnessed. And that's what we do with CURE. We educate people on their rights. We educate them on how to self-represent. We educate them on different options. So there's not just one way of doing business. Now we have the internet. We have all kinds of different ways of communicating that we didn't have back in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. And we need to be able to utilize all those options. I want to ask you next about your service in the military. You were in the Air Force, actually at Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento. You know, I think a lot of us appreciate your service and we want to thank you for that. And I think serving the country is one of the best things one can do and it should be appreciated more. Do you think this built your character more to fight for this camaraderie and to get involved in helping others and, you know, in this case, the union? Yes. I think that the United States military is one of our biggest unions because it really teaches us to come together for a mission. One of the things we always said in the military was the mission comes first. And that helps you to put aside all the extra trappings that we sometimes carry in our personal bags. So we bring, you know, our experiences, our diverseness. But we also bring, you know, some prejudices, some preconceived notions. When we have a mission, we say, OK, is this going to help the mission go forward or backwards? So it helps us to tailor what we bring to the table. And I think that becomes a very well-oiled machine. I think we can be able to do the same if we focus on the things that really matter. Anything else from the military that you would like to share? Something that shaped your character or gave you the strength to move towards this direction of starting a new entrepreneurship? So there's so much. I spent over 20 years in the military and I thank the Lord for it. I'm going to tell you, when I first got in, I didn't want to go to the military. My mom and my older brother got together and they said, oh, yeah, you can. Because I wanted to be an actress. I said, oh, yeah, you can act in the military. Yes, you can do that. I was like, really? OK, let me try this. And that wasn't the case. However, I got so many good skills because it taught me endurance. There were very, very hard times. Places that we went, things that we did, things that I saw that weren't easy, things that I experienced that were not easy, that I would say almost broke me. However, through the grace of God and the military education and training, I was able to pull myself out of some very difficult situations, not only in the military, but within my own life. I think that teaching, that endurance teaching is invaluable. And I actually believe everyone should do at least two or three years in the military. It's invaluable training. I don't think you can get it anywhere else. How did you switch from wanting to be an actress to going into the military? Well, you know, when you when I think that when most people are young, they have, you know, highfalutin ways of thinking. I thought that, you know, life was a certain way. You just you want to be an actress. You take some classes and you go and you're going to be famous, right? You're going to be an actress. It didn't work that way. Once I got out on my own, I realized that I had bills to pay. So that's when I think that's how my mother and my brother were able to convince me to go into the military, because I would have a steady paycheck, you know, while being able to pursue my acting career. But yes, it was it was actually the best decision of my life. Well, I think what many people don't realize, or maybe they do, is how many actors don't make it. You know, I recently watched this older movie, Cleopatra, where there's 5000 people in the march when she comes into Rome. And all of those people who are trying to be actors, but all they can do is just be fillers to walk into the scene. And the ones who make it are so few. Well, thank you so much for your time. Anything else you'd like to add to our younger audience or to people who are starting out? Any suggestion, any advice to them? Definitely. I think that they need to get involved. Right now, there is an awakening happening within our nation. I think within the world, people are realizing that, hey, I do have a voice and the way they use their voice matters. So politics is not going to change without us getting involved. We can vote most definitely that that is necessary. But we need to get involved in these grassroots organizations that represent your values. Because your mom, your dad, your uncles, they're getting older. We're getting older. We need the next generation to step up and get involved to understand what's really going on so that we can have that for their grandkids. All of the wonderful rights and responsibilities that we have here in the U.S. are not free. So please get involved. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you for watching another episode of the Bay Area Innovators. If you like this episode, please like it. And we would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions for someone who should be on this show. Just send us an email at sfbay.epochtimes.com. Thank you and see you next week.