I remember it being against the rules to join a union or be a member. Of course I don't have the facts to support that, but when I was 19 I got a job where the union was offered and membership was optional and I had to turn it down on the advice of my mother who gave me all the "scriptural" reasons, but I can't remember them now.
Do witnesses picket when they are on strike?
by JH 18 Replies latest jw friends
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Mary
If witnesses don't participate in strikes , why do they get the salary increases that the union fights for?
Same reason they enjoy Freedom of Religion from a government they love to bash at every opportune moment.
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El Kabong
I remember when I worked for a union shop in the 80's, we went out on strike for 2 days. (Of course, it HAD to be the two coldest days of the year ). I was still considered a JW at that time, but I did join the picket line and strike. I had two small kids and I needed the strike pay. I figured, I pay my union dues, the union is fighting for me, so I will support the union.
Of course, I was councelled after the strike was over by one of the JW's who worked for the company and chose not to participate in the picket line. He "loaned" me (in front of all my co workers) the bound volume from 1961 with the very articles that Blondie quoted above.
I looked at it and threw the bound volume right in the trash. (He retrieved it of course). I told him that an article over 20 years old (at that time) ain't gonna pay the bills or feed my two small children. I got the standard "Jehovah will provide" speech from him. I told him to tell it to my landlord. This actually was one of the straws that broke the camels back and I soon faded after that.
I told him that religion is religion, and work is work. Religion has NO PLACE in the workplace.
Needless to say, I wasn't too popular in the congregation after that, but I really didn't care.
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JH
I agree El Kabong that religion shouldn't be at the workplace nor in the bedroom.
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Room 215
Yet, if my memory serves me correctly, JWs are no strangers to political activism. I believe they demonstrated en masse in NYC to get one of their pet Brooklyn Heights construction projects approved (then-mayor Ed Koch is reported to have said ``look down there at those people; not a vote among them"). And also in France, to protest the tax ruling.
For or against, for or against, it seems they're capable of rationalizing anything when it suits them, especially when they stand to benefit financially.
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BluesBrother
The quote that Blondie used reflected my own understanding of the teaching.
There can, therefore, be no objection to a Christian?s merely belonging to a labor union, paying the dues and heeding the call to stop work in the event of a strike.?Rom. 12:
However I looked again at the cd rom and found a couple of interesting points that seemed to be different.
"Nor is it the province of Christians to advocate, promote or engage in demonstrations, mass protests or strikes." Aw '75 22/2 p7
And under an index ref "If fined for not striking" - heading Labor Unions
"Fines may be imposed by others than governmental officials; for example, by trade unions in cases where a Christian?s conscience will not allow him to engage in certain union activities that he finds contrary to Scriptural principles. Here, also, he may consider that his paying the fine is simply the suffering of an unjust penalty for being a Christian.?1 Pet. 2:19, 20; 3:17; compare Proverbs 17:26." Wt '75 224
Go figure?
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jws
I'm not certain, but I thought my father went down to the strike when they had one.
My dad was a carpenter and an elder. He was the sole income for the family and we lived modestly. When a strike came, I could have sworn he went down there so that he could get strike pay. It wasn't as much as his regular pay, but we needed *something*. As it was, in the cold north, outdoor construction wasn't a guaranteed 5-day work week. Even though he may have gone down to the union hall, I know he did not carry a picket sign (at least as far as we knew).
I also know that he went to the union hall whenever there was some big vote, like whether to strike or not.
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Elsewhere
No. And I believe they are to cross the picket line if possible.
That is what my dad did during the oil-strikes during the early 1980's.
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Poztate
He may be a member, but he would not accept an official position or engage in picketing or otherwise agitating for the cause of a strike
As far as I know this is still the official position in Canada. In the event of a strike you would not cross a picket line (scab) but you would not be ON the picket line either. If you are not on the picket line the union will not pay you strike pay but there are no other sanctions involved.
I decided to support my union the last time we were on strike and walk the picket line. It felt good. No elder ever questioned me about it either and that felt even better.
Yet, if my memory serves me correctly, JWs are no strangers to political activism. I believe they demonstrated en masse in NYC to get one of their pet Brooklyn Heights construction projects approved (then-mayor Ed Koch is reported to have said ``look down there at those people; not a vote among them"). And also in France, to protest the tax ruling.
When they have their interests at stake then any and all protests are O.K. What the HELL ever happened to the old "wait on jehovah" BS