“With [Larry Hubich, the President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour] public proclamation that the United Way is a community unionist partner, the organization has officially gone from a fund-raising entity to a political action committee for the left.”
It has socialist overtones. People helping people.
ok4ua – the definition of socialism is not ‘people helping people’. The definition of socialism is state ownership of production – and of the results of production.
Individuals freely choose to help each other – and that has nothing to do with any political ideology. It’s been that way since humans appeared on this planet.
However, it is a fact that leftists or socialists tend to rely on some amorphous, non-individual agency to ‘help people’, i.e., the govt. Rather than people on their own helping people.
My relationship with the big charities ended when I realized that neither the government or the company I worked for at that time recognized the value of people working for the specific charity. In my case it was Boy Scouts – I put in several hundred hours per year to an organization which was crying for bodies. Money was easy to get. But the United Way only wanted money – to give to the utmost in Whacko causes unless you got really specific, and the company for which I worked at the time only recognized gross dollars – not proportion of income or other means of supporting a charity. So – I quit giving altogether.
I still feel really good about myself.
I now send money to causes which are fighting things that are wrong and evil in the world.
Funny thing about socialists/collectivists is that they always seem to be afraid of doing something on their own.
They always have to get permission or approval from somebody/some offical apparatus.
Actually it quite sad to see individuals go thru their life lacking the guts to ‘free lance it’ as it were.
How come us latch key kids had all the fun?
UNited Way .. united in the effort to sustain every flakey freakshow cause they can find.
(Yes we know they also support good causes) yet the UW has a long tradition of being the trough that many useless hogs feed from.
Eventually the preponderance of leftards in these organizations will become their undoing.
I can hardly wait to hear the response from private enterprise to the UW.
“It has socialist overtones. People helping people.”
This has got to be one of the stupidest things I have ever read. I wonder if ok4ua even understands what socialism is.
Probably not, Chairman. All he knows is that we don’t like it, so therefore he does like it. ok4ua is a hate-filled, unlettered troll, his sole mission is to annoy.
You might want to check the real facts: The Saskatoon United Way was formed by a partnership between business and labour some 50 years ago – the Saskatoon & District Labour Council and the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
From the web-site: “The United Way of Saskatoon & Area came into existence in 1959 as the result of a partnership agreement between the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce and the Saskatoon and District Labour Council. Business and labour leaders came together to form the United Way because they saw the need for the community to collectively identify human service needs and raise funds to address them. The United Way of Saskatoon & Area continues to represent this partnership of business, labour and community agencies.”
For the history see here: http://www.unitedwaysaskatoon.ca/whoweare/history.php
Also, to check out the contibutors who received recognition for their participation in 2008 see here: http://www.unitedwaysaskatoon.ca/awards/recognition.php
Many very reputable firms and unions, and hardly a list of who’s who in the labour movement or the left. This is a true community partnership, between business and labour.
uli, anything good that ever came from unions came before 1930. Since then you’ve been vampires.
A friend of mine had a business here in Canada, in the manufacturing sector; I used to work for him part time as an hour employee. His employees liked him: Swiss Chalet catered chicken dinners for monthly meetings; a pension plan and drug and dental plan. And the pay was better than minimum wage. More than once were attempts made to organize a union, employees saying no, until the CAW got the result they wanted.
What did they get? A pay increase of a few cents an hour more than what they had when there was no union. And no more chicken dinners from Swiss Chalet because that was to be negotiated on.
In the end, the employees voted the union out because they liked things better when there was no union. And they got their monthly Swiss Chalet catered chicken dinners back.
I think unions do have a place in society but the radicalism has to go. That includes nasty rhetoric by those like Buzz Hargrove who go storming into meetings, swearing and cursing until they get the demand they want.
I recall an instance where Buzz had a meeting with Hollis Harris of Air Canada. Buzz ranted and raved at him for a few moments; Harris got out of his chair to walk out, turning around to tell Buzz that when he cleaned up his language, he would come back to the room.
The beligerance has to go.
most law in canda is opinion. just look at some of the supreme court rulings.
The concept of the United Way on the surface sounds good: Why have a hundred charities at your door when one donation covers all? In reality it is a lot different. As noted before, only a fraction of the money gets to the charities and the bandwagon effect ends up with more than a few questionable charities with their hand out. I know the first time I saw a list of benefactors I was amazed and disgusted.
If memory serves me correctly, the Canadian Military pushed the United way and Canada Savings Bonds. I still get a United Way donation form with my pension slip every year.
The comment about tax deductions for charities being 17% while political contributions (over and above your tax dollars) at 100% is right on.
I make my donations to Share Life/Share Lent, and I have yet to regret how my donations were used. What’s more, I know a number of non-Catholics (but Christian minded) people who donate to Share Life/Share Lent instead of the United Way since it has become too ‘political’ and interested in ‘political correctness’ instead of concering themselves with those they are supposed to be helping.