Unions suck, even at McDonald's

In response to Jacquie Charlton's piece "McBlow Job: ruining the union" ["Refusing to swallow the burger," Feb. 26], I'd like to give everyone this to reflect upon: unions were essential in making the workplace more humane in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s. The only problem is that in the '70s they became big business just like the people they were fighting.

Today they are not the solution, but part of the problem. Ask anyone who has ever tried to stand up to them or, god forbid, tried to get them out of their workplace. They are in it for the money and the power, like every other capitalist out there. Their interests are way more important than those of the people they are supposed to defend. Ask the former employees of Steinberg's, Dominion or any other company that decided they had had enough of demands and decided to pack it in.

The solution to abusive bosses does not lie in giving your money to another fat cat.

--S. Pearson

Desperately seeking ethnic leadership

Brandon Gordon's letter ["Black community needs leadership," Feb. 19] stating the lack of quality leadership in the black community, like the kind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once provided, has my approval.

More than a decade hence, one would think that Dr. King's example should give leaders in most black communities a sustained and lifelong commitment to end bigotry and grave injustices. But, as Mr. Gordon points out, what we see today is timid and ineffectual leadership by some black leaders who just offer pious irrelevancies that on too many occasions favour the status quo with no concern for the real social issues.

Furthermore, it seems to me that there are no signs of recapturing the kind of quality leadership that Dr. King provided.

Black communities need Dr. King's teachings as guidance, support and inspiration. They should not entrust the struggle for justice to, as Mr. Gordon said, "self-promoting and self-serving leaders" who sacrifice the black cause for their own personal gain.

Finally, Mr. Gordon could also have been talking about other ethnic groups as well. They see the same lack of quality leadership in their respective communities. As everyone knows, some ethnic leaders are more involved in ego battles than in dealing with the social issues that affect their local communities.

--Tony P. Fernandez

Swingers deserve hassle-free swinging

It's time for the Montreal police to join the 20th century. On Saturday they raided Club l'Orage [a swingers' private membership club]. They photographed and charged everyone there. It seems the police are not having as much fun harassing gays and lesbians anymore, so they set their sights on Montreal's swinging community.

Is there anyone who really cares that we have a few clubs that cater to swingers? Why don't the police stay out of everyone's sex life and concentrate on real crime.

--Raymond Abbadie

Sovereignty is like a root canal

Haven't had a cavity in decades! When I went to have my teeth cleaned, the dentist regularly commented on how clean they already were. So the cleanings became less frequent, to the point of my thinking that two or two and a half years had passed since the last one.

The two and a half years were in fact four and a half years. I begin treatment for two root canals tomorrow.

Now I remember the feeling, from a while back, that something was leaking down into a lower back tooth. Now I remember thinking that there might be a small hole in the filling that was put in about 25 years ago.

I was suffering, a bit, for two weeks when I remembered that I have a good dentist whom I like. And that I was overdue to have my teeth cleaned.

The moral of the story: get cocky about how good your oral hygiene is and it could take a good bite out of your wallet. We're talking thousands of dollars.

So even when all seems well, it might not hurt to have dental X-rays taken every two years or so. Fixing a small cavity is nothing compared to root canals. My cozy teeth were too cozy (tight). One's problem became that of the other too.

Were my teeth sovereign, would my problems be lessened by half? Is sovereignty-association potentially more painful than sovereignty alone?

Is the oral decay of politicians more troublesome than that of two too cozy teeth? Am I biting off more than I can chew with these nibbling thoughts?

'Tis better to be drilled than to dribble.

--Catherine Blake