Would Marx and Engels have approved?

Language is a never-ending source of inspiration. It illuminates our lives and helps us to remember what has gone before. Sometimes, written records help us relive moments of great worth. Other times, they recall eras of great terror. In this instance, we have to go back to 1848. In The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the words are either inspiring or a threat depending on your current political point of view. One phrase has resonated longer and louder than all the other sentences in the book. It is, "Workers of the world, unite!" This is the rallying call for collective action to fight the oppression of the capitalist elite and seek a more fair distribution of rewards for the labor invested. It has driven social reform around the world, albeit more in Europe and Asia than in the US. It provides a rationale for the development of the trade union movement. It finds its greatest expression in the reality of strike action where union members withdraw their labor to put pressure on their employers to offer better terms.

No matter what you may think of the practical day-to-day business of employment, the majority of people around the world find great comfort in membership of trade unions. They use words like "solidarity" to capture the strength flowing from collective action. In many countries, it has brought down governments and forced a redistribution of wealth. Notions of equality and fraternity take on new life. That makes it all the more sad when you read stories such as that coming out of Philadelphia. All the utopian ideals disappear in a puff of corrupted despair when the facts of the dispute at the South Pennsylvanian Transport Authority see the light of day. It seems the transit staff were unhappy with their working conditions. This was something up with which no human being should put. It justified strike action. The workers united and walked out. Let's take one step back. The dispute surrounded the precise terms of their health plan. Obviously, in these times of economic hardship, the Transit Authority had tried to protect the taxpayers. It wanted small savings. But when they tried to cut the number of viagra pills covered in the plan, the union saw red. Erectile dysfunction is not a matter for negotiation. The men demanded one pill per day. What can we say. The employers caved and now the taxpayers will cover the cost of a once-daily shot if that's what it takes to get a worker up in the morning.

No-one disputes that erectile dysfunction is a serious problem for those who experience it, but this is the first time a trade union has ever called a strike to get treatment. Welcome to the wacky world of Philly where Transit officials and union officers wrestled in public over the number of pills the workers should have each month. At least they were all talking about the best. The workers all wanted to buy viagra - great brand recognition there, guys! But we leave you all with one nagging worry. There may be a temptation for the drivers of those buses, trolleys and subway trains. If it's a slow day and life feels a little down, will they pop a pill and turn their gentle ride into an express bus weaving in and out of traffic, a bullet train of love? We could all be in for exciting rides from now on.