STOP THE LIES: SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER

Rochester, N.Y.-- As the political landscape in Washington shifts, now more than ever a lot of "noise" is coming from corporate giants and its allies about public employee unions. That in itself comes as no surprise to anyone, on either side of the political continuum. 

It is extremely clear to us at the Voice Reporter that we can no longer afford to be misled by the same voices that drove our economy into the ground. The clock is ticking, and there’s simply too much at stake—for our working families, our libraries, hospitals, worksites, cash-strapped communities and our collective future.

Let's make this personal.  Make this your New Year's Eve resolution--  It’s easy to tune out misinformation about unions and the workers who make them strong when you hear it on television or read about it in your hometown newspaper, but what should you do when the same misinformation comes from your co-workers, friends and family?

We at the Voice Reporter put our heads together with our friends at American Rights at Work.  We are speaking truth to power. Here is a great list of facts you can use the next time you hear someone attacking unions or the services we provide — and help shed light on what unions are really all about.

MYTH: Unions are run by big, overpaid bosses.

FACT: Unions are run by everyday workers who are elected by a democratic process.

» A union is simply a group of employees who join together to address workplace issues, so they can improve their working conditions, advocate for the services they provide and have a fair shot at a better life for themselves and their families.

» Unions are democratic institutions. At the local, state, and national level, all union leadership is elected by majority votes—just like elections for public office.

MYTH: Unions only care about their members.

FACT: Unions are fighting to improve the lives of all people in the communities in which they live and the services they provide.  Unions are some of the most philanthropic organizations in America.  See this previous post at the Voice Reporter about CSEA. 

» It’s easy to forget that we have unions to thank for a lot of things we take for granted today like the minimum wage, the 8-hour work day, child labor laws, health and safety standards, and even "the weekend."  We also demand due process at work, the right to legal representation and overall democratic workplaces.

» Today, unions across the country are on the frontlines advocating for basic workplace reforms like increases in the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work and pushing lawmakers to require paid sick leave and pass bills like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

» Studies show that a large union presence in an industry or region can raise wages even for non-union workers. That means more consumer spending, and a stronger economy for us all.

» So it’s no wonder that most Americans (61 percent) believe that “labor unions are necessary to protect the working person,” according to Pew’s most recent values survey.

MYTH: Union workers are lazy, and unions are bad for business.

FACT: Unions and profitability go hand in hand.

» Actually, unions make the workplace more efficient – despite the stereotype that we all hear.

» Unions raise productivity on average by up to 24% in manufacturing, 16% in hospitals, and 38% in the construction industry. Union workers have higher professional standards because unions increase opportunities for worker training. Many even offer their own training programs.

» Union workers are employed in some of the most respected professions. They’re nurses, librarians, firefighters, teachers, day care providers, engineers, and NASA scientists. Union members are responsible for building nuclear subs, the space shuttle, The Smithsonian, the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, and even the American flag.

» Even small business owners think that unions are good for workers—and the economy. In fact, over 80 percent agree “strong unions make the free market system stronger.” They’re right. Unions exist at some of the most successful companies out there, including AT&T, Costco, UPS, and Southwest.

MYTH: Unions ask for too much. In this economy, people should be thankful for any job.

FACT: Good jobs mean a stronger economy, and that means more jobs.  Workers who protect their families should never apologize for what they earn and collectively bargain for. 

» This idea is coming straight from the same corporations that ran our economy into the ground. Now they’re taking advantage of our financial worries to grab an even bigger slice of the pie.  Wake up and smell the coffee.

» It’s just plain wrong to make working Americans foot the bill for Wall Street’s party. And it’s also bad for the economy. Because when workers can’t afford the products they produce, consumer spending takes a serious hit, and the economy does, too.

» But when workers can bargain for family-sustaining pay and benefits, consumer spending increases. The result is a stronger economy—one that creates jobs and enables people to work their way into the middle class.

MYTH: Public employees are to blame for our budget woes.  We need smaller government.

FACT: Public employees earn less than private-sector workers in similar jobs.  Public services are vital to the quality of life Americans have come to know and respect.

» You’re going to hear this argument a lot more very soon. Don't believe a word of it.  We can’t afford to have extremist policymakers get away with scapegoating civil servants like teachers, librarians, health care workers and employees of the Monroe County Water Authority and highway departments of our area. 

If we can learn anything about what happened in the big cities of the eastern seaboard during the recent year-end snow removal debacle, it would suggest that we need a rightsized government to save lives-- two people died in NYC because public employees did not have the resources they needed to do the job.  There were also a lot of fingers being pointed at NYC sanitation workers, which lacked man power even when working at full capacity around the clock.

NYC used 1,600 plows and 2,000 laborers in the blizzard of 2010.  While people died waiting for emergency vehicles to arrive because of unplowed streets, right-wing bloggers were already telling their readers that the sanitation workers conspired to delay services.  This is just reprehensible.  The truth of the matter is Mayor Bloomberg did not have the proper resources to handle this situation and is ultimately responsible for not making the city as safe as it could be.  The smaller government argument is foolish and will be addressed here later in an upcoming post.  Right wing and conservative media types who espouse this crap have no shame-- even when families lose loved ones.

» Private-sector workers should be angry about the inadequate benefits they receive, but the solution isn’t to take hope away from the public sector workers who keep our communities strong. We have to make the economy work for everyone.  Global corporations want to separate and divide working families to make us weak, and they are winning the battle for now.  However, we can win this war by you making a personal investment by joining the Stop The Lies campaign.

» Recent studies show that public employees make significantly less than private-sector workers with comparable education and experience, even when you factor in benefits. And according to Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman, state and local employees’ pensions make up only 6 percent of non-federal public sector spending.  Government salaries and pensions are not killing budgets, lawmakers and the big donors who got them into office are.

» Still not convinced? It turns out that what’s bad for public workers is bad for the economy, too. The Center for Economic Policy Research reports that freezing federal workers’ pay will mean a loss of $2.5 billion in consumption by 2012—18,000 private sector workers stand to lose their jobs as a result.

» And don’t forget, it was Wall Street’s recklessness that caused budget shortfalls in states across the country—not public service workers. Making public service workers pay for Wall Street’s wrongdoing won’t create jobs, and it won’t save the public services we all depend on.  It's just plain false that worker salaries and pensions are the cause of local and state government budget woes.

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year and keep fighting the good fight.  To see a photo gallery of CSEA Local 828 activities for the past year and a half, you can go here.