LABOR UNIONS HAVE BECOME EVERYONE'S SCAPEGOAT; U.S. LABOR MOVEMENT SHOULD LEARN FROM FRANCE

Rochester, N.Y. -- Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to New Mexico, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers in collective bargaining and in politics.

Governor Scott Walker

As mentioned previously on this site, Scott Walker, the new Republican governor of Wisconsin, is threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. State officials from both parties are now wrestling with ways to curb the salaries and pensions of government employees, which typically make up a portion of state budgets.

And tomorrow, for example, New York’s new Democratic governor, our very own Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional influence in Albany. It is only a drop in the bucket as far as the balancing the budget, but it will go a long way to decreasing union density and the political clout of working families.

And in some cases — mostly in states with Republican governors and Republican statehouse majorities — officials are seeking more far-reaching, structural changes that would weaken the bargaining power and political influence of unions, including private sector ones. Anti-labor forces now feel emboldened because of a complicit citizenry-- the time is ripe to blame public employees and government workers for society's ills and to better position themselves ideologically, financially and politically.

We at the Voice Reporter have a few things we want to get off our chest. First, our American jobs are now the property of China and Mexico. Whole American towns are being swallowed up and devastated by a shrinking tax base gutting vital public services. The new Governor from Wisconsin has no clue and could care less about simple economic theory and keeping the middle class whole-- Scott Walker is only parroting GOP talking points.  Every time he opens his mouth, we know more and more how little he knows about governing.

Protesters at ONWT vent their
frustration over funding two wars.
(photo by Ove Overmyer)

 The "investors," "owners" and global corporations have moved their employees and accounts off-shore and pay no freaking taxes courtesy of the GOP. In eight short years, the Republicans turned billion dollar surpluses into trillion dollar deficits, deregulated the banks, and funded two wars with our children's blood and borrowed money. Once and for all, let's get this straight people-- Republicans are the spenders here and have wreaked havoc on the federal deficit, not the Democrats. The richest 2 percent has more equity than the other 98 percent of America, while 50 million Americans continue to go without health insurance. That in itself is a measure of instability for any democracy.

To add insult to injury, The Walton family has more money than the bottom 40 percent of Americans combined by selling goods manufactured by non-union labor in China and sold by non-union, low paid labor in the United States. Our tax dollars subsidize their workers because Walton and his companies refuse to pay a living wage for most of their workforce. Our quality of life has declined, poverty has rebounded like nobody's business and our hope for the middle class American dream evaporates bit by bit every time we take fools like Scott Walker, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner seriously.

But all this misery isn't enough for the GOP. Now "taxpayers," which public employees are by the way, have to be pitted against their friends, neighbors and family. The private sector has to participate in a race to the bottom with public workers and the only people who win in this equation are those who have disposable incomes. Class envy has evolved to mean that the worker with benefits must be taken down to relieve the misery of the worker without. It's just ludicrous. Brotherhood, sisterhood, freedom related to union association and any sense of community are now the exception and not the rule. For god sakes people, let’s get a grip.

When will the greed stop?
(photo by Ove Overmyer)

Yes, we are one of the richest nations on earth - but our collective wealth is hoarded by a small minority completely removed from reality--  they are the patriots for profit. The wealth that we created has been redistributed from our main streets to Wall Street and is tearing America apart at the seams. That's right, our money we have paid into for things like Social Security and other social programs that benefits the common good belongs to everyone-- but corporate America and the GOP want control of the cash. Government salaries and pensions are not killing state budgets-- lawmakers, corporate lobbyists and the big donors who put these bureaucrats into public office are.

2011 is becoming the year of the biggest money grab in American political history.

The American labor movement should take a lesson from France-- when their government tried to raise the retirement age. Check out these photos. We at the Voice Reporter are not kidding here. Drastic times require drastic measures.

To read a complete NYT article on this subject by Steven Greenhouse, you can go here.