Will the New Assaults on Public Employee Unions Undermine All Workers?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.org./working/entry/6813/will_the_new_assaults_on_public_employee_unions_undermine_all_workers/

Thursday Jan 6, 2011 7:00 am

By Art Levine

(Editor's note: Art Levine appeared on Democracy Now! this morning to discuss the new attacks on public-sector workers and unions with Michael Zweig and the New York TImes Steven Greenhouse. He appears at the 32-minute mark.)

Video at link: http://www.inthesetimes.org./working/entry/6813/will_the_new_assaults_on_public_employee_unions_undermine_all_workers/

Years of demonizing public employee unions as part of a right-wing assault against the labor movement now seems about to pay off. That's due in part to state budgets that have been driven near bankruptcy largely by the Wall Street-led crash, and the political cover provided by otherwise liberal Democrats such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. He is seeking a reasonable-sounding one-year pay freeze that adds a bipartisan patina to the growing union-bashing.

As the New York Times reported on Tuesday, "Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics."

To some observers, this attack against public employee unions—abetted by right-wing misinformation campaigns that unions and their allies are just starting to counter—so profoundly threatens the labor movement that it poses a broader danger to the economy while strengthening the "Winner-Takes-All" politics that has dominated public policy for decades.

Veteran labor activist Stewart Acuff, the chief of staff for the 50,000-member Utility Workers Union of America and co-author of Getting America Back to Work, says, "This is a very serious effort by the radical right wing to cripple the American labor movement and remove it as a serious force in American life. They want unfettered, unrestricted corporate power, and the only thing standing in the way of absolute corporate domination of our society and what's left of our democracy is the American labor movement."

Sound like hyperbole? Take a look at the far-reaching goals of some governors in mostly Republican-led states, as the Times reported:

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.

For example, Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Maine, Missouri and seven other states plan to introduce legislation that would bar private sector unions from forcing workers they represent to pay dues or fees, reducing the flow of funds into union treasuries. In Ohio, the new Republican governor, following the precedent of many other states, wants to ban strikes by public school teachers.

Some new governors, most notably Scott Walker of Wisconsin, are even threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts...

Union leaders particularly dread the spread of right-to-work laws, which prevail in 22 states, almost all in the South or West. Under such laws, unions and employers cannot require workers to join a union or pay any dues or fees to unions to represent them.


FULL story & video at link.

[RandomThoughts]

1. That arguement is nanny state versus people get what they think they should have.

But without education, it can be used against them.

The progression is something like this.

People are lied to and not taught how to think.

So another group sets Nanny state rules so they don't hurt themselves, like not understanding the concept of something like a union to protect them from a concept like the economic system.

Each situation removes some freedom of choice, one for the interest of those that lie, the other for the interest of those being lied to.

Hence why education on what is done, seems to be the better fix, even if many people think they can hide that education.


I know that the corporate interest are not in the peoples interest because while they tell people to cheer for them using cult techniques, they teach to not care about the workers.

However there are people in the corporate system that can push back against that and do. Seen it in a few places. New a landlord that stopped the owner of a complex from raising the rent on a couple on fixed income. Also knew bosses that refused to cut hours of elderly workers based on a productivity bases.


On a personal note, what I post is a gamble in a way, one side thinks it wont be seen, and that is the effect, the other side thinks even if not seen it can unlock some things that could have been blocking things. So some would say someone would just take it and use it for some other reason against its purpose, without seeing what is actually said. I contend it does not have to be seen.

[vi5]

2. This campaign is only working....

..because Democrats at all levels of our government and every branch are giving it credibility. Same thing with supply side, trickle down economics. We've spent decades fighting against this and within a fairly short period of time and far too many examples of elected dems basically agreeing with Republicans on both counts, we're teetering on the edge of losing everything we've fought for.

It sucks, and if the democrats think they can thread this needle and still retain enough support to keep them in power then they are in for a rude awakening.

[RKP5637]

12. Democrats today are not the ones I grew up with!!! The party has

changed soooo much. I think the democratic party is in for a rude awakening too.

[Brickbat]

3. Labor is reaching a make-or-break moment.

People died for the benefits I enjoy today. They paid in blood, and I honor that. But we're about to lose those benefits with hardly a fight. We're going to have to get militant right smart quick or we're going to have to go through those fights all over again.

[RKP5637]

10. Absolutely true! Many Americans enjoy the benefits of what the unions

provided and have never belonged to a union. Somehow, they just think these benefits came with the territory. I bet many Americans today have no idea where many of their rights remaining came from ... and then they go to the polls and feel proud, the 'real' Americans, voting for those that want to rip all workers rights apart. It must be the water, but many of the citizens of this country are F'en insane anymore.

I've never been in a union, but I damn well always recognized that workers rights were fought for by many people and none of the stuff I had were given rights that just came without a battle.

People are brainwashed in this country.

[Bragi]

4. Yes it will. So what's the answer? /nt

[Trey9007]

5. To answer the question...........

Yes it will. The public sector is the only place unions still represent a high percentage of workers.

Dems and workers themselves are to blame. We have allowed the GOP to campaign against government social programs, while at the same time eroding workers ability to bargain these things with their employers. Shame on us...

[patrice]

6. Absolutely yes. nt

[ngant17]

7. But aren't federal labor laws the basis of union rights?

It would seem to me that, unless serious changes to federal labor law are in effect, the power of states to weaken or dismantle labor unions would be hindered by federal laws.

As long as we can address our rights on the federal level, I would not think the states can do much damage to the labor unions.

It seems to me that some of these new laws that are attempted to be enacted by the states, they would violate the basic structures of federal labor law. But I am not specialist in this matter, to be sure.

States rights? That is a red herring. Not one conservative was worried about states rights when Bush vrs. Gore was being decided by the Supreme Court, when the state supreme court's decision should have been accepted as valid. They pick and choose, just to suit their political agenda at a given point in time.

[madrchsod]

8. nope...right to work states

union representation for non union employees . the republican government of wisconsin is threating to make wisconsin a right to work state. it effectively de-funds the unions and replaces union workers with non union workers.

harley davidison has done this in their new contract. a subset of non union workers that will replace retiring union workers.

[Trey9007]

9. The National Labor Relations Act is the basis for unions....

But in many, if not all, of the states, Governors/State legislatures have the right to strip public workers of their right to organize. North Carolina already does it. This is critical for, example, bargaining pension benifits. Union workers are pretty much the only workers in the private sector that have defined pension plans. If public sector unions and their pension plans are done away wirh, it becomes that much harder for private sector to bargain pensions for their members.

Unions in the private and public sector workers are the only ones pushing up wages in this country. If they are destroyed, the Walmartilization of America will be complete.

[Omaha Steve]

11. State, County, and Municipal employees aren't covered by federal law

Also not covered are quasi government employees like public utilities. And don't forgot Bush would not let the TSA workers unionize. So federal employees have problems too.

So NLRB, OSHA, etc. don't cover us. Over a dozen states are trying to weaken government work laws in the next few months. NJ already did.

[ngant17]

15. this is disappointing news

I didn't know AFSCME was devoid of protection under federal labor law rights.

At my workplace, a state university system, there are currently attempts by management to get the union to by-pass the grievance process so it can be easier to terminate any employee for being unproductive (i.e., on their whim). I don't see how the local can agree to this, because even if there was a reasonable and obvious reason to fire an employee, by removing the grievance process, this newly-gained dictatorial power could be abused by management to eliminate personnel for political reasons having nothing to do with job performance. IMHO it could be used to unfairly target union stewards, for example. Ultimately it would create an atmosphere of fear and alarm in what does not exist now.

[jwirr]

13. When there is a chance that a union will come in and organize then

non-union businesses often pay union wages to keep them out. In that sense they help all workers. One other way they help all is by getting fair work laws passed. This country is going to be in bad shape if they break the unions. We (both union and non-union) need to fight this.

[Trey9007]

14. When Obama was elected....

Walmart gave their workers a raise. Walmart was sucking up to their employees because they thought the Dems were going to get EFCA passed into law. Just proof to show that just the threat of unionizing can result in better working conditions. I think I read somewhere that now that Walmrt sees EFCA probably wont get passed, they cut their workers pay recently.

[Omaha Steve]

17. Walmart eliminated the Sunday premium pay

You are correct.

[NNN0LHI]

16. My union was pretty much already undermined by my fellow Americans

Every time I see an imported or scab built car going down the road it might as well have a bumper sticker on it that reads FUCK THE UAW! And there are a lot of people who now want their unions to be protected who are driving them. I would still like to help them though. But my union has become so weakened that we can't help them very much now.

Back when we had a million and a half well paid union autoworkers in this country there were no states being squeezed for money or talk of cutting SS and Medicare like there is now. Everyones property taxes were reasonable and everything was good. Now with only a half a million of those workers paying in every week at half their previous pay to fund our states and social programs look at things.

Strange world, isn't it?

Don

[old mark]

18. Of course!-Unions usually support progressive causes, at least causes that seem progressive

such as safe and fair working conditions, education, health and retirement benefits. It is now being made to seem that the unions are somehow responsible fort the massive unemployment and maybe for the whole depression, and that workers would somehow be better off without unions at all.

In other words, it is another repeat of the tired old GOP bullshit they have been saying since the early 1900's-Unions are evil, socialist and un-American...which means, I guess, that low wages and terrible working conditions are American and good...???

It is the same old republican lies.


mark