The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. walked the picket line the day before an assassin's bullet ended his life. A Nobel Prize-winner courted by presidents, King spent his final hours with Memphis garbage collectors fighting for the right to unionize. As we remember King's legacy on the anniversary of his death, the struggle for economic justice continues amid new assaults on workers' collective bargaining rights, the worst income inequality since the Great Depression and irresponsible budget cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable.
Governors in several states are using budget shortfalls to gut bedrock labor rights and social safety nets that give workers a fair shake and families economic security. Conservative lawmakers are targeting teachers, nurses and first responders even as they dole out generous tax breaks to corporations. More than 20 states are chipping away at the Earned Income Tax Credit, which primarily helps poor working families. Some Republican leaders and business associations are even eyeing minimum-wage laws.
In my home state of Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to close the state's budget gap relies on cuts to vital state programs that serve the common good. A new report by the nonpartisan Louisiana Budget Project proposes a sensible alternative: raising rates for the highest-income households so our state can make smart investments in education, health care and public safety. Potential sources of new revenue, according to the report, include the estimated $7.1 billion the state loses from hundreds of tax exemptions. Along with tax policies that favor corporate interests and millionaires, Louisiana has a shameful record when it comes to protecting workers on the job. New Orleans has the highest incidence of wage theft in the region, according to a survey from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Immigrant laborers in construction, agriculture and restaurant services are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who refuse to pay workers the wages they have rightfully earned.
Tough times call for shared sacrifice and prudent use of resources. But the working poor and public servants who teach our children and keep our communities safe did not create the budget crisis, and hurting them with drastic cuts won't solve our fiscal problems. Wall Street recklessness, irresponsible tax cuts for the rich and a culture that celebrates excessive materialism all contribute to a crisis that will require more than political grandstanding to solve.
In response to this urgent challenge, religious and civil rights leaders are once again standing up for workers, just as Martin Luther King did. Interfaith Worker Justice and the NAACP will host rallies, vigils and teach-ins this week in Ohio, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida, Washington, D.C. and other cities to mark the anniversary of King's assassination and renew his tireless call for economic justice. It's no surprise that religious leaders are again at the forefront of the struggle for economic fairness. For centuries, diverse faith traditions have emphasized the vital role of unions and the dignity of work. Along with King, Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker movement, Cesar Chavez and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel were all inspired by their faith to stand with workers for just wages, safe working conditions and a seat at the bargaining table. Today, Pope Benedict XVI, Protestant clergy and prominent Jewish leaders consistently remind us that unions and collective bargaining are vital to ensuring that our economy serves the common good, not simply the privileged few.
What's at stake now in Louisiana and other states transcends the debate over balancing budgets. This is about preserving the American dream for those who work hard and play by the rules. Unions are not without flaws, but they are one of the few institutions that protect working families at a time when powerful business interests dominate politics and pursue an ideological agenda that benefit the privileged few. Many corporate leaders and conservative politicians -- especially in the South -- have effectively demonized unions for decades, even as studies show that all workers benefit from better wages and stronger workplace protections that collective bargaining helps secure.
Calls to honor Dr. King's legacy are never in short supply. His dedication to racial equality is frequently lauded. We should also carry on his commitment to economic justice by making fair budget choices, protecting labor rights and defending the dignity of workers.
Al Sharpton: MLK Fought for Unions, and So Will I
Ohio Protests Linked To MLK By Opponents Of Anti-Union Bill
Unions will mark anniversary of MLK's death Monday to show link ...
Ohio unions invoke MLK Jr. in protests of collective bargaining ...
In UK, US and Europe, the depletion of collective bargaining threatens workers' economic security and their human rights
Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis on this day in 1968. He was there to support striking sanitation workers, fighting for the right to have their union recognised by their employer; fighting for the right to collective bargaining.
Today is also a day of international solidarity with the public service workers of Wisconsin, whose right to bargain collectively has been stripped away by legislation sponsored by state governor Scott Walker, a man who has led the great state of Wisconsin to pariah status.
But as we stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters in Wisconsin, we do so in the knowledge that theirs is not a struggle confined to a single US state. Nor – as the neoliberal strategy of Governor Walker stretches to other states – is it a uniquely US problem. It is a global problem, demanding a global response.
But as Dr King realised, the case for collective bargaining is not simply an economic one. It is about social justice. It is about repudiating the idea that labour is a commodity, competing in a Darwinian "labour market". Above all, it is about ensuring that everyone is treated with equal respect, and paid a fair day's wage for a fair day's work.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/04-9
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness, in a descending spiral of destruction." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
God rest his soul. His words advocating justice, peace, freedom and independence should be echoed from the mountain tops and rooftops.
My favorite teacher, whose message is represented by the All Faths Coalition for Peace and Freedom (at http://cjcmp.org), pays homage to Dr. King, and furthers his work.
One might say truthfully God is a good socialist, Jesus was a good socialist, Moses was a good Socialist and all who were chosen by God to a diving task, set apart from others, were all good socialists, Good shepherds serving God first in all things, in serving the people children of God, to see in providing righteousness to all its Nation citizens. Where Pharoah and men of greed were not. Like Isaiah said " "Shepherds, Dogs, enough is never enough".
Why there is no peace in the world, wars, greed etc still exist. For Peace will only be found where Righteousness lives.
Shepherds and those in politics congress, are not here to serve self, nor greed nor profiteers, but to serve God under His authority, by serving God's children, by giving and providing Righteousness for all.
Even Jesus said. "A Honest days work for a honest days wage". Plus Moses laws of men of greed who set out to defraud a labor of his hard earn labor, true value worth earned. Moses did not dally with men of greed or unrighteous men. One set of Laws to be obeyed equally by all and for all to follow. The $$ was of far greater less value, then the great wealth blessings, treasures of one who was a Righteous man in the eyes of a Righteous God.
Yes, and if you actually READ the fine print in the SPLC's report you'll find that their "survey" was limited to people they were already representing, their friends and family members, a process known as "snowball sampling."
To cover its legal butt, the SPLC had to add the following disclaimer to its "survey":
“Because the targeted population is difficult to identify and contact, we used the snowball sampling method, in which study subjects refer researchers to additional subjects. Because study subjects were not chosen randomly, estimates from the survey may be biased.”
http://wp.me/pCLYZ-18
Times are definitely tough for workers everywhere today, but citing bogus SPLC fund-raising propaganda is a poor way to document it.
Letter from Birmingham Jail — April 16, 1963
While jailed for leading anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, King wrote this letter arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly I have never yet engaged in a direct action movement that was "well timed," according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This "wait" has almost always meant "never." We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that "justice too long delayed is justice denied
Absolutely - but do not try to spin this into a pro-illegal immigration argument! Labor rights are fine as are uniions - but where is it mandated that unions should even condone illegal immigration?
"Immigrant laborers in construction, agriculture and restaurant services are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who refuse to pay workers the wages they have rightfully earned."
By your own argumant, illegal immigration is the prime cause for eroding workers rights!
Aliens God calls them not illegal immigrates either. For God said you are ALL aliens living on land as tenants- on land NOT your own. And what will all do when the Land owner returns? I went to the laws of Moses which clearly has laws of protection for all aliens who reside in ones nation within all communities their equality rights also. And no aliens did not take any ones jobs away, corporations gave them your jobs. Why others do not apply for the same jobs, students adults etc? Because the labor is hard, long hrs, in the heat of the sun, on their knees , backs bent, heavy and cheap wages, right?
Agreed Illegals come here and because of their lack of status the only options they have are to work for very little money. Yes corporations and unscrupulous people take unfair advantage of them. The government has all of the levers in its hand to control the situation, business does not. The net effect of locking illegals out would be that wages would go up and that the currency would devalue through inflation. Imports would be come more expensive making manufacturing here more attractive - creating jobs.
Perpetuating illegal immigration is really not in the country's best interest. Perhaps they can go and stay with Moses.