A thousand union members and supporters rallied on the lawn of the Arizona State Capitol March 1 to protest a suite of anti-labor bills currently being considered by the state Legislature.
The statewide AFL-CIO called for a Day of Action on March 1, 2012 and bussed hundreds of workers to the capitol to talk with lawmakers, hear fiery speeches by union leaders and protest bills attacking labor rights.
Several speakers, including Arizona AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebekah Friend, called out the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute as the creators of the union-busting bills SB1484, SB1485, SB1486, and SB1487, which are reminiscent of legislation in Wisconsin, Ohio, and other states.
Not to be satisfied with diminishing the strength of public sector unions, the Arizona Legislature is also considering bills that would reduce the minimum wage earned by tip workers and people under 20 years of age (HCR2056) and eliminate civil service protection for thousands of state workers (HB2571) .
"I never voted for ALEC or the Goldwater Institute on any ballot," James Baker of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) declared. But they are drafting our laws, he added.
"Why does the Goldwater Institute want unions gone? Because their corporate partners want to privatize your government," Friend declared defiantly.
Using Arizona's private prison industry as an example, Friend said, "Look at the private prisons. What do you need in a prison to keep it functional? Inventory. Prisoners. So what do you [as a legislator] start to do? You start to make laws that criminalize behavior that hasn't been criminalized before because you have to keep inventory, because [private prisons] get paid by the person."
Arizona has some of the toughest drunk driving laws and immigration enforcement laws in the country. Not surprisingly, Arizona also has four private prisons that offer treatment for drunk drivers: Kingman, West Florence, Marana, and Phoenix, and a private prison for federal offenses, which primarily detains undocumented workers.
"Follow the money...read what ALEC and the Goldwater Institute are doing. Then talk to these legislators and tell them to represent you--their constituents--not their corporate friends," Friend urged the crowd of unionists.
In addition to members of public employee unions, several private sector unions were represented at the rally, including the United Steel Workers (USW), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET). The leaders of those unions recognized the threat to their organizations if the Arizona Legislature successfully dismantles public sector unions.
"What happens to public sector unions will trickle down to others," said Manny Armenta of the USW. We are "behind public employees a hundred percent."
"We need to preserve the labor movement so that they [our children and grandchildren] can live in a middle class America," said John Tolman, vice president and national legislative representative for BLET, recognizing the nationwide, epic battle to keep unions alive and protect middle class incomes.
Several speakers also reminded the demonstrators that Arizona's government is strapped for cash because of multiple years of corporate tax cuts--not because public employees make too much money, which is the case Governor Jan Brewer and the Legislature's Republican majority are making.
Following a chant of "no justice, no peace," Friend declared to the crowd of cheering workers, "We are united as a labor movement, and we won't run."
See the video of of the rally here or below:
Pamela Powers Hannley blogs at http://tucsoncitizen.com/tucson-progressive/. If you would like to contribute as a citizen journalist to The Huffington Post's coverage of poliical events in your area, please contact us at www.offthebus.org.
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Fact #1: Hickenlooper signs bill to give a raise to state legislators. Fact #2: State of Colorado steals contracted, earned, fully-vested, and accrued retirement benefits from elderly in the state (SB 10-
001, COLA theft bill.)
We are warped.
Thank God the courts are beginning to correct the outright, unabashed theft of public pension benefits that has occurred in a number of states across the U.S. Read below the clarity that this Florida judge brings to the matter, it is breathtaking.
Here’s a link to the decision in Florida:
http://judicial.clerk.leon.fl.us/image_orders.asp?caseid=49809133&jiscaseid=&defseq=&chargeseq=&dktid=87117441&dktsource=CRTV
Here’s hoping that one day Justus will prevail in Colorado. Read all about it and support the lawsuit at saveperacola.com.
Both unions and minimum wage laws kill jobs! Especially since most union employees in the state are in the public sector, not private sector. Good to see Arizona doing what it can to ensure robust economic growth on a go-forward basis. This will be good for everyone.
Kai
You state, ‘Bunk. Capitalists need consumers. Demand for goods and services creates jobs. When people are barely scraping by financially, they don't buy things they don't need.’
a) Lower priced goods and services, by reducing the spurious costs associated with higher taxation to pay bloated public union workers, creates additional demand along the price curve. So lower costs equals more demand, ceteris paribus.
b) The real minimum wage is $0, meaning that positions and jobs that have a marginal value below minimum wage will not get created and the minimum wage kills these jobs. Forcing people to make LESS and afford less, which reduces economic activity and costs yet more jobs.
c) Sure demand is important, but you assume that Arizona is the only source of demand. Lower priced goods through lower public union costs and minimum wage costs, ensure that goods produced in Arizona are cheaper relative to California or elsewhere, which increases the attractiveness of AZ as a manufacturing destination, but more importantly our cheaper goods would grab more market share in other markets, Mexico, the rest of the US, and Canada, etc. Why do you assume that a drop in Az demand would not be offset by increased demand elsewhere.
Learn some economics.
Kai
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Mexican.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the poor people,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a poor people.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.