Madison, Wisconsin -- arguably the center of labor movements and unions -- is under attack. In one of the largest and troubling setbacks to workers' rights, Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed regressive legislation that not only dismantles the ability of civil employees to oppose unjust practices, but it essentially demonizes each individual's self-worth. As thousands continue to gather in Wisconsin to protest laws that would require them to pay more for their pensions and health insurance, similar action is taking place in New Mexico and around the country as unions face continued assault. The nation, in effect, is at a pivotal moment not seen since the days of the great civil rights movement.
On the heels of a catastrophic financial crisis, states are forced to deal with massive budget deficits and an as-yet unclear future. But in the difficult task of charting a way through the tough terrain of uncertainty, those elected to serve the people cannot continue to lay the burden on the shoulders of the most vulnerable. Gov. Walker has called for state employees to contribute 5.8% of their pay to their pensions, while simultaneously requiring them to pay at least 12.6% of their health care premiums. For a hard-working state employee, such drastic measures would translate to extremely diminished take-home money, and renewed difficulty. At a time when workers are already bearing the brunt of hardship for an economic recession they did not create, Gov. Walker's proposal is outrageous, unjust and misleading.
Let me be clear. If you alter the pension apparatus, it will not add one dime to the state deficit. It is a con game, pure and simple. And unfortunately Gov. Walker and others proposing similar legislation are wasting time attacking working folks instead of seeking honest, sustainable solutions to their budget shortfalls. Rather than targeting teachers, state and municipal employees, these elected officials need to put forth as much effort towards creating jobs and providing opportunities for everyone to receive fair pay, affordable housing and a shot at the proverbial American dream.
Last week, I was in New Mexico with Lee Saunders, International Secretary-Treasurer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), as we addressed a similar attack on workers in that state. As Lee Saunders and I work to protect the rights of New Mexico's civil employees, we must ensure that other states and municipalities do not begin to undermine the people who clean our streets, collect our garbage, teach our children, deliver our mail and tremendously help us all on a daily basis.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now-signature 'I Have a Dream Speech' in 1963 at a demonstration titled the 'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom'. When he was viciously murdered a few years later in 1968, Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee standing alongside sanitation and public workers as they fought for livable wages and fair benefits. Literally giving his life for the cause of workers' rights and the right of dignity for every man, woman and child, Dr. King would be appalled to see the attacks today on unions and the labor force. If our greatest civil liberties advocate were with us now, he would undoubtedly be leading the way in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
Essentially paying homage to the legacy of Dr. King, workers in Wisconsin have peacefully assembled and voiced their disapproval at Gov. Walker's proposals. In Indianapolis, teachers recently protested a bill that would limit contract negotiations for their unions, while in Ohio, demonstrations occurred outside the Statehouse against legislation that would severely hinder the bargaining ability of unions and state employees. As more erroneous attacks against state and municipal workers occur around the nation, we should encourage - not criticize - these nonviolent protests and opposition. It is, after all, precisely what Dr. King would be doing as well.
On the eve before he was brutally slain, he stated: 'Let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants...'
Richard Trumka: This Isn't Deficit Control. It's Assault.
Robert Creamer: Attempts to Deny Wisconsin Workers the Right to Choose a Union -- Simply Un-American
Dave Zirin: Green Bay Packers Sound Off Against Gov. Scott "Hosni" Walker
I feel that legislators and state employees both have a primary duty, not to their investors or would-be bond purchasers or union officials, but to the general public, whom they claim to serve. And, in this example, I think that everyone involved, legislators, workers, voters, whatever you've got, there, should firmly press the 'pause' button on this little circus, and work with a local newspaper to turn out a special edition that details any and all aspects of state spending, including salaries and benefits and bond obligations. Maybe, in doing so, Wisconsin can help to establish a new national standard of public accountability, to be emulated and copied by other states, possibly even other countries, if they do the job well enough. Somewhere in there, the cumulative effect of states that chronically can't seem to manage their budgets, along with similar failed efforts in D.C., have now resulted in a situation where the United States goes $100B further into debt, on a monthly basis. Every single MONTH, another 100 billion dollars worth of debt, plus interest, gets laid against the name of every man, woman, child, business, or other entity that resides or operates within the borders of this country. I say it's time to reverse the trend, and the way you do that is with transparency. So, stop the presses, or in this example, start them back up again, and do a full(and I DO mean 'full') report to the citizens of Wisconsin, and to the rest of the country. THEN talk about what to vote on. Having only a portion of the facts is a poor position from which to operate or make decisions.
Anyone here not working for the Government contribute more than 5% to their own retirement fund?
How about contributing 12% of their own health insurance?
Seems to me that is a pretty sweet deal.
I just don't understand how you can legislatively accomplish those two activities. If a union exists, what prevents it from striking if the majority of members don't like the contract being negotiated? Do teacher's unions need permission from the government (their employer) to strike? I'm still confused how this is done.
"Making the oligarchs absolutely untouchable." [sic]
Hyperbolic much?
No, but it sounds like the person that claims that hasn't read the law and is making things up.
Majority of citizens that voted . . . Obama received 69,456,897 votes in 2008 . . . we have 300 million people so majority is not the right term.
"rightwing think tanks have been running non-stop 24/7 coming up with ways to bring him down"
That's what think tanks do, what do you think the left wing think tanks do to Republicans?
60 minutes on Illinois.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKCTiJ8hKYw
"The Illinois pension system, which was only 46 percent funded, would run out of cash by 2018, according to the research, which uses June 2009 financial statements and calculates liabilities using the U.S. Treasury bond rate."
See if the definition fits: "Coercion - the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, rewards, or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force." Sounds like a union to me...
If we got rid of this coercion, unions would have to stand on their own merit and would have to be funded by those that want it. What's not fair about that? Why eliminate choice? Why coercion?
And speaking of injustice (whick MLK was against), workers who are required to join a union against their will is an injustice, right? If I want to negotiate my own contract with my employer, why am I not free to do so? Choice is choice, coercion is coercion. Freedom to choose should prevail.
I do not understand why American workers don't believe their labor is just as valuable as the CEOs, or CFOs, or COOs or, you choose the OO. Why are 'workers', who have the least voice in most organizations, viewed as greedy, or unworthy of requiring a living wage and the opportunity to benefit from THEIR labor when they negotiate a compensation package, but the OOs somehow DESERVE the ability to negotiate a compensation package for themselves?? When unions, public or private sector, negotiate a higher wage, that then becomes the floor for wages offered by non-union employers. The unions are not the enemy or the problem. The unions are the solution. There are more workers than OOs
Thus the newly elected Governor and State Legislature of Wisconsin.
You do pay taxes, Mr. Sharpton?
R/ PRONESE
Yes, My relationship with the HufPo and Community Moderators is interesting to say the least. :{>
Unions and many Corporations do not pay Taxes as individuals or organizations but
may pay Taxes on thier property and utilities like the rest of us.
More Coffee...
R/ PRONESE
Go to a restaurant in Germany. Hmm, the meal is 14.56 Euros. Of that 4.26 is TAX. In addition to all the other taxes, by the way.
Before you go raking off against corporations doing all their 'dirty deeds' remember that the democrats take just as much money from the corps. and lobbyists as the R's do. If not more!
While it is true that Europeans pay higher taxes than we do, when you factor in what they get for those taxes, and what we have to pay for out of pocket, they come out way ahead:
- moms get paid maternity leave so their family income doesn't get cut in half just when they need it most due to the new addition
- free childcare, versus at least $400/month we pay here with after-tax money
- free higher education, versus $25,000+ we pay here with after-tax money
- free healthcare with better outcomes, versus 12,000+ per family per year we pay here
Really, why do you think they're laughing at us?
1.Job otsourcing
2. Illegal Immigration
There are too many AMERICANS out of work. If we had full employment a lot of these problems would go away.
Why dont you ever address these 2 problems?
BUT WHERE IS MY US SENATOR HERB KOHL?
Kohl has become so invisible over the years, nobody misses him anymore. The press needs to find him. Really, he ought to be here to support a Democratic cause.
Governors in the last twenty years Republican and Democrat have come in and promised these Union works something they knew they couldn't deliver it on. We should not yell and protest just because we finally got a Governor that wouldn't lie anymore.
And it better not be the middle class and poor who have to pay for their thuggery.