It Can't Happen Here

"Without labor nothing prospers."

As most of the country (and quite a bit of the world) knows by now, there is currently a situation in Our Fair State. In an attempt to balance the state's budget (which everyone agrees is a good and necessary goal), the Republican governor and the Republican majority in the legislative houses have decided that it is necessary to ask public employees to contribute more to the cost of their healthcare and pension. Except that they quit asking and moved to attempting to pass legislation that simply strips public employees of their rights to collectively bargain for healthcare and pension benefits. (Wages are already prohibited from increasing above inflation without a public referendum.)

Faced with the prospect that the legislation would be railroaded through both houses with a minimum of debate, discussion, or public engagement, the 14 Democratic Senators fled the state - in theory, to keep the Senate from having the quorum necessary to pass the bill. In the past few weeks there have been massive demonstrations outside the capitol to preserve the ability to collectively bargain, and public employee union spokespeople have said that the unions will agree to the additional healthcare and pension costs that they are being asked to bear.

Oddly, this situation has mirrored aspects my own employment situation, which involved a struggle over employment status and the right (or lack thereof) to benefits (insurance and PTO). As is often the case with those not operating from a position of power, I lost. And not just benefits, but, as of yesterday, my job as well. This morning I learned that the Senate in Our Fair State managed to passed a bill (whose exact wording is a mystery at this point) that strips public employees of their collective bargaining rights. They claim to have managed this (legally) without the necessary quorum by 'removing fiscal effects' from the bill. (q)

While on the surface this situation may appear to be about balancing the state's budget, some of the lesser known provisions of the proposed bill have much broader ramifications. Including making union dues purely voluntary and prohibiting their collection by payroll deduction. (q) Labor unions make significant contributions to political candidates, and 93 cents of every dollar spent by labor unions in the last six election cycles in Our Fair State have gone to a Democrat. (q) And while no one wants to be forced to join a union anymore than they want to be forced to accept untenable employment terms, it's worth noting that the agenda behind this 'union busting' proposal may go far beyond a simple attempt to balance the state budget.

"...[T]here are two parties, the Corporate and those who don’t belong to any party at all, and so, to use a common phrase, are just out of luck!"

Reflecting back, I see a pattern of Labor fighting The Company that spans my entire life. It started with the job I had in high school, where the boss didn't want to pay me overtime, until I proved to him that I knew it was the law. I watched my father being forced to take early retirement after 27 years of service and then being hired back through a consulting firm for an additional 10 years. And I've watched the rapid growth of 'independent contractor', part-time and temporary positions being used as a way to scale back costs by not having to pay benefits.

It is a difficult job to organize people into an effective fighting force. Many years ago I worked at a company where the workers wanted to unionize to improve their working conditions. Rather than organize themselves, they tossed around the idea of joining an already-established union. While I was for organizing to improve working conditions, I was opposed to simply letting a big union in the door to tell us what to do. The fact that I attended a meeting where these issues were discussed was enough to cost me that job. And the gripes we had then seem simple when compared to some of the issues and situations I've encountered since then.

One of the best outcomes recently in Our Fair State is the return of former 'maverick' senator Russ Feingold to the political arena, with the launch of his grassroots campaign (Progressives United) to combat corporate influence in politics. But the daily battles of workers who may not know their rights, or who may be too afraid to act on those rights, continue. And if there is a cause ripe for humanists, it might very well be engaging the ideas and participating in the struggles that will define how labor will be treated in this country in the years to come...