“Right to Work”.
Good sounding phrase. Catchy.
What does it mean though- are these Republicans and US Chamber of Commerce corporate supporters suggesting they will legislate full employment? That seems hard to believe.
Their policies have cost the American people jobs. Over 23,000 manufacturing jobs in the Granite State alone.
The US Chamber of Commerce spent $144,496,000 lobbying in '09 and $132,067,500 in '10- but wait, something you need to consider is although this largest of US Lobbyists is spending this money, the organization is made up of America's largest corporations- which are lobbyists in themselves.
So the US Chamber of Commerce is a union of corporate lobbyists, wanting to strip workers of their right to Union representation.We'll get back to them later. Sort of mind boggling isn't it?
What I ask you to consider is their "angle", I'd like you to wonder about just what they are spending all their money to gain, and why.
What I ask you to consider is their "angle", I'd like you to wonder about just what they are spending all their money to gain, and why.
I should offer you insight into my angle on this union busting measure called by a different name. I am a working American, my Dad was a working American, I have a grandson on the way, and he'll be a working American just like his father, of whom I'm very proud. Although I've drifted, I was brought up in the Church, and so know that life is a community venture. My folks work life reinforced this. My Dad was a Union member throughout his working life, which ended too soon. He worked until the day he was stricken and died shortly thereafter. My Mom was Union during her work career. They met in a paper mill, thanks to my favorite Uncle, who was a union organizer. I came into the fold late in life, but had a good upbringing.
What they label "Right to Work" is basically an all out attempt to kill collective bargaining in the workplace, giving corporations, municipalities and other employers the 'gift' of non-democratically influenced hiring and firing of the people who do the work for them.
Public employees, thanks to their Union affiliation, still enjoy conditions that were considered just and normal years ago. They contribute to a defined pension plan rather than an IRA that depends on the stockmarket. They don't work for company's that have skyrocketing CEO pay and dwindling gains for the 'at will' employee; an employee who once had benefits until pleasing shareholders and CEO's vaccumed up the fruit of their ever increasing productivity.
Some facts to consider:
#1 According to Gallup, the U.S. unemployment rate is currently 10.3 percent. When you add in part-time American workers that want full-time employment, that number rises to 20.2 percent.
#2 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings in the United States declined for a second straight month during December.
#3 There are currently more than 4 million Americans that have been unemployed for more than a year.
#4 The number of Americans that have become so discouraged that they have given up searching for work completely now stands at an all-time high.
#5 Gasoline prices in the United States recently hit a 28-month high.
#6 During the 4th quarter of 2010, 4.63 percent of all U.S. home loans were in foreclosure. That matched the all-time high, and it was up significantly from 4.39 percent in the 3rd quarter.
#7 It is estimated that there are about 5 million homeowners in the United States that are at least two months behind on their mortgages, and it is being projected that over a million American families will be booted out of their homes this year alone.
#8 Almost 14 percent of all credit card accounts in the United States are currently 90 days or more delinquent.
#9 The average credit card rate in the United States had increased to a whopping 13.44 percent at the end of 2010.
#10 Americans now owe more than $890 billion on student loans, which is even more than they owe on credit cards.
#11 Average household debt in the United States has now reached a level of 136% of average household income. In China, average household debt is only 17% of average household income.
#12 U.S. life expectancy at birth is now three years less than Canada and four years less than Japan.
#13 New home sales in the state of California were at the lowest level ever recorded in the month of January.
#14 43 percent of all mortgages in south Florida are currently underwater.
#15 Prior to the most recent economic downturn, there were usually somewhere around four to five million job openings in America. Today there are about 3 million.
#16 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.
#17 One out of every seven Americans is now on food stamps.
#18 One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.
A middle class was, once, seen as important. Sort of the glue that kept the whole capitalist system together, working to produce things, spending tour pay in our communities to buy things made by other workers who... You get the picture. We working folks keep the ball rolling. We put our skills into working hard every day. Buying a house. Getting to our kids Little League games. Taking the family on vacation. All circulating money through the system.
What we hear about now is that public employees, thanks to their bargaining ability have it too good. Like a magician doing slight of hand this patter takes one's mind off the Elephant in the Room. That there is a small segment of the citizenry not suffering. Theses top percentile of Americans have
You might want to revisit that list posted above to see who owns the majority of stocks.
We are all screwed, but non Union people have been getting royally screwed- there's a big part of the problem. Why is it that public employees should have to go back in time? Shouldn't private employees be allowed to come into the 21st century?
These folks getting screwed are pissed about Wall Street sinking their IRA's. By the house they owe more on than its worth. They're frustrated by their kids incredibly inflated college tuition rates and seeing them become indentured servants from the loans they need to attend school. By a world that seems to offer diminishing returns to their children.
That Elephant in the Room? He has an equally unseen rider on his back. The rider? The entity that can pay millionaire Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to talk their trash. Foots the bill for the US Chamber of Commerce. Like the zombies so in vogue now, like the vampires on the silver screen he is not alive, but acts in our world all the same. The Corporation. Without morals and immortal, this creation of man is backing the efforts to nullify our Unions. While the average S&P corporate CEO received 9.25 million in compensation for doing his job these corporate forces begrudge working people a living wage and medical benefits. Their goal? To replace the bit of democracy in the workplace our ancestors fought and bled and died for with employment by fiat.
Like the good old days. Before the struggle for the 10 hour day, much less the 8.
What is weepy ol Glenn Beck's take for his role of a lifetime? 50 million over 5 years is his latest contract.
When Limbaugh got a 400 million dollar multi year contract a few years ago, Clear Channel, his employer cut 400 million in jobs, now there is an illustrative coincidence... Corporations want our living wage as their profit.
Is either adding more to the world than a teacher? Fair and balanced, I'll let you decide...
Talking heads like Beck pit us against ourselves. As railway robber baron and Social Darwinist Jay Gould said: “I can hire half the working class to shoot the other half."
Listen to the Tea Party ilk. Gould's quip still holds true. Regular working class folks are being manipulated like in the cartoon that heads this article.
As we see with this ill named "Right to Work" legislation there is a class bias at work. Workers are hurt on the job 51% more in these states. A gender bias is present as well: Woman are paid much better in free to unionize states, and their pay is closer to the compensation men receive, a 32% difference in "Right to Work" states versus a 5% difference. Latino workers earn 45% more a week than non-Union Latinos, and African Americans earn 30% more as Union members. As you can see, employers are the ones benefiting from "Right to Work", not regular working folks.
Facts are what they are afraid of. Because once the facts are examined, they don't have a leg to stand on. Mr. Gary Daniels sponsored an amendment to the right to work law:
Okee Dokee- so from just typical Right to Work BS we have a gentleman effectively instituting institutional, bald faced, there you have it Union Busting.
But here is how it went down. Folks are having a coffee, the chamber is in recess til 1pm. This amendment is brought out and slammed through, no debate at 12:25.
These Tea Party Corporatists fear the light of day. If it was good and defensible it would have underwent the usual process, hey, the Republicans have a majority, no problem. But they had to sneak. Pretty underhand, all in all. Lacking respect for the democratic process. Lacking honor...
To Mr Daniels credit, he and I had spoken at length, and emailed, and he said he was most concerned about freedom of the individual. We had spoken about the Republican move to stop Evergreen, the bill that kept contracts in place during a negotiations impasse. He disclosed he had pushed this sort of thing as a sponsor in 1993, and supported another attempt in '98. After considering what he said, thinking it through, it sure looked like Union busting, I dropped him a line stating that fact.
Never did hear back from him...
Public employees, thanks to their Union affiliation, still enjoy conditions that were considered just and normal years ago. They contribute to a defined pension plan rather than an IRA that depends on the stockmarket. They don't work for company's that have skyrocketing CEO pay and dwindling gains for the 'at will' employee; an employee who once had benefits until pleasing shareholders and CEO's vaccumed up the fruit of their ever increasing productivity.
Some facts to consider:
#1 According to Gallup, the U.S. unemployment rate is currently 10.3 percent. When you add in part-time American workers that want full-time employment, that number rises to 20.2 percent.
#2 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings in the United States declined for a second straight month during December.
#3 There are currently more than 4 million Americans that have been unemployed for more than a year.
#4 The number of Americans that have become so discouraged that they have given up searching for work completely now stands at an all-time high.
#5 Gasoline prices in the United States recently hit a 28-month high.
#6 During the 4th quarter of 2010, 4.63 percent of all U.S. home loans were in foreclosure. That matched the all-time high, and it was up significantly from 4.39 percent in the 3rd quarter.
#7 It is estimated that there are about 5 million homeowners in the United States that are at least two months behind on their mortgages, and it is being projected that over a million American families will be booted out of their homes this year alone.
#8 Almost 14 percent of all credit card accounts in the United States are currently 90 days or more delinquent.
#9 The average credit card rate in the United States had increased to a whopping 13.44 percent at the end of 2010.
#10 Americans now owe more than $890 billion on student loans, which is even more than they owe on credit cards.
#11 Average household debt in the United States has now reached a level of 136% of average household income. In China, average household debt is only 17% of average household income.
#12 U.S. life expectancy at birth is now three years less than Canada and four years less than Japan.
#13 New home sales in the state of California were at the lowest level ever recorded in the month of January.
#14 43 percent of all mortgages in south Florida are currently underwater.
#15 Prior to the most recent economic downturn, there were usually somewhere around four to five million job openings in America. Today there are about 3 million.
#16 When you adjust wages for inflation, middle class workers in the United States make less money today than they did back in 1971.
#17 One out of every seven Americans is now on food stamps.
#18 One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.
A middle class was, once, seen as important. Sort of the glue that kept the whole capitalist system together, working to produce things, spending tour pay in our communities to buy things made by other workers who... You get the picture. We working folks keep the ball rolling. We put our skills into working hard every day. Buying a house. Getting to our kids Little League games. Taking the family on vacation. All circulating money through the system.
What we hear about now is that public employees, thanks to their bargaining ability have it too good. Like a magician doing slight of hand this patter takes one's mind off the Elephant in the Room. That there is a small segment of the citizenry not suffering. Theses top percentile of Americans have
U.S. households worth $1 million or more grew to 7.8 million in 2009, up 16% from 2008, according to a survey from Spectrem Group, a Chicago-based market research and consulting firm.
The firm's report also found that the number of ultra high-net-worth households, worth $5 million or more, jumped 17% to 980,000.
"This is largely attributed to the stock market rebound, since other assets including real estate and private businesses have not rebounded as dramatically," said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group.
You might want to revisit that list posted above to see who owns the majority of stocks.
We are all screwed, but non Union people have been getting royally screwed- there's a big part of the problem. Why is it that public employees should have to go back in time? Shouldn't private employees be allowed to come into the 21st century?
These folks getting screwed are pissed about Wall Street sinking their IRA's. By the house they owe more on than its worth. They're frustrated by their kids incredibly inflated college tuition rates and seeing them become indentured servants from the loans they need to attend school. By a world that seems to offer diminishing returns to their children.
That Elephant in the Room? He has an equally unseen rider on his back. The rider? The entity that can pay millionaire Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to talk their trash. Foots the bill for the US Chamber of Commerce. Like the zombies so in vogue now, like the vampires on the silver screen he is not alive, but acts in our world all the same. The Corporation. Without morals and immortal, this creation of man is backing the efforts to nullify our Unions. While the average S&P corporate CEO received 9.25 million in compensation for doing his job these corporate forces begrudge working people a living wage and medical benefits. Their goal? To replace the bit of democracy in the workplace our ancestors fought and bled and died for with employment by fiat.
Like the good old days. Before the struggle for the 10 hour day, much less the 8.
What is weepy ol Glenn Beck's take for his role of a lifetime? 50 million over 5 years is his latest contract.
When Limbaugh got a 400 million dollar multi year contract a few years ago, Clear Channel, his employer cut 400 million in jobs, now there is an illustrative coincidence... Corporations want our living wage as their profit.
Is either adding more to the world than a teacher? Fair and balanced, I'll let you decide...
Talking heads like Beck pit us against ourselves. As railway robber baron and Social Darwinist Jay Gould said: “I can hire half the working class to shoot the other half."
Listen to the Tea Party ilk. Gould's quip still holds true. Regular working class folks are being manipulated like in the cartoon that heads this article.
As we see with this ill named "Right to Work" legislation there is a class bias at work. Workers are hurt on the job 51% more in these states. A gender bias is present as well: Woman are paid much better in free to unionize states, and their pay is closer to the compensation men receive, a 32% difference in "Right to Work" states versus a 5% difference. Latino workers earn 45% more a week than non-Union Latinos, and African Americans earn 30% more as Union members. As you can see, employers are the ones benefiting from "Right to Work", not regular working folks.
Facts are what they are afraid of. Because once the facts are examined, they don't have a leg to stand on. Mr. Gary Daniels sponsored an amendment to the right to work law:
Okee Dokee- so from just typical Right to Work BS we have a gentleman effectively instituting institutional, bald faced, there you have it Union Busting.
But here is how it went down. Folks are having a coffee, the chamber is in recess til 1pm. This amendment is brought out and slammed through, no debate at 12:25.
These Tea Party Corporatists fear the light of day. If it was good and defensible it would have underwent the usual process, hey, the Republicans have a majority, no problem. But they had to sneak. Pretty underhand, all in all. Lacking respect for the democratic process. Lacking honor...
To Mr Daniels credit, he and I had spoken at length, and emailed, and he said he was most concerned about freedom of the individual. We had spoken about the Republican move to stop Evergreen, the bill that kept contracts in place during a negotiations impasse. He disclosed he had pushed this sort of thing as a sponsor in 1993, and supported another attempt in '98. After considering what he said, thinking it through, it sure looked like Union busting, I dropped him a line stating that fact.
Never did hear back from him...
Take a gander at a map of states,see the "lay of the land"
Well, our Granite State workers are on the Chambers list for a right to work hatchet job for this next legislative season. It has begun. As you read this Wisconsin is standing tall. We are New England stock- I expect these corporate scumbags are up for a good fight.
We stand for working people in all strata of society when we stand tall for our right to a safe and more democratic workplace, Union brothers and Sisters fighting the fight for folks not lucky enough to have a Union.
I'll leave you with a quotation:
“History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them."
—Martin Luther King, Jr
I look forward to your comments.
Mark
We stand for working people in all strata of society when we stand tall for our right to a safe and more democratic workplace, Union brothers and Sisters fighting the fight for folks not lucky enough to have a Union.
I'll leave you with a quotation:
“History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them."
—Martin Luther King, Jr
I look forward to your comments.
Mark
