Monday, March 21, 2005

Time for a Revolution...

It's an outrage! According to the AP, "Republican governors in a few spots across the country are angering state employees by removing one of organized labor's strongest tools — the right to collective bargaining. Governors in three states who've taken the step say it's about making government more efficient or being fair to non-union workers. Critics say it's political payback for labor's traditional support of Democrats and part of a wider shift to undermine workers in favor of big business."

You're damn right. Collective bargaining is the only means by which unions are effective.

"The ability to negotiate with employers with the strength that comes from a united group is the basic tool of unions. But comprehensive bargaining — defined as the ability to bargain over wages, benefits and work conditions — is only allowed in 25 states, according to the AFL-CIO."

I hear a lot of anti-union rhetoric from blue-collar conservatives all the time. I never got why they'd trust big corporations over groups of people like them.

"The GOP strategy aims to weaken a foundation of the Democratic party, said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, with 1.5 million members. 'I see this as an effort to make the Republican right-wing conservatives the party of the future for a long, long time.'"

Ditto. But conservatives in these states will buy their arguments hook, line, and sinker. That unions for state employees slow down services and make things less efficient and so forth. The true purpose, of course, is to undermine the Democratic base.

Quite frankly, I hope these governors pay for their actions in their next election.

1 comment:

adam said...

Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky (sorry, forgot to link to the article)