Ten Reasons Protecting Unions Is a Life-and-Death Issue

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http://www.truth-out.org/ten-reasons-protecting-unions-life-and-death-issue/1306177706

Monday 23 May 2011

by: Eric Mann, Truthout

In Wisconsin, tens of thousands of public-sector workers were going to work every day, helping the people in the DMV, hospitals, health care centers, public transportation: teachers, fire fighters, clerical workers, among others. Then, on February 11, 2011, Republican Gov. Scott Walker introduced a bill, with a Republican majority in the legislature, which would virtually eliminate public-sector unions as we know them. The bill opposed collective bargaining rights, required annual votes to ask workers if they wanted the unions to represent them and prevented unions from collecting dues automatically out of workers' paychecks. The anti-union movement is spreading to Ohio and many other states, and we have to develop a plan to beat back the pro-corporate, anti-union forces. Recently, the Massachusetts legislature,with a Democratic majority voted to deny public-sector unions the right to bargain collectively for medical coverage, leaving workers to fend for themselves.

2) Unions encourage women's leadership: The AFL-CIO has elected Arlene Holt Baker as the first black executive officer, the executive vice president, and Liz Schuler as secretary treasurer alongside new President Rich Trumka. This makes two of the top three officers in the federation women. Elizabeth Bunn is the first woman to be organizing director, and Lynn Rhinehart is the first woman general council. At the national level, Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Association of Teachers, and Mary Kay Henry is president of the Service Employees International Union. Maria Elena Durazo is the head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. The rise of women's leadership in top positions is reflected all the way down to the rank and file.

4) Unions are a critical component of the black community: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed while he was in the midst of supporting a sanitation workers' strike. He offered a new strategy of a civil rights/labor alliance to address racism, poverty and war. For almost a century, the public jobs in the North were one of the few places black men and women could find meaningful work. Today, the right-wing bias against public-sector workers and their unions is a thinly veiled attack on black women and men, who do a great job providing essential services in government agencies, from Social Security and Medicare to the public schools. During the 2008 elections, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer and now President Trumka made an impassioned speech in opposition to racism in the working class and racism directed at Barack Obama. He said that, with all its imperfections, that labor movement was the most racially integrated institution in the country. Trade unions, the church and civil rights groups are three invaluable pillars holding the black community together as it comes under fierce attack.

5) Unions support the most progressive causes in the US: Look at every ballot initiative statewide and nationally. Public-sector unions in general have supported gay rights, women's reproductive rights, civil rights and the rights of immigrants to live in peace, moving toward amnesty and citizenship. In many states, they have challenged the mass incarceration of black and brown youth.

6) Unions are one of the few organized forces that can challenge corporations in the political arena: In the 2008 presidential election, corporations outspent unions by a ratio of 23 to 1. Corporations are never satisfied and have moved to expand their power. Under the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, corporations can now spend unlimited money on electoral campaigns. There may come a time when it costs $3 billion to run for president and $10 million to run for a seat in the House of Representatives, which only one party, the Republicans, will be able to fund. Union funds for progressive initiatives and candidates are essential to our democracy and are under heavy attack. The right to use members' dues for political expenditures is both a democratic right of any union and essential; attacks on this right should be resisted. (How many votes does it take for the Koch brothers to spend their billions?")