I am a union worker, and I am not the problem.
This stuff going on in Wisconsin is really crazy, and scary. I'm appalled that the state's governor would even make such a bold move as to try to strip away people's rights, but at the same time, I'm inspired by the reaction to it, and the potential it creates for greater social change.
Here's what I'm not understanding, and I know I'm not good at business or economics, so.. if someone has some insight, please, share with me. What does taking away people's right to bargain do for the state's budget??? How much money does that bring back to the state?
A guest on Rachel Maddow said tonight that this move was likened to someone on the opposite side of the spectrum stating that they wanted to outlaw corporations. That proposal would NEVER fly if someone made it, it seems absurd, and yet, the idea of taking away workers' rights is, at least to many Americans, okay. Because, in part, there is SO much misinformation out there about unions, collective bargaining, and what they've done for America.
[Side note: Just to clear up one piece of misinformation I've heard Many times today; I am a union member, and my dues do NOT go directly to any political candidate, party, or politician. I pay a separate contribution to my union's political action committee fund, and I do so COMPLETELY of my own choosing. This is the same for members of other unions as well.]
Back to speaking of corporations... As a candidate last fall, Governor Walker supported a reduction in corporate income taxes, which brought in over 834 MILLION dollars to the state in 2009. That's a LOT of money to the state. And again, I'm not a buisiness-oriented person, but, corporations, by and large, have vast sums of money, especially compared to average working class families, so they're poised to contribute significantly to the state's budget far more through taxes. And it's the gratuitous tax breaks that keep states from benefitting from their fortunes. But, it's in their best interest (in part through owning various media outlets) to keep these fact out of the dialogue.
And so the media, by and large, doesn't focus on the impact of corporations being both part of the problem, and their potential to be part of the solution to these budget woes. It is easier to demonize working class union workers for earning "too much". Taking away someone's right to collectively bargain only opens the doors to a race to the bottom, an environment where Americans work in conditions with less protections, less rights, for less money and benefits. That is, if they even still have a job; which, without union protection, they could easily lose for no reason whatsoever.
The important thing to realize and think about is, who stand to benefit from the continued focus on the union worker as the "enemy" in this situation, and therefore deserving of having their rights taken away? Why NOT look more closely at holding corporations and the wealthiest 1% of the country more accountable? Or, why not even start with the Governor offering to take a pay cut of his own; his current salary of $137,092 (http://sunshinereview.org) is well above the average salary of the average public sector union employee in his state.
At the start of this post, I wrote that this represents the potential for greater social change. This blatant union-busting power grab by the Governor of Wisconsin is dismaying, but it's brought unions to the collective national consciousness far more than they've ever been in recent decades, and there's great potential in that. It gets people talking about unions more, and, hopefully, considering what collective bargaining means, and why it's important for people to be able to have a collective voice in their jobs.
And hopefully, it'll nudge along a re-emergence and strength for the labor movement, and get people to turn their attention to the real sources of the problem.
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