The Plan to Blame Unions For Everything

[Omaha Steve]

Link> http://gawker.com/5724331/the-plan-to-blame-unions-for-everything

Why is our economy in the predicament that it's in today? High unemployment, sluggish growth...who's to blame? The unions, of course. The unions are the enemies of the working man. The working class must destroy unions for their own good.

Unions are the perfect scapegoat: an organization that benefits a relatively small number of actual members, which a mass of disgruntled outsiders can be easily convinced to blame for their own problems. (Immigrants are another good scapegoat!) Like the push to convince the public that our national debt is the fault of a few politicians' pet earmarks—expenditures that grab attention easily, but that make up a laughably small portion of the spending we actually need to cut—blaming unions for unemployment is a brilliant stroke of political jujitsu, because it appeals to the very people that would naturally be allies of organized labor: the working class. The New York Times today details the plans from (mostly Republican) governors across the nation to enact new laws that would kneecap public and even private sector unions, targeting both unions' bank accounts and their basic legal rights. For example:

Of all the new governors, John Kasich, Republican of Ohio, appears to be planning the most comprehensive assault against unions. He is proposing to take away the right of 14,000 state-financed child care and home care workers to unionize. He also wants to ban strikes by teachers, much the way some states bar strikes by the police and firefighters.

"If they want to strike, they should be fired," Mr. Kasich said in a speech. "They've got good jobs, they've got high pay, they get good benefits, a great retirement. What are they striking for?"

The funny thing is that the issues that teachers would be striking over would presumably be the ones that Kasich thinks makes their jobs so great: their eroding pay, benefits, and retirement. Except for politicians, who is served by firing a state's teachers en masse like so many Reagan-era air traffic controllers? It's the worst type of political bluster.

FULL story at link.

[proud patriot]

1. Bastards

[liberal N proud]

2. They have been working for 30 years to break the unions

Reagan initiated the attack against unions and the attacks continued non-stop for 30 years.

[TBF]

3. Earnings -

Earnings
Numerous studies have attempted to measure the wage differential between
union and nonunion workers. The results vary. But, in general, most studies find
that, after controlling for individual, job, and labor market characteristics, the wages
of union workers are in the range of 10% to 30% higher than the wages of nonunion
workers.16,17

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1176&context=key_workplace


And this is why they are trying to break all the unions. Why Obama is a part of this remains a mystery. Sort of.

[prodigals0n]

4. Chris Christie is a prime example

Christie has made attacking unions his hallmark. Divide and conquer.

Unions made America a middle class nation. When they're gone the working class won't be middle class anymore and neither will America.

[Starry Messenger]

5. k&r

[blondeatlast]

6. More truth in a Cawker article than in an entire CNN broadcast day. Big, big, BIG K/R.

Unions made America great and I will stand with them to the end.

[upi402]

7. Same crap I've fought for decades

I've always said- Those asswipes better be careful of what they wish for... they just might get it.

Like when a housecat catches a mouse then doesn't know what to do with it. They ruined the country just like they wanted, now what?

[obliviously]

8. I am so proud of their snow cleanup efforts in NYC!

[Omaha Steve]

9. The DU used to be a lot more labor friendly

I guess progressives are buying the conservative swill on this issue too.

[Reader Rabbit]

10. Kick for unions.

Unions are pretty much the only hope ordinary people have anymore, since most of the politicians are in the pockets of the corporations.

[Enthusiast]

11. K&R so everyone will know. Kasich

is an evil fuck. No question about it. Just look around at how anti-worker Teabagger/Republicans were elected to governor. Florida governor elect being an especially nasty example. Propaganda certainly worked and is a direct result of Citizens United.

Race to the bottom. For the working class, that is.

[True_Blue]

12. Kick! Excellent post! n/t

:kick: