On Saving 319,000 Jobs, Or, Legislation Keeps Teachers Teaching

this equals 700 teachers... (0.00 / 0)

...for new hampshire--and what's wrong with that?

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 04:21:31 AM CDT

They are masters of propaganda and (4.00 / 1)

stage setting.  First, trot out the tired meme about union bosses.  This derisive label is an emotional trigger that conjures thugs and corruption in an attempt to continue to atomize the public.  If we all hate each other, after all, we'll be unable to join together in solidarity to fight these bastards.  

Note that no mention is made of the corporate bosses who have undertaken the greatest looting of national treasure in the history of mankind.  Goldman-Sachs, for example, with the help of George Bush and Hank Paulson, legally filched $20 + billion from American citizens via AIG.  The list goes on, but it's fair to say that any amount of previous corruption in union organizing, and, yes, it did exist, does not amount to an eye dropper of water in the Atlantic compared to what the corporate capitalism has stolen from democracy.

I'd also add that Boehner's comment about raising taxes is a foreshadowing of allowing the Bush tax cuts to sunset.  This is the typical "heads I win, tails you lose" proposition that the Republicans frame for the Democrats, who seem to be tripping all over themselves to get on the same page with the deficit hawks.  

Here's an idea:  Why don't the Democrats announce that the tax cuts will be repealed and create a separate tax cut bill?  One that targets the folks for whom Obama promised that their taxes would not be increased.  

Let the Republicans filibuster that bill.

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 08:17:19 AM CDT

it's fairly clear... (0.00 / 0)

...that boehner wants to portray democrats as hating america because they're raising your taxes...but the counter for the ds is to say, "hey...is raising tax rates back to what they were in the '90s, when government was paying back debt and we were creating millions of jobs, really that bad for the economy?"

another route is to send biden out to have an "accidental gaffe", something along the lines of: "we are raising taxes on the richest people in america, and if they don't like it, they can just suck it...", which would be the kind of message that would be exceptionally well received right about now.

it's important for politicians to recognize unions, to be sure, but it's also up to unions to make a move on their own to create political power through increasing their numbers, and i really don't see much effort to turn low-income service workers into middle-income unionized workers, which should be priority number one for the labor movement...or to put it another way, unions aren't putting the effort into "r & d" that they should be.

ever see anyone try to organize a mcdonald's, or an applebee's, or those stores down at the mall?

if 3/4 of new jobs come from small business, and unions want to remain a relevant part of the economy, unions better figure out how to create a presence where 3/4 of the jobs are coming from, and i see no organized strategy to make that happen.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 13:41:42 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Don't want to hijack the thread, (4.00 / 1)

but this point about unions is inaccurate:

it's important for politicians to recognize unions, to be sure, but it's also up to unions to make a move on their own to create political power through increasing their numbers, and i really don't see much effort to turn low-income service workers into middle-income unionized workers, which should be priority number one for the labor movement...or to put it another way, unions aren't putting the effort into "r & d" that they should be.

Unions have been in decline since Republicans overrode Truman's veto in '47 and enacted Taft-Hartley.  This gave states the authority to pass "right to work" legislation.  These laws allow employees to opt out of unions while still receiving protection from the unions.  It's a way to cut unions off from revenue from members.  Unions contributed to this problem through complacency in the '60s and '70s, but have been fighting an uphill battle since.

Two other quick points.  First, check out the National Labor Relations Board Annual Report.  70% + of the unfair labor practice findings are against employers because it is far less expensive for an employer to break the law than to allow a union.  If you look at the success rate for unions, it's low because employers hire firms that specialize in preventing unionization.  These firms are so successful that even if a workplace votes to unionize, the probability of first contract is less than 30%!  That's not to say that unions shouldn't be doing something to try and break this cycle, which leads to point #2:

Check out:

Jobs with justice

Justice for Janitors

These are just two of many initiatives undertaken by unions to organize.  In fact, the SEIU broke away from the AFL-CIO because the AFL wanted to concentrate on the political aspect of unions while the SEIU looked to allocate more resources to organizing.  Change that Works was founded by SEIU to help pass health care and they played an integral role in doing so.

I tend to agree with the SEIU - it doesn't seem as though political influence has benefited unions.  The propaganda campaign that began with the Mohawk Valley Formula (this is when companies and the government stopped, for the most part, shooting union members, organizers and their families and began to publicly demonize them) continues today unabated with lies and smears about unions and union bosses.

The reasons for union decline are complicated, and unions have a role in their.  But you simply cannot ignore the power that employers have over the process through weak and ineffectual labor law combined with a public relations campaign that paints organized labor as evil.


"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 14:56:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

One of the many interest group (4.00 / 2)

questionnaires that we candidates get is asking if we would support a "right to work" (sic) law in NH.  The answer is NO!  

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by: Lucy Edwards @ Wed Aug 11, 2010 at 14:21:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

good answer... (0.00 / 0)

...and more workers should understand why that matters, but i'm afraid not enough do.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Thu Aug 12, 2010 at 00:25:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

i mewant to answer this sooner... (0.00 / 0)

...so my bad.

you very aptly note that the seiu is the exception to the complaint i'm raising, and if i recall my history correctly andy stern famously fought with the afl-cio over his strategy, with the afl-cio unwilling to go along, at which point the seiu went its own way.

but that said, i was a caterer for years, and other than the largest of workplaces, i never met a ufcw organizer in any of the restaurants or hotels where i plied my trade.

i was a computer repair tech as well, and i remember the "permatemp" wars...and i think someone's been missing giant opportunities to organize call center workers and repair techs and network installers and software designers and game developers.

(could you imagine promoting the concept of a 40-hour week to a group of software folks? that should be a target-rich environment, yet...)

now, rather than just complaining, let me toss out an idea that worked well for unions in the past, and could work well again:

combine apprenticeship with a hiring hall, and begin using the process in the south, in the medical assisting business.

the idea is that a union would open an apprenticeship program that would compete with the bryman/everest colleges of the world, offering certifications in medical assisting on a "get paid while you learn basis" as the "carrot" in return for members joining unions.

on the other side, the union negotiates with medical service providers who need help, either fill-in or long term, and the carrot here is a steady supply of good workers on short or no notice...which is a pretty big carrot.

since the union can provide workers for less than an employment agency, the union workers get work, there's a whole lot of union loyalty created--and you can establish a "common contract" for wages and benefits that applies to lots of small employers...and that built-up loyalty could go a long way to resolving the "cut off the funds" problem right-to-work can create.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Thu Aug 12, 2010 at 00:23:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fair enough points, (4.00 / 1)

and the SEIU/AFL break was years in the making.  Long story short, the traditional leadership of unions are very conservative because, from the '40s through the '70s, the leftists were purged from the ranks of leadership.  Just think back to what was happening nationally about that time and you can draw your own conclusions.

Without the leftists, who have always been the organization muscle in labor, unions lost strong and important voices on future organizing.  Not unlike political compromising, unions compromised many of their hard won concessions away, raking in better pay and benefits in leiu of expanding the unionized workforce.  George Meany, who proudly claimed that he never walked a picket line in his life, was set on securing work and keeping the ranks of unions smaller for job security.  As time has proven, this is not a smart way to run an organization built on solidarity.

One final note about seeing organizers in the workplace.  1. Employers have the right to keep those organizers from their property.  2. Employees who engage in union activity are, in almost all cases, summarily fired or work life is made very difficult for them. This is why it's important to pass EFCA - this has remedies for these issues and more teeth for violations.

Your training program is an excellent idea - one that has worked well for the construction trades unions for decades.  Unions are also engaged in PR to a greater degree these days in an attempt to educate the public about what they are about.

Is it too late?

Let's have a union thread once a week - any union members out there want to contribute?


"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Thu Aug 12, 2010 at 09:39:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

i can remember the uaw concessions... (0.00 / 0)

...and i remember the fears that it would create a "two-tier" union, and, sadly, that did seem to come to pass.

one more comment about medical apprenticeship: it's not just a southern thing...a lot of retirees live in rural areas, and that means a chance to organize in "virgin territory".

even better, advertising the new program, especially on tv, is itself excellent pr, and it's a way to organize that never requires a visit to a plant...and how about this: union reps, vising potential nursing homes that would be the "target audience", if you will, wouldn't be visiting to demand higher wages--instead, they could explain to owners how this actually lowers labor costs, compared to hiring from an agency, which is a very unusual way for a union to approach an employer.  

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 01:10:11 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

it's nice that jobs are being saved (4.00 / 1)

but let's not forget that they're cutting food stamps to do it.  

sanctimonious purist/professional lefty

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by: susanthe @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 09:07:06 AM CDT

good news, bad news, on that one: (0.00 / 0)

cuts in food stamps aren't scheduled to occur until 2014, and at least in the house i think the votes are there to restore the funding in the 112th congress.

it's too soon to judge what might happen in the senate, and we're just going to have to wait and see on that one.

i also think you'll see pressure by the middle of next year to extend the medicare support portion of this for another six months. if that happens expect the cost of this to go up by another $16 billion, with about 150,000 jobs saved for six more months. i don't know if money can be found "laying around" again, as this money was, so this may become an actual cost that has to be paid for with "new" money.

if tax revenues are picking up in the states we may not need to do the teacher portion again, but if we do the funding for that already seems to be in place as the ending of the various loopholes would continue no matter what happens--and by 2014 this same new revenue source could be applied to the food stamp problem.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 13:51:58 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

excuse my cynicism (4.00 / 2)

but we were supposed to fix the Patriot Act later on too.

The really sorry fact is that the week before the vote to cut food stamps, the Senate voted against cutting subsidies to big oil.

Those are our national priorities, in a nutshell. A vote that hurts multinational energy corporations? Heavens no! A vote that hurts poor people/children? Who gives a shit? The poor people's lobby has spent $0 this year in Washington.  

sanctimonious purist/professional lefty

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by: susanthe @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 15:48:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

It's worth noting, though, that the cut in food stamps (4.00 / 2)

only impacts 50% of the children in the US, while the big oil subsidies impact about 0.0001% of the population of the US (I'm guessing, but it can't be much higher, and it helps to make the point.)  National priorities, indeed.

I don't think we'll see any contemporary faces etched in the history books under profiles in courage.

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 18:18:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

but there's a difference: (0.00 / 0)

all the money that children have is disposable income, which serves no real purpose, while oil companies need all the subsidies they can get so that they have more money to eventually trickle down to children.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 23:19:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

i'm cynical myself... (0.00 / 0)

...hence the "good news, bad news" title.

if you want to be really cynical, the few months preceding the 2012 presidential would be a great time to bring this to either a vote or a filibuster, much as s-chip was a thorn in the side of the rs in the '08 environment--and that after the election, if it didn't pass, it could be held in reserve until the '14 midterms.

i was out this afternoon, and before i answered this comment i saw olbermann's comments about how the left doesn't just accept what we're given, as the right does, which is frustrating to the administration, and i think it dovetails nicely with what you're saying here--and i would suggest that if the administration wants to make this kind of conversation ease back a bit they're going to have to figure out how to live with supporters who have a habit of using the president's own words to make their points when they're unhappy about things.

--we are making enemies faster than we can kill them

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by: fake consultant @ Tue Aug 10, 2010 at 23:16:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]