Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal editorial page had this to say about public sector workers, "The agenda for American political reform needs to include the breaking of public unionism's power to capture an ever larger share of private income."
They are serious about this. With the public sector unionization rate hovering around 37% compared to a little over 7% in the private sector it stands as a potential pole of attraction to all workers. Wages, benefits and working conditions in the public sector, a product of this higher unionization rate and public employment, is also problematic for the employers. "In states like Iowa where public unionization rates are still low government workers have had to accept concessions.", writes Steve Malanga, of the Manhattan Institute.* This statement alone should remind us how important Unions are. The conditions in the public sector could be a great organizing tool if the trade Union leaders waged a campaign to provide them for all workers. Unfortunately, they agree with the employers that public sector wages and benefits are too high and need to be brought down so the employers propaganda goes unanswered. There is no real counter to the bosses propaganda that public sector working conditions are the reason for higher taxes and that public sector workers are selfish and even unpatriotic for not being willing to sacrifice like every one else during hard times. Higher taxes, "will be the pattern for the indefinite future unless taxpayers find a way to roll back the enormous power public workers have acquired." states the WSJ. War expenditure, profits, paying moneylenders billions in interests, this has nothing to do with raising taxes?
The economic crisis has brought in a new period as the capitalist offensive intensifies. In the last period is is not just wages but pensions that were savaged. Defined benefit plans were scrapped and replaced by defined contribution plans.Companies like Delphi, the auto parts manufacturer spun off from GM used the bankruptcy courts as a means to renege on its pension obligations.The same pattern is emerging in the public sector as some local governments like Vallejo in California are declaring bankruptcy in order to throw out contract and re-negotiate much more favorable terms.
Public sector pensions have to go as far as the employers are concerned. "State governments face a trillion dollar gap between the pension, health-care and other retirement benefits promised to public employees and the money set aside to pay for them." a report from the Pew Center claims.
"It's a problem that can be solved" says the managing director of the group. The recommendation is that the states lower the benefits and increase the retirement age for "new employees" In the past two years ten states increased employee contributions to their retirement plans. Making this effective for new employees only serves to divide the workforce and weaken the Union, another strategy that Labor's officialdom has refused to counter.
It was only a short while ago that it was reported, primarily in the serious journals of capitalism like the Wall Street Journal and Business Week, that 11 banks that received $175 billion in taxpayer handouts paid $33 billion in bonuses to their employees (we're not talking about bank tellers here), a figure that would have settled California's 2009 deficit with $10 billion left over. Then there's the trillion or more spent on predatory wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ventures that will not be successful by any means. By most accounts some $11 trillion has been set aside to bail out capitalism, to hand over to the bankers and speculators who are responsible for the economic crisis.
The relatively more secure and humane environment and somewhat better wages and benefits that public sector workers have had up to now are on the A list of the employers things to eliminate. The cuts so far “have been superficial” says one big business commentator; that's a warning we should heed. Because the public sector Union leaders don't use the potential power that these organizations have to not only expand public sector jobs and services, but to bring these improved conditions and benefits to all workers, the employers are able to use them against us, use them to divide us from other workers who are our allies. Public sector employees throughout the country are "facing a growing backlash from residents who are having their own benefits stripped by employers."
It would not be difficult to turn that anger in the direction it belongs, against those doing the stripping and walking away with all the cash.
* Unions vs Taxpayers Wall Street Journal 5-14-09
"There is no real counter to the bosses propaganda that public sector working conditions are the reason for higher taxes and that public sector workers are selfish"
ReplyDeleteThere is no counter because it's a valid argument! Cities and states are going bankrupt because their personnel costs are so high. And they don't have to pay for foreign wars. Explain that one to me.
And the people you call the "bosses" are actually the taxpayers. I am a taxpayer and I'd like to point out that it's unfair that public employee union members receive higher wages and better benefits than private sector employees. On top of this, public union members receive lavish pensions and can be set for life after 20 working years! While they are working it's just about impossible to fire them.
This is simply wrong. And it's not sustainable. It's the reason California is going bankrupt.
Find a counter to that.
It's a valid argument if you accept that paying moneylender's billions in interest is OK. It's a valid argument if you accept that trillions in taxpayers money is handed over to bankers and speculators is OK. It's valid if you think its ok for 25 men to earn $15 billion between them in a year shuffling papers around.
ReplyDeleteAnd is valid if you think it's ok to spend a trillion or two of taxpayer's money slaughtering people around the world and destroying their communities in order to steal their natural resources.
There is no confusion here. We just have different priorities. How do you earn a living Fidget?
Frankie:
ReplyDeleteFidget is connected to or a supporter of an anti-Union anti-worker website. Some of the head honchos include a deputy sheriff, a real estate lawyer (talk about wasters) and other business people. Real estate speculators probably some of them. One of them wrote the prop 226 language aimed at forcing Unions to get written permission in order to use their members dues money for political purposes.
Now we don't agree with what the Union officials do with our dues money but the corporations outspend Unions by close to 20-1 and there's no voting where these thugs are concerned.
These folks are also connected to the misnamed "tea Party" movement, a sort of insult when you think that the actual tea party movement was a revolutionary and not a counter revolutionary one.
They're people who like to receive wages without any productive Labor.