So it seems to me that this is another one of these no lose situations for the employers. They may not get their right to work legislation in Wisconsin this time, though they're getting the concessions they want anyway. But given the refusal of the Labor leaders to fight, they may well just refuse to budge unless the movement grows and spreads to other sectors of the working class. People can't walk around downtown en mass for days, being off work.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that the heads of some major national Unions have gotten together to coordinate "challenges to their political and contract-bargaining power in a growing number of states." * They are talking about the right to work legislation and bills to curtail collective bargaining rights that are being introduced in 13 other states.
The presidents of some 12 Unions met at the headquarters of the National Education Association, the largest Union in the country with 3.2 million members, to plan this militant strategy to "block bills" that weaken trade Union rights. They have named the group the "Labor Table", which sounds like something we might find in a maternity ward but won't attract the attention of many workers; but that's not their intention is it.
The Labor Table requires that each Union commit money to fund a $30 million campaign for "paid media, lobbying, work-site leaflets" and such. This group of militants also wants to spend some of this money researching groups that fund the efforts to introduce anti-Union legislation. This is truly a remarkable response to the vicious attacks workers are facing. The Waltons of Wal-Mart fame have about $60 billion between them; you can't fight capital with capital, they have more of it. What we have is numbers and a unique role in social production. I am sure some of the ideas came from the "Labor Experts" the various academics that the Labor bureaucracy receives advice from. All the Unions in the "Labor Table" have also signed on to a "unity campaign" aimed at coordinating rallies and events in the future. "Because of the unique nature of this fight—with multiple threats in multiple states—it is imperative that we are agile, focused and aggressive in our efforts. We must go on offense and not just defend as our opponents chip away at workers rights," says the document the presidents all signed on to. Ho hum!
Teamster president, the lawyer James Hoffa, says the bosses are waging a "coordinated effort to de-unionize the country so we have to fight back in the same way, in a coordinated effort."
AFSCME president, the millionaire, Gerald McEntee had no comment. But there is nothing in the WSJ article that indicates these Labor chieftains are reversing their concessionary position, abandoning the Team Concept, the most destructive of their policies, and halting their present collaboration with the bosses on wages hour and working conditions. There is no mention of any issues that are important in the day to day lives of working people outside of legislation.
It is clear that the intention is for them to continue the same strategy that has failed time and time again and gotten workers to the dismal situation we're in now. They are going to fight a media war with the capitalists and throw more money at the Democrats. The Union officials spent $400 million of our money getting Obama elected and another $200 million in the mid-terms. They were successful here in California getting Jerry Brown in to office who is preparing to savage workers and the poor further.
I wish it were not so but my feeling here is that we seeing a carbon copy of what has occurred in the private sector and particularly in the auto industry. In 2007, the UAW bureaucracy, after handing the bosses major concessions at Delphi, were very confident they could ram another concessionary contract down auto-workers throats. But there was a mini-revolt at Chrysler. A friend working at the Kokomo plant described how the meeting was raucous and the international rep was booed and jeered by workers. The Chrysler local rejected the leaderships' concessionary contract.
As I wrote back then though, the UAW leadership was able "to muster, cajole, threaten and force it's membership to accept a historic concessionary contract that is yet another nail in the autoworkers coffin." I added, "With the new contract at GM, total hourly labor costs will go from $78.21 to $25.66. Wages have been cut in half for many workers and new hires will come in as low as $14.00 per hour with less benefits. This is lower than the average non-union wage for goods producing industries which is $19.62 per hour." So there was a short-lived attempt to resist the Union officials' pro-management approach but the UAW bureaucracy with its powerful apparatus, including a whole layer of full-time staff, won the day.
As far as Wisconsin and other areas go, unless the movement that has so far limited itself to the leadership's sole demand to withdraw bills curtailing collective bargaining rights while offering up concessions rejects this approach, goes on the offensive and lays some real issues that affect all workers on the table (not the Labor Table), I cannot see a victory. Instead I see the beginning of the decline of public sector wages and benefits much as has happened in auto. This course will be reversed at some point but I am not so sure it's here and now, although I am not ruling it out given the volatile climate out there, the severity of the attacks and the anger that exists in US society.
The idea of a general strike is good one but it is only a empty threat from this AFL-CIO body. Imagine---a general strike for the right to sit at a table and hand over our wages and benefits. The bosses might spur the movement by not backing down as they are over confident after years of victories and cooperation from Union officials. But It's hard for me to imagine the more astute bourgeois not imposing their will here as the Union leaders have promised them the concessions anyway--why provoke a fight?
* Sparring Unions Now Working as One: WSJ 2-24-11
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