It seems that Wisconsin is the first victim of a right biased media. If you don't think it's right biased, think about David Schuster, Keith Olberman, Anthony Weiner, and the fact that you really don't see that many democrats who are vocal about the economy, labor rights, medicare, and the debt ceiling, just to mention a few items. I could go on.
Labor is your first clue, whether or not you're union, that the media is right biased.
The victims of this bias are Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan. People apparently thought they were going to improve their lives, working conditions etc...by voting republican, and what they got was what seems to be corporate control of their states. This should be a lesson to the rest of us.
The anti-labor movement began in the eighties with Reagan, and even through the Clinton administration, labor laws changed in favor of corporations, and membership roles in unions declined. Most of us remember the assault on the Air Contollers. Sorry Tweety(Chris Matthews) I don't really care that they were in violation of their contract. The laws started changing at that point. I guess Reagan forgot he was union, and Bush? We practically tossed him out the door and rolled him down the steps of the White House to get rid of him, as well as his son. This is when labor laws started changing in favor of corporations. This is nothing new. But unfortunately...people forget. Just llike they forgot with Spitzer, and eventually, Weiner. Weiner was simply too vocal.
3 August 1981
Federal air traffic controllers began a nationwide strike after their union rejected the government's final offer for a new contract. Most of the 13,000 striking controllers defied the back-to-work order, and were dismissed by President Reagan on 5 August.
October 1982
A boycott was initiated by the Industrial Association of Machinists against Brown & Sharpe, a machine, precision, measuring and cutting tool manufacturer, headquartered in Rhode Island. The boycott was called after the firm refused to bargain in good faith (withdrawing previously negotiated clauses in the contract), and forced the union into an unwanted and bitter strike during which police sprayed pepper gas on some 800 IAM pickets at the company's North Kingston plant in early 1982. Three weeks later, a machinist narrowly escaped serious injury when a shot fired into the picket line hit his belt buckle. The National Labor Relations Board subsequently charged Brown & Sharpe with regressive bargaining, and of entering into negotiations with the express purpose of not reaching an agreement with the union.
6 October 1986
1,700 female flight attendants won an 18-year lawsuit (which included $37 million in damages) against United Arilines, which had fired them for getting married.
24 October 1987
The 35-member executive council of the AFL-CIO decided unanimously to readmit the 1.6-million member Teamsters Union to its ranks. The scandal-ridden union had been expelled from the federation in 1957. President Jackie Presser was awaiting trial at the time, and the U.S. Justice Department was considering removal of the union's leadership because of possible links to organized crime. And of couse, this was covered by the media
17 September 1989
Ninety-eight miners and a minister occupied the the Pittston Coal Company's Moss 3 preparation plant in Carbo, Virginia, beginning a year-long strike against Pittston Coal. While a month-long Soviet coal strike dominated U.S. news broadcasts, the year-long Pittston strike garnered almost no mainstream press coverage whatsoever. Isn't that amazing
This is a very small list. I found that most of the incidents that I found, I had never heard about. People panicked and crossed picket lines because of the economy and unemployment at the start of this period, similar to now. Unions aren't vocal, because people don't realize that the only representation they have are unions. Media corporations have their own labor problems, so they certainly wouldn't want to put the word out when labor unions get ahead. Unfortunately, when unions lose a battle, so does the lower and middle-class worker. You can see what has happened in Wisconsin and Michigan. The demoratic party is the only friend labor has, and you can see what happened in those states that voted in republicans. It's getting worse everyday and the media is not covering it. There is a reason for that, and I take everything I hear on cable with a grain of salt. They are corporate owned and I'm waiting to see if Ed Schutz and Cenk Uygur are next.