There have been more diaries discussing the importance of labor unions, collective bargaining and workers rights in the last two weeks, than in the 6 years since I’ve joined the Daily Kos community. People have taken to the streets and occupied state capital buildings. Labor battles are the first story in the traditional media. I’ve never experienced such widespread Solidarity in my lifetime. Gov. Walker’s attack on workers has done more to invigorate and strengthen the labor movement than any single employer in the last 30 years. For this, I thank him.
I am a product of the strong middle class that was built by labor unions. My grandfather emigrated from Nova Scotia to Detroit to take a job at Ford’s River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan. My father was born in Dearborn and went to Fordson High School, named for Henry and Edsel Ford. My mother was born in Detroit, lived in the projects as a young girl, and went to Mackenzie High School. At age 18, shortly after graduating from high school, Dad got a job a Ford. A good union job changed everything for my family and millions of families across America.
My father originally worked on the line, but later became a tool and die maker. At some point, he became a committee man (shop steward) for UAW Local 600. Because of the wages my father earned, my mother was able to stay at home and raise 3 boys until we entered school. My dad earned a good wage and we were able to take decent vacations, driving our Ford van with our camper attached going “up North” to rural Michigan or “down South” to Kentucky or Tennessee. We always went with the same families, dad’s friends from work.
My earliest and fondest memories are union functions. It was not unusual for my dad to take me to the union hall on a Saturday morning where I would see these gritty blue collar men discussing work and politics. I remember Local 600 picnics where the workers and their families would play horseshoes, softball, grill hot dogs and drink beer. Together, white families and African-American families playing sports, breaking bread and having a great time before the beginning of the work week.
Every year we would march in the Labor Day parade with tens of thousands of other union members. Starting on Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theater, we would walk all the way down to the Detroit River to hear speeches and rally for workers rights. United We Stand….
A lot changed during the 1980s with the election of President Reagan. In my elementary school vote for the 1980 Presidential election, I was one of 30 of 400 votes for President Carter. Dad was now part of the elected leadership of UAW Local 600. He was furious at President Reagan when he fired the PATCO workers. I’ve only recently learned that PATCO endorsed Reagan, which is why my father believes PATCO did not have the support of other unions. Plants began to close, friends were laid off, people began to move out of Michigan.
With the cost of living going up and the possibility of plant closings and layoffs, money was tight. I remember my parents telling me that they could not afford for me and my brothers to play hockey. There was nothing I loved more than hockey, so I was devastated. We began collecting bottles to return for the .10 deposit, so we could pay for ice time. Eventually, Mom started a dog grooming business and went to work all day before coming home, making our meals, driving us all over Metro-Detroit for hockey games. Mom and Dad made it work and were always at our games.
Losses began to piling up. My dad was always railing against the NLRB and Republicans. In his view, the NLRB and the government was on the side of the bosses because cases dragged on and remedies were not a deterrent . Japanese cars were taking more market share, while the Big 3 built monstrous gas guzzlers; Ford and GM plants were closing. Later, in the 1990s there was the 2 year long Caterpillar strike, the Detroit News & Free Press lockouts.
Living in the suburbs I never heard my friends talking about these issues. In fact, my family lived among the white collar auto employees: executives in management, sales, advertising and engineering. My parents were able to move to Plymouth, Michigan because they worked hard, had good jobs that did not require college degrees and were paid a fair wage. The Union made this possible.
In high school, my classmates had trendy clothes, lived in big houses; in high school, their own cars. It seemed that everyone loved President Reagan; they hated the Russians and taxes. Many of them bashed autoworkers as lazy. I felt like I was living in bizarro world and it had a profound effect on me.
I was able to go to Michigan State University, a state school with affordable tuition. Unions and labor were not a topic that we discussed often in class. It was all about the fall of the Soviet Union, “No New Taxes,” and free trade. I wrote a paper about the proposed NAFTA and the impact on U.S. workers, specifically the auto industry. My professor thought my fears were overstated.
During law school, most of my colleagues were looking for the big firm job with the huge salaries. While I took every labor law course I could find, my colleagues were taking international business law. In corporations class, when we watched Roger & Me, unions were blamed for not conceding enough and preventing management from adapting to changed conditions. My defense - that unions, no matter their strength, could not force management to build inefficient gas guzzlers during the 70s oil crisis or huge SUVs during the 90s - was rejected outright.
During my career as a labor attorney, from 1997-present, the attack on unions and workers has continued. As the rich got tax cuts, the middle class continued to shrink. There was the bursting of the tech bubble and the outsourcing of jobs; manufacturing moved to Mexico, then China, then India in a race to the lowest possible wage. Productivity surged, wages stagnated. Corporate profits and CEO pay skyrocketed while private sector jobs were eliminated and pensions slashed. Private sector unions shrunk to less than 10% of the workforce. Republicans and Democrats blame the failures of our education system on Teachers’ unions. There have been small victories, here and there; but mostly, unions have been playing zone defense.
Then Governor Walker attacked public employees and their unions and the dialogue changed. In a gross overestimation of his popularity and authority, he went after the rights of teachers, nurses, professors, bus drivers, transportation workers. Using a budget deficit created by tax cuts for corporations, Governor Walker tried to strip unions of their voice in the discussion. In his attempt to strip unions of their ability to collect dues and have a voice in politics, Governor Walker reignited Labor’s flame!
Almost 30 years since Reagan busted PATCO, Governor Walker tried to put the nail in the coffin of the Labor Movement. It was bold and could have succeeded, but Governor Walker underestimated unions and people of Wisconsin. For 10 days, Madison has been filled with teachers, students and citizens who will not be bamboozled and will not go away. Union protests gave Democratic senators the strength to filibuster and they have stalled Governor Walker’s scam.
In just the few days since the Democratic senators walked and Labor rallied, we have learned:
*There is no debt crisis in Wisconsin and there would have been a budget surplus at the end of the year;
*The state employee pension system is among the healthiest in the country;
Wisconsin corporations got a tax break equal to the supposed budget deficit;
*Public employees are willing to sacrifice wages and benefits to make up the shortfall;
*The governor would have been authorized to sell public utilities, at a price he sets, without disclosure;
*There is a coordinated campaign between the Koch Bros. and republican governors to strip collective bargaining rights and dismantle public employee unions.
Thank you Governor Walker for your honesty!
All across the U.S., labor unions, workers and citizens are mobilized and galvanized. In Ohio, thousands have rallied for days. In Indiana, union rallies against anti-worker legislation. There have been major rallies in New York and Washington, DC. Solidarity allowed Indiana legislators to join their Wisconsin colleagues in order to block a nefarious right-to-work bill. The governors of Indiana and Florida appear to be backing away from anti-union legislation.
These battles are not yet won. Labor and concerned citizens cannot for a moment think that the Chamber, the Kochs, or republican governors will not try to jam through their agenda. But, Labor is energized and the people supports us. The public likes their teachers, police and public employees. We want clean water and clean government. The public supports collective bargaining and does not want labor to be silenced. The public wants there to be balance between corporations and the workers, between the wealthy and the working.
The tide is turning and people are talking about income inequality and workers rights. For the first time in my adult life, there has been a sustained, positive discussion about the benefits of unions. It's happening on Dkos, in the traditional media and in the streets! Solidarity forever!
So, Governor Walker, on behalf of myself and millions working men and women: Thank You.
Updated by Oh Dannyboy at Thu Feb 24, 2011, 03:02:04 PM
Thank you to eatbeans below, who points out that politifact.com has deemed false the claim that there would be a budget surplus at the end of the year. In fact, there would have been a $137 million deficit at the end of the year. Modest, in comparison to other states, and certainly not the fault of public employees.
Updated by Oh Dannyboy at Thu Feb 24, 2011, 08:09:48 PM
Today, faculty at the University of Wisconsin - Lacrosse voted overwhelmingly to join the AFT. Here's to our newest union brothers and sisters who joined a union, despite Gov. Walkers attempts to strip unions of their rights! http://www.aftface.org