When I was a lad, my father had an expression that he only used when I was in serious, and I mean
serious, trouble.
"You had your dance, now it's time to pay the band." For some reason, that expression immediately sprang to mind when I read this
Reuters article detailing the Bush administration's
labor law enforcement campaign payback to organized labor for
fighting for our very survival participating in democracy in the 2004 election.
So, I suppose we "had our dance." And now it's time to pay the fucking band...
HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. labor union locals are being audited by teams of federal government inspectors in what officials say is part of a labor law enforcement campaign and union leaders charge is payback for opposing President Bush's reelection.
More after the jump...
From the
Reuters article...
"We kind of looked at it as something of a shot across the bow of labor," said Bob Frase, executive assistant to the secretary-treasurer of the
Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE).
The union, based in Nashville, Tennessee, has advised all of its local units to expect audits this year. PACE represents 275,000 workers in the paper, chemical and energy industries.
"We haven't seen anything like this before," Frase said.
You had your dance, Brother Frase, now it's time to pay the band. You didn't actually think you could participate in democracy without consequences, did you?
Of course, the "up-is-down-black-is-white administration" has a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. (You just knew they would, didn't you?)
"This administration is strongly dedicated to enforcing the law," said Labor Department spokeswoman Pamela Groover. "Employers and unions who abuse workers are going to feel the impact."
The Department has increased enforcement of safety and pension laws in addition to tightening rules on labor unions, Groover said.
"Employers and unions who abuse workers are going to feel the impact." Hmmm... yes, I seem to remember WalMart "feeling the impact" for violating child labor laws. From where I sit, that's a hell of a dance and not so much paying the band.
Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest retailer, has agreed to pay $135,540 to settle federal charges that it violated child labor laws in Connecticut, Arkansas and New Hampshire.
{snip}
A provision also promises to give Wal-Mart 15 days' notice before the Labor Department investigates any other "wage and hour" accusations, like failure to pay minimum wage or overtime.
Ahhh, I see the problem with my thinking now... Groover said they have increased enforcement of
safety and
pension laws -- and WalMart forcing children to operate cardboard balers and other dangerous equipment is simply a "wage and hour" accusation. Silly me. Enough from me about WalMart, we have our own
expert on these scroundrels here at dKos.
How's this for an example of employers who abuse workers feeling the impact:
link
Edward L. Kathcart drowned.
Mike Davis and David Kado burned to death.
Brian Rust was electrocuted, and Edward Hall and Tony Parker were crushed to death.
The cause and circumstances of their deaths may have been different, but they and six others lost their lives in industrial accidents in Northwest Indiana's steel plants during the past five years.
To date, the 12 deaths have cost the area mills $45,500 in Indiana Occupation Safety and Health Administration fines. Although not all fines have been reported or investigations into the fatalities completed, the victims' relatives claim state OSHA fines are too minimal to have any impact on the steelmakers, which have millions if not billions in revenue.
"I was at a loss that a life could be worth so little," said Shirley Parker, whose husband Tony died June 4 at Ispat Inland Inc. The 25-year company veteran apparently fell 20 to 25 feet into an area beneath his work station where a hot metal transfer car struck him, inflicting fatal injuries.
OSHA cited the company for at least 86 violations since 2000, with 55 of the serious violations occurring during a wall-to-wall inspection in 2002. The agency found five serious violations in connection with Parker's death, and fined the company $8,625.
"Are the mills were supposed to be upset about that amount of money?'' Parker's widow said.
"I thought OSHA was some kind of powerful organization that had a lot of impact and influence to bring about serious ramifications. I expected the company would get more than a slap on the hand. ... I thought the job of OSHA was to put the fear of God into companies -- like they were the hand of God. But they're not.''
The mind
reels.... and
reels... and
reels... and
reels...
I could go
on and
on, but it's just too damned depressing.
Abuse workers, my ass. They fucking kill 'em and don't "feel the impact."
How about pensions? Eh, not so much.
Maybe you're wondering how well your tax dollars are being used while the administration gets it's pound of flesh enforces labor laws? Let's go back to the Reuters article, shall we?
At a PACE local representing workers at two Houston-area refineries, the Labor Department auditors arrived in early January and stayed for two weeks, said David Taylor, secretary-treasurer of PACE local No. 4-227.
"They came in every day and stayed all day," Taylor said. "They said it was our first audit since 1983. My secretary's been here 25 years and she said she had never seen this before."
The auditors asked the local to reclassify some expenditures and refile the reports but found nothing improper, Taylor said.
"I've got a very good bookkeeper," he said.
Well, we had our dance... no sense bitching when the band has to be paid.