Union Busting

Article 23, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN General Assembly, 10 December 1948

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

In Wisconsin first and now spreading to Indiana and Ohio, the right wing assault against public employees' unions is escalating.  Divide and conquer appears to be the strategy - pit private against public workers and some public sectors (police, firemen) against others (teachers, services).


The Wisconsin protests are down to this: the union has agreed to all of the wage and benefit concessions but want to retain their collective bargaining rights.   The Republican governor, Scott Walker, received his biggest campaign contribution ($100,000) from the billionaire Koch brothers.  These fellows are renowned for their funding of right-wing causes - and what could be more American right wing than union-busting. 


Well cops and firemen, who were exempted from the Wisconsin measures (they had supported Walker in his election bid), are standing with the teachers and services unions and the protests have spread to other states.  


Meanwhile the tea party funders are sending in operatives and "anti-protesters" from out of state to counter the demonstrations.   Sort of reminds you of the anti-health-care-reform protests of last year - as one columnist wrote: "Never have so many out of shape white men marched to demand that the government not improve their health care." 


Even after the public unions' complete concession on the wages and benefits side, Walker will not compromise.   So this is more than a budget issue.  It is an outright attack on the rights of workers.  Collective bargaining must be severely weakened or eliminated.   


Let's hope the good guys win.   Here's something I hope you enjoy to keep them going.  Joe Hill video (Paul Robeson).  For the soprano version, here's Joan Baez at Woodstock.