Union Protests Differ From The Un-unified Tea Party

Some media and political pundits have identified the ongoing public-sector (government) union protests as analogous to the un-unified Tea Party movement. This is like comparing apples and turnips.

Let’s clear the air on how different these two entities are. So far, union protesters have abandoned their jobs, are lying by collecting sick notes from unscrupulous doctors and, possibly worst of all, leading children into the streets to educate them about the wonders of belonging to a union.

Public Sector Unions

In news reports, we hear the protesters articulating their reasons for protesting and it  boils down to “keeping our rights.” They believe they are entitled to paying the minimum for their healthcare and pension plans and collectively bargaining for not only wages but for any other rights they might desire. On the taxpayers’ dime!!!

Those so-called “rights” are not rights that exist for the majority of Americans. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for 2010, the union membership rate for public-sector workers was 36.2 percent, compared with 6.9 percent in the private sector.

Over all, just 11.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce was unionized. That means the majority of working, taxpaying Americans are paying for public unionized workers — to march in the streets. Folks, that means that 88.1 percent of the workforce population is not unionized.

How many of you would take to the streets and not fear “losing your nonunion job?”

In the Wisconsin protest, the teacher union’s primary motivation has nothing to do with education and children. It’s all to do with their wage and benefit contracts, with growing union power and supporting the political party that supports them. Politically it’s about keeping the status quo — unions are typically supportive of the Democrats and fill their campaign coffers. If you’re a conservative and forced to join a union because of your job, that’s a travesty of constitutional rights.

Un-unified Tea Party

What’s the Tea Party about? They are definitely not about “rights.” They are about the bigger picture based on historically foundational “principles” which served to uphold our country through the first two centuries of her existence.

Citizens finally began to recognize that, as a nation, we can not continue on the present destructive path which will lead to the total failure of all that has been good about our Republican form of government.

Tea Party participants are letting the government know that the “status quo” is no longer desired or needed for the survival of America. We see our country surrendering to socialist changes which would change America forever. We see a government without conscience plunging headlong into socialist endeavors without benefit of adhering to the original intent of the U.S. Constitution and law. We desire to uphold the Republican principles of governing, law and government.

They are not clamoring for “rights” but for “principles.” The bedrock upon which our nation was established, those principles have guided us through good and bad times in America’s history.

The Tea Party message to government is very simple:

Tea Party Americans know the above cannot be done overnight, that it may take many years to restore constitutional rule. After all it took over 100 years to degenerate to where we are now. We the people know restoration will entail much sacrifice from us too. But the government must take the initial steps on a planned and committed course to get back on track to a Republic instead of the ongoing perilous road to tyranny.

The protests taking place in Wisconsin and other states will not change the reality that America is in danger. And like the many citizens who have already tightened their belts, unions and their members must be willing to do their share. We all have to sacrifice to restore our nation to one of strength, stability and prosperity.

That’s the difference between unions and the Tea Party. We do it for our children, grandchildren and future generations.

• Stop the spending, balance the budget, aim for no deficits, pay down the Debt.
• Streamline and downsize the federal government (state governments too).
• Return to government under the U.S. Constitution and law.

How to Win in Wisconsin and Beyond

The eruption of protests in Madison, Wisconsin against a rabidly anti-union Governor and legislature has become “ground zero” in a fight that, on the surface, appears to be labor unions vs. Republicans.

Digging deeper will reveal a conflict brewing for decades in American society that pits working people in general against an increasingly bold corporate sector. The side that wins the battle in Wisconsin will be empowered and the loser demoralized, affecting the morale of the fighters in the next state that erupts into open conflict.

One way workers in Wisconsin can strengthen their hand is by separating their so-called friends from their real friends. Everybody from President Obama to hordes of Democratic politicians have come out in support of the Wisconsin workers, which is fine. Unacceptable, however, is the motives of many of these politicians, which have hidden dangers for workers across the U.S. who are attempting to mount a defense of their livelihoods.

For example, the Democrats’ sudden pro-labor stance was based on the very specific attack by the Republican Governor in Wisconsin — the elimination of collective bargaining rights for the various state and other public sector unions; the very foundation of the union’s existence.

At the same time, however, Democrats all over the country are cooperating with Republicans in launching a massive attack on the wages and benefits of public employees, scapegoating them for the deficits caused by Wall Street’s recession and the corporate sector in general, the real “base” of the Democrats.

White House spokesman Jay Carney made this point very clear:

“[the President] is very understanding of the need for state governments, governors, state legislatures to reduce spending to make tough choices [cuts to public workers] to be fiscally responsible, but he also feels very strongly that we need not make this an assault on the collective bargaining rights of workers in any given state.”

Workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere strongly disagree.

Sadly, the right-wing policies of the Republican Governor in Wisconsin are only slightly more anti-worker than the Democratic Governors in California, New York, Washington, Oregon, and elsewhere, who are dumping state deficits onto the backs of state workers and those who benefit from their services.

Sadder still is that both Democrats and labor leaders in Wisconsin have stated that they are willing to make all kinds of concessions; they just want the right to collectively bargain so that wages and benefits can be “compromised” away at the bargaining table, rather than being summarily slashed by the governor.

A win in Wisconsin will not simply be a rejection of the Governor’s bill and the continuation of bargaining rights for the union; rather, workers will feel that they have won if their health care, pension, and wages are not reduced, which is the real reason that many of them are fighting.

This is the main point that many Democratic “friends of labor” purposely miss. The Democrats want labor unions to exist as an institution because they are good machines for getting workers to vote Democrat, while also helping Democratic politicians make wage and benefit reductions “acceptable” to workers through collective bargaining.

The workers in Wisconsin are fighting for their collective bargaining rights because they aim to use the union to increase or maintain their standard of living, since any union that fails to do this is a union in name only.

To keep their standard of living state workers will need to demand that taxes on the wealthy and corporations are increased, since Democratic and Republican Governors continually explain that “there is no money” to fund wages and benefits.

There is in fact money, lots of it. Inequality in the U.S. has risen for decades as the richest 1 percent has acquired unheard of wealth through low taxation and corporate tax breaks.  In Wisconsin, for instance, Gov. Walker has managed to pass, with bi-partisan support, a number of tax breaks geared towards benefiting big business. According to the Associated Press, these give aways add $117 million to the state’s budget problems – close to the amount Walker is trying to squeeze out of the public workers.

State workers also need to demand that governments at the municipal, state and federal level create millions of jobs in public works, by again, taxing the rich, the corporations, and Wall Street. These demands have the potential to mobilize millions in the streets, both union and non-union workers, employed and unemployed. It is the only way to unite and mobilize working people while separating their “Democratic Party friends” from their real friends.

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