War on workers

How many of you thought the Republicans would stand by working men and women when they were elected last fall? The answer is probably very few of us. Here is an interesting link from YouTube where the Governor of Wisconsin lets his guard down because he thinks he's talking to David Koch. It's pretty disturbing the deceit that he is willing to employ to achieve his goal of busting unions. If anyone thinks that a union loss here won't affect the rest of us, you haven't been paying attention.

Encouraging poll

Here is an encouraging USA Today/Gallup poll that states 66% of the public would oppose a law similar to the one the Governor is trying to cram through in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

I received an email last night from David Sulewski regarding what's happening in Wisconsin in specific and the country in general. For those that don't remember David, he is a retired UA fleet service worker out of IAD by way of CLE, and a dedicated trade unionist. The email follows;

"Many of our recently elected officials, when asked to explain their proposed budget cuts, (which to many seem excessive and un-reasonable) answer, "This is what my constituents elected me to do".

In taking such an arrogant and shortsighted stance they have, in effect, eliminated any possibility of negotiation and completely ruled out compromise, as a means of reaching a more equitable and sustainable plan that will negatively affect the least amount of people. Many of our elected officials seem more intent on discrediting the opposition party and advancing the agenda of their major campaign contributors then representing the people.

I, for one, disagree with their idea of why they were elected. I feel that the people elected them to office to restore responsible government for the benefit of all the people. I am sure that tax breaks for mega corporations and the richest one percent of the population at the expense of the rest of the country is not what their "constituents" consider responsible government.

In the second paragraph of the Declaration Of Independence can be found the sentence that best describes the foundation for the type of government that was to be established in our new nation. "Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed……………".

David"

Thank you for sending this David.

It appears that labor is not going quietly into the night in Wisconsin, and for good reason. As workers we should keep a close eye on this fight and support our northern Brothers and Sisters in any way we can.

Update

The negotiation update is out and can be viewed by following the link at the top of the page.

The declining middle class?

Here
is an interesting article on the decline of the middle class. One of the several reasons cited for the middle class decline is the decline of organized labor. The article is a stark look at the present status of the blue collar worker.

Seattle Blog

I couldn't agree more with Jock's latest post regarding Congress and jobs. Here is the link.

Tough times in Wisconsin

Here
is a link to a very troubling report that the Governor of Wisconsin "is prepared to call in the Wisconsin National Guard to respond if there is any unrest among state employees in the wake of his announcement that he wants to revoke nearly all of their collective bargaining rights."

There is really no need to explain why he would be concerned.

Super Bowl

Congratulations to the Packers on their win. I thought the Steelers would pull it off, but turnovers did them in.

This week

I will be out of town all this week with limited internet access. Please direct your questions to Jay Koreny as he will be filling in for me.