Conghaileach
9th May 2003, 18:45
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 8, 2003
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
THE ATTACK ON PUBLIC WORKERS' UNIONS
By Mike Gimbel
New York
Executive Board Chair, Chapter 8, Local 375, AFSCME
Privatization of public services and attacks on public worker unions are
part of a world-wide attack on public ownership.
Public worker unions at the federal, state and city level are now the
largest sector of organized labor in the United States. That is one
reason why these unions are coming under such huge attack. Whenever
capitalism undergoes a serious economic crisis, the ruling class views
it as an opportunity to take back worker gains.
During an economic crisis when jobs are scarce, the ruling class uses
the threat of unemployment to terrorize unions into making huge
concessions. As an example of the current mentality of the U.S. ruling
class, the bosses at United Airlines stuck the knife in a little deeper,
after the unions agreed to huge concessions, by voting themselves huge
bonuses.
While U.S. imperialism destroyed the infrastructure of Yugoslavia and
Iraq with bombs, it is destroying the infrastructure here at home with
massive cutbacks. Military aggression against our class abroad is being
coupled with economic aggression against our class here at home. The
wars against Yugoslavia and Iraq, and the worldwide attack on public
ownership, have come at a time of the greatest disparity in the
distribution of wealth between rich and poor in U.S. history.
The capitalist economic crisis is driving the attack on workers here at
home. Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg demands sacrifices
from those least able to do without these public services and public
jobs, while refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy, the corporations and
the banks that have gotten wealthy by exploiting the city's workers.
This attack flows directly from the national economic policies of recent
decades of the "trickle-down theory," which has only one purpose:
shifting wealth from the poor to the rich with nothing ever actually
trickling down.
While huge tax cuts are given to the rich and billions are siphoned off
from the public infrastructure for military re-colonization of the
world, the same big business politicians who voted away these public
funds claim there is no money for public schools, hospitals, zoos,
libraries, public housing, daycare, etc. This attack on public services
is taking place in virtually every state and every city in the U.S.
What is the difference, in the final analysis, between bombing schools,
hospitals and libraries in Iraq and closing schools, hospitals and
libraries here? In either case, working people have lost public services
that they cannot pay for out of their pocket as the rich can. As such,
workers and working class communities are justified in viewing these
public assets as entitlements negotiated as part of a "class-wide
contract," just as if these entitlements were added benefits in
individual union contracts.
WORKERS' PENSIONS USED TO BAIL OUT CITY
In fact, there is even some legal basis under capitalism to make this
claim. In New York City, the 1975 financial crisis resulted in massive
cutbacks and the loss of 65,000 city worker jobs. The city was actually
broke. It could not pay either its long-term or short-term obligations
to the banks. The banks, through the issuance of these bonds, were
legally able to claim city property as collateral. The 1975 crisis was
so serious, however, that the banks refused to loan the city any more
money because they viewed these loans as being too risky.
When the banks refused to loan the city any money in 1975, the state and
the unions created the Municipal Assistance Corporation (Big MAC),
backed by worker pension funds. They went back to the banks and asked
them to buy these MAC bonds paying a higher rate of interest, but with
extended dates for payments. These MAC bonds are still being paid off
today.
Since state funds and union pension funds were used to bail out the
city, it creates the possibility of using this as a community/union
legal claim to public property as collateral. Of course, the capitalist
courts will only view this community/ union claim seriously if workers
assert their claim by occupying the public property that is being
closed.
Bloomberg is a multi-billionaire media mogul. As head of a huge
corporation, he is comfortable with giving orders and having them
obeyed, not negotiating compromises with trade union leaders. Bloomberg
is a Wall Street "blue blood" determined to protect the corporate bottom
line in the interest of the banks.
Bloomberg views public services in the same way he would a private
business: cut money-losing services so as to guarantee payments to the
bond holders. Workers, however, should not view these public services
being cut as the foreclosed property of the banks, even though, under
capitalism, the banks have legal rights to the property.
In order to fight these cutbacks, workers ought to view this public
property as their personal property that is being foreclosed. We built
and maintained these public assets and invested our very working lives
in them as teachers, nurses, engineers, laborers, clerical workers,
librarians, bus drivers and so on. Working people and working class
communities are the main beneficiaries of these public assets. The banks
only view public services as "cash cows," looting tax money and mass
transit fares for their own profit.
Who has the greater need for these public assets: the workers or the
Wall Street banks? Do the rich send their kids to public school? Do the
rich, when they get sick, depend on public hospitals? Do the rich live
in public housing projects?
The Emergency Financial Control Board was created in 1975 along with
"Big MAC." The legislation that created the EFCB requires the city to
have a balanced budget. Today the city, unlike in 1975, has operating
cash, but this provision forces Mayor Bloomberg to balance the city
budget.
Bloomberg has decided to balance the budget on workers' backs and has
put the city unions in a "no win" position. Bloomberg threatens the
unions that either they agree to massive concessions or he will lay off
thousands of city workers. Concessions you lose, layoffs you lose.
Bloomberg demands: choose one. But he adds one proviso: that even if the
unions agree to huge concessions, he may still have to resort to layoffs
anyway.
Mayor Bloomberg can be so arrogant because he has an ace up his sleeve.
It is called the Taylor Law.
The existence of the Taylor Law illustrates the difference between
private-sector and public-sector bargaining. Public-sector unions
bargain with the most powerful boss of all, the state, which has at its
beck and call all the organs of state repression: the police, the
courts, the prisons and even the state's National Guard armed forces.
When the Transport Workers Union raised going on strike, it was
threatened under the Taylor Law with massive fines, not only on the
union and its leadership, but on each individual union member as well.
If that threat doesn't work, the state has the power to jail union
leaders, activists and individual members. In extreme cases, the
National Guard can be called in to break the strike.
PUBLIC WORKERS FIGHT FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES
In the run-up to a public workers' strike, the ruling class tries to put
the blame on the workers. But we should all be aware that it is these
very public workers that are the front-line of defense for the public
services provided to the community. Public workers fighting to protect
their jobs are fighting to protect this public property. The two go hand
in hand.
This public property ought to be viewed as the personal property of
every worker, public or private, unionized or non-unionized, employed or
unemployed, and as the property of the community, even if capitalist law
says it belongs to the banks.
Therefore, we ought to view the Taylor Law as an attack on all workers
and on the community, because the only use of this law is to deny our
class, and the community we represent, the ability to defend these
public assets through a job action. It is this very Taylor Law that
hamstrings labor from defending decades of hard-won gains for our
community. Public workers are the indispensable soldiers in defending
public schools, hospitals, daycare, libraries, zoos, parks, housing and
so on.
This huge attack on public workers, all across the country, is beginning
to force a realization on both activist union members and union leaders
of the need to shift to the left. This became apparent in the run-up to
the Iraq war. Just three months after AFSCME District Council 37, where
I am a delegate in the delegate assembly, overwhelmingly tabled a motion
against the war, these same delegates overwhelmingly and
enthusiastically endorsed the very same anti-war resolution.
Thus, a great opportunity for class-conscious activist workers has
arisen. Even at the height of the Vietnam War it was very hard to get
even the mildest resolution against the war passed. Today, everything
has changed. In my lifetime I have never seen such an incredible shift
to the left. It is truly breath-taking. If ever you wanted to plunge
into work in the labor movement, now is the time. With the economic
crisis continuing to deepen, this shift in worker consciousness should
continue to deepen.
I don't see a tunnel, let alone a "light at the end of the tunnel" of
this economic crisis, and that portends a potential future political
explosion on the part of labor.
[Adapted from a speech to a Workers World meeting in New York April 25.]
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not
allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY,
NY 10011; via e-mail: [email protected] Subscribe wwnews-
[email protected] Unsubscribe [email protected] Support the
voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
Reprinted from the May 8, 2003
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
THE ATTACK ON PUBLIC WORKERS' UNIONS
By Mike Gimbel
New York
Executive Board Chair, Chapter 8, Local 375, AFSCME
Privatization of public services and attacks on public worker unions are
part of a world-wide attack on public ownership.
Public worker unions at the federal, state and city level are now the
largest sector of organized labor in the United States. That is one
reason why these unions are coming under such huge attack. Whenever
capitalism undergoes a serious economic crisis, the ruling class views
it as an opportunity to take back worker gains.
During an economic crisis when jobs are scarce, the ruling class uses
the threat of unemployment to terrorize unions into making huge
concessions. As an example of the current mentality of the U.S. ruling
class, the bosses at United Airlines stuck the knife in a little deeper,
after the unions agreed to huge concessions, by voting themselves huge
bonuses.
While U.S. imperialism destroyed the infrastructure of Yugoslavia and
Iraq with bombs, it is destroying the infrastructure here at home with
massive cutbacks. Military aggression against our class abroad is being
coupled with economic aggression against our class here at home. The
wars against Yugoslavia and Iraq, and the worldwide attack on public
ownership, have come at a time of the greatest disparity in the
distribution of wealth between rich and poor in U.S. history.
The capitalist economic crisis is driving the attack on workers here at
home. Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg demands sacrifices
from those least able to do without these public services and public
jobs, while refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy, the corporations and
the banks that have gotten wealthy by exploiting the city's workers.
This attack flows directly from the national economic policies of recent
decades of the "trickle-down theory," which has only one purpose:
shifting wealth from the poor to the rich with nothing ever actually
trickling down.
While huge tax cuts are given to the rich and billions are siphoned off
from the public infrastructure for military re-colonization of the
world, the same big business politicians who voted away these public
funds claim there is no money for public schools, hospitals, zoos,
libraries, public housing, daycare, etc. This attack on public services
is taking place in virtually every state and every city in the U.S.
What is the difference, in the final analysis, between bombing schools,
hospitals and libraries in Iraq and closing schools, hospitals and
libraries here? In either case, working people have lost public services
that they cannot pay for out of their pocket as the rich can. As such,
workers and working class communities are justified in viewing these
public assets as entitlements negotiated as part of a "class-wide
contract," just as if these entitlements were added benefits in
individual union contracts.
WORKERS' PENSIONS USED TO BAIL OUT CITY
In fact, there is even some legal basis under capitalism to make this
claim. In New York City, the 1975 financial crisis resulted in massive
cutbacks and the loss of 65,000 city worker jobs. The city was actually
broke. It could not pay either its long-term or short-term obligations
to the banks. The banks, through the issuance of these bonds, were
legally able to claim city property as collateral. The 1975 crisis was
so serious, however, that the banks refused to loan the city any more
money because they viewed these loans as being too risky.
When the banks refused to loan the city any money in 1975, the state and
the unions created the Municipal Assistance Corporation (Big MAC),
backed by worker pension funds. They went back to the banks and asked
them to buy these MAC bonds paying a higher rate of interest, but with
extended dates for payments. These MAC bonds are still being paid off
today.
Since state funds and union pension funds were used to bail out the
city, it creates the possibility of using this as a community/union
legal claim to public property as collateral. Of course, the capitalist
courts will only view this community/ union claim seriously if workers
assert their claim by occupying the public property that is being
closed.
Bloomberg is a multi-billionaire media mogul. As head of a huge
corporation, he is comfortable with giving orders and having them
obeyed, not negotiating compromises with trade union leaders. Bloomberg
is a Wall Street "blue blood" determined to protect the corporate bottom
line in the interest of the banks.
Bloomberg views public services in the same way he would a private
business: cut money-losing services so as to guarantee payments to the
bond holders. Workers, however, should not view these public services
being cut as the foreclosed property of the banks, even though, under
capitalism, the banks have legal rights to the property.
In order to fight these cutbacks, workers ought to view this public
property as their personal property that is being foreclosed. We built
and maintained these public assets and invested our very working lives
in them as teachers, nurses, engineers, laborers, clerical workers,
librarians, bus drivers and so on. Working people and working class
communities are the main beneficiaries of these public assets. The banks
only view public services as "cash cows," looting tax money and mass
transit fares for their own profit.
Who has the greater need for these public assets: the workers or the
Wall Street banks? Do the rich send their kids to public school? Do the
rich, when they get sick, depend on public hospitals? Do the rich live
in public housing projects?
The Emergency Financial Control Board was created in 1975 along with
"Big MAC." The legislation that created the EFCB requires the city to
have a balanced budget. Today the city, unlike in 1975, has operating
cash, but this provision forces Mayor Bloomberg to balance the city
budget.
Bloomberg has decided to balance the budget on workers' backs and has
put the city unions in a "no win" position. Bloomberg threatens the
unions that either they agree to massive concessions or he will lay off
thousands of city workers. Concessions you lose, layoffs you lose.
Bloomberg demands: choose one. But he adds one proviso: that even if the
unions agree to huge concessions, he may still have to resort to layoffs
anyway.
Mayor Bloomberg can be so arrogant because he has an ace up his sleeve.
It is called the Taylor Law.
The existence of the Taylor Law illustrates the difference between
private-sector and public-sector bargaining. Public-sector unions
bargain with the most powerful boss of all, the state, which has at its
beck and call all the organs of state repression: the police, the
courts, the prisons and even the state's National Guard armed forces.
When the Transport Workers Union raised going on strike, it was
threatened under the Taylor Law with massive fines, not only on the
union and its leadership, but on each individual union member as well.
If that threat doesn't work, the state has the power to jail union
leaders, activists and individual members. In extreme cases, the
National Guard can be called in to break the strike.
PUBLIC WORKERS FIGHT FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES
In the run-up to a public workers' strike, the ruling class tries to put
the blame on the workers. But we should all be aware that it is these
very public workers that are the front-line of defense for the public
services provided to the community. Public workers fighting to protect
their jobs are fighting to protect this public property. The two go hand
in hand.
This public property ought to be viewed as the personal property of
every worker, public or private, unionized or non-unionized, employed or
unemployed, and as the property of the community, even if capitalist law
says it belongs to the banks.
Therefore, we ought to view the Taylor Law as an attack on all workers
and on the community, because the only use of this law is to deny our
class, and the community we represent, the ability to defend these
public assets through a job action. It is this very Taylor Law that
hamstrings labor from defending decades of hard-won gains for our
community. Public workers are the indispensable soldiers in defending
public schools, hospitals, daycare, libraries, zoos, parks, housing and
so on.
This huge attack on public workers, all across the country, is beginning
to force a realization on both activist union members and union leaders
of the need to shift to the left. This became apparent in the run-up to
the Iraq war. Just three months after AFSCME District Council 37, where
I am a delegate in the delegate assembly, overwhelmingly tabled a motion
against the war, these same delegates overwhelmingly and
enthusiastically endorsed the very same anti-war resolution.
Thus, a great opportunity for class-conscious activist workers has
arisen. Even at the height of the Vietnam War it was very hard to get
even the mildest resolution against the war passed. Today, everything
has changed. In my lifetime I have never seen such an incredible shift
to the left. It is truly breath-taking. If ever you wanted to plunge
into work in the labor movement, now is the time. With the economic
crisis continuing to deepen, this shift in worker consciousness should
continue to deepen.
I don't see a tunnel, let alone a "light at the end of the tunnel" of
this economic crisis, and that portends a potential future political
explosion on the part of labor.
[Adapted from a speech to a Workers World meeting in New York April 25.]
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not
allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY,
NY 10011; via e-mail: [email protected] Subscribe wwnews-
[email protected] Unsubscribe [email protected] Support the
voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)