Richard Trumka

White House Inaction on Silica Is Deadly for Workers

2013-02-13T11:29:58-05:00

Tom Ward was 13 when his father came home from what would be his last day of work. Ward's father "barely made it through the door, fell to the floor and, between tears, said, 'I can't do it anymore.'"

Later that year, at age 39, Ward's father suffocated to death -- the effect of silicosis. His work as a sandblaster had exposed him to cancer-causing silica dust.

Every year, silica dust takes hundreds of American lives and makes thousands more, mostly construction workers, sick. But it doesn't have to be that way. Two years ago tomorrow, Feb. 14, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) submitted a draft proposed rule to reduce exposure to life-threatening silica dust to the White House's Office of Management and Budget. The review was supposed to take 90 days -- but two years later, the draft rule is still there, languishing in regulatory limbo while workers continue to be exposed to the deadly dust.

For decades, working people and their unions have fought to make jobs safer. And we've made great progress, winning job safety standards that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. But at every step toward progress, we faced the same obstacles that are blocking stronger silica dust limits: well-funded knee-jerk opposition by business trade groups and industry associations.

Even when we get laws and regulations on the books, unscrupulous employers cut corners and violate them. Workers who report job hazards or injuries are fired or disciplined. Employers contract out dangerous work to avoid responsibility. As a result, every single day of every year, 13 workers are killed on the job. And every year workers suffer 7.6 million to 11.4 million job injuries and illnesses.

I've seen how hard it is to take on the heavyweight corporate lobbyists who hold so much sway in Washington. But I've also seen what a worker's struggle for breath looks like. You see, I come from a three-generation coal-mining family in a coal-mining town. We know what work can do to a person's lungs.

The delay in job safety protections for silica is inexcusable and heartless. It's time for industry opponents to stand down and time for the White House to stand up for working men and women. It's a matter of life and death.

Listen to the Voters -- and Save Yourselves

2012-12-05T08:42:17-05:00

It's time for House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican leadership to stop holding America's middle class hostage and instead join Democrats in saying "No" to another tax cut for the rich.

That's what voters asked for, loud and clear.

People are tired of the rich getting gifts from Washington at the expense of everyone else -- and they're also tired of brinkmanship. It was a bad idea to create a fiscal cliff, and it's an even worse idea for Republicans to threaten to drive off it and take the American middle class with them.

The cliff Boehner should be worrying about is the one over which he's pushing his party's approval rating. Gallup's most recent poll shows Republican job approval rating at 16 percent. President Obama's rating is closer to 60 percent.

Boehner doesn't understand that the Republican hard line against tax fairness and for cuts in earned benefits is not only irresponsible and wrong, it's also hugely unpopular.

Across America, 62 percent of voters want the rich to pay higher tax rates, and 73 percent want to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits from cuts.

I've said before that the fiscal cliff is a manufactured crisis, an obstacle course of Washington's own making. And yet this showdown -- if not handled right -- could do real damage to regular working families.

America's working people are already mired in financial instability and worry, as too many of us sit up late at kitchen tables trying to figure out how to meet obligations and still have a holiday season.

That's the America the Republican leadership has abandoned. That's the majority Republicans betray by obsessively opposing modest, reasonable tax policy -- that would return top tax rates to their levels in the 1990s.

Republicans refuse to acknowledge the truth -- that fair tax rates on the rich will help solve America's problems, and the rich won't even feel the pinch.

Maybe that's part of the reason a new Gallup poll finds the Republican-majority House has the lowest rating for honesty of any other professions, including car salespeople.

America works best when everybody shares the load. When the tax rates on the richest 2 percent go up, the federal deficit will begin to decline and our nation will have more resources for our priorities -- including rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in our schools and putting people back to work.

I hope the time will come soon when responsible Republicans, those who want a future for America and their political party, will listen to the electorate, step away from Boehner and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and begin to work with Democrats to solve America's problems.

It's not too late to put America back to work. It's not too late to restore tax fairness and start to rebuild the middle class. It's not too late for the Republican leaders to save their credibility.

It's the right thing to do, and it's the smart thing to do.

Last month, Republicans got hammered across the board. That's the truth.

Despite a shocking flood of corporate cash, the party lost the presidential race, as well as seats in both the House and the Senate.

Listen to the voters. Don't cut rates again for the rich. Don't cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

An Election Message for the Lame Duck Congress: Fair Taxes, No Cuts

2012-11-08T14:32:00-05:00

After a hard-fought and divisive election year, it's time to rebuild America's middle class -- but to do it we need to make sure the lessons from this campaign stick.

Four years ago, the leadership of the Republican Party made a cynical political gamble -- and this year they lost because they bet against America.

Instead of rethinking the failed policies that got us into this mess, the Republicans in Congress tried to drag down the American economy and stall the recovery and then pass the blame to President Obama.

Along the way, they also blamed teachers, firefighters, nurses and, quite frankly, just about anyone and everyone except the real culprit -- irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation.

Yet here's something to remember: It wasn't until Mitt Romney's shocking and complete disavowal of everything -- everything -- he stood for during the Republican primary that he even began to close the gap with President Obama. The more he fabricated, the more he sounded like Obama, the closer to victory he came.

But a majority of working families remembered the real Mitt and turned out to reject him.

That shows how important voter education is, and the labor movement took that on as our top priority. We researched all the candidates and explained their stands on the issues. Across America, more than 400,000 volunteers shared what we learned by knocking on doors, calling from phone banks and by handing out leaflets. It was an incredible grassroots effort, like nothing I've seen before on a national scale.

The unprecedented tidal wave of secret corporate cash threatened to dilute and corrupt our democracy, but this election proved again that there is no match for the strength of people power.

I've probably said this a thousand times this year: This election came down to a choice between two very different visions for our nation and our middle class. Our vision rewards hard work and the people who do it. Their vision benefits only those at the top.

Our vision -- the future America has chosen for the next generation -- will lead America toward shared prosperity.

And the bottom line of what working people voted for is this: To rebuild America and the middle class, not tear it down. That's the lesson we have to turn into action.

Starting today, working families across the country will explain this election's message over and over again to our leaders in Washington. Working people -- union and non-union alike -- say NO to cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and YES to fair taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent.

Game Changer in Ohio: Cars

2012-10-31T08:59:50-04:00

This election may come down to cars. That's right, cars.

Nothing illustrates the choice between the two presidential candidates better than the 2009 rescue of the auto industry. And, despite Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's efforts to distort the contrast with patently dishonest claims and a new TV and radio ad, the auto rescue may turn out to be the deciding factor in the presidential election.

Romney can't seem to Etch-a-Sketch that now-famous op-ed headline -- "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."

Let's break down what that meant: Here was a millionaire whose idea of remaking America's automakers was liquidation. It was a call for those companies to gut pay and benefits and shed pensions. That's what Mitt Romney believed in. His goal was to "turn around" the industry by killing good jobs.

Try as he might, Romney can't shake his past, and nowhere is that more clear than in voters' reactions in Ohio, where the auto industry accounts for one out of eight jobs. There voters have stuck with President Obama after he stuck his neck out to rescue those ailing giants and the workers, who together form America's cornerstone industry.

Because of President Obama's action, the U.S. auto industry was not liquidated. Two million jobs or more were not lost or ruined.

Yes, President Obama took a big political risk -- the public had serious bailout fatigue.

Back in 2008 and 2009, pundits and reporters from Fox News to the New York Times called the auto industry rescue a "strategy fraught with risk."

It wasn't the only time President Obama took action and risks for working people, and I'll bet it won't be the last. And I'll also bet that Romney's reaction to crises for working people will be the same in the future, too. When President Obama enforced our trade laws, imposing tariffs on cheap Chinese tires to protect American jobs, Mitt Romney leaped in to criticize him.

Expecting Mitt Romney to get tough on China is like asking his left hand to slap his right.

Ohio knows we need a president who makes job creation his No. 1 priority -- and we need those jobs in the United States, not in other countries.

Few politicians today are courageous enough to stand with teachers and construction workers and other regular folks against the wails of Wall Street and the advice of CEOs like Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney wants us on the low road to jobs -- outsourcing all the good ones until even the minimum wage seems high.

Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, called him "a car guy." That's hard to understand, but what is clear is that Romney is not a jobs guy.

And it matters. Regardless of what Romney does, no matter how much he spends, a core of critical voters sees him for what he is, a one-percenter who has written them off.

Ohio gets it. In January, Ohio voters told Quinnipiac pollsters they favored President Obama over Mitt Romney by 46 percent to 44 percent, and Obama has held a dogged lead in Ohio ever since, even though Romney has closed the gap in national polls.

Mitt Romney desperately needs the Buckeye State's 18 electoral votes to win the White House. He's been barnstorming the state for months, and now he's gone into overdrive.

And that fact -- the truth that Ohio voters have stubbornly stuck with Obama -- should teach every elected leader one simple but important lesson: Whoever does right by regular working people will gain tremendous and lasting political momentum.

I hope every elected leader sees this lesson for what it is -- the surest way to political success is building a secure ladder to the middle class for all.

Follow @Richard Trumka and @AFLCIO on Twitter.

El cambio en nuestras comunidades se logra con unión y determinación

2012-10-17T09:11:55-04:00

Lo que a menudo falta en los debates altamente polarizados sobre las políticas de inmigración de Arizona y las prácticas judiciales del Alguacil Joe Arpaio son las historias de jóvenes que diariamente se ven afectados por estas mismas políticas y prácticas. Entre ellos se encuentra Carmen, una quinceañera que vive en Tempe, Arizona. Su historia demuestra que, cuando hay unión y determinación, se pueden cambiar las cosas.

Carmen forma parte de una nueva generación de jóvenes latinos que por primera vez en sus vidas, y con la ayuda de los sindicatos y organizaciones comunitarias, están actuando para ayudar a sus comunidades.

La madre de Carmen trabaja en un negocio de lavado de automóviles todo el día y no tiene ni descansos para comer, ni días de reposo en caso de enfermedad. Carmen se refiere al trabajo de su madre con cierto aire de tristeza e irritación. Dice que su madre, quien no tiene la documentación necesaria para residir o trabajar en el país, está "matándose a sí misma, sudando a morir".

"Me duele saber que Arpaio me puede quitar a mi mamá por no tener papeles", continúa Carmen. "Cuando ando afuera [inscribiendo a votantes], eso es en lo que pienso, en mi mamá".

Carmen no solía participar en actos cívicos, pero hoy en día es líder de un equipo de voluntarios de la Campaña Adiós Arpaio. Dicha campaña es un proyecto del comité de acción política de la Campaña para el Futuro de Arizona, el comité político de Promesa Arizona en Acción y el sindicato de trabajadores de la industria hospitalaria, UNITEHERE! En los últimos cinco meses, la campaña capacitó a más de 1,700 voluntarios que inscribieron a alrededor de 34,300 votantes que en su mayoría son latinos.

Carmen se enteró de esta coalición entre la comunidad y los sindicatos en Maricopa a través de un organizador que entregaba calcomanías con el lema "Adiós Arpaio" afuera de su escuela preparatoria y que la invitó a asistir a una reunión de campaña. Ahora, más de dos meses después de ese primer encuentro, trabaja como voluntaria casi todos los días.

"Ni de chiste la dejaría [la campaña]", declara Carmen. "Cada vez que ando afuera [inscribiendo a votantes] estamos más cerca de derrotar a Arpaio".

La Campaña Adiós Arpaio ha atraído a cientos de voluntarios regulares como Carmen, muchos de ellos jóvenes y latinos, asegura Daria Ovide, la directora de comunicaciones de la campaña.

"La mayoría de nuestros voluntarios son inmigrantes o hijos de inmigrantes. Existe un miedo abrumador entre los padres de nuestros voluntarios", dice Ovide, explicando su teoría del porqué tantos jóvenes en Arizona se han interesado en la política estatal y local. Y añade que:

En sus países de origen, los padres temían a los cárteles, a sus gobiernos. Aquí, temen a Arpaio, temen perder su trabajo por quejarse, temen ser deportados por no tener papeles. Sus hijos reaccionan a este miedo y han tomado una decisión. Y han decidido hacer algo distinto. Los hijos son estadounidenses. Se ven a sí mismos como estadounidenses. Y están luchando de una manera más pública.

A mediados de los años noventa, se realizó un esfuerzo parecido en torno a temas similares en un estado que se encuentra a dos horas y media al oeste dela ciudad donde vive Carmen. En 1994, los legisladores californianos presentaron una iniciativa electoral de carácter discriminatorio e inhumano - la Proposición 187 - que, entre otras cosas, hubiera prohibido a las personas que aspiran a ser ciudadanos utilizar servicios sociales como cuidados de salud y el acceso a la educación pública. El entonces Gobernador Republicano Pete Wilson fue una de las personas más prominentes que apoyó esta proposición.

La idea principal detrás de esta legislación era hacerle la vida tan difícil a los residentes de California sin la documentación apropiada que se verían obligados a abandonar el estado, regresar a sus países de origen o auto deportarse. ¿Les suena?

Poco después de que se aprobara la Proposición 187, a finales de 1994, los californianos se unieron para oponerse y derrotar las agendas políticas divisivas como las de Wilson. Y triunfaron gracias a su capacidad de organizarse, dialogar con la comunidad e inscribir votantes. Como el blog de Fronteras Desk lo notó recientemente, los analistas políticos piensan que California se volvió un estado Demócrata durante la década de los noventa debido al crecimiento del electorado latino que estaba respondiendo, en parte, a la Proposición 187.

Con el propósito de evitar que se repita esta historia, el mes pasado 50 estudiantes Soñadores (DREAMers, en inglés) de Los Ángeles viajaron en autobús hasta Phoenix, Arizona, en una visita patrocinada por la Federación Laboral del Condado de Los Ángeles para ayudar a inscribir a nuevos votantes. Ese apoyo energizó a los activistas de Arizona que ya estaban frustrándose con las políticas de su estado, y que ahora están listos para luchar por el cambio político.En el 2011, se unieron para destituir de su cargo por la vía electoral al Senador Estatal Republicano Russell Pearce, que fue uno de los patrocinadores más prominentes de la ley SB 1070.

Ahora el Alguacil Arpaio se está postulando a alguacil del Condado de Maricopa por quinta vez en sus 20 años en este puesto. La elección de este año será una de las más disputadas de su carrera, un testimonio al poder generado por la unión entre jóvenes como Carmen, los sindicatos activos y otros miembros de la comunidad.

Más allá de los resultados de las elecciones en el Condado de Maricopa esta alianza continuará forjando sus lazos con la comunidad latina de Arizona.

Y si Arpaio es re-electo, Carmen está lista para seguir adelante: "Continuaré luchando", asevera. "Haré lo posible para lograr que las cosas cambien. Nunca voy a detenerme".

¿Y por qué lo habría de hacer? El futuro de su familia depende de esto. Mientras que los trabajadores, los miembros de las comunidades y otros simpatizantes adentro y afuera de Arizona continúen fomentando alianzas con gente como Carmen, las fuerzas de la división, el odio y el miedo que se han apoderado temporalmente de la política del estado serán derrotadas al final del día. Ya pasó anteriormente en California, y se podría repetir en Arizona.

Enlaces relacionados:

http://www.fronterasdesk.org/news/2012/sep/21/race-maricopa-county-sheriff-matters-ballot/

http://launionaflcio.org/2012/13267/50-los-angeles-students-and-dreamers-travel-to-phoenix-for-adios-arpaio-voter-registration-drive.html

http://univisionarizona.univision.com/destino-2012/panorama-electoral/article/2012-09-29/latinos-realizan-protesta-adios-arpaio

http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/In-The-States/Intern-Reflects-on-Union-Summer-in-Arizona

http://www.aflcio.org/Features/In-Our-Communities/Voters-Rights-Center-Stage-in-Arizona-Across-the-Nation

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Richard Trumka, presidente de la AFL-CIO

A Doorstep Focus Group Every Night

2012-10-16T13:41:27-04:00

Every day while the right-wing Super PACs pour millions of dollars into attack ads, canvassers for Working America, the AFL-CIO's community affiliate, knock on nearly 25,000 doors and talk to more than 10,000 actual voters in town after town and state after state.

Each conversation is a little bit different, but together they amount to something like a series of giant nightly focus groups with people who are as "real" as you can get.

Voters care most about big issues like taxes and jobs and education. People want the richest Americans to pay reasonable taxes so our country can create good jobs in construction, transportation and more, and so we can hire police officers, firefighters, teachers and other public workers for our communities.

Those same people tell us without question that they're counting on Medicare and Social Security. They can't afford any cuts. None. Especially not to give more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.

Voters at the doors in Wisconsin last week associated Medicare cuts and a voucher system with Mitt Romney's campaign and Republicans in general. They told our canvassers that Republican plans to switch Medicare to a voucher program "worried" and "scared" them.

When canvassers explained that Mitt Romney did more than simply discuss the voucher plan, he actually picked its author as his running mate, the voters overwhelmingly made up their minds in favor of President Obama.

Here's something we hear all the time.

Millions of Americans support the particulars of health care reform. If anything, they'd like to speed up and expand implementation. Parents of school-age children and young adults tell us they've already been helped by Obamacare, and they reject Mitt Romney's plan to overturn the Affordable Care Act on his first day in office.

Undecided voters often report confusion about the Republican candidate's actual vision for America. That was the case in Colorado after the first debate, where voters thought Mitt Romney forcefully defended his positions. Those voters just couldn't nail down what those positions were.

One Fort Collins voter said, "I'm waiting to see who told the truth."

Solid facts, and especially information that people can verify, is what's most powerful and persuasive to truly undecided voters.

Colorado voters who support President Obama said they want the president to "fight back" more in the next debate. Ohio voters told our canvassers they want President Obama to take up where Vice President Joe Biden left off and expose the real Mitt Romney for what he is -- the Etch-a-Sketching politician whose only honest statement has been that he doesn't care about 47 percent of Americans and whose chief business skill has been to outsource jobs as CEO of Bain Capital.

Mitt Romney's Achilles heel is what he supports and what he won't own up to.

President Obama's strategy should be to relentlessly explain, explain, explain.

That's our plan, too.

Domestic Workers Inspire the Global Movement for Rights

2012-10-10T17:46:21-04:00

By Richard Trumka and Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance

Domestic workers around the world have been organizing for years to secure decent wages, benefits and recognition.

This past summer, domestic workers and their allies celebrated a major global victory after the Philippines joined Uruguay in becoming the second country to ratify International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189, Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

The convention addresses issues such as working conditions, wages, benefits and child labor and goes into effect one year after two countries approve it.

AFL-CIO President Richard L Trumka lobbies for the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights in Sacramento, California (Photo/David Bacon)

This milestone was reached through key partnerships between domestic workers and trade unions striving to raise the status of domestic workers on an international scale.

The AFL-CIO, which represents U.S. labor in the tripartite International Labor Organization system, included a domestic worker, Juana Flores, in its delegation so that domestic workers could have a voice and an official vote during the convening.

This effort was an important reminder of the strategic value of partnerships and how working people can stand together to advocate for and win better working conditions for all.

In the U.S., the AFL-CIO has formally partnered with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to support mutual collaborations and strengthen labor standards for domestic workers and unions.

For example, in New York State, domestic workers alongside unions worked together for six years to secure and implement a statewide Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights.

In 2011, the National Domestic Workers Alliance launched an effort in California to pass a bill of rights that would have required basic labor protections.

California was poised to be the second state in the country to pass this kind of legislation.

Domestic workers like Juana Flores, who worked as a nanny in California, often worked long hours with no right to overtime, a rest break or lunch. She's now the co-director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas, which spearheaded the campaign for the new law.

The law would have extended the rights that nearly all other workers have to domestic workers, who are primarily foreign-born and women of colour.

The campaign -- with strong support from the AFL-CIO, as well as faith communities, civil rights groups and celebrities -- was successful.

It got the bill of rights through the state legislature. Unfortunately, California's governor failed to sign it.

By continuing the legacy of excluding legal protections for California's 200,000 nannies, housekeepers, home health aides and other domestic workers, the governor chose to side with the Chamber of Commerce, which was actively opposing the legislation.

It is a deeply disappointing choice, but his veto demonstrates why working people must stand together to amplify our voice and power.

It is clear now more than ever that the labor movement and the domestic workers' movement need to continue to work together to protect the rights of all workers.

Working men and women across the globe remain inspired by the advocacy and leadership of domestic workers. Today, domestic workers, working families, faith communities, unions and other allies continue to stand strong. Our movement for all working people is not defined by one law. It is defined by the work that connects us all, our commitment to equal rights and the opportunity for all communities to achieve a better life.

In the U.S., the labor movement continues to forge new partnerships with day laborers, taxi workers, domestic workers and other worker centres built around the dignity of all work.

Communities around the country are joining together in our fight to reestablish opportunity and fairness.

The governor can veto a law, but he can't veto a movement.

The movement of working families behind California's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights and other important working family initiatives has brought national and international attention to the plight of domestic workers and the need to fight for dignity, decent pay, good benefits and a secure retirement for all working people.

America's working families remain committed to continuing the struggle for economic and social justice for all of us.

(This item also appears in Equal Times, the ITUC blog.)

Trabajadores latinos más seguros gracias a la labor de centros de trabajadores

2012-09-11T09:40:20-04:00

La historia de Christian Hurtado demuestra el potencial del nuevo movimiento por los derechos de los trabajadores. Es una historia digna de ser contada sobre todo en este mes, días después del Día del Trabajo y mientras nos preparamos a celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Latina.

La vida de Christian dio un giro inesperado después de la muerte de su padre Ángel en un accidente laboral en 2004. Christian, de 29 años, y su familia siguen sin conocer los detalles exactos del accidente, que ocurrió mientras su padre, un trabajador independiente en la industria de la construcción, hacia un trabajo dentro de una pequeña bodega en Austin, Texas. La familia de Christian quedó devastada, especialmente su madre Victoria.

Christian dice que por casualidad escuchó a un representante de la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (OSHA, por sus siglas en inglés), que se encontraba presente en la bodega poco después del accidente, especular que don Ángel probablemente se resbaló hacia atrás mientras trabajaba en lo alto dentro de la bodega, se golpeó el cuello y después cayó unos 20 pies hasta el suelo. Pero a pesar de esta incertidumbre, Christian estaba decidido a encontrar respuestas y asegurarse de que otras familias no pasaran por una tragedia similar.

"Después del accidente, me enteré a través de mi mamá acerca de una organización en Austin que defiende los derechos de los trabajadores y lucha por recuperar sus sueldos no pagados y cosas así", dijo Christian.

La organización de la cual su madre le contó es Workers Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral (PDL) que desde 2008 se ha asociado con el Consejo de Industrias de Edificios y Construcción del Estado de Texas para juntos mejorar las condiciones laborales en dichas industrias por todo Texas, desarrollando un nuevo e inteligente modelo de colaboración entre trabajadores y miembros de la comunidad. La madre de Christian se enteró de PDL a través de una presentación dada por miembros de dicho centro de trabajadores en su iglesia poco tiempo después del accidente.

"A través de PDL, me enteré de que los accidentes mortales en el trabajo pasan todo el tiempo", señaló Christian. "También de que [PDL] no sólo ayudan a los trabajadores a cobrar lo que se les debe, puesto que les informan a los trabajadores sobre estos accidentes y la seguridad en el trabajo".

Según un informe reciente de PDL, en Texas muere un trabajador de la construcción cada 2.5 días, hecho que lo hace el estado más mortífero en el país para trabajadores de la construcción. En Texas, la alianza entre PDL y el Consejo de Industrias ha mejorado la seguridad en el trabajo:

al publicar el presente informe sobre las muertes de trabajadores de la construcción, el cual llevó a una investigación federal sobre la industria de la construcción en Texas por parte de la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional que resultó en cerca de 1,500 citaciones y multas por un valor de casi 2 millones de dólares;

al conseguir descansos pagados para 50,000 trabajadores de la construcción en Austin y

al lograr cambios en los contratos de la ciudad para exigir capacitaciones básicas de seguridad para todos los trabajadores de la construcción en proyectos financiados por la ciudad.

"Nuestra asociación con los sindicatos pertenecientes al Consejo de Industrias de Edificios y Construcción ha sido mutuamente beneficiosa y a través de ella hemos sido capaces de fortalecer el movimiento laboral en Texas", aseveró Cristina Tzintzún, directora ejecutiva de PDL. "Nuestros miembros han aprendido acerca de la habilidad de los sindicatos para garantizar mejores condiciones de trabajo, y los miembros del sindicato han aprendido acerca de los desafíos que los trabajadores no sindicalizados enfrentan".

Sin embargo, ninguna de estas importantes victorias habría sido posible sin los trabajadores y miembros de la comunidad como Christian, quien fue recientemente reconocido como el miembro del año de PDL por su compromiso y dedicación a mejorar las vidas de los trabajadores de la construcción. Además, recientemente terminó un programa de capacitación del sindicato Unión de Trabajadores de Construcción (LIUNA, por sus siglas en inglés) con la intención de seguir organizando a trabajadores de la construcción y garantizarles lugares de trabajo seguros, en un estado donde se estima que el 60 por ciento de la fuerza laboral de la construcción es de origen latino.

"En Austin, los latinos son los que proveen con la mano de obra y hay que cuidarlos", indicó Christian. "Hay mucha gente que está siendo maltratada. Hay mucha gente que no sabe cómo usar sus herramientas correctamente o cómo proteger su seguridad en el trabajo. PDL ha ayudado a cambiar eso".

Al igual que la alianza entre PDL y el Consejo de Industrias en Austin, otras alianzas entre centros de trabajadores y sindicatos también están mejorando la vida de trabajadores en otras partes del país. En Wisconsin, por ejemplo, los trabajadores en huelga de la fábrica de pizzas congeladas Palermo's están exigiendo un lugar de trabajo seguro y una voz colectiva en el trabajo con el apoyo conjunto de Voces de la Frontera, un centro de trabajadores local, y el Sindicato de los Trabajadores del Metal Unidos (USW, por sus siglas en inglés).

Estas alianzas proporcionan un alivio muy necesario a personas en ambientes de trabajo hostiles, como la industria de la construcción en Texas, y por ende deben ser fomentadas no temidas. Con eso en mente, la Federación Estadounidense del Trabajo y Congreso de Organizaciones Industriales (AFL-CIO, por sus siglas en inglés) mantenemos y procuramos ampliar nuestras afiliaciones activas con centros de trabajadores por todo el país. Con más de una docena de afiliaciones con centros de trabajadores en Estados Unidos, la AFL-CIO continúa liderando la creación de nuevas asociaciones para mejorar la vida de todos los trabajadores.

"Si mi papá hubiera sabido lo que yo sé ahora, probablemente no se hubiera accidentado", me confió Christian. "Busco la mejor forma de honrar a mi papá ayudando a trabajadores como él".

La muerte de don Ángel a causa de un accidente de trabajo evitable es una gran tragedia. Christian y otros como él se han comprometido a prevenir que similares tragedias se repitan en el futuro.

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De sueño a realidad: el ejemplo de los soñadores

2012-08-01T12:39:04-04:00

"Cuando los más afectados por un problema se expresan abiertamente, ya no hay forma de seguir ignorándolo", afirmó Neidi Domínguez.

Tuve el honor de conocer a Neidi en febrero cuando trabajadores lavadores de automóviles, como miembros del sindicato Trabajadores del Metal Unidos (United Steelworkers), firmaron contratos con dos negocios en el sur de Los Ángeles. Neidi desempeñó un rol clave en esa histórica victoria tanto para los trabajadores de lavado de automóviles como para el movimiento laboral.

Neidi también es parte de un creciente número de soñadoras y soñadores (DREAMers, en inglés) que, cansados de ocultarse en un país que consideran su patria, han pronunciado abiertamente su estatus migratorio y se encuentran luchando para que el Congreso apruebe el proyecto de ley "DREAM Act" y pase una reforma integral al sistema de inmigración.

El 15 de junio su esfuerzo colectivo como miembros de la red Juntos Soñamos (United We Dream) nos dio una valiosísima lección a todos los estadounidenses. La determinación, la perseverancia y la solidaridad de un grupo de personas pueden conseguir hasta lo que parecía imposible: una orden ejecutiva poniendo un alto a las deportaciones de jóvenes aspirantes a ciudadanos.

Neidi obtuvo su licenciatura en una universidad en el norte de California (con mención honorífica) después de solo tres años de estudio debido a que solo contaba con los recursos económicos necesarios para pagar por tres años. Pero al graduarse en el 2008, Neidi se encontró con un problema que afectaba a muchos soñadores como ella: quedaría desempleada. El solo pensar que todo ese esfuerzo y dedicación se irían a la basura la enojaba y entristecía, pero logró rencontrar la motivación de seguir adelante a través de la enseñanza del inglés a niños de cuarto de primaria, la mayoría inmigrantes o estadounidenses de primera generación, en la ciudad de Pasadena.

"Esos niños me revivieron", narra Neidi. "Me vi a mi misma en ellos. Y me recordaron que tenía que seguir luchando".

Hoy en día, Neidi es la coordinadora estratégica de la Campaña de Lavado de Carros CLEAN (CLEAN Carwash Campaign), cuya labor ha sido indispensable para organizar a los carwasheros - el apodo que los mismos trabajadores se impusieron - en Los Ángeles y darles una voz en sus lugares de trabajo, junto con mejores salarios, condiciones de trabajo y beneficios. Como soñadora, Neidi no solo comparte con muchos carwasheros el mismo estatus migratorio. También comparte con ellos la convicción de que todos merecen la oportunidad de salir adelante y una profunda fe en el poder que la organización le brinda a la gente de mejorar sus vidas.

Es precisamente esta profunda fe la que ha llevado a ella y a otros soñadores a proclamarse firmemente a favor del DREAM Act, inclusive cuando sus acciones podrían conducirlos a la deportación. En octubre pasado, la red de organizaciones en favor de los inmigrantes lideradas por jóvenes, Juntos
Soñamos, puso en marcha su campaña El Derecho a Soñar (Right to Dream) con un acto de desobediencia civil en la oficina del fiscal de Los Ángeles del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés). Neidi fue una de los cinco soñadores que fueron arrestados durante esta manifestación.

"Si voy a ser deportada, entonces preferiría que fuese bajo mis propias condiciones y con un propósito claro en mente", recuerda haber pensado en aquel momento.

En cuestión de unos cuantos días, los detenidos fueron puestos en libertad sin ningún cargo en su contra.

Las soñadoras y soñadores comprenden que su deber es el liderar la lucha por la aprobación del DREAM Act en el Congreso. Y esta lucha colectiva ya ha dado resultados. Que el Presidente Obama haya emitido su orden ejecutiva se debe en parte a que las soñadoras y soñadores nunca perdieron la fe o su determinación, como lo señaló recientemente Pablo Alvarado, presidente de la Red Nacional de Jornaleros (National Day Laborers' Organizing Network).

A través de sus incontables actos de desobediencia civil, su amplia actividad organizativa en comunidades y escuelas, su acercamiento eficaz a los medios de comunicación, su creación de coaliciones estratégicas con sindicatos y organizaciones en pro de los migrantes y su cabildeo en el Capitolio y la Casa Blanca, las soñadoras y soñadores han demostrado que pertenecen a una tradición política característicamente estadounidense, una tradición que se remonta al nacimiento de nuestra nación y que está grabada en la Primera Enmienda de nuestra Constitución: "el derecho del pueblo para reunirse pacíficamente y para pedir al gobierno la reparación de agravios".

Pero como reiteré en la convención anual del Consejo Nacional de La Raza (National Council of La Raza) en julio pasado -y como las soñadoras y soñadores bien saben-- la orden directiva del Presidente Obama representa solo uno de varios pasos por el buen camino hacia una reforma migratoria integral.

Aún queda mucho trabajo por hacer para asegurarnos de que todo esfuerzo sea debidamente recompensado y de que el sueño americano siga al alcance de todos y cada uno de nosotros. Debemos estar tan enfocados, organizados e implacables como las soñadoras y soñadores.

Como dice Neidi, refiriéndose a su experiencia como soñadora antes de la orden ejecutiva: "Antes que nada, siempre tienes que creer en ti mismo. Mucha gente me dijo 'no' y 'estás loca' en el camino, pero nunca me di por vencida".

He escuchado a una estadounidense hablar.

Freedom Isn't Free

2012-07-03T08:24:09-04:00

As Independence Day approaches, I've been thinking about that iconic American saying, "Freedom Isn't Free."

Usually it refers to the sacrifice of the men and women who serve in the military and their families -- and it's especially poignant now that Iraq- and Afghanistan-era vets are facing a 12.7 percent unemployment rate. (For a bright note, take a look at some of those vets rebuilding the World Trade Center after being trained in construction trades through an innovative union effort.)

I do believe that freedom isn't free -- but today the corporate and political right wing is trying to cheapen this truly American value. They've been cynically using the word "freedom" to rally the American public against its own best interests.

When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, Sarah Palin tweeted, "Obama lies; freedom dies."

She's referring, I guess, to the freedom to go without health care when you're sick.

In its otherwise positive decision, the Supreme Court gave states the "freedom" to deny Medicaid coverage to their poorest residents -- even though the federal government would pick up the tab.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker received the National Rifle Association's "Defender of Freedom" award recently. I guess they meant Gov. Walker is defending teachers' freedom from joining with coworkers to bargain fairly about things like class size.

Time after time we're told corporations should have freedom from pesky job safety regulations, environmental protections and labor standards -- giving working people the freedom to be crushed in collapsing mines, choke on filthy air and get paid too little to live on.

When politicians on the right talk about the "freedom" to replace Social Security with vouchers, what they really mean is freedom from a secure retirement income. The "freedom" to get vouchers for retraining is actually freedom from unemployment compensation's safety net when your job is shipped overseas.

The "freedom" of cutting local government translates into the freedom from having the help of a cop or a firefighter or EMS tech in your time of greatest need.

Let's call this right-wing "freedom" catch phrase what it really is: a grossly political strategy to dupe the public, which holds the word "freedom" as something sacred.

This Independence Day, I say let's go back to a truer use of the word "freedom." Let's start with President Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. I would add the freedom to bargain collectively.

Those freedoms are under attack today. We all will pay a heavy price if we don't stand up and fight for them.

Is Walmart Too Big, Powerful, Influential to Obey the Law?

2012-04-26T12:10:16-04:00

This week's reports from the New York Times about Walmart's practices in Mexico are breathtaking. The Times found "credible evidence that bribery played a persistent and significant role in Walmart's rapid growth in Mexico." The Times interviewed an executive of Walmart's Mexican subsidiary who "bought zoning approvals and reductions in environmental impact fees." According to the New York Times, when lawyers for Walmart discovered this activity and informed senior management, then Walmart CEO Lee Scott ordered Walmart's internal investigative protocols revised to give the targets of internal investigations more control over those same investigations. The specific reports about conduct in Mexico were ignored, the executives involved were promoted and a senior in-house lawyer who objected subsequently left Walmart. The apparent result was that Walmart grew dramatically in Mexico at the expense of its Mexican competitors, leading to Mexico becoming Walmart's second largest market after the United States. The executive identified in Walmart's in-house investigator's notes as "most responsible" was promoted to head of all U.S. Walmart stores.

Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, it is a crime for a U.S. company to bribe an official of a foreign government -- just as it is a crime to bribe an official of the United States government. It is also a crime in Mexico to bribe an official of the Mexican government. And bear in mind that the Times story does not describe the acts of isolated individuals -- it describes conduct and elaborate efforts to suppress the results of internal investigation of that conduct involving multiple top executives over a period of years. In other words, the New York Times story describes "credible evidence" of criminal activity and the willful neglect of criminal activity involving individuals at the highest levels of one of America's largest corporations.

Nothing like this has happened since the collapse of Enron and Worldcom in 2002. And Walmart is of course a more important company than either Enron or Worldcom. Walmart is the largest private employer in the United States. And in the days since the Times story appeared, the Washington Post has reported that Walmart has participated in an aggressive lobbying campaign to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which makes bribing foreign officials a crime.

Breathtaking, yes. Yet not a total surprise to Walmart employees in the U.S. or Mexico. Walmart workers know that Walmart is indifferent to the law -- that is the lesson of a trail of employee harassment and fired union activists in the U.S. and Canada. And in Mexico, employees work under protection contracts with company-controlled "unions" that ensure the company will maintain low wages and prevent workers from organizing a legitimate union.

But this story has a number of other lessons that all Americans need to understand, lessons about even more than Walmart.

First, the Walmart episode shows the utter futility of expecting large corporations, their boards and their law firms to police themselves. Over the last 10 years, Walmart has spent many millions of dollars trying to persuade investors and policy makers that it is a responsible corporate actor -- with internal checks on improper behavior. The Times report reveals all of this as so many fairy stories -- behind which is a strategy for corporate growth that appears to have relied on bribery.

Second, this episode reveals the tragic folly of NAFTA. When NAFTA was passed in 1994, many in Mexico hoped NAFTA would lead to their country shedding a legacy of public corruption and becoming more like the United States in terms of rule of law. This expectation was right in that it flowed from an understanding that a free trade agreement means economic and legal integration. But it naively assumed that rule of law would win out. Instead, NAFTA has been a race to the bottom in every respect -- including rule of law. U.S. firms like Walmart did not want a North America where the rule of law applied to big corporations -- they wanted a legal system that was for sale both in Mexico and the United States. And so far that's what it appears they got.

Third, who were the losers in Walmart's Mexican business-as-bribery strategy? It appears the losers were Mexicans -- Mexican retailers who could not outbid Walmart, Mexican citizens who saw their environmental laws ignored. The inevitable next question is: Are we too going to be losers in that the rule of law will be undermined in the United States when we decide Walmart is too big, too powerful, too influential to have to obey the law?

That question is now before the bodies responsible for enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act -- the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department -- and ultimately the courts. The federal statute book is clear -- it is a crime for a U.S. corporation to bribe an official of a foreign government. The U.S. code is also clear that it is illegal to fire a worker for trying to form a union. Walmart has gotten away with violating our labor laws en masse for decades. Will they be able to similarly ignore our criminal laws and get away with it? If they do, we will know that NAFTA has succeeded not only in lowering living standards on both sides of the border, but in destroying the rule of law.

The Lessons of Ohio

2011-11-16T09:33:57-05:00

"Remember Ohio." Those two words should carry new meaning to politicians in Congress and state houses who think they can respond to unemployment, budget crises and voter anger with faux solutions that serve up red meat to their right-wing base.

With their now-famous rejection of a state law limiting public employees' right to bargain collectively, Ohio voters sent this emphatic reminder to Republicans (and some Democrats as well): Cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires, scapegoating working Americans and their unions and downsizing Social Security and Medicare may get you a standing ovation from the 1%, but the voters who decide elections will not be fooled -- and you may just get more than you bargained for.

Four lessons to remember from Ohio:

1. 2010 didn't mean what you think.

Challengers in the 2010 mid-term elections benefited from a formidable current for change, but the change voters wanted was a solution to the economy and the jobs crisis--not political maneuvers and overreach. Keep in mind, too, that voter turnout in mid-term elections is unrepresentatively low: Fewer votes were cast to elect John Kasich governor in 2010 than were cast last week to defeat SB5, the anti-worker law pushed forward by the governor and the Republican majority in the state legislature.

Across the board, voters in the Buckeye state said the anti-worker law "was not the kind of change Ohio was looking for in 2010," according to a post-election survey conducted by Hart Research for the AFL-CIO.

Voters, in fact, are more leery than ever of partisan games. Ohio voters said they perceived the law as a political maneuver by Gov. Kasich and state Republicans to weaken labor unions (53%) rather than a genuine effort to make state government more efficient (33%).

Just as Ohioans voted down the anti-worker law, voters in other states rejected right-wing overreach, defeating a Maine law prohibiting a same-day voter registration law that had been in effect for almost 40 years and recalling the state senate president in Arizona, who had championed the state's anti-immigrant law.

2. In 2011 and 2012, fronting for the 1% is a nonstarter.

Remember, 2011 is not 2010, and politics in 2012 will evolve even more. Give credit to the Occupy Wall Street movement (and historic inequality) for redefining the political narrative.

Fifty-six percent of Ohio voters in the Hart survey agreed that Kasich and his allies "are putting the interests of big corporations ahead of average working people."

These attitudes are widely shared by the swing voters who supported President Obama in 2008 but elected Republican governors and U.S. representatives in 2010--and will decide the presidential and congressional elections in 2012. They're working Americans with modest incomes, moderate views and little patience for policies that aren't fair and don't work.

More than 26 percent of 2010 Kasich voters, in fact, were part of the overall 61 percent majority who rejected the limits on collective bargaining.

This sea change was strongest among voters in the middle of the economic and ideological spectrums. Yes, public employees, union members, Democrats and liberals voted overwhelmingly against the controversial law. But they were joined by definitive majorities of voters from households with no public employee, workers without union representation and independents, as well as 30 percent of Republicans and 36 percent of conservatives.

3. The myth of the pampered public employee has been busted.

The demonization of public employees is neither a strategy nor a solution and the heartland Americans who voted last week to restore rights for public employees understood that. Public employees didn't cause the economic crisis and they're not the enemy. They're our neighbors and our friends, mainstays of the working middle class, and the services they provide--from police and fire protection to education, health care and environmental protection--are essential to the economy and our quality of life.

And yes, taking away the right to bargain collectively in the public sector, which maintains standards at a time when the private sector is running away from them, will lower living standards for everybody.

Voters in the Hart poll said the anti-worker law would have a mainly negative rather than positive impact on the state's middle class. The attack on public employees would be more harmful than helpful to wages and benefits for all Ohio workers, they said (by a 20 point margin), to public safety (by 21 points), to public education (by 14 points) and to jobs and the economy (by 12 points).

4. Working people joined together will win.

Firefighters, teachers and other public employees were joined by plumbers and pilots and all kinds of private-sector employees to win. Worker to worker, neighbor to neighbor, the message spread, and what began as an attempt to divide workers flopped famously. In the end, working people's solidarity was the message.

Lest there be any doubt, voters in Ohio showed that when fundamental rights and livelihoods are targeted, working people will not only defend themselves, but come back stronger. Conversely, when politicians listen to and champion working people, they can win.

The 2011 elections are over, but their lessons are lasting. Rather than pander to economic elites and an ideological fringe, public officials and office-seekers who want to be winners this time next year should support public policies for the 99 percent--policies that create jobs, invest in America's future, safeguard Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and promote fiscal sanity at the federal and state levels by requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.

At a time of near-double-digit unemployment and growing concerns about economic insecurity and inequality, the overwhelming majority of Americans are seeking solutions, not scapegoats.

It's time for politicians to listen.

Protecting America's Innovative Advantage

2011-04-27T13:26:25-04:00

Co-authored by Richard L. Trumka and Deborah L. Wince-Smith

Tuesday, April 26, was World Intellectual Property Day. The theme of this year's celebration -- Designing the Future -- emphasized the critical role that ideas play in the development of solutions to the challenges of the 21st century, such as combating climate change, enhancing agricultural productivity, and finding cures for medical ailments.

From California's Silicon Valley to Texas' Clean Energy Incubator to the Biotech Beltway around Washington, D.C., the United States is the world leader in innovative products and services. The continued competitive strengths of our innovative sectors lie in the ongoing generation of new ideas, new products, new services, and new business models.

Sustaining innovation, however, requires an environment in which the knowhow, proprietary information and technologies, copyrights, patents, and other forms of intellectual property (IP) created by innovators are protected from piracy, counterfeiting, forced transfers and other harmful measures both at home and abroad.

American workers have a legitimate right to benefit from their hard work and talents. American companies have a similar right to benefit from their investments of financial and human capital. And American researchers, scientists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs have a right to benefit from their inventions and creative products. This is why robust laws and enforcement measures to protect IP and implementation of fair innovation policies around the world are priorities for all of us -- business, labor, academia, and government.

IP theft hurts everyone. Counterfeits today include movies, music, software, and fashion. They also include fake pharmaceuticals, fake automotive brakes and tires, and even fake airplane parts. Producers of genuine items or services inevitably lose sales and, as a consequence, workers lose their jobs. Consumers and their families are at risk because counterfeit products are by their very nature unregulated and thus, in many cases unsafe. And governments lose tax revenue. The value of American IP is estimated to be over $5 trillion; hence, IP theft also threatens America's economic security. Unless we act quickly, the harm to our economy in terms of American exports, jobs, and our ability to innovate will continue to worsen.

In March 2010, President Obama set an ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years to support two million new American jobs. In order to increase net exports and promote high-quality, high-paying job growth at home, we must protect America's greatest asset -- our creativity and ability to innovate. Our economic recovery and capacity to create jobs is increasingly dependent on the exports of IP-intensive industries -- such as medical equipment, entertainment products, computers and electronics, and information software. These businesses have accounted for 60 percent of U.S. exports in recent years.

According to the World Trade Organization, the United States ranks third in world merchandise exports, just behind Germany and China. However, factoring in services exports, such as research and development and computer services, U.S. exports have a higher value than any other country, totaling $1.5 trillion in 2009. IP-intensive goods and services are America's strongest competitive advantage.

Countless American jobs can be attributed to the ideas and innovations of our companies and citizens. Innovative industries employ over 18 million Americans and produce jobs at all skill levels. On average, IP-intensive industry employees earn almost 1.6 times more than their counterparts in non-IP-intensive industries. But to create new jobs in industries such as information technology, movies, pharmaceuticals, and clean technology we need to protect incentives to innovate.

IP is the global currency of innovation. Without adequate safeguards there is little or no incentive for companies to commit large sums of capital or creative energy to new products or services. Copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets support creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation -- key drivers of domestic and global economic growth. A World Bank study of 92 countries over the period of 1960-2000 found that a 20 percent increase in the annual number of patents granted was associated with an increase of 3.8 percent in output. The direct issuance of patents, fostered and protected by stronger IP rights regimes, stimulates economic growth.

American IP and, consequently, exports and jobs are threatened not only by piracy but also certain foreign government policies that would force innovative companies to develop and register IP in their markets as a precondition of doing business with their government entities. China's proposed indigenous innovation requirements are an example of such policies. China agreed that it would not link its innovation polices to government procurement preferences during President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States in January. Implementation of this commitment is critical given that more than half of American high-tech companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in China reported that indigenous innovation requirements would negatively impact their businesses in the region once the policy was fully implemented. While we have focused on China here, it is important to emphasize that adherence to non-discriminatory innovation policies and IP enforcement improvements are necessary in many other nations as well.

Jobs, exports, and innovation are all connected to one another and to IP development. This is why we are encouraging and indeed insisting that all nations take tough positions against the theft of IP and reject policies that force foreign businesses to transfer their rights IP as a condition for doing business in a new market. The future of our economy and millions of American jobs depend on the vigorous protection of IP -- which is why this is a top economic and, increasingly, foreign policy priority for us.

by Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs
Richard L. Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO
Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness

Today's Heroes: The Wisconsin 14

2011-03-04T21:25:31-05:00

For anyone who still thinks the inspiring actions in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana are just about public employees in those states, here's a moving dose of reality.

People in every walk of life and every part of the country -- even other countries -- are expressing heartfelt gratitude to the 14 Democratic state senators who left Wisconsin Feb. 17 rather than allow Gov. Scott Walker to pass a sham budget bill taking from state and local workers the right to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

Gov. Walker and state Republicans may be sending them $100-a-day fines and arrest warrants, but take a look at some Facebook and phone messages real people are sending the brave Wisconsin 14:

"I've got 20 plus years in in Department of Corrections and I myself have walked through the halls of hell literally... I've dealt with escapes, fire, suicides, Jeffrey Dahmer... In my opinion, the 14 of you are clearly as big American heroes as those who are dying in the war overseas right now."
"Today I will start tithing 1 percent every day of my daily income for your re-election campaigns!"
"I was taught to either stand for something or fall for anything... Thank you for setting a great example!"
"My parents in northern Illinois would be glad to feed you a home-cooked meal -- just drop me a note and I'll put you in touch."
"History will look back on you not only as heroes of the American working class but also as patriots in the purest form as inspired by the founding fathers of this country."
"Keep up the good work, and if you need $100 -- any one of you -- I am, definitely, willing to sacrifice Benjamin Franklin to keep you guys out of state until this situation is over."
"As a social worker in Wisconsin barely able to pay my own bills on my income, I want to say Thank You to all of you... I see first-hand what happens when services are cut and people are unable to get the services they need--the stress, the homelessness, the inability to get mental health or health services in general and the revolving door of our horrible "justice" system. It's horrible. Please keep up the fight."
"I have never taken a stand before but now I do, with all 14 of you!"
"You are what democracy is all about!"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please know how much the citizens of Wisconsin understand your sacrifices in leaving your homes, families and constituents to do the right thing and stop this ridiculous budget 'repair' bill. You give us hope!"
"Thank you all for the guts you have shown throughout this time. I believe the story of the Wisconsin 14 will go down in history."
"Muchas gracias."
"Thank you all from Canada. We believe in free collective bargaining. It is a human right and courageous folks like you and the protesters make us all proud!"
"Thank you from your neighbors in Minnesota who were only 8,500 votes away from being in the same situation had we not elected Mark Dayton."
"I have never been more proud of a group of men and women..."
"You are the heroes of the whole nation. This is not only about middle-class union workers, it is about all of us."
"Finally, politicians who stand for something they truly believe in."
"I'm a little choked up here because I realize the sacrifice that you are making. They put the pressure on you. They're trying to turn the screws on you. I appreciate your courage. Your vision... And the backbone that you're showing."
"Sorry you're away from your families, but because of your efforts we all hopefully have better family lives."
"You are on the right side of history."
"I'm down at the capitol right now. I am a retiree. I've been here every day at least twice a day. I have other things to do... like our 14 senators do. But this is the most important thing that's happened in Wisconsin in my life. I'll be 70 in September... God bless and keep you always."

Let me add my thanks and my admiration for the Wisconsin state legislators -- and those from Indiana -- who have left home and are living out of suitcases for weeks to do the people's work.

This Isn't Deficit Control. It's Assault.

2011-02-16T09:17:05-05:00

No job safety inspections while inspectors are furloughed for up to three months. No food safety inspections while inspectors are off the job for more than a month. Ten thousand teachers and aides cut from struggling schools and 7,000 special education teachers and staff gone. State and local job training and employment services phased out for up to 8 million workers. Medicare and Social Security operations crippled. Fewer local police officers. Wall Street reform stymied. Policing of the financial practices that sank our economy gutted. More than 340,000 transportation jobs killed.

I could go on and on and on for a dozen pages listing the real-world effects of the outrageously unworkable FY 2011 budget cuts House Republicans are trying to pass right now.

This isn't "fiscal responsibility" or "deficit control." It's about the most bald-faced assault on America's middle class I've ever seen -- and clear political payback to CEOs who poured millions into the 2010 elections. CEOs don't like job safety regulations, so the politicians they elected are trying to cut the funding and fire the inspectors. CEOs don't want environmental safeguards, energy improvements or curbs on health insurance companies, so their politicians are pushing to just defund the programs.

The team of Wall Street CEOs and the politicians they support dug a massive deficit hole by tanking the economy and handing massive tax cuts to the very rich. Now they're throwing the middle class into that hole and shoveling on the dirt.

To the voting public, the 2010 election was about one thing: Jobs. And jobs are still their top concern. But instead of creating jobs, the House Republicans' slash-and-burn campaign would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and destroy services ordinary Americans rely on every day. Meanwhile, CEOs who enjoy record profits and huge bonuses aren't being asked to sacrifice a damn thing--and the politicians pushing these cuts are secure in their taxpayer-funded pay and benefits.

Cuts of the magnitude the House Republicans propose for the remainder of this fiscal year would propel us squarely in the wrong direction -- toward an America we do not want to be.

This federal budget madness echoes pound-foolish actions we're seeing in state after state, where Republican legislators and governors elected with lucrative CEO support are ignoring the jobs crisis and playing politics as usual with the lives of working families. Govs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio are determined to end collective bargaining for public employees and deflate good middle-class jobs -- Walker is so determined he's threatened to call out the National Guard to enforce his will. It doesn't matter that definitive studies have shown public employees are paid less than comparable private-sector workers. It doesn't matter that we rely on public employees to care for us when we're ill or in danger, teach our children and keep our communities running. Reality doesn't seem to matter to any of these characters.

The attack on public employees in Indiana actually would make it illegal for them to try to organize unions. The Indiana politicians aren't just after government workers -- they've also got it in for building trades workers. You know -- the people whose skills and training means they build offices and highways and bridges that are safe for you. State attacks on building trades workers aim to allow unscrupulous contractors to get richer by low-balling bids for government projects and using less-qualified workers to do the job.

How far will this craziness go? How about repealing child labor laws? A Missouri state senator, Jane Cunningham (R), has introduced a bill to eliminate prohibitions on employing children younger than 14 and end limits on the hours a child may work.

The most frightening thing about these radical proposals may be that they move the bar on reasonable political action. In today's atmosphere of bipartisan compromise at any cost, even the most outrageous assault on working people makes it more likely we'll see a final "compromise" that's devastating.

If there ever was a time for working men and women to become politically active at every level of government, it's now. If there ever was a time to do all we can to save this fragile economic recovery, it's now. And if there ever was a time to fight against wrong-headed, scorched-earth attacks and for good jobs, investments in our future, the basic health and safety protections we rely on and the Social Security and Medicare our seniors worked a lifetime to earn, it's now.