Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Gun Control Issue from the Wisconsin AFL-CIO's Report on the Right Wing

Gun Control Issue from the Wisconsin AFL-CIO's Report on the Right Wing


The Right also sees the gun control issue as a means to divert workers from voting according to their economic interests and that of their families. The Right sees it as a particularly clever way to prevent workers from following the candidate endorsements of their union, which are made based on economic interests of the members. Neal Knox, a former head of the National Rife Association (NRA), said as much:
"[The gun issue] is the one thing that will spin the blue-collar union member away from his union."26
The NRA conducted a massive get-out-the-vote effort on behalf of George W. Bush. Chuck Cunningham, a former director of voter education for the Christian Coalition, led that effort for the NRA. Before working for Christian Coalition, Cunningham was executive director of the anti-union New England Citizens for Right-to-Work.27

Charlton Heston, former president of the NRA, supported the National Right-to-Work Committee in 1994 when it lobbied Congress to defeat S.55 / H.R.5 Anti-Strikebreaker Bill. This would have prohibited employers from permanently replacing striking workers (an act which is illegal in other industrialized countries). Heston appealed to union members to "put freedom first" and support NRA-endorsed candidates, and yet the right to strike is a most basic and essential freedom. Heston personally appealed to members of Congress to defeat pro-worker legislation that would prohibit strikebreakers and produced a video on behalf of the National Right-to-Work Committee, which called him their "world famous ally."28

In 1996, Charlton Heston championed the most serious threat to the very existence of labor unions. He assisted the National Right-to-Work Committee in a $260,000 ad campaign to lobby Congress to pass a National Right-to-Work Bill which had been introduced.29 Right-to-Work legislation would prohibit unions from negotiating any union security clause in their contracts. Union membership would be totally voluntary, though all workers must receive the wages and benefits negotiated in the union contract and they must be legally represented in any grievances. It has nothing to do with a right to work, but is part of a larger corporate strategy to financially weaken and eventually eliminate unions. Now deceased, Heston was a very effective spokesman for the NRA in distracting workers from the Right’s real agenda.

The report points out:
  • The American Right, as it has evolved over the past four decades, is determined to undo all the progress made on behalf of the working class and middle class since the 1930s. This is when President Franklin Roosevelt responded to the misery of the Great Depression, and a vocal movement on the Left, to vastly expand the role of government to serve the people. He created a legal framework for union organizing and collective bargaining through the National Labor Relations Act, formed reliable economic support programs such as Social Security, and regulated business to protect the common good. Ever since, the Right has been on a campaign to demonize government and erode public confidence in its ability to have a meaningful impact in their lives. This is because the people are defenseless in the face of corporate power without government as an ally to protect their interests. 
  • Over the last 40 years the Right has been transformed from small fringe groups of John Birch Society zealots and ineffective Goldwater-type politicians, into a powerful anti-worker, anti-progressive movement to enhance corporate power. The American Right of today has an extensive political infrastructure that  is immensely more sophisticated and well-funded than at any period in our country’s history.
  • Corporate America could care less about gun control, traditional family values or abortion (or the latest useful single issue-of-the-day), nor does it feel totally comfortable with the extremism of the religious front for the Right, but the overall movement serves corporate economic interests perfectly.
  •   The Right has developed an extensive infrastructure of national and state-level think tanks, legal advocacy groups, magazines, columnists, social media, its own Fox TV network and conservative commentators. They are magnified by the numerous conservative radio talk shows which create an "echo chamber" and give a false impression there is a public mandate for Right Wing policies.
  •  The opinion of any individual on a given issue should be respected. However, unions have a duty to represent workers’ economic interests and inform members of any threats to those interests. Members must be alerted to the Right’s "bait and switch" tactics -- the use of certain single issues and religious faith to distract voters from the Right’s anti-worker, anti-union, anti-democratic political agenda. All voters must understand that it is dangerous to make a decision about a candidate based on a single issue, given that a movement hostile to middle class and working class economic interests is cynically manipulating emotional issues.
  •  Ideas have consequences. The Right aims to repeal decades of progress in improving labor standards, civil rights, environmental and consumer protection, women’s status, gay rights, public education and economic support programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.). The very existence of unions as effective organizations to represent the economic interests of working families is threatened. This is a sophisticated, determined, corporate-funded Right Wing movement that will not automatically be swept back by some hoped-for political pendulum. It will not dissipate on its own. It needs to be challenged and defeated.

Footnotes:
26. "The NRA Wants You", The Nation, May 29, 2000.
27. The Nation, May 29, 2000; “The Right Wing and Labor”, UAW Solidarity, September 1995.
28. National Right to Work Committee Newsletter, July 1994; “Right to Work Targets Senators in Campaign to Defeat S55”, Labor Relations Week, May 25, 1994; Group Research Report, June 1994.
29. “Reject ‘Right to Work’ Bill” editorial in Capital Times, July 9, 1996.

15 comments:

  1. Seems to me then that all the lefty pro-union candidates need to do is be pro-gun.

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    1. Sorry, wait for an upcoming post where it turns out this is a loser for the right.

      When the average American knows at least one person who has been a victim of "gun violence", that is yet another stupid comment.

      Anyway, you missed the most important part:

      Corporate America could care less about gun control, traditional family values or abortion (or the latest useful single issue-of-the-day), nor does it feel totally comfortable with the extremism of the religious front for the Right, but the overall movement serves corporate economic interests perfectly.

      So, it seems pretty obvious that you probably didn't quite get what this was all about.

      So, go back to your pasture and eat some grass--that's what sheep do best.

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    2. I didn't miss your point. I just pointed out that if they are using the overwhelmingly popular position of gun rights against these candidates for the purpose of pushing their other agenda, then those candidates can completely disarm the opposition by being pro-gun rights themselves. Problem solved.

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  2. Laci - do you think a person should be forced to join a union in order to work for a company? Do you think it is wrong for the right to try to persuade union members to vote for them?

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  3. Jim F:

    Are you a big fan of Walmart? They actively work against union organization, in violation of U.S. law. Perhaps your need to get shit cheap (and yes, a lot of it IS shit) outweighs your need to think for yourself.

    It's never wrong to attempt to persuade people to adopt your beliefs, no matter how harebrained they might be. What is wrong is to simply fucking lie about shit and make stuff up. The latter is a feature, not a bug, of GOP strategery.

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  4. Demo - since you answered the second question I will ask you the first questions again. Should someone be forced to join a union in order to work for a company?

    And yes - I do like Walmart. I shop there if they have what I want at a price that I am willing to pay. But I do alot of shopping online since I can avoid paying sales tax and therefore typically find lower prices online. I am not sure how my shopping for a bargain equates to not needing to think for myself.

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    1. Jim, do you like having paid holidays, decent working hours, decent working conditions, and protection from abusive bosses?

      I certainly don't think workers should be forced to join a union. On the other hand, I don't think bosses should be able to prevent workers from being able to organise either.

      Jim, do you like the services that your tax dollars provide, or are you just a libertarian leech? Seriously, do you make a contribution to society, or are you just an asswipe who wants it all without contributing to the pot?

      It's kinda too bad that the US has a toleration for assholes like you who want to avoid their taxes. Any luck, the US will be the next Greece.

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    2. BTW, see this policy paper on Unions before you criticise them.

      This paper has presented evidence on some of the advantages that unionized workers enjoy as the result of union organization and collective bargaining: higher wages; more and better benefits; more effective utilization of social insurance programs; and more effective enforcement of legislated labor protections such as safety, health, and overtime regulations. Unions also set pay standards and practices that raise the wages of nonunionized workers in occupations and industries where there is a strong union presence. Collective bargaining fuels innovations in wages, benefits, and work practices that affect both unionized and nonunionized workers.

      However, this review does not paint a full picture of the role of unions in workers lives, as unions enable due process in the workplace and facilitate a strong worker voice in the broader community and in politics. Many observers have stated, correctly, that a strong labor movement is essential to a thriving democracy.

      Nor does this review address how unionism and collective bargaining affect individual firms and the economy more generally. Analyses of the union effect on firms and the economy have generally found unions to be a positive force, improving the performance of firms and contributing to economic growth (Freeman and Medoff 1984; Mishel and Voos 1992; Belman 1992; Belman and Block 2002; Stiglitz 2000; Freeman and Kleiner 1999; Hristus and Laroche 2003; with a dissenting view in Hirsch 1997). There is nothing in the extensive economic analysis of unions to suggest that there are economic costs that offset the positive union impact on the wages, benefits, and labor protections of unionized and nonunionized workers. Unions not only improve workers’ benefits, they also contribute to due process and provide a democratic voice for workers at the workplace and in the larger society.

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    3. "Jim, do you like having paid holidays, decent working hours, decent working conditions, and protection from abusive bosses?"

      Well since I am co-owner of my own small business I technically do not get paid holidays. The working hours are whatever I need to work until it is done. The conditions are whatever I can afford to provide. My father-in-law is my co-owner/boss so he is not too abusive because his daughter would complain.

      Now for our employees we provide medical insurance - for now at least, let me see what the premium goes up to when renewal time comes up - a Simple IRA retirement plan where we match a portion of their contributions, hours are again whatever it takes to get the work done, they get paid holidays and vacation time, and the office space is all shared so their work conditions are the same as mine. Now we don't have a union (only 2 other employees right now) but we offer these benifits as a way to attract competent employees. I have no problem with people negotiating for better wages, better benifits, etc. If they are worth it, then someone will pay them what they expect. What I don't see is why just because one person proves to be worth more money then everyone in the shop should get more money.

      Owners of a company should be able to hire or fire anyone they wish (assuming they are legally permitted to work here) for whatever reason they wish. The wages paid should be negotiated between the person paying the wages and the person receiving the wages. Now if a group of people decide they are going to band together and only work if all of them are hired, then that is fine with me. They should not be able to block anyone that doesn't want to be a part of their group from taking their jobs. There is no reason a company should be forced to negotiate with a labor union if they feel they can hire new employees and keep the company running.

      As far as the taxes that I pay - I am willing to bet that I am directly responsible for more tax dollars being sent to the IRS than you are Laci. Trust me, I make the tax deposit each pay period for our company. Taking advantage of tax free internet shopping is not illegal or avoiding taxes. The government is free to step in and change the tax laws if they feel they need to.

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    4. 1. You'd be wrong about tax dollars sent to the IRS.

      2. You seem to fail to appreciate the role that unions have played in setting the norm for working standards. You are still obligated to conform to the natoinal (and possibly state) labor laws; it is not simply true of your hours that the working hours are 'whatever it takes until done', although that is another factor in those hours.

      3. You seem to fail to appreciate that businesses offering insurance was a benefit instituted to attract workers during a labor shortage in the 1940's, not part of any kind of rational and comprehensive approach to insurance.

      4. While costs for many small businesses SHOULD go down, even if they go up, they will go up much more slowly, and provide more coverage for those dollars than they did prior to the Affordable Care Act.
      In part this is due to a provision put into the legislation by our own Senator Al Franken - a very very smart man, who has exceeded my wildest hopes of him as a Senator. What Franken put into the legislation was a requirement that insurance companies spend a minimum of 80% of the premium on actual health care rather than on overhead, executive salaries, corporate junkets, etc.

      You can hire people as at will employees; there are still very good restrictions on things for which you cannot legally fire them however - like certain kinds of discrimination.

      The government DOES need to step in and change a variety of laws, not just taxes, relating to business - for your good, for your employee's good, and for the country's good. Smarten up.

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    5. Question--why are you the owner of a small business?
      What service do you provide?

      How do you afford a "vacation" if you don't "earn" enough to have such a thing. You are probably categorising this in a different way. But it amount to being able to time off.

      Oh, gonna see how has a bigger paycheque? You really want to play that game with me, Jimbo? Don't go there...

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    6. BTW, Jim, I believe you said you were some form of Engineer?

      Do you have any government contracts (local, state, regional, or federal)?

      When government services and contracts are cut back--does that impact "your" (Seems there's a bit of nepotism here) business?

      If you do, you shouldn't be complaining about taxes.

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    7. "4. While costs for many small businesses SHOULD go down, even if they go up, they will go up much more slowly, and provide more coverage for those dollars than they did prior to the Affordable Care Act.
      In part this is due to a provision put into the legislation by our own Senator Al Franken - a very very smart man, who has exceeded my wildest hopes of him as a Senator. What Franken put into the legislation was a requirement that insurance companies spend a minimum of 80% of the premium on actual health care rather than on overhead, executive salaries, corporate junkets, etc."

      We already received our notice for this year that we will not get a refund on our policy as BCBS did spend the required 80% on healthcare. And it is not 80% of our premium for our healthcare, it is 80% of all premiums collected from "small" businesses must be used to pay for healthcare services for all of their insured "small" business members. So my particular office could be the epitome of good health and not use anything but our "free" annual check-up - we still will not get a refund on the policy. It may take until 2014 when all of the provisions kick in, but I expect a rather large increase in my premiums over the next couple of years.

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    8. Slow day at work, eh, Jim?

      It must be nice being the boss's son-in-law, er, "co-owner".

      Problem is that there isn't single payer in the USA, and probably won't be. I'm sure you'd find that any "premiums" would go down significantly if there were.

      But, you've been propagandized into believing that "obamacare" is in some way "socialist", when it's really just corporate welfare.

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  5. "But I do alot of shopping online since I can avoid paying sales tax and therefore typically find lower prices online. I am not sure how my shopping for a bargain equates to not needing to think for myself."

    Jim, howzabout you tell us what state you live in? Better yet, show us a letter from your state's department of revenue/taxation backing up your assertion that shopping online to avoid taxes is SMART and LEGAL.

    Walmart is THE Cadillac drivin' welfare queen if there ever was one. The Walton's and Walmart's directors and executives make $B's in profits and dividends every year while the bulk of their workforce is uninsured or underinsured. People working at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, TJ Maxx and dozens of other big box stores can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. That seems to appeal to a guy like you. Use them like toilet tissue and flush them when they outlive their usefullnes.

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