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The right to work . . . on Labor Day
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Labor Day means different things to different people. To many,
it means a well-deserved day off from school or, with luck, work.
Traditionally it has been a holiday that was created by the labor
movement preceding the “Progressive Era” as dedication
to the social and economic achievements of American workers,
without which our prosperous country wouldn’t exist.
Americans work more hours per year than workers in any other
country in the developed world. And for that, stores will remain
open and countless Americans will work shifts during Labor Day for
much-needed income, despite the day’s intended
significance.
George W. Bush, who has taken more vacation time in less then
one term than any other president in history, will be spending
Labor Day working to raise money in Ohio for his re-election
campaign – not addressing our serious economic concerns and
trying to assuage them.
Last week in Minnesota he raised $1.4 million by giving one of
his famous, unintelligible, Rovian speeches (24 tedious minutes in
length). That comes out to about $60,000 per minute of
“work.” Meanwhile, the weekly salary of the average
American hangs somewhere around the $600 mark.
Here in Idaho, workers have to deal with the ailing economy,
coupled with the suffocating hold of the egregiously nonsensical
Right-to-Work laws that the state legislature swallowed like
cyanide 17 years ago.
RTW laws are state constitutional provisions that forbid the
practice of the “compulsory” financing of unions at
places of work. Sounds fair, doesn’t it? However, there were
already-existing federal laws that protect workers who choose not
to belong to unions. Where is the compulsion?
Currently 22 states – overwhelmingly former confederate and
western states – have official RTW status, with several more states
pending on the pro-big business to-do list. RTW laws decrease wages
for everyone by undermining unions and diminishing workers’
right to organize for collective bargaining, which results in lots
of people competing with each other for impossibly low low-wage
jobs. Without unions and collective bargaining there would be no
minimum wage, no 40-hour workweek (which is still too much), no
worker rights of any kind.
In RTW states the average worker makes almost $5,000 less a year
than the average worker in a free bargaining state ($26,998 and
$31,829 respectively). Some will contend, that the living expenses
are much lower in Boise than in a large metropolitan area like
Seattle, Washington (a non-RTW state), so the relative inequities
in wages even out. Although rent in Boise is generally lower than
in metropolitan areas like Seattle, utilities and other living
expenses are much higher.
Keep in mind that when wages fall, state income and sales tax
revenues fall. And that means that a state will have far less
funding available to finance education, transportation, and other
programs that are vital to attracting new industries and
businesses.
Pro-RTW logic asserts that Right-to-Work laws help to create new
employment. However, countless surveys show that most businesses
relocate to different states for various reasons – worker
availability, skills and productivity, the quality of a
community’s transportation infrastructure, the cost of
property, energy and housing, tax policies and incentives, the
quality of schools and training programs, proximity to markets and
the availability of financial and technological resources –
with RTW status not among them.
What are some reasons for a business to “globalize”
and relocate to, say, Mexico (such as General Motors)? Because of
the unbelievably cheap labor pool, the low or nonexistent taxes,
and the fact that they don’t have to legally provide benefits
and job security. What does that say about businesses who relocate
to RTW states solely because of RTW laws, considering wages are
substantially lower and unemployment rates higher in Right-to-Work
states.
The main driving force behind the RTW movement is the National
Right to Work foundation, a front for antiunion corporate fat cats
to promote their myopic, big business agenda. Here are some
examples of what the foundation considers unfair union influence:
minimum wage law, increased health care, right to collective
bargaining, right to strike, the election of pro-labor
representatives in the state Legislature and U.S. Congress. All
this is curiously reminiscent of the chaotic years of robber barons
during the late 19th century, when black Americans were effectively
re-enslaved, when unscrupulous corporations controlled and
speculated everything and workers had absolutely no protection, and
hundreds of thousands died as a result.
Since Bush took office, 2.5 million jobs have simply disappeared
and in the last year alone, more than 700,000 people have been
added to the long list of unemployed. So, whether you’re
working or having your buddies over for beer and BBQ, just be sure
to remember on Labor Day who the real workers are and who get all
the fruits of that labor. At least we can take comfort in knowing
that there will always be one man who supports Idaho’s
“Right–to–Work”– Sam Walton, the
vehemently antiunion billionaire and owner of the U.S.’
biggest employer that coincidentally boasts the
country’s worst labor record (Wal-Mart). Regardless of what
Ayn Rand says, we all do have the right to work – for more,
not less.
Justin Hurst
Columnist
The Arbiter