Heads of Organized Labor Sit Passively By as Big Business Politicians Burden Workers an

The Heads of Organized Labor Sit Passively By as Big Business Politicians Burden Workers and the Poor with Their Economic Crisis

BY: Richard Mellor
Member AFSCME Local 444
Oakland CA
7-28-03

The California State Senate has finally passed a budget in what the San Francisco Chronicle called "a rare Sunday night session". Sunday night sessions might be rare but the budget fiasco is business as usual for the people of California as the politicians of both parties shift the state's economic crisis on to the shoulders of workers and the middle class. "There is something in here for almost everyone to hate", says Senate President Pro-Tem John Burton, a Democrat. Not exactly true, John. The bankers, speculators and investors will do quite well.

"Democrats vowed they would not balance the budget on the backs of the poor, disabled and vulnerable" reports the Chronicle. That's nice of them. But the deal struck on this rare Sunday night session contains further cuts in education. Money for school maintenance, summer school and text books is being "slashed". Teachers, who already spend their own money on text books and student supplies won't get much help either. Some 16,000 state jobs will be eliminated and the big business politicians in Sacramento expect to save $1bn through re-negotiated compensation packages. This is on top of a tripling of vehicle registration fees. Isn't all this more like creating the poor?

Millionaire politician Burton is so dedicated to the people of California that he was willing to swallow his pride and put his signature on the dotted line. "This is not a budget to be proud of, but people expect us to pass a budget and the bills to be paid and this does that", says Burton. Don Perata, another Democrat from Oakland and so called friend of labor and the "poor, disabled and vulnerable" is so confident that Burton has faithfully fought the great fight for this group that he proclaims publicly, "If John Burton could vote for the budget, I could vote for it." Both these millionaire politicians would point to the great victory in the budget. Cost of living increases for elderly, blind and disabled recipients of Supplemental Security Income was maintained. So was funding for some Medi-Cal benefit programs such as hearing aids and speech therapy. With them, we starve on Friday instead of Thursday with their Republican friends.

This is the game the politicians of big business play as they plunder the state's resources and, when the business cycle turns against them, shift the crisis on to the backs of workers, the poor, young people and the disabled. The first victims are those without organizations to protect them like unionized workers. There is a lot at stake. California is the world's sixth largest economy and there is a lot of booty to be had. Like the good cop -bad cop scenario in the crime drama, the Democrats and Republicans, acting in the interests of the bankers, investors and others sections of the capitalist class, have to divide their opposition, the millions of working people who bear the brunt of this crisis ridden system.

They pit worker against worker, organized against unorganized, race against race, immigrant against native born. How else could they accomplish this robbery? It is not as if Californians or Americans in general are not aware of this treachery. Politicians are among the most hated group of people in the U.S. Americans are so disgusted with politicians that they draw the incorrect conclusion that all politics is bad.

This mood will be reinforced by another front-page headline in today's Chronicle right below the budget report: "Davis backers call Issa anti-gay" Darrell Issa is the Republican leading the effort to recall Gray Davis, California's Democratic governor. Both parties are scrambling to be the front runner in the daily robbery of California's working class. Politicians of both parties in the U.S. loath any discussion about the economic issues that are paramount so attempts to win the few votes that count are made through single issue politics; gun control, abortion, gay rights. Not that these issues are not important but they are used as a means of obscuring the class robbery and subsequent misery that takes places day in day out in capitalist society.

"Davis supporters went on the attack Sunday....", reports the Chronicle in reference to Issa's anti-gay views. How come the Democrats can't go on the attack when it comes to whether people will eat, go to school or have a roof over their head? Not to mention medical care. It's no wonder Californians, and American's in general hate politicians. It's a healthy class hatred really. Most Californians wouldn't give a damn if some politician was gay or not as long as they fought for their interests and produced the goods.

Given these dismal political choices Californians have opted out of the political process in large numbers. Voter turnout is extremely low and distaste for both parties has led to an increase in people registering as "decline to state" under party affiliation. In the last election for governor polls found that 54% of those surveyed weren't satisfied with either candidate.

The biggest criminals in this situation are the heads of organized labor. They continue to back Democratic politicians who have been abandoned by most workers and youth. The rise of the right is a direct result of the labor leadership refusing to offer an alternative to the lesser of two evils. It is hard for someone not in a union or a young person in a low aged job to see this given the labor leadership's friendship with those doing the damage to working people on a daily basis. But the trade union movement in California represents some 2 million workers. The California State Labor Federation, the state arm of the AFL-CIO has a bi-annual conference and all the big business politicians attend.

I have been at more than one of these conference where I have introduced resolutions for an independent trade union/community based workers party. All sorts of excuses are put forward by the labor leadership explaining why this is a bad idea. This is understandable; they wouldn't be able to blame the Democrats any more. Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, John Garamendi. They were all at these conferences as "friends of Labor" playing the same good cop roll making sure that the tremendous potential power of labor is kept at bay.

The labor leadership follow along, playing the game like champions, leading the labor movement down that political black hole that is the Democratic Party further demoralizing their members and workers as a whole who are offered no alternative but big business politicians, big business cuts and big business ideology.

The setbacks workers and the poor have borne over the last period were a direct result of the failure of the labor leaders to go on the offensive. The low expectations that workes have, the feeling that nothing can be won, that cuts have to be accepted. This is all a result of inaction, or, more accuratly, class collaboration, on the part of the labor leadership.

Even during the 90's boom when profits reached a forty year high the labor leaders failed to make significant gains for their members. The offensive of capital against working people has met some major defeats thanks to the efforts of the youth from Seattle to Genoa. While AFL-CIO head Sweeney was holding candlelight vigils and praying for a seat at the bosses table, the youth and sections of the union rank and file that they influenced prevented the leaders of world capitalism from having a good time and business as usual poltiics.

This movement was cut across by the events of Septemeber 11, but it will not go away. It will re-emerge stronger and those of us in the labor movement should welcome it and help draw it in to organized labor the working class communtiies. Then a real alternative to the likes of Burton and Perata can be built.