Today’s GOP

Another Perspective

Donald L. Foley, National Business Agent, retired

Are you a Republican? Because your father or your mother was? Because you view yourself as conservative? First let me ask, are you an American with the values I believe are held by most Americans? Most Americans are possessed of a deep desire to see the world of our children a better place than the world we grew up in. Most Americans are compassionate; we often favor the underdog. We feel a dedication to the idea that all men and women are created equal and ought not to be trampled upon by the wealthy and powerful. We believe avarice is a vice not a virtue and that each of us deserves to be protected from the powerful and avaricious. We expect protection from exploitation of ourselves, our fellow human beings and our land. We expect government to spend our tax dollars wisely and to protect us; we want good highways, good schools, real and adequate public services. We have a belief that every human being has a right to a decent standard of living, and to receive assistance in achieving that, if needed. We believe that poverty is an evil that an enlightened society can alleviate, and that everyone deserves adequate health care.

If you believe these things, either take back the Republican Party from those who have commandeered it to serve only the wealthy and powerful – or admit that the “Grand Old Party” can no longer represent you. But whatever you do, don’t believe for a minute that today’s GOP is a conservative party representing ordinary American citizens.

Today’s Republican Party is not the party that put Dwight Eisenhower into the White House – nor Richard Nixon nor, even, Bush No.1. It is not a conservative, fiscally responsible party dedicated to American values.

It’s not your father’s GOP. The Republican Party has apparently abandoned its old role as the voice of conservatism in America. You remember, the Democratic Party was the “liberal” side of American politics; the Republican Party was the “conservative” side. Two sides of one coin. Well, in case you have missed it that coin is now held exclusively by the Democratic Party. The Republicans, on the other hand, have been taken over by a radical element fully supported and manipulated by the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the world. The GOP proclaims the supremacy of the individual, as if that could create a civilized world.

Certainly, the allure of the lone individual carving out a homestead, a settlement, a business on his or her own – demonstrating strength of character and the ability to take advantage of opportunities that accrue from freedom – is attractive. But most of us know that those who strike out on their own, without help from anyone often barely eke out a living, struggle just to survive and often fail miserably. Most of us recognize that there is, indeed, strength in numbers; that humans are social animals who value the support of our families and of society in general; that it was a communal effort of thousands of individuals who joined together to form America as a nation. We recognize that we do not want to live in a dog-eat-dog world, having to compete for every scrap we can wrest from someone less fortunate. But that is exactly what today’s GOP offers America.

Led now by Mitt Rmoney, the GOP advocates a radical perversion of traditional American values. He and the Republican party advocate radical individualism that would only protect the richest and most avaricious. They claim that the wealthiest Americans and the corporations they run should be set free of burdensome taxation and regulation – and that this “freedom” would benefit the entire country. Unfortunately, there is simply no evidence to support the propaganda.

When the wealthiest and their corporations paid the highest taxes ever in the four decades after World War II, the country boomed and produced a vibrant “middle class” composed largely of ordinary working class Americans. The GOP’s darling Ronald Reagan began dismantling that and the “middle class” has spiraled down since then to a point, now, where it may soon not be populated by any ordinary working class Americans. After George W. Bush’s famous tax cuts for the wealthy (the so-called “job creators”) the country only declined and our national debt grew exponentially. We ended the Bush years of radical trickle down economics and deregulated capitalism with the Great Recession of 2008-2009. One of the consequences of that economic collapse was the transfer of billions of dollars of wealth from the “middle class” to the wealthiest. We have yet to fully recover from the plundering of our wealth, struggling under GOP obstruction of every effort by President Obama to produce jobs and recovery.

Rather than pursue reform and recovery, GOP candidate Rmoney would continue, if not increase, the free ride for the wealthiest and their corporations on claims that “job creators” ought not be burdened with an “increase” in taxes. But, if decreasing the “job creators” tax burden were good for the economy, the GOP cannot explain why millions of jobs were lost from the economy during the Bush presidency and especially because of the Great Recession or why American corporations now sitting on more than $2 trillion dollars in unused capital are not “creating” jobs. In fact, neither Rmoney nor the GOP can rationally explain much. But then, maybe they don’t need to.

Maybe the GOP is right. Maybe American voters will be persuaded by lies and distortions of fact. Maybe the radical minority who support the GOP radical social issues will turn out enough votes to put Rmoney over the top, because that minority really does not pay attention to what really motivates the Rmoney GOP – more wealth for the wealthy.

But, if Rmoney and the GOP prevail in November, will you be prepared for their promises? Will you be prepared to see women denied all forms of family planning? Will you welcome the elimination of the school lunch program? The end of food stamps for poor people struggling to feed their families? The elimination of federal assistance for college loans and Pell Grants? The end of Social Security as a defined benefit program, converted to individual 401k Wall Street casino accounts? The end of Medicare as a defined benefit program, converted to individual health insurance shopping? Will you welcome the end to collective bargaining as unions become regulated out of existence? Will you be rewarded by the “I’ve-Got-Mine” GOP agenda? And, really, isn’t that what today’s GOP is all about? If you cannot make it on your own, tough shit. Roosevelt had the “Fair Deal” program to restore the economy, Johnson had the “Great Society” program to end poverty – today’s GOP has the “I’ve Got Mine” agenda for America.

Will you vote for all these things? Or will you vote to preserve fundamental American values and send President Obama back to the White House in the hope of seeing him move the country forward?

There are many things I had hoped for from President Obama that he has not done; there are many things President Obama has done that I find infuriating. But I will be working for his reelection and voting to return him to the White House. It is not merely the classic choice of the lesser of two evils; it is a matter of hoping to preserve what America is supposed to be about.

Government of the People

Another Perspective Donald L. Foley - Maintenance NBA, retired

“. . . that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

– Implored by Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

. . . government of the people, by the corporations, for profit . . .

Sometimes images of the first RoboCop movie come to mind as I contemplate our circumstances today and what lies ahead. These images derive from one of the movie’s basic premises – that a corporation owned the city and operated its services. And, indeed, it was that for-profit corporate control that brought about the disastrous circumstances faced by the public in that dystopian future.

As we move further and further from Lincoln’s entreaty for the country, we desecrate the enormous sacrifices he sought to honor. As capitalist corporations exert more and more control of how society operates, the interests of the public diminish toward nothing. Today we continue to suffer the consequences of corporate capitalism gone wild. With the dismantling of the wise regulatory boundaries on the financial sector of private enterprise (under the unwise leadership of Bill Clinton) venture capitalists ran rampant – devising ever riskier tricks to serve their greed. Financial schemes became an industry unto itself. But the wealth with which the schemers gambled was not their own; it was house money, thus making the risk so much easier to take. And when everything fell apart – as a few predicted it would – it was as if no one was prepared for it. And, of course, the huge financial institutions that had not previously existed, but which were now “too big to fail” had to be salvaged. And when they were, because of the lofty position of those who had brought this all about, no one was truly held to account – no one, that is, but the public.

The public had made the grievous mistake of failing to pay sufficient attention. Clearly, then, it was all our fault. We had not demanded that the old regulations not be dismantled. We had felt comfortable investing money in the Wall Street casinos. We had accepted the staid advice that investments need no attention, just stay the course, get in for the long haul, investments always gain in the long haul . . . Really?

Thus, corporations and their dutiful servants gained enormous wealth while the rest of the world suffered, and continues to suffer. The collapse of the economy in late 2008, early 2009 was the greatest transfer of wealth that may have ever occurred. It transferred enormous amounts of public wealth into the hands of the Wall Street casinos and, thus, into the pockets of those who run the casinos. Those who gained so much have never been required to restore to the rest of us what we lost, not the wealth, not the jobs, not the personal independence, not societal equilibrium. While 99% of the American citizenry continue in the downward spiral that started in the 1980's and have fallen precipitously since late 2008, the wealthiest are doing quite well. The large corporations – not your Mom and Pop small businesses, but the real corporations – are now sitting on more than two trillion dollars excess capital. Since corporate capitalists have suffered little and gained tremendously from the economy’s collapse, does it not stand to reason that it should be they who spend that wealth to improve our economy? No, not according to the capitalists, not according to Republican politicians – no, the wealthy have no debt for the havoc they wreaked.

Instead, what passes these days for public policy debate is a narrative created by the so-called “conservative” think tanks with an ideological imperative to dismantle government in service to the public and to replace it with a government in service to corporate capitalism. There is nothing truly conservative about this. It would dismantle our American democracy. It would place greed as the chief motivation for policy, instead of public good. That narrative spews its venom through legislative initiatives written by ALEC and promoted in state legislatures and through political propagandizing protected and encouraged by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. That narrative seeks to turn ordinary Americans against their own government, to convince them that government ought not protect public interests because that inhibits capitalist enterprise, and to convince them that – because government is the enemy – their neighbors who work in public service, government jobs are also the enemy. This is why the Republican Party has chosen to target public sector employees (and, of course, their unions) as being over compensated and leeching taxpayer money for extravagant benefits and pensions. And, apparently, that narrative is succeeding – judging by the result in Wisconsin’s recall election, in which 37% of union labor households voted for Governor Walker! All around the country public employees, their wages, their benefits and their unions are under attack.

Do you really believe that is because the Great Recession of 2008/2009 was caused by the excesses of public employment? Do you really believe it was the teachers, the fire fighters and police officers (nearly 70% of state and local public employees) who brought down the economy? Do you really believe simply continuing to pay for public service as we have for generations is preventing the economy from moving forward? If so, then you have accepted the radical corporate capitalist Republican Party narrative. But the narrative has nothing to do with reality. (See the report Some Basic Facts on State and Local Government Workers, October 28, 2011, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, www.cbpp.org)

Once the public accepts the idea that the government and public employees are to blame for the nation’s woes, it should be an easy sell to convince them that private enterprise should assume control. Wisconsin has already passed laws to sell off public assets to private enterprise. After all, what good is an asset if the wealthiest cannot make a profit off it? Take health care, for example. The United States provides lousy medical service to its population in a system dominated by for-profit insurance companies, who have only recently been required to use 80% of their revenue for actual medical services. That leaves 20% to pay for overhead – including substantial profit. Compare that with the U.S. Government Medicare system. Medicare operates at a 4% overhead, expending 96% of its revenue for actual medical services – sorry, no profit.

But, again, reality has little sway these days. Unless the American public quickly realizes neither government nor we, the ordinary citizens of this country, are the enemy, corporate capitalism will continue its relentless drive to control America. And we will truly become a government of the people, by the corporations, for profit.

Letter From Senator Ron Johnson

Recently I contacted our Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson regarding legislation affecting Postal and other Federal Workers. It is strongly apparent that he is walking lockstep with our favorite Representative from California Darrell Issa. Perhaps those Postal and Federal employees who voted incorrectly in the last election may want to save this letter and read it again while you are at the ballot box? (If that is supposed to be my average salary – where are the rest of my checks?)

John Durben, Editor APWU of WI

Read Letter…

Death by a Thousand Cuts – Yet One More

Another Perspective

By: Donald L. Foley

If you have had any involvement with compensation contracts, then you know that cost of living adjustment (COLA) clauses never result in real economic advancement for the recipient of the adjustments. These adjustments, generally based on the consumer price index (CPI), give the person receiving them some percentage of the full rise in the cost of living as an upward adjustment in wages or salary or other compensation. They never fully keep up, much less advance the individual’s economic status. And they always come after-the-fact – that is, they are calculated on cost of living increases that have already taken a toll and they are applied in subsequent payments of income. Certainly, they are a worthwhile benefit to the recipient but that person will continue to slide just a little further behind economically in spite of receiving them.

Now comes more “shared sacrifice” from the Obama administration with, apparently, bipartisan support from members of Congress. This is the proposal to change the method of computing the CPI for the purpose of applying COLAs, changing to something called the Chained Consumer Price Index (reported by Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press). Allegedly this would “save” the federal budget almost twelve and a half billion dollars over the next decade. And we all know how important it is for all of us to share in the sacrifices necessary to get the federal budget out of the red.

Using this chained CPI, they say, is more realistic because for one thing it takes into account the fact that as prices go up people just naturally learn to live more poorly – and, consequently, don’t really have to spend more to live. In other words, becoming poorer does not have to be measured as becoming poorer. One of the real effects of changing to the use of the chained CPI will decrease COLAs for Social Security recipients on a regressive scale – by which, as one gets older and older, one loses more and more. It would also reduce federal military and civilian pensions by $112 billion over the next decade. And it would result in an effective tax increase on the poor far greater than any increase on the rich. By the end of the coming decade, taxpayers in the $10,000 to $20,000 income range will pay about 14.5% higher federal taxes, while taxpayers with more than $1 million income would see a tax increase of just 0.1%. And fewer people would become eligible for federal benefits as they slip deeper and deeper down the economic ladder, because they would take longer to fall below “poverty” level thresholds.

However, as I said, this idea has bipartisan support and was introduced to the debt debate by the White House. It is one of those sleight-of-hand maneuvers politicians are so good at; it involves some rather arcane mathematics and bookkeeping rules; and it is fairly obscure in its basic statement – just change to a “more realistic” CPI. Certainly, to slip through a change like this might go generally unnoticed and would not generate a large public outcry. It is not an overt increase in taxes, so the Republicans have plausible deniability; and the Democrats can claim they have not cut Social Security. How perfect could you get?

Perfect, indeed. Yet another perfect tactical thrust in the class warfare prosecuted for the past forty years so successfully by the ruling class against the working class.

Yet Another Appeasement in Store?

Another Perspective Donald L. Foley - NBA, retired

Not to state it over-broadly, but the fate of collective bargaining for postal employees and the fate of the Postal Service itself may well depend upon the decision of the National Mediation Board concerning employees of the Federal Aviation Administration. Altering a rule of some 75 years standing, last year the Board ruled that union certification votes in the aviation and railroad industries should be by ordinary rules for counting votes in a democratic election. That is to say, the Board revised the old rules in a manner that requires a union certification election to be controlled by the votes of only those who vote, not including votes of those who choose not to vote. Under the old rules, in a union certification election for a bargaining unit of 100 employees, if 75 employees cast ballots, the remaining 25 employees who chose not to vote were all counted as ‘nay’ votes – meaning in effective that, regardless how many employees voted, the only way to achieve an affirmative result would be to register a full majority of all 100 employees in the bargaining unit. In nearly all democratic election processes, a majority is of those who vote; it does not count those who fail to exercise the right to vote. So the National Mediation Board changed the rule – a majority vote would be of those who vote.

As one might imagine, this rule – making it easier to achieve a majority in favor of union certification – ran afoul of the agenda of most Republican Congress persons. And, because of this rule by the National Mediation Board, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives brought the operations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to a very near standstill earlier this year. The House refused to adopt the normally perfunctory funding bill for the FAA, causing the FAA to experience a circumstance not unlike the economic situation presently confronting the Postal Service. In short, the FAA did not have the money to operate all of its functions – contracted work was halted, inspections were delayed or terminated, nearly everything other than manning the control towers of our airports stopped. Finally, before Congress recessed, a very short term extension of funding the FAA was adopted – with a requirement to revisit the issue after the summer recess (stop-gap funding expires September 16).

When Congress gets back to work very soon, Postal employees would do well to pay very close attention to what happens with the FAA funding and the Federal Mediation Board rule. We ought not to simply sit on the sidelines, either.

It amazes me that so little has been said about this fight in labor or progressive media sources, though there does appear to be some appetite among some Democratic members of Congress to take on the fight – one of the few that may bear fruit for labor. Labor should get behind this issue in a big way. And I believe we would be right to fear that, at some point, President Obama will decide to exercise his unique “negotiation” skills to resolve the impasse over FAA funding. Should President Obama negotiate away the gain achieved through the National Mediation Board ruling – recognizing simple democratic voting principles – in order to appease the Republican radical right (once again) it would be a significant setback for labor. But even more important to Postal employees, it would signal to us that we cannot count on this administration to protect the collective bargaining rights of Postal employees. Where, supposedly, little is actually at stake – the FAA is not all that big a government agency, and no presently protected union employees’ jobs are threatened – one might easily see Obama cause the National Mediation Board ruling to be reversed to achieve ordinary financing of the FAA operations.

However, such a move by Obama – unfortunately typical appeasement of the radical right – would also signal that he will have no stomach for the support necessary to save the collective bargaining rights of Postal unions in the struggle to save the Postal Service. The stakes for the economy in the battle to save the Postal Service from itself and from Republican radicalism are so high that, I’m afraid, they will sway Obama in exactly the wrong direction. If Obama cannot muster the intestinal fortitude to protect future union recognition votes in the aviation and railroad industries, he will fold like a house of cards when confronted with the need to protect the Unions while preserving the Postal Service. My deepest hope is that Obama never becomes involved “resolving” this fight; my deepest fear is that he will.

While we wage our campaign to convince Congress to save the Postal Service and to save our jobs, we should also take the time to convince Congress to save the National Mediation Board ruling in favor of democratic union certification elections. Or ignore it at our peril.

Tea Party Joe

Joe gets up at 6 am and fills his coffeepot with water. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, Joe takes his daily medication. His medicine is safe because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but ten dollars of his prescriptions are paid by his employer's medical plan, because liberal union workers fought for medical insurance -now Joe gets it too. He prepares bacon and eggs for breakfast. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meatpacking industry.

Joe takes a shower and reaches for the shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its proportion of the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. .

Joe walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. He saves a lot of money in parking and gas because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, benefits, retirement, and paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get a worker's comp or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is lunch time and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some· bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car, which is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by the Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe doesn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car to drive home, and listens to a talk radio show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection Joe enjoys throughout the day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big government liberals running our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

This piece has been circulated in various forms on the Internet.

PPA Reprint: The Communicator

What would happen if…?

Keeping a Tight Line

With Local Business Agent Peggy Whitney

What would happen if my next pay check was reduced by 10 percent?

What would happen if my next pay check was reduced by 10 percent and my share of health insurance premiums increased by 50 percent on my next paycheck and every paycheck? What would happen to my actual take home pay?

What would happen to my retirement pension account if my contributions to my Thrift Savings Plan were no longer matched by my employer? What would happen to my retirement?

What would happen if, in addition to the reductions in my pay, pension and health care benefits, my earned sick leave and annual leave was also reduced by 50 percent, and What would happen if I was a young female with a difficult pregnancy or a middle aged man recovering from knee surgery and needed light duty work for 3-4' weeks and my boss told me "there isn't any such thing as light duty-Go Home !"?

What would happen to my bills and my mortgage payment?

What would happen if my 25 years of service was no longer considered Seniority, and

What would happen if there was no such thing as Seniority so, I couldn't bid for jobs, work locations or even work schedules?

What would happen if there is no such thing as Seniority so, Management could mandate me to work, massive overtime, every single holiday, or placed me on a work schedule I couldn't work, and

What would happen if I absolutely couldn't work when Management mandated me to, or I made a mistake and forgot to scan a parcel, and I was fired?

What would happen if I was fired from my job after 25 years of Service and I went to my Union to file a grievance and

I didn't have a Union?

What Would Happen to Me?

What Would Happen to You?

Source: PPA Reprint - The Northern Light (Minneapolis Area Local APWU)

Another Perspective

By: Donald L. Foley

Full member, retired

I’ve read the comments of former president Bill Burrus on the tentative Agreement. And it seems no great surprise he has criticized it. You may have heard the rumors I did that Brother Burrus thought he ought to have been kept on for contract negotiations after the end of his term of office and that he told the Executive Board that, should the contract go unresolved to arbitration, the Union should hire him with an appointment as our arbitrator for the panel. Instead, the new Executive Board did as it should – took upon itself the full weight of securing a new National Agreement. And it would seem, it has been successful. That Brother Burrus disagrees with one aspect of the economic package merely reflects the tunnel vision that dominated his involvement in contract negotiations during his tenure.

As I have suggested previously, the Union has hamstrung itself for one negotiation after another by pandering, to the near exclusion of all other matters, to the obvious desire of the members for pay raises. Not that there is anything wrong with pay raises. Everyone wants to earn more for what we do. I’ve defended the professional athletes’ enormous pay packages, because they have derived from the effort to force ownership to share the enormous profits derived from the exercise of those workers’ skills. But, when the APWU has focused so narrowly on pay raises, it has done so at the expense of a great many other pressing issues. For thirty years it should have been obvious that there were problems in the workplace that, though demanding of correction, went ignored when the contract was negotiated (or arbitrated) every few years.

And, while Brother Burrus would place himself in the company of Stu Filbey and other great leaders of this Union, contract reality shows stagnation in National Agreement negotiations for thirty years. The APWU National Agreement – originally negotiated by a team representing the joint efforts of all the great Unions/Craft organizations – was a work of art perhaps unmatched by anything in labor management negotiation of a first contract anywhere. It established rights and procedures to protect the bargaining unit that were reflective both of long-held labor principles and of what was then the thought that the federal government ought to act as a model employer. And it was perfected (though with some difficulties and some setbacks even then) in the next couple Agreements. Thus, the great contract under which hundreds of thousands of postal workers have worked and been protected was that created prior to 1980 – not by Brother Burrus or Brother Moe Biller, who first reached national office as the Biller-Burrus-Richards ticket in the 1980 elections. Since that time what dominated each successive contract negotiation was – how much more money are we going to get? And little attention was paid to our other issues.

Is it right that we have negotiated for future workers a less advantageous pay scale? For their long-term economic benefit, perhaps not; but on that point, all we can do is speculate. Consider that Burrus negotiated into the last National Agreement a transfer of jobs from career bargaining unit jobs to non-career, non-bargaining unit jobs; and consider that the last National Agreement did nothing to stem the persistent outflow of jobs from the Postal Service. How well did these factors of the last Agreement serve the interests of future postal workers – some of whom would never become career, some of whom would never even be postal workers? Not only does the new tentative Agreement eliminate the casual employment that Burrus helped to bolster, but it also creates a career path based on seniority for the new bargaining unit non-career assistant (NCA) workers. So, if one wanted to speculate about the cost to future workers, one would also have to speculate on such things as – how many more workers we will have; how many of those workers will be career instead of casual; how their pay scales may eventually be improved as this dismal economy regains its strength.

And, speaking of this economy, I cannot see any rational expectation that arbitration of this National Agreement could have accomplished a positive economic outcome, nor would it have achieved the bold initiatives we see in this Agreement. Additionally, there is simply no reason to suppose the economy will improve much any time soon. There are far too many factors in play, far too much damage has been done in the transfer of wealth to the wealthy, far too little political will exists for real job creation. In other words, the Union had to work with the hand we were dealt.

I fully expect I will have some good reason to offer specific criticism of some of the terms of this New Agreement – that seems evident from the highlights and talking points being presented. However, a full assessment of this Agreement cannot be made without having the opportunity to read and digest the entirety of it. Looking forward to that opportunity when the full tentative Agreement is published, let me urge every member to exercise due diligence and study what has been negotiated and then, VOTE.

The Extreme Conservative’s Warped Philosophy Forecasts a Destructive Path for Country

Time to focus on the realities

By Kevin Gallagher, General President, Scranton, PA

YOU are responsible for YOURSELF! Stop asking for help and being a drain on all of us! If you are not happy with your pay, benefits, etc., then get a second job. If you already have one, then have your wife get a second job and improve your lot. Having trouble raising and educating your children? Child rearing and education are YOUR problem as we can't be expected to help when such severe financial problems exist. Are your parents having difficulty with energy costs and living expenses? Then YOU help them. That is what was done decades ago before Social Security and Medicare. Families took in their parents when they got old and could not afford to live alone. Yes, the oil companies got $58 billion this year from the government and will get at least that much next year. Natural gas drilling in our state is not taxed and won't be. So get over it! While much of our natural gas goes to China, realize that exploration and drilling are expensive and thus financial support is needed. If we do not subsidize this, the cost of gas and energy could be much higher.

Medicine and medical care getting too expensive? Get a second job! Research and development is expensive and unless the drug industry can return profits to investors, the investors will put their money elsewhere and drugs could be even more expensive. Health insurance cost too much? Insurance companies have a right in our capitalist economy to make as much profit as possible. You voted against socialist medical care and this is capitalism at its purest -make as much profit as possible. Unions were good in their time many decades ago, but in this time of huge economic turmoil, our society just can't afford public and federal unions with their wages and benefits that are so much better than the private sector. Taxpayers can't afford this system anymore so collective bargaining will be done away with. First, the State public Unions and then the Federal Unions will be reduced or eliminated. And again, YOU are responsible for YOU, so we will stop this socialist Union system and YOU will be free to negotiate with your employer for YOURSELF. This is the capitalism that you voted for.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be addressed later this year. Medicare and Medicaid are a drain on the economy so they will be greatly reduced or eliminated. The average age expectancy in our country is nearly 77 years and people can begin receiving Social Security (at a reduced rate) at age 62. That is 15 years that people can withdraw benefits that we have to pay for. So we will reduce the benefits currently being received by the elderly, raise the age at which you can qualify for benefits, reduce future benefits, and increase what people pay into this system. We won't eliminate it yet, but the very word SOCIAL in Social Security stands for socialism and we intend to gradually privatize it or do away with it in the name of capitalism -what you voted for.

Understand we are doing what we said we would do in our campaign pledges and if you don't like it, too bad! Get over it and realize that YOU are responsible for YOU; and that pure capitalism has no room for social or moral ideals; so move on!

NOW -Once you see through the rhetoric, cut through the slanted commercials and realize the vague campaign slogans were merely a smoke screen, this is the brutal real message of the State and National Republican Party. If you do not understand this message of the Republicans then I fear you are misguided and blinded by ideology or lack common sense. It is not my intent to anger anyone, but this is what I truly believe. The facts are what they are, and they must be viewed in the clear light of logic and common sense.

A simple joke shows the clear intent and philosophy of the Republican Party A corporate CEO, a Tea Party member and a Union worker are sitting at a table. There is a plate in front of them with a dozen cookies on it. The corporate CEO takes 11 cookies and then tells the Tea Party member "Watch out for that Union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie!"

Unfortunately, I fear our members who have less than 27 years of service face the prospect that their collective bargaining rights will be reduced or completely taken away and this will significantly shrink wages, benefits and retirement plans. This is because the Republican Party, at all levels, continues to act on their philosophy of catering to wealthy elitists and subsidizing corporations at YOUR direct expense while attacking Unions. YOU face a future that may be much less comfortable than your past.

I have said for years that we must act by registering to vote and voting for our jobs and futures, only to speak to members at election time and hear they "didn't have time to vote" or voted Republican because of some ideological reason that defies the logic of voting for your job and future. This apathy and lack of logic is now coming back to haunt everyone.

Moreover, I have said for years that we must support our union through COP A donations to lobby Congress for us and to support and elect those politicians who support us. While the Scranton APWU always surpasses the COPA goals, I am ' disheartened at the refusal by many members to donate to the only organization that fights for them. It's time to donate to COPA, or those few dollars you save now will be nothing compared to what you will lose as the Republican Party comes after you!

Source: PPA Reprint 101 Facts

Who is the Real Enemy?

The Lion’s Den Written by Leo Persails

ARE THEY PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES?

America has a lot of enemies now, maybe even more than any other time in history. It’s never hard to determine our enemies from the outside; almost every American could list them. The enemies from within and all around us are the hard ones to identify. Most of us are too busy making a living or just getting by in the present economy to find the time to really pinpoint them. We rely on the news media and those of importance to let us know those things.

Recently we have been bombarded from the media with stories about Public Service Employees. We are being shown figures of their salaries compared to private sector jobs. Were being told they are making a lot more than the private sector. It’s not just their salaries, it’s their retirements and their healthcare costs that are breaking state and national budgets, so the news media reports. Is that the truth? Did you consider that you or someone like you doesn’t own or operate the news corporations? News corporations are owned and operated by multimillionaires, and actually most of them, when sold, sell for billions. Do they report the news, or do they slant it for corporate America? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I have been around long enough to know that news reporters’ treatment of the news has changed over the years. It’s been a long time since we have heard, Good night Chet, Goodnight David, and the type of news they presented.

While the news media has spent a lot of time lately trying to convince you and me that Public Service Employees are to blame for the budget shortfalls and our high taxes, I m not convinced. Are Public Service Employees our real enemy, and why are we being told that? A better question is who is telling us that? We see it in the news, but who is saying it? Who started this new argument about the American enemy that causes taxes and budget shortfalls?

The news media may be reporting it and they may even be slanting it, but NON service public employees are the ones that invented it and are pursuing it. Yes, NON service public employees, the ones with the BIGGEST retirements, the BEST healthcare, and the LARGEST salaries, are the ones pointing the finger. They legislated their own personal retirements, healthcare, and salaries for themselves. They are also the ones trying to convince you that the real Public Service Employees are the enemy.

REAL Public Service Employees are the ones that serve us on a daily basis. They protect our streets and our homes from crimes. They protect our neighborhoods from fires. They teach our children and grandchildren. They repair and keep our roads, storm sewers, and street lights on. They keep our planes and airways safe. They protect our food and our medicines. They sort, transport and deliver mail, and secure our communications better than the Internet ever could. ARE THEY THE REAL ENEMY?

Let’s consider the NON service public employees, those ones pointing fingers and claiming Public Service Employees are the enemy. They are the ones that AFTER TWO YEARS in Congress qualify under THEIR laws, for LIFETIME retirement and healthcare. They are the governors and state legislators who have the best retirements and healthcare in the state, far better than any school teacher, police officer, or firefighter. They are the ones that spend their full time making laws after 200+ years of laws have already been made. Most of those laws are new ways to reach into our pockets, like cameras at traffic lights, or seat belts when all new cars have air bags. They are the ones that start the wars over weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. Wars that we can’t get out of that now cost us 12 billion dollars a month. WHO IS THE REAL ENEMY HERE?

NON service public employees don’t repair any roads, protect any streets, put out any fires, or teach any children. They are the greatest drain on our taxes for their healthcare, retirements, expenses, offices, travel, and salaries. Yes I know, it isn’t all of the NON service public employees that are attacking our Public Service Employees, but it’s not hard to figure which ones are, just watch the news, and determine who you think is the real enemy.

In Solidarity....

Source: PPA Reprint: AUTO CITY FLINT FACTS

Solidarity Forever - for the Union makes us strong!

by: Paula J. Gallo (Kenosha, WI -  APWU)
My father is a retired UAW worker. He has been a proud member of the union for over 60 years including as a retiree. I was raised learning from and about the struggles of the working class all my life. I remember my Dad picketing and even striking, and yes, I even walked the picket line with him; for wages and improved working conditions. I have been a union member for almost 34 years and a union officer for over 25 years.
I have also witnessed the apathy of workers and union members over the last 30 years. We have become complacent, and let our rights slowly begin to slip away. We have accepted the status quo, busy with our lives and families and trying to get by. But now, that time is over. Workers woke up and saw the battle that needs to be fought. The line can never be clearer than it is today regarding what side you are on; you’re either for the rich or for the middle class.
I am so impressed by the people of Wisconsin that have finally said “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” I have attended several rallies in Madison as well as locally. On Saturday March 12^th I was in Madison and helped cheer for and welcome back our heroic “Wisconsin Fabulous 14.” Never have I been so moved by the outpouring of pride and thanks that these men and women were shown, and rightfully so. They had the courage to do what so many people only hoped that we could do. To stand up against what is wrong and fight for what is right. Now hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens are awakened to fight the battle that we have ignored for years. To see all ages of people from seniors to little children, men and women, people of different religions, and ethnicity. It wasn’t just teachers, nurses and other state employees. It did not matter what your job is. Wisconsin workers and families stepped up to support all employees, not just in our state but also across this country. It was so awesome to be in Madison! Words can never describe the feelings I had. I will remember this forever.
This is our generation’s time in history to pay thanks for all that our grandparents and parents did for us in fighting the early battles. Those battles that gave us the rights to form Unions, collectively bargain, gain safety in the workplace, 40 hour work weeks, weekends, vacation pay and overtime, just to name a few. Past generations fought hard, many with their lives, to pursue the rights that we enjoy today.
Now it is our time to carry and lift that torch; to thank past generations and fight for future generations. This is our time to stand up, to be proud and fight. We are making history and I am proud to be part of it here in Wisconsin.
Actress Susan Sarandon (Top Right Photo) participated in the welcoming back of the DEM 14 in Madison on March 12.
(Photos by Paula Gallo) Click on photos to enlarge.

One Heck of a Move By the Dems… I salute you…

By: John E. Durben, Editor

I salute the Democratic Senators who decided to call in sick (more or less) before the big vote on Walker’s attack on Wisconsin workers. I know it had to be a hard last minute decision with their constituent’s welfare in mind.

Walker and his cronies are trying to ramrod a bill through that would strip Wisconsin  Public Employees of their collective bargaining rights. These are rights that have been in place for years and years. The issue is not that they pay more into their retirement or pay more for healthcare. It’s the stripping away of their negotiating rights.

Much is said about private sector employees (the have-not's) paying more than their share because of the bad economy that we inherited from the previous Administration. With the various situations mentioned - Harley, Mercury etc.; At least these employees had an opportunity to negotiate the take-aways and perhaps got something else in return (We know the the State fattened the pot a bit with our tax dollars  otherwise they’d be gone to Mexico or someplace with cheap labor and taxes and no environmental concerns.)  If they (the employees) don’t get something in return today, perhaps in the future or perhaps a non monetary gain might have been negotiated.

Corporate America is calling the shots now since they where able to contribute limitless funds to Legislative Representatives who would support their personal agenda during the recent elections last year. This is where the payback begins.

Wisconsin Public workers are symbolized as the “haves” while private sector employees are the “have not's”.The” haves” (public employees) are depicted as a special group that has not been paying their fair share. Has anyone remembered that they are already getting docked 16 days of pay a year with their furlough days?

Their salaries are mostly public if you want to check the internet and there is nothing really out of line. My concern would be why can’t we get everyone’s salary and benefits uplifted rather than trying to tear someone else down to a poverty level. That’s because these so-called haves and the “have-not's" can’t afford to buy their legislators

Another concern I would have is: Why are only certain Wisconsin Public Worker groups targeted? Why aren’t the Workers who supported Walker in his bid for the Governor included?

My other question is: What about the two percent or so that control most of the assets in the Country? If Wisconsin Public employees are called the “Haves”, what are these people… Gods? When are they going to pay their “FAIR” share?

What Do You Expect From an Organization Intent in Creating Corporate Suicide?

Food for Thought by the webmeister.

Recently the Postal Service sent their proposal for 5-day delivery to the PRC. One would think that they would use the popular premium service and frequently advertised click and ship along with a flat rate priority box with delivery confirmation right? (If it fits - it ships.)

Wrong... Although they complain that it will cause our demise - they sent it via email!!!

Way to go people - way to make it look like you're really concerned about keeping us in business for the American public.

Let’s Get the Facts Straight: House Gets Health Care Reform Right

With the U.S. House vote Nov. 7 approving historic health care reform, America’s working families are another step closer to winning quality, affordable health care for all.

The citizens of Wisconsin owe thanks to Reps. Kagen, Baldwin, Kind, Moore, and Obey, who voted for the bill, and have every right to be very disappointed in Reps. Ryan, Sensenbrenner and Petri, who did not.

I am particularly grateful to our own Representative Dr. Steve Kagen; his vote clearly indicates that he put people first, rather than insurance company special interests. He has also made many strong public statements explaining and supporting reform.

Representatives who supported the bill faced down a daylong barrage of blatant falsehoods from opponents. Let’s get the facts straight.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, which now must be merged with a bill the Senate is expected to pass in coming weeks, covers 96 percent of Americans, is fully paid for and reduces the federal deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The White House Council of Economic Advisers confirms it will aid job creation in both the short term and the long term.

At the core of the House health care bill is shared responsibility—individuals, companies and government all have a role. Companies are required to cover employees or pay into a common fund, so the rest of us don’t have to pick up the health care tab for the workers of highly profitable companies. Small businesses are exempt and tax credits will help small responsible employers take part. Individuals must have insurance, but low-income people will get help paying for health insurance. Every year, about $1,000 of our health insurance costs goes to cover the uninsured. Bringing previously uninsured people into the insurance risk pool is key to driving down health care costs for all of us.

The House bill increases choice by adding a strong public health insurance plan option that will drive down health care costs by forcing private insurers to compete. The public plan is an option. If your employer provides insurance, you can keep it. If not, the insurance market, including the public plan and private plans, is open to your choice. And if you can’t afford insurance, this bill will get you help.

The House bill helps America’s seniors by strengthening and improving Medicare benefits and attacking waste, fraud and inefficiency—including gross overpayments to insurance companies that provide Medicare Advantage plans. These overpayments do nothing to improve care for seniors—they just raise costs and weaken Medicare. The Alliance for Retired Americans and the AARP support the House bill as the right choice for older Americans.

Under the House bill, veterans and their families will continue receiving care as they do now through the VA and TRICARE—but they gain the opportunity to get additional coverage, if they choose, by enrolling in an insurance plan through the bill’s Health Insurance Exchange.

There are right ways and wrong ways to reform America’s broken health care system. Allowing big private insurers to continue to call the shots that mean life and death to us is wrong. Allowing wealthy companies to shirk their responsibilities and shift the burden of health care for their employees to taxpayer-funded programs is wrong. Financing reform on the backs of middle-class families by taxing health care benefits is wrong.

The House got it right. Let’s hope that the Senate follows their lead.

Tony Vanderbloemen
President
Greater Green Bay Labor Council
920-432-0053
1570 Elizabeth St.Green Bay, WI 54302

NOTE: Tony was a long time Local President of the Northeastern Wisconsin Area Local APWU in Green Bay, WI. This article appeared in the Green Bay Press Gazette on November 25, 2009.