(Well. I just saw the news. So I guess this diary is worthless. But I figured I'd post anyway. Fuck. What now?)
Whether you're familiar with the labor movement or not, odds are that you have at least heard the slogan, "An Injury to One is an Injury to All." But, is it? Who are we? This is not meant to be disrespectful to the labor movement (which I'm a part of) but rather an honest question about how we proceed first in Wisconsin, and then elsewhere. Follow me below the fold...
"An Injury to One is an Injury to All" is actually the motto of the IWW.
It spans time...
...countries and continents...(the image below is from the Congress of South African Trade Unions, aka COSATU)...
And perhaps most recently has been seen all over the place on the ground in Madison, Wisconsin.
Now, here is my question, and the reason I ask. Is an injury to one an injury to all? Personally, I believe that it is. But there's been something that has been troubling me recently...
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The energy on the ground in Wisconsin is amazing. The strength, diversity, dedication and ideals of those who are making their voices heard is nothing short of massively inspirational. In fact, I don't believe this level of unified, prolonged action that spans so many different groups of people has been seen in our country in a long time. (And frankly, I am thrilled that it is happening in Wisconsin, because I'm not sure it could happen in the same peaceful way anywhere else. No offense to your state...)
So what's been bothering me?
Well, after having time to actually go through the Scott Walker bill, people have discovered just what all is in it. We know that the anti-collective bargaining, anti-labor provisions of the bill have absolutely nothing to do with the budget, and that they are purely part of a larger plan to dismantle and permanently injure labor. But just as these proposed changes to collective bargaining would significantly handicap the labor movement not only in Wisconsin but across the country, there has been much other documentation about other parts of the bill. Brendan Fischer at Common Dreams accurately describes the bill as an "attack on the poor." This information has been diaried in other places of course and I encourage you to research the parts that you are the most concerned about. I'm just building a foundation here for the question I posed, which I promise I'll wrap around back to at the end of this diary...also perhaps you're already aware of some of these egregious items, but it's possible others aren't.
Some "highlights":
- Eliminating Medicaid
In Wisconsin, Medicaid is known as BadgerCare. If Walker's bill passes, it would place full control of BadgerCare into the hands of the state's Health and Human Services Secretary Dennis Smith. Mr. Smith also happens to be very conservative. Approximately 1.2 million low-income people in Wisconsin benefit from BadgerCare. The bill not only restricts eligibility for the program, but gives Mr. Smith the full ability to immensely limit or possibly even eliminate the program.
From Fischer:
According to Jon Peacock of the Wisconsin Council of Children and Families, the bill suggests the state will limit eligibility for Medicaid programs by reducing the income ceiling from 200% of the Federal Poverty Line to 133%, which would disqualify a single person working a full time job at minimum wage. It would also end coverage in a family of three or four that has two people working full time at the minimum wage. Peacock says a reduction in eligibility to the 133% level would kick about 70,000 Wisconsin residents off state health insurance. "This means no preventative care, that people will seek more expensive treatment in emergency rooms, and that those costs will be passed on to us in the form of increased healthcare premiums."
- Enabling the No-Bid Sale of Public Power Plants
If Walker's bill passes, it would allow for the no-bid sale of public power plants in Wisconsin. Up to 37 heating and cooling plants, to be exact. No-bid??
From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Higley said he believes the state would be hard-pressed to find a lower-cost option than running the plants itself, because its borrowing costs are lower than a private company's, and it doesn't need to earn a profit on its investment.
"Any private company is going to want to earn a return on that investment, and the only way they would end up doing that is to charge higher prices for the steam or the electricity, and that means higher costs for Wisconsin," Higley said.
- Education Cuts and Layoffs
If Walker's bill passes, education aid would be cut by $900 million.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"You start cutting the funding, the quality of service is going to go down," said parent Lacouir Yancey.
"I think the biggest thing is the quality of education. The teachers, who are you going to get to stay in the district," said Linda Waier, parent.
Walker's budget would also split UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin system.
UW System President Kevin Reilly and the two regents wrote that they worry Wisconsin would return to a two-tier system that the state "abandoned 40 years ago with good reason."
"Those competing systems gave rise to wasteful duplication, unnecessary competition and conflicts," they wrote.
This is to speak nothing of the effects of the bill on the people who work in the UW system. Check out this great note for more details.
- The Politicization of State Agencies
If Walker's bill passes, 37 state employees would be converted from civil servants to political appointees.
...consolidating his power over state government and expanding his power to "hire, fire and move key employees to carry out his agenda."
- Undoing Access to Birth Control
Also in Walker's budget is a repeal of a 2009 state law that required insurance companies to cover prescription birth control.
Walker's budget released Tuesday would undo the law signed in 2009 by his Democratic predecessor Gov. Jim Doyle. Passage of the bill, which took effect last year, came after more than a decade of trying by Democrats.
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I'm sure there's more. So, suffice it to say, labor is not the only group under attack here. While it's the constituency group that I most relate to and belong to (I go to school for labor relations even!) I have to say that if we truly believe that an injury to one is an injury to all, then we need to kill this entire bill. Nothing less.
Scott Walker accidentally gave the labor movement a shot in the arm--a massive one at that. Tetanus-sized! Public polling is on our side for the first time in forever, and people are seeing what is really going on and happening. The labor-youth alliance is one that I am particularly stoked about.
But what happens if the provisions that affect workers are taken out in "compromise" but everything else is left in? Did we really win? I think it's pyrhhic if that's the case.
The labor movement is the last major opposition to the corporate oligarchy. We speak of being brothers and sisters, and we say that an injury to one is an injury to all. Let's stand by that!
Ok, in closing, back to the question...
While the Fab 14 are definitely heroes to the nation, I have been seeing a few quotes that have bothered me.
Sen. Chris Larson attacked via Facebook a Wall Street Journal report based on quotes from Minority Leader Mark Miller, saying the publication "fished for the quote they wanted" and emphasizing that Democrats will not return until Walker takes the elimination collective bargaining for most public workers off the table.
"Sen. Miller’s comments are taken out of context in the Wall Street Journal article just released. Dems will return when collective bargaining is off the table. That could be soon based on the growing public opposition to the bill and the recall efforts against Republicans,” Larson wrote "Unfortunately, the WSJ fished for the quote they wanted, skipping this key step in logic: We won’t come back until workers’ rights are preserved."
Emphasis mine....
(Playing devil's advocate, I'm sure these Fab 14 are aware of the massive implications behind the final result. I just hope that after all we've been through the last few weeks, they stay away until enough GOP votes are secured to KILL. THE. WHOLE. BILL.)
Those quotes are amazing to read--believe me, as a labor kid, they give me chills--but again, do we stand with everyone that the bill affects, and defeat the whole thing, or do we just look out for our own labor interests?
If you didn't see it, there was an amazing diary posted a few days ago, "This is What the Progressive Revival Looks Like"...if you haven't read it, check it. I hope the diarist doesn't mind me cribbing a piece from it:
Among many young people, the most popular profile image on Facebook has been a map of Wisconsin overlaid with a solidarity fist; some have gone so far as to tattoo the symbol on their bodies, a symbol of their lifelong commitment to the labor movement. At night, you can spot veteran union organizers in the state Capitol sharing stories about workplace struggles with students who a week before had never considered being involved in a labor struggle.
The point of including that part of the diary is to ask: What kind of message do we send to these newly involved young people embracing the labor movement for the first time if we only stand up against the parts of the bill that affect labor? We lose em, methinks.
This is nothing short of a flashpoint for American labor. I may be slightly dating myself here, but when I was younger this movie came out called "Backdraft." It was mostly about firefighters, but the basic premise was about a situation/circumstance where due to some sort of air flow behind a door, when the door opened, there was a huge explosion. Some of the most action-packed scenes were when the actual backdraft occurred--starting with a shot of a wisp of smoke from underneath the door, and culminating with a firefighter opening the door, only to set off a big ass explosion. Now, to note, I'm not comparing firefighters to Walker, not by any means. But, I think it's an apt analogy. The GOP and the REAL "slobs" have seen the smoke, and they've still opened the door. And if time could freeze in this split-second moment, I wonder if we will be able to create that massive explosion. Not that it hasn't been big so far, but in my mind, the big ass explosion is the complete killing of the bill. Dead. Done. DONE! Kill it. This is our chance at rejuvenation, nationally. Do we take it?
The labor movement has an incredible opportunity to have a massive rebound here in our country--the word "union" is heard all around and normal citizens are getting a look at the faces of who the demonized are--teachers, police, firefighters, guards, mail carriers, family members and more; how the media will manipulate what they are really seeing on the ground in Wisconsin; and the lengths of the GOP attack on the poor. This is not just a Wisconsin thing. But, if we don't keep coming back, if we don't keep supporting the Fab 14 until the Republican votes are there to KILL THE ENTIRE BILL; if we don't keep showing up to put a stop to this madness not only for our interests but those of everyone else around us--do we really mean it when we say an injury to one is an injury to all?
One last thing: I know I said "in closing" earlier, but I lied. This is the real closing. Even though (obviously) he'll never see this, I wanted to end with a message to Scott Walker--the only part that doesn't click is the "my friend." Scottie is no friend of yours and no friend of mine.:
Even though this video has different unrelated content it's worth watching for sure.
"We will not witness this anymore. This is the end for you, my friend. I can't forgive, I won't forget." --Anti-Flag
Ok, really in closing! I couldn't help myself...
Are we REALLY gonna let this choad get his way and beat us? Yeah, RIGHT.
Solidarity, brothers and sisters...