Workers have been getting a raw deal at every turn. Corporate America and its hired hands in government have been at war against organized labor since the very beginning, but workers have been losing ground steadily since the 1980s.
And the losses have been exponential in the last decade, especially in the Midwest.
In Indiana, home of Eugene V Debs, the founder of Industrial Workers of the World and five-time Socialist Party candidate for President, the attacks on workers have been especially bad.
Republicans rejected the final opportunity to increase workers’ compensation benefits this year. Senator Karen Tallian had moved to include the first increase to workers’ comp benefits since 2013. However, infighting between insurance companies and medical providers over who would see the greater financial benefit ultimately led to the death of the bill and the workers’ comp proposal.
“This bill’s defeat is a slap in the face to Indiana workers,” Sen. Tallian said. “Senate Republicans threw working Hoosiers under the bus because of a sidebar fight between their friends in the insurance industry and their friends in the medical industry.”
The last time the General Assembly voted to authorize an increase in workers’ compensation was seven years ago. This last increase took place over a three year period, meaning workers’ compensation benefit levels remain unchanged since 2016.
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But Debs Isn’t The Only Progressive From The Hoosier State
State Senator Karen Tallian is a bona fide progressive. She has spent over 15 years in the Indiana legislature fighting for workers, from raising pay to strengthening unions and workers’ benefits. Now, she’s running to be Indiana’s next Attorney General.
With Your Help She Can Put A Voice For Workers In The Attorney General’s Office