Published 20 Aug, 2012
By James C. Little
International President, Transport Workers Union
According to a newly released book by Daniel L. Barlett and James B. Steele, “The Betrayal of the American Dream,” since 1985, corporations have killed 84,350 pension plans – plans that were designed to bring retirement security to millions of Americans. TWU has been in the middle of this battle on behalf of both private sector and public employees, fighting to freeze, rather than terminate pensions at AMR; working to save pensions at privatized LI Bus in Nassau County; joining the frontlines of public employee campaigns in Wisconsin and Ohio; I could go on and on…
It’s not like employers are taking it on the chin, the money that once went to pensions and fair pay now largely goes to executive compensation and dividends.
You may have seen recent stories about Caterpillar, an extremely profitable company, where members of the Machinists union have seen their pay slashed in half and benefits cut, while the CEO makes over $16 million dollars every year.
Congress and the courts have gone along with this economic shift, even enabling companies to eliminate pensions and wages that were bargained as deferred compensation, while turning a blind eye to the compensation gap between executives and the average worker.
As columnist Eugene Robinson wrote in the Washington Post this month, “Should cold selfishness become the template for our society, or do we still believe in community?… [We have] a choice between two starkly different philosophies. One could be summed up as: “We’re all in this together.” The other: “I’ve got mine.”
Enough already.
It’s time to stand up for the middle class and a society that works for all Americans – not just the rich.
That’s why TWU members were proud to join more than 44, 000, family members and supporters at the massive “Workers Stand for America” rally in Philadelphia August 11. Our union also helped fund this event; we drove the TWU bus to Philly, staffed the event and brought out our members.
It was a great day with workers representing dozens of labor organizations from all over the country. TWU members marched, we rallied with the rest of Labor– and we sent a powerful message to politicians of both parties: Quit paying so much attention to the fat cats who fill up your campaign coffers, and start listening to the middle-class men and women who are the backbone of our economy.
Gathering in the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, we proposed a Second American Bill of Rights, built around five core principles. Thousands of people were proud to sign up, agreeing that all Americans are entitled to:
• Full employment and a living wage
• Full participation in the electoral process
• A voice at work, including the right to form a union without interference.
• A quality education
• A secure, healthy future.
The Second American Bill of Rights is a concrete plan to rebuild the middle class and get our economy back on track. It’s middle class women and men who are the real job creators.
We’re the ones who pay the rent, the mortgage and the utilities. We’re the ones who buy gas, groceries, furniture, cars and other merchandise. We’re the ones who create the demand for goods and services that allow employers to hire people.
But with millions of people still out of work – and tens of millions more with our wages stuck in neutral – we can barely get by, much less start buying enough to create the consumer demand our economy needs to get moving again.
Three years after an unprecedented epidemic of greed and corruption on Wall Street nearly crashed our financial system, too many people are still out of work. The American middle class is shrinking. For those of us still on the job, our wages are stagnating, our health care costs keep going up, and our retirement is less secure than ever. For many private sector workers, like TWU members at American Airlines, unfair bankruptcy laws are being used to destroy jobs and middle class wages. In the public sector, right-wing politicians are cutting and pasting legislation written by shadowy corporate lobbyists, which takes away hard-earned rights from public employees.
“Workers Stand for America” was conceived as a way to put the middle class front and center, setting an agenda that both major political parties could follow during their conventions and through this year’s election campaign. With the presidential campaign in full swing, and so much competition for media and public attention, we thought it would be a great success if we could gather a few thousand people to carry our message.
Nobody expected the huge crowd that swarmed Philadelphia’s beautiful outdoor museum campus at Eakins Oval on Saturday, August 11. The organizers had hoped that maybe 20,000 workers would show, instead 44,000 came from across the Eastern half of the United States. I want to thank TWU members who trekked to Philadelphia.
If you couldn’t make it to “the City of Brotherly Love” and you want to see the event yourself, you can watch this short video prepared by the TWU Media Department or you can watch a recording of the event and hear speakers such as Democratic Party Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Senator Bob Casey and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, joined by middle class Americans with real stories to tell.
The rally was a leading story on the local news and it drew media attention from all over the nation as well as reporters and camera crews that came from as far as Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Why did we succeed beyond expectations? Workers Stand for America hit a nerve. Middle class workers have been kicked around long enough, and now we’re ready to start kicking back. We’re tired of being made the scapegoat for problems we didn’t cause. We didn’t crash Wall Street and sap the assets of our retirement funds– the banksters did. They should lose their bonuses, perks and stock options before a single retiree loses his or her pension or health care.
We want everyone, EVERYONE, to sign on to the Second Bill of Rights, workers – organized and unorganized, elected leaders and wanna-be elected leaders, everyone. Any politician who won’t sign on to the Second Bill of Rights should lose their job.
We’re ready to work with business leaders, elected officials from both political parties, students, seniors and anybody else who wants to roll up their sleeves and build a better America. But first we have to agree on the basics: It’s the middle class who built this country. We deserve rights on the job, and the right to earn a decent living. If we can get that done, there’s no limit to what America can accomplish.
To sign the Second American Bill of Rights, visit WorkersStandforAmerica.com