It's the Unions, Silly!

Magnanimous Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has threatened to fire 1,500 public sector workers if the 14 Democratic State Senators who escaped the state don't return for a vote enacting his new bill to take away collective bargaining rights from state workers. Following through on a strategy he suggested during a crank call with an activist posing as conservative billionaire David Koch, he will use these workers as leverage to pass a bill that it appears most in the state and country don't want. A recent poll from Rasmussen, in fact, finds that 57% of Wisconsin residents are opposed to the new Governor's agenda and 48% strongly disapprove. In a recent national poll, 52% of respondents said they support unions and another showed that many would rather that taxes on the rich are passed than that social services are cut. These are interesting findings, given that Republicans swept into power in the House based on what appeared to be the opposite perspective.

In a broader sense, one wonders if the 30-year battle to change common sense about unions is about to change. Unions had outlived their purpose, they were inefficient and corrupt and they were holding back the economy. That was the conventional wisdom shilled by conservatives from Ronald Reagan forward. And many came to embrace this idea as if it was an irrefutable fact. Many people I talked to hated unions and many workers were actually against the organization that provided us with the minimum wage, 40-hour work week, paid vacations, company-sponsored healthcare, pensions and the like. The truth is actually the opposite. Unionization percentages (or labor power in places like France) is the best predictor of income inequality in a country. The higher the percentage of the workforce that is unionized, the less inequality experienced in the country. As the U.S. moved from Fordism to Post-Fordism and a service economy, union percentages decreased dramatically and income inequality increased precipitously. If workers don't have collective bargaining rights, employers will use the opportunity to cut wages and benefits.

When the economy is bad, this situation grows even worse. And that is what the new governor was counting on. But people in Wisconsin and across the country have been protesting against these changes with a populist vehemence that pulled Obama to a landslide victory in 2008. Now one wonders if the tide will turn and politicians will start listening to the people and reaffirm the rights of employees to a livable wage and reasonable working conditions. Business is doing everything in their power to ensure that this doesn't happen. I guess we shall see if the will of the people can trump money this time; as it appears to be across the Middle East ...