The View From Here

September 5, 2005 Labor Day

The following tribute was written well before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It has become a tribute to the victims that lost their lives in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Today as I contemplate sending this out, my thoughts revolve around the victims of the hurricane, especially the poor. I read the headlines and am overwhelmed by the failures to protect the lives of the vulnerable, the failure to see priorities. The director of FEMA explains that the responsibility for the overwhelming loss of life is the fault of those that "chose to remain" despite mandatory evacuation warnings, and the White House says most of the blame is on local government for not having provided better for its citizens.

In New Orleans alone, an estimated 135,000 residents did not own a car. They relied on public transportation to get to their low wage jobs where they labored to make the French District the playground it was for those with the means to enjoy it; the families who provided the shrimp and crayfish for which the region was famous, living quiet lives along the bayous and getting by on meager incomes; the mothers and fathers, providing for their children as best they could on subsistence wages, working as maids in the hotels, cooks in the restaurants, janitors in commercial buildings… in all the unseen but essential services that provided for happy vacations or weekend getaways for people like you and me.

The poverty rates in the regions struck by the devastation were among the highest in the nation, creating a tax base wholly inadequate to provide for the safety of its own citizens. Pleas for Federal assistance to prepare for such an event went unheeded; the word from the White House was that it "wasn't in the budget".

At a Sunday Quaker Meeting, a comment was made that the worst tragedy was really among the middleclass; presumably they had the most to lose because they were underinsured, and unlike the wealthy, unable to fully restore their losses. Gone are their TV's and riding mowers, their libraries and video cameras, as well as their picket fenced homes, for which they had worked so hard to acquire.

The speaker was concerned that the middleclass would feel forgotten in the rebuilding efforts if the focus was on the poor who, after all, had less to begin with. Tragedy strikes and we take care of our own.

President Bush, intending to project a sense of hope to the nation, said, "Out of the rubble of Trent Lott's house - he's lost his entire house - there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch!"

Tragedy strikes and we want to take care of our own.

Pre-hurricane polls indicated Congressional approval ratings have plummeted, with only 19 percent of American taxpayers saying Congress shares their priorities. Yet quietly we sit, idly watching the tragic news unfold until it's time to rush off to the kids soccer game.

It's later than most of us realize. It's time to ask: What the hell are our priorities? The lessons of Hurricane Katrina are many, but it all comes down to priority. Hurricane Katrina has blown away and now settled the debate on "what's wrong". The problem has been defined for us and we must accept the blame as our own. It's time to awaken the sleeping. It's time to apply the solutions.

A Labor Day Tribute to the American Workforce

"There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well." Walter Reuther

At picnics and parades all across the country, families and neighbors will come together to celebrate Labor Day, a day set aside to pay tribute to the American workers and the contributions they have made to the strength and prosperity of the nation. Their achievements, too often taken for granted, cannot be fully appreciated without reflecting on their history, and today as Labor faces new threats and challenges as we enter a new era globalization we would do well to remember their triumph.

The history of the Labor Movement is a story of heartbreak and hope, of a shared vision born of blood and tears. It is a story of the courage and determination of a people unified in a common cause to demand justice from a system that worked against them.

The late 19th century saw the rise of great wealth with the burgeoning expansion of industry and trade. Huge fortunes were made by the few while the labors of the many fueled an ever increasing demand for goods and services the workers provided.

The laws of commerce openly favored industry at the expense of farmers, workers and consumers. Health and safety laws were either non existent or were not enforced. Wealthy industrialists collaborated with local government to ensure legislation to protect short range profits without regard to the long range stability of the system, while tent preachers like Billy Sunday were hired to preach a doctrine of obedience and submission to the dispossessed.

In 1880 there were an estimated 1,118,000 children working in the mills and mines. Women wore out their lives in the sweatshops of New York, toiling in dark and airless factories. Men breathed toxic fumes in the coal mines into which they descended before sunrise and exited in the dark of night. Fourteen hour days and scant rations were common. In 1904 there were 27,000 workers killed on the job, and 50,000 accidents occurred in New York City factories alone. Deadly chemicals caused respiratory disease in virtually every branch of industry. The fiery story of the Triangle Shirt Factory which cost the lives of so many women was a story that could have repeated at dangerous factories all across the nation.

These were dark days for the working man and woman. Their labors, so essential to society, were taken for granted, their lives considered inconsequential, even expendable, by their employers, whose only interest was in the profit to be made from their toil. Unable to feed and clothe their families on their meager wages, families led destitute lives in fear of starvation.

Despite the despair of their weary lives, or perhaps because of it, a new awareness began to develop among laborers who began to see the untapped power of their numbers. They saw a potential to create a new vision of social and economic justice. Coalitions began to form as workers unified their voice to demand basic rights. The concept of collective bargaining created a new spirit of solidarity and a rising sense of hope. The railroad strikes of the late 19th century confirmed the power of the worker as commerce came to a grinding halt on the rails. By the beginning of the 20th century unionization was well underway with an estimated 2,000,000 members. A new age was dawning for the laboring men and women in every industry, and their voice was being heard.

The triumph of the labor movement in bringing about social and economic reform simply cannot be underestimated. The creation of Labor Relations board gave legitimacy to the unions and provided a platform to settle grievances. Child labor was outlawed, minimum wages and the 40 hour workweek were established, Workmen's Compensation bills were introduced. New safety regulations were created and enforced and environmental regulations were enacted to protect our communities, and while inequities still persisted the quality of life for the working family was on the rise, and with the rising status of the worker, who could now feed and clothe the family and live in relative comfort, the benefits of their achievement began to flow through the economy and to the rest of society.

It wasn't the politicians that created this, it was the workers themselves, the laborers that formed the cogs of machinery that kept society functioning. The solidarity in the dream of the coalminers of Virginia, the mill workers in New York, and the steel workers in the Midwest, their courage and determination have contributed immeasurably to the strength and prosperity of the nation. Their triumph has given Americans the highest standard of living and the greatest level of production the world has ever known.

Today the challenges faced by labor are not unlike those of the past. Once again legislation is being enacted that favor corporate interests at the expense of both workers and consumers, without regard for long term stability. The power wielded by today's multinationals threatens not only the American labor force but the very fabric of society, and without wise regulation guiding the process of globalization misguided trade policies will serve to hasten the 'race to the bottom.'

Our trade policies fail to protect the interests of American workers as well as those abroad, policies enacted without regard to the global environment will have far reaching consequences. The term 'Free Trade' is inaccurate because nothing comes for free. There is always a price to be paid and the burden of the costs will be born on the backs of the people unless we are united in the dream and demand justice from our lawmakers.

A truly strong global economy, one that benefits the whole of society rather than only those at the top, that respects and protects our natural resources and which is well grounded in the concept of ultimate sustainability, requires that each of us participate in the political process. It requires that we look beyond our own middleclass lives and take notice of life beyond our neighborhood.

Today our corporate and political leaders are dismantling the current regulations to allow "free enterprise" to set the terms and wages of the worker. They promote the "right to work" movement that undermines the strength of solidarity among workers; they enact "Fast Track" trade promotions forbidding U.S. trade deals to include provisions for core international labor rights, and they undermine tax laws designed to protect undue burden on the average citizen.

It's time to wake up and pay attention.

American productivity is up but real wages are falling. As shareholders, we turn a blind eye to the fact that the ratio of average Executive pay to worker pay has radically increased to 431-to-1 in 2004, compared to our European neighbors where the ratio averages around 17 to 1. If the minimum wage had risen as fast as CEO pay since 1990, the lowest paid workers in the US would be earning $23.03 an hour today, not $5.15 an hour.

New federal tax laws are passed and loopholes are widened to benefit the almighty Corporation and their CEO's, while table scraps and bones are tossed to the middleclass to keep them passive and the underclass are all but forgotten. 46 of our largest corporations paid no federal income tax in 2003, despite collectively earning $30 billion in profits, while those same companies under funded pensions and cut employee benefits. As shareholders we should demand accountability from corporate leaders.

Congress votes their way into higher salaries, having granted themselves a cost of living raise eight times since 1997, for an increase of $27,300.00. At the same time they have voted against every attempt to raise the federal minimum wage.

Our current leadership is about to abolish the Federal Estate Tax, representing a loss of an estimated $290 billion in public revenue through 2015. They tell us that unless this is done, our children could face a 55 percent tax on our estates, but the reality is that this only applies to the very wealthiest among us, having fallen on less than 1 percent of all Americans who died in 2004. The tax does not apply to 99% of us.

With a single legislative move, $290 billion will be handed out to the top 1%. Where will we make up the difference? How will we provide the services the rest of us depend on? It will come out of our own pockets through lower wages, increased local taxes and higher cost of living, and reduced public services.

To see where this type of legislation is heading, read the Texas GOP 2004 Platform. Gone will be the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, the position of Surgeon General, Department of Urban Housing, Department of Labor and the Public Broadcast system. We will not be able to participate in international affairs through the Untied Nations because they believe "it is in the best interest of the citizens of the United States that we immediately rescind our membership in, as well as all financial and military contributions to, the United Nations". (See the Texas GOP 2004 Platform for a complete list).

Our current headlong rush into the new global economy must be tempered with wisdom and guided by concern for real economic justice. Economic justice, environmental stewardship and Fair Trade practices must be incorporated into the global system in order to ensure American prosperity. On this Labor Day, let's remember the sacrifices made by the American worker and honor their achievement by pledging to protect their quality of life, because we can't have a strong economy without a strong labor force.

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