THOUSANDS of Michigan citizens descended on the state Capitol last Tuesday, January 8, to show their outrage over efforts by corporate-driven legislators to pass a divisive right-to-work (for less) measure that Governor Rick Snyder signed into law last Friday afternoon.
Despite suffering the indignity of being pepper-sprayed by police officers, the crowd of demonstrators refused to back down, said the AFSCME government and state workers union.
An estimated 10,000 people crowded outside the Capitol, with another 2,500 inside the building, according to news reports.
Chants of ‘This is our house!’ and ‘Kill the bill!’ echoed loudly throughout the morning as demonstrators urged lawmakers to reject the measures.
Their energy was sustained not only by their determination to stop Michigan from following in the footsteps of Wisconsin and Indiana – where workers’ rights have also been trampled upon – but also by the hot dogs and energy bars dispersed from an AFSCME tent set up outside the Capitol.
Yet Republican majorities of both houses rammed through two separate bills to create a ‘right-to-work’ law for both public and private-sector unions.
Each was approved by House votes of 58-51, and 58-52, respectively.
Governor Snyder signed the legislation behind closed doors, and only after protesters who had filled the Capitol all day headed home after the long day of action.
Pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council and the billionaire Koch brothers, so-called right to work (RTW) laws do not guarantee a right to work.
Instead, they ‘make it illegal for a group of unionized workers to negotiate a contract that requires each employee who enjoys the benefits of the contract terms to pay his or her share of costs for negotiating and policing the contract,’ wrote Heidi Shierholz and Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute in a report on the negative economic impact of such laws on workers.
Governor Rick Snyder and his Republican supporters in the Legislature claim that this measure is intended to improve the state’s economy, and pointed to Indiana, which he said ‘had a strong experience’ after passing similar legislation.
But data ‘suggests that there is little reason to think RTW has significantly impacted job growth,’ according to a new Economic Policy Institute report.
When President Barack Obama said last Monday that this debate has nothing to do with economics, he was stating an obvious truth.
Collective bargaining improves wages and benefits, putting more money into the hands of working families so that they can feed, clothe and house their children and buy the merchandise, including Detroit’s automobiles, that make it possible for a state’s economy to prosper.
Snyder insisted his goal ‘isn’t to divide Michigan, it is to bring Michigan together.’
‘But we see through that subterfuge, and so do many of the state’s lawmakers’, says AFSCME.
‘This debate isn’t about improving the state’s economy’.
Representative Steven Lindberg, D-Marquette, put his finger directly on Snyder’s real purpose. ‘This bill is about breaking unions,’ he said.
‘Lawmakers who vote against workers’ rights can be defeated at the polls, but our union will not be broken by right-wing extremists.
‘AFSCME will keep on fighting for the rights of the working middle class, including the basic right to collective bargaining. It’s our mission, and our promise.
‘We’ve heard a lot about loss of labour rights in Wisconsin, ‘right to work’ for less legislation in Indiana and now Michigan’, says Stan Sorscher a labour representative for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA).
‘Collective bargaining is one place where workers have voice at work. In fact, our union is the only democratic institution most of us will ever see at work.
‘Let’s be clear. Democracy does not normally extend inside the workplace.
‘Most employers have near-total authority over employees regarding hiring, firing, transferring and assigning work to employees.
‘The Bill of Rights does not apply to workplace activity. An employer can insist, as a condition of employment, that all workers listen to anti-union speeches.
‘The employer can search your belongings, tap your phone, read your email, tell you when and where you can eat, prohibit you from smoking and tell you what you can and can’t read on the Internet.
‘State and Federal laws protect certain civil rights for military veterans, women, older workers and certain minorities. Otherwise, work-related issues are protected in a union contract or not at all.
‘State governments in Wisconsin and Michigan showed contempt for the democratic process, ramming through legislation using tactics that would be unheard of for any other policy issue. Democracy lost twice – once in the state capitol and again in the workplace.
‘When we step back and look at this, it’s really about money and political power.
‘Democracy is already wilting under campaign finance rules that drive candidates to take positions that please millionaire donors.
‘Legendary Republican campaign strategist Karl Rove teaches us to attack your opponent’s strength.
‘First, attack public employees and teachers, where union density is highest. Then attack stronghold states, like Michigan and Wisconsin. If unions fade as a campaign force, then the counterbalance of civil society shrinks.
‘US mine workers union UMWA has launched a Fighting for Fairness at Patriot campaign.
‘In July, Patriot Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.
‘Among the reasons for Patriot’s financial difficulties were the huge legacy costs related to health care benefits and pensions owed to retirees and widows of former employees.
‘The company’s intended goal, it seems, according to the UMWA, is to get out of obligations to the miners that worked hard for decades, often doing significant damage to their own health.
‘Patriot was created in late 2007 when Peabody Energy spun off the company to get rid of all of their operations where workers were members of the UMWA.
‘Included in the new company was most of Peabody’s long-term health care obligations to retirees. It was clear at the time that the intent was to relieve Peabody of the costs of the promises it made to the workers who made the corporation profitable.
‘Greg Boyce, Peabody’s CEO, said at the time: ‘We’re reducing our legacy liabilities roughly $1 billion, and reducing our expense and cash spending in the neighbourhood of $100 million as well.’
‘Greg Navarre, Peabody’s CFO, said, ‘Our retiree health care liability and related expense will be reduced by 40% . . . In total, our legacy liabilities, expenses and cash flows will be nearly cut in half.’
‘In what would become a related move, Arch Coal similarly dumped its obligations into a spinoff company called Magnum Coal. Magnum was eventually purchased by Patriot. In both cases, the new companies were part of a revolving door of senior personnel between the various companies.
‘When the coal market collapsed, Patriot’s fragile structure fell apart and it ‘suddenly’ found itself unable to cover retiree costs. Meanwhile, Peabody and Arch found themselves to be highly profitable.
‘In 2011, Peabody was the nation’s largest coal producer, with profits nearing $1 billion. Arch Coal was also successful, making profits of $141 million. Patriot reported losses of $137 million the same year. Peabody and Arch had profits of $2.5 billion over the past three years.
‘If it weren’t for the spinoffs, the retirees who are now under Patriot’s obligation could have easily had their earned benefits funded. Instead, Patriot filed for bankruptcy in New York, far from the workers and retirees they are seeking to abandon.
‘There are about 2,000 current workers at Patriot represented by UMWA and another 10,000 retirees who receive health care benefits from Patriot. With dependents included, the total number of people on the verge of losing benefits is more than 22,000.
‘More than 90% of the potentially affected retirees never worked a single day for Patriot. They were promised benefits by Peabody and Arch as part of their compensation for helping to make the companies profitable for so many years.
‘The UMWA’s Fight for Fairness at Patriot has only just begun. The union is launching a multi-faceted worldwide strategic campaign to expose not only the moral issues underlying this struggle, but also the enormous consequences coalfield communities and other working communities will feel if the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in benefit payments into their local economies is suddenly shut off.
‘We are mobilizing workers throughout the national and international labour movement, reaching out to religious, civil rights and other community groups and preparing a number of tactical remedies in order to send Patriot an unmistakable message of solidarity.
‘Supporters can sign a petition in support of the Peabody and Arch retirees and Patriot workers, and UMWA has produced a series of ads raising awareness about the story.
‘This story is part of a larger trend where private companies are eliminating pensions and workers are losing retirement security’.
