The US: Waking up to class politics
By Ari Paul |  Last Modified: 14 Mar 2011
over workers’ rights is underway

A popular item is going around in emails and Facebook pages among the people who are in solidarity with the workers protesting against anti-labour legislation in Wisconsin: A CEO, a union worker and a Tea Partier (a member of the emerging right-wing political movement) are at a table with 12 cookies. The CEO takes 11 and says to the Tea Partier: “Keep an eye on that union guy, he wants your cookie.”

Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker’s proposal not only to have state workers contribute more of their pay to their health and retirement funds – which are above the standards in the private sector – but to take away their basic right to collectively bargain would lead to the eventual destruction of these labour organisations.

Other governors may attempt to do the same, and it appears that similar legislation in nearby Ohio will succeed.

A public-relations campaign bankrolled by business groups and billionaires like the arch-conservative Koch brothers is aimed nationwide at not only pinning the blame for state budget deficits on its hard-working employees and their union leaders, but to tap into the envy many private sector workers and the unemployed have toward civil servants who have decent benefits.

Like crabs in a bucket, the theory goes, lower-paid workers will want to pull their union counterparts down.

Since the Reagan administration, class politics in the US has waned; the Republican Party benefits from the fact that many lower-income citizens vote against their economic interests because they oppose the social liberalism of the Democratic Party.

Many vote against tax increases on the rich, because even if they themselves are not wealthy, there is a tiny chance they one day will be. There is also the prevailing mythology that the wealthy class earned their place and should not be punished.

If anything comes out of this showdown in the capital city of Madison – where thousands of workers have protested every day for weeks and Democratic politicians have stalled the bill by fleeing the state – it is the reemergence of old-school union tactics, such as a possible general strike in Wisconsin, and the fact that more and more Americans might sympathise.

Nationally, it looks as if the strategy to pit workers against each other may not be succeeding.

The New York Times reported on February 28 that its poll found that “a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits of public workers to reduce state budget deficits.”

It continued: “Given a list of options to reduce the deficit, 40 per cent said they would increase taxes [and] 22 per cent chose decreasing the benefits of public employees.”

Walker, too, has been a unifying figure for workers, especially when he admitted last month to a prank caller pretending to be one of his benefactors that he contemplated planting “troublemakers” in the demonstrations. And to stay politically viable, Walker eventually excluded police officers and firefighters from the draconian legislation. But the harm was done.

When he called on cops to remove protesters from the Capital building, they refused to do so, standing in solidarity with the other workers. Both the governor and the young progressive activists in Madison, accustomed to thinking of the police as their adversaries, got a good lesson in labour politics.

It is also true that Wisconsin was not the best place for the right to start a new front in the class war.

Despite creating conservative politicians like Walker and, during the Cold War, the now disgraced anti-communist zealot Joe McCarthy, the state’s conservative population is matched by a progressive community unlike others in the country.

The state’s largest city, Milwaukee, has had three socialist mayors. The state’s capital, home to a feisty student activist movement at its large state university, is often called The People’s Republic of Madison. The state’s professional football team, the reigning national champions from the working class area of Green Bay, is a citizen-owned team, and many of its players have come out in support of public workers.

As a result of this stand-off being one of the top domestic news stories in the country, Americans are beginning to see that unions are not the enemy of the economy like conservative pundits and business titans argue, but instead a force for one of the most patriotic things of all: A decent living for the average family.

That is not to say that unions should always be immune from cutbacks in hard times. Unions can, and do, make such concessions when their management counterparts cut the fat at the top.

But Walker has no interest in raising taxes on the wealthy or bargaining in good faith. And like the proposals of other governors around the country – like Chris Christie of New Jersey, the super-star of the new anti-public-sector union movement – Walker’s will not actually relieve the state of its budget woes any time soon.

More Americans may be waking up to class politics. The question is, then, as the Republicans are ramping up their assault on union workers, how will labour leaders make use of this new political capital?

Ari Paul has written about labour for US publications including The Nation and The American Prospect. He also edits the Unionist, a monthly magazine for public sector workers in New York City.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
Source: 

Al Jazeera

Showing 1-20 of 81 comments (A selection)

Editor’s Note: Remarkably, even though the article itself refers to class politics, NONE of these commenters seems to have the slightest idea about what class politics really is, beyond a faint notion that it’s an antagonism between rich and poor.  The “market system” so dear to so many Americans is not frequently mentioned as a target for replacement, only its figureheads.

Real-time updating is paused.

  • Jerry Mercks 1 week ago
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  • I’ve been trying to warn folks for years. It’s no use. They’re too thoroughly indoctrinated. It is virtually impossible to get elected without shouting at the top of your lungs how christian you are and how god guides your life. Say anything stupid you want, just be sure to say god told you. It’ll be fine.
  • Most conservatives don’t bother to look at all the issues. Most are a one issue voter. I firmly believe that if the Republican party ran on 1) completely eliminating Social Security and all other social programs, 2) eliminating public education, 3) allowing only rich landowners to vote, 4) eliminating the minimum wage, 5) repealing all child labor laws, 6) raising taxes on the poor so the rich wouldn’t have to pay taxes, not that that many pay taxes now, and, oh, by the way, they’ll make abortions illegal, the only thing conservatives would hear is making abortion illegal and every conservative would vote for them. Conservatives have been schooled to live poor and vote rich. Even when you take the time to explain to them how they are voting against their own economic interest they won’t believe you and they will remind you of what a horrible crime abortion is. Don’t even attempt to explain that a womans uterus does not belong to either the church or the government. You’ll get nowhere.
  • The right wing ‘christians’ declared war on science under St. Raygun (Reagan). Now they have declared war on education in general and the ignorant drop-outs see this as a good thing. The Texas school boards are actually rewriting history books, leaving out Jefferson and claiming that all the founders were devout christians that intended to create a christian nation. I’m in one of the most redneck states in the union, Alabama. These folks still worship their confederate heritage and want things to return to the antebellum south.
  • The rich corporations have learned how to drive conservatives to vote against themselves by using wedge issues such as abortion, school prayer, ten commandments in courthouses, evolution, intolerance, bigotry and a whole host of other silly, childish issues. Educated people are demonized as ‘elites’ and lack of education is worn as a badge of honor. With more and more dropping out of high school it’s only going to get worse. America was a great experiment in democracy. But democracy works only when the people take an interest in it. While conservatives were fighting over school prayer, the rich turned America back into a feudal system.thatcanadianguy and 228 more liked this Like Reply
  • micamountan1 1 week ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • Jerry, I have read your comments with delight. The 4 short paragraphs should be read by as many as possible as truer words have not been spoken.Larry E McMasters and 50 more liked this Like Reply
  • PASC 1 week ago in reply to micamountan1
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  • Ditto.Kathleen K Springer and 22 more liked this Like
  • Andrew Panken 1 week ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • You are delusional in thinking that liberalism is accomplishing your dreams While conservatism has its minuses on social issues, that hardly justifies supporting modern liberalism. Just as conservatives use these social issues to divide, so do liberals use them on their side, as well. Lets look at reality instead of your imagery that claims conservatives wish to recreate the 1850’s or may you would say 1950, I don’t know which.
  • The fact is all your imagery doesn’t change hard facts on the ground. This country has been bankrupted by both your Democratic friends and GOP enemies. The reality is both sides actually have cooperated in destroying our country. Yes, both sides and the only way to fix it is major cuts in all government spending including military spending. We can’t survive as a country, unless we stop borrowing and printing trillions of dollars. People such as yourself will make up all the excuses in the world why each program can’t be cut. That’s because you have your head in the sand and dream that government can fix everything.
  • Just as conservatives manipulate, so do you. Your piece is one big manipulation in an attempt to divert attention from our fiscal problems. We had full Demcratic control of the Federal government. I ask why do we still have trooops all over the world and specificaly why our troops are still in Afghanistan. Pres. Obama has expanded our wars overseas, renewed the Patriot Act and passed Obamacare. Where’s the liberalism in that? He passed the bad (Obamacare), but he failed to roll back the Patriot Act and sent more troops into Afghanistan. I’m talking about reality here, not about your Democratic talking points, which aim to whip up the liberal base into a frenzy against the bogeyman of white conservative Christians taking over the country and installing a white Christian Taliban. Do we need hearings before Congress about the dangerous white Christian radicalization in America?
  • If liberalism is for the common man, why under Pres. Obama have the bailouts of the bankers and corporations continued just as under the Bush Administration? Not only are there the legislative bailouts, we also have the backdoor bailouts by the Federal Reserve “printing” or quantitatively easing trillions of dollars, creating massive inflation domestically and internationally, but who cares about poor people in third world countries starving, not liberals. The liberal policies of Pres. Bush and Obama printing trillions of dollars have ignited massive inflation which has caused massive food inflation. Then, we have Chairman Bernanke and the Obama Administration telling us that core inflation is fine, don’t worry about volatile food and energy. Well, reall people gotta pay for food and energy everyday, not just Ipads, liberals latest expensive toys which keep coming down in price. How can poor people eat, when food prices spiral upward?
  • Anyway, let me know when the Dems plan on starting their hearings into the white, Christian Talibinization of America? Seems the Democrats and Republicans both work on the same strategy of demonizing the opposition to gain re-election. Who cares about saving our country, when you gotta worry about re-election, right?
  • .
  • Ethan 1 week ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • You’re calling Obama a liberal? If he were liberal, he would have insisted Wall St. have more regulation and some of the heads would be in jail. He never would have chosen Summers & Geithner. He would have closed the international embarrassment called Guantanamo. He would have insisted that a single payer (Healthcare for all) be included so USA could join the rest of the civilized world. He would have backed the unions in Wisconsin and called Governor Walker’s plans what they are, class warfare. He would have helped stop the two wars and railed against the military industrial complex. He would have insisted on Net Neutrality. He would have left Julian Assange and Wikileaks alone. He would have pushed to examine and prosecute the illegal invasioin of Iraq. He would have insisted that the rich tax exemption expire. He would not be advocating charter schools. He would have fought for a stronger anti-global warming policies in Copenhagen. He would have helped Haiti and help bring back Aristide. He would have proclaimed the Honduras coup exactly that. He would reach out to Chavez and agreed that one of our more damaging policies in Latin America is neo-liberalism. He would be pushing for more renewable energy that encouraging nuclear energy.
  • Obama is an example of Republican Lite. If you are confusing his policies with liberals, you are probably more conservative than even you are aware. You seem to think America’s most pressing issue is a fiscal one. Have you been drinking the Conservative Kool Aid also?Darren Zhang and 66 more liked this Like
  • J. 1 week ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • I will ask you the same, simple question I ask anyone who defends the GOP even slightly, or trashes the Liberals.
  • What has the GOP accomplished in the last 30 years?Azphil and 43 more liked this Like
  • Dumbkoff 6 days ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • Why don’t we increase taxes on the rich? Tax the top one percent down to the upper middle class. We would have twice as much money to spend on social issues. Socialism if you will. And no one would be rich and powerful enough to cause major trouble, as happens now. Why try to starve the poor when there is actually lots of money if we don’t allow some idle rich to fritter it on themselves? Sounds much fairer to me.Flight and 39 more liked this Like
  • NaturesEnvy 5 days ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • I agree wholeheartedly. I can see by the posts following your comment that what you said was not heard. The division between left and right is a sham. Both work toward a common goal, divide the easily mislead populace on issues that subjugate them to the whims of the fiat currency system or the banks. Both parties are guilty of humongous bailouts that went directly to the top banks while at the same time the banks confiscate the property of American homeowners through foreclosure. These events were precluded by the repeal of regulations by both Democrat and Republican presidents and congress’ that allowed the banks to create this mess (as well as sending our factories and jobs out of the country). No one can believe that our officials, elected on the fear-ridden backs of the people, really don’t give a hoot about what we think or feel unless it gets them elected to raid our savings and freedoms for another term. So keep fighting for your scraps like animals while the cage is erected. Wake up people.No Dough and 20 more liked this Like
  • Korgull 2 days ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • TL;DR version for those delusional lefties who are just as blinded and stupid as those delusional righties and see anything anti-left as “RIGHTIE BASHING LEFTIES ARRRRRUUUUUUGGGAH”:
  • Both sides suck. Both sides have damaged the US. Both sides do the same thing. Everyone is blind to this by their stupid ideas of left and right; politicians are no longer following left or right anymore, what does it take to get you to realize this? Propaganda and bull goes both ways.Nick Jeschke and 11 more liked this Like
  • Rhys Nottellin 1 day ago in reply to Andrew Panken
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  • The problem isn’t modern liberalism, but modern liberals. The Democratic and Republican parties of today only pretend to be at opposites in the political spectrum, but they are in reality very close in ideology. As a result there is intense debate over limited subject matter and nothing gets done.
  • Of course, anyone who says this is outside the American left-right-left-right-left-right march and therefore must be an extremist.
  • Well I guess I’m an extremist then.Flag
    5 people liked this. Like
  • Mike4444 5 days ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • I read recently that many Conservatives do support abortion; if it can be proven that the fetus will grow into a Liberal!!Flag
    11 people liked this. Like Reply
  • Victoria Rose Mead 1 week ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • How well put! Could not have said it better!Flag
    8 people liked this. Like Reply
  • Pat Parker 1 week ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • I am putting your comment in a NOTE on my Facebook page. It is great!Flag
    5 people liked this. Like Reply
  • Rhys Nottellin 1 day ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • Jerry, will you marry me? (Don’t let the neocons know, though)
  • All joking aside, I know exactly what you mean. As far as education goes, the first time I heard the term “Overeducated” used on TV I had to do a double take. I couldn’t believe that someone had actually implied that it was possible to know too much. The idea that anyone would even use a term like that confused and horrified me. I wonder, what is too much? Is it the point right after you stop being satisfied with your own ignorance? Is it after you stop taking every conservative politician’s word as God given truth? What does it mean to be overeducated?Flag
    3 people liked this. Like Reply
  • 10377586 6 days ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • Brilliant commentsFlag
    3 people liked this. Like Reply
  • Junkets 5 hours ago in reply to Jerry Mercks
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  • Excellent post. You seem to have even more of an uphill struggle than we do in Britain.Flag
    Like Reply
  • WendiG 1 week ago
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  • I think that this is a wonderful thing for the USA..for too long, the union movement in particular, and worker’s rights in general, have been ignored or taken for granted by those least able to survive decently without them..
  • This is among the social justice issues that simply had to come to the forefront sooner or later. Because of the lack of interest in maintaining their democracy by voting, the Yanks became complacent; even when the signs of corporate desertion of the American worker started becoming really evident, about 20 years ago, no one seemed too interested except those affected in the Eastern part of the US..the South had always been paradise for those who wanted to cheaply exploit workers, and once even those entities went overseas or to Mexico with their factories, the center would no longer hold..
  • I often wondered in those past years, who it was that the corporate geniuses expected to buy their products, when such a massive unemployment made consuming something only done for food and shelter, for survival..
  • This is a fairly brutal wake-up call, as such things go in N. America, but i still wonder if it is enough to wake up the entire US population to the fact that they have allowed this takeover to happen through their own neglect of their hard-won privileges..use it or lose it folks, and when you do, make sure that you know who, and what, you are voting for…Flag
    Stripey_Magee and 72 more liked this Like Reply
  • milojacks 1 week ago
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  • The problem with the cookie analogy is that the math is way off. To be more accurate the plate would have to have 500 cookies with the CEO taking 499 and then cautioning the Tea Partier about the union guy taking his cookie.Flag
    S and 56 more liked this Like Reply
  • KsDevil 1 week ago
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  • I like the symbology of crabs in a bucket pulling down the others who are trying to escape the lower pit. As evidenced in every comment section, that truth is so purified. Frankly, it would be better if the crabs got together and helped each other out of the bucket…but that is considered a “liberal” idea these days.Flag
    Stripey_Magee and 27 more liked this Like Reply
  • Walter Jesse Smith 1 week ago
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  • “A popular item is going around in emails and Facebook pages among the people who are in solidarity with the workers protesting against anti-labour legislation in Wisconsin: A CEO, a union worker and a Tea Partier (a member of the emerging right-wing political movement) are at a table with 12 cookies. The CEO takes 11 and says to the Tea Partier: ‘”Keep an eye on that union guy, he wants your cookie.”‘
  • That opening paragraph should have added another sentence: “The Tea Partier was the only one with an automatic weapon.”
  • But, it is a stretch to suggest the US is waking up to class politics. About 65-70 % (estimations from various polls) of the population still believe strongly that if you just keep your nose to the grind and work hard and stay honest you will become a millionaire or billionaire.
  • That hardly indicates any coming out of a silly fantasy dream about the US.Flag
    Stripey_Magee and 27 more liked this Like Reply