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Thousands rally to protect Social Security
Vowing to preserve social security for future generations, thousands of opponents of President Bush’s plan to privatize the nation’s retirement program rallied in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol in April. They were joined by close to 100 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, who appeared onstage together in an impressive show of unity. The rally, along with similar events in 35 states, coincided with the opening round of Senate hearings on the Social Security privatization plan.
"Privatization is just a buzz word for the destruction of Social Security," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
The more Americans hear about the president’s plan for private accounts, the less they like it, several of the rally’s speakers noted. Americans are united against privatization because it’s a bad idea that would "increase our debt by trillions of dollars, undermine seniors’ security and rob the future of our children," Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told the crowd.
In a clear sign of Democratic unity, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), a key figure in the passage of the 2003 Medicare law, vowed to oppose private accounts that would require trillions in borrowing. President Bush’s private accounts proposal would add nearly $5 trillion to the deficit in the next 20 years.
George Kourpias, president of the AFL-CIO’s Alliance for Retired Americans, said members of his organization "are committed to making certain their children and grandchildren understand what they will be giving up in exchange for the risky private accounts being touted by President Bush."
Sponsored by Americans United to Protect Social Security, the rally also featured speakers from labor unions, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the NAACP and several other major organizations. Nearly 100 AFT members and staff, including retirees from the New York State United Teachers, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the Baltimore Teachers Union, attended the rally.
"Social Security has kept generations of Americans out of poverty," said National Council of Churches general secretary Bob Edgar, a former member of Congress. "It seems unimaginable that Congress would suggest that Americans sacrifice this safety net for the uncertainty provided by private accounts."
AFT Committee looks at healthcare organizing model
AFT’s organizing committee in June examined the union’s training program for healthcare organizers, which produces disciplined, carefully crafted campaigns, to consider if other divisions of the union could use the program as a model.
Although healthcare organizing has its own unique challenges, including the intensity of employer opposition and the constraints of federal labor law, the experiences of healthcare organizers provide universal lessons for all organizing..
"The basics don’t change that much across bargaining campaigns," said Larry Lipshultz, organizing director of the New Jersey-based Health Professionals and Allied Employees/AFT. Central to good organizing, he told the group, is a focus on building a real organization that "moves people on the issues," finding good leadership and making every element of the campaign consistent and accountable.
Although the weeklong training the AFT conducts for new healthcare organizers is essential, it is not complete, Lipshultz added. "The real test is what happens in the field" as organizers learn from mistakes and from mentors or other colleagues who hold them accountable. Ultimately, this helps an organizer draw conclusions about why a campaign works or doesn’t work "that are real, not fantasies," he explained.
In healthcare organizing, there is a strong sense of "being in a movement," said AFT Great Lakes regional director Cathleen McCann. "When you’re struggling to have a union in the first place," she said, organizers quickly get a sense that "we’re at war," and this in turn infuses passion and purpose to the enterprise.
But healthcare organizing requires more than passion; it must be broken down into specific tasks or components that require preparation and on-the-ground experience, ranging from "getting in the door" for a one-on-one conversation with employees to engaging them in issues to preparing them for an employer’s anti-union campaign.
With that comes accountability for completing tasks; a good campaign will "establish an environment where folks are accountable to one another," McCann said. "People are encouraged to talk about their struggles," she told the committee. "We put everything in a fish bowl." This, coupled with good mentoring, frequent debriefings and a constant flow of information and feedback, makes for a healthy campaign, said McCann.
The AFT organizing committee is focusing on training as it continues to work on an AFT organizing model for all levels of the union. This model, now being developed by experienced AFT national and affiliate organizing staff and based on many best practices already in use, will serve as a practical road map that provides detailed steps for a well-planned and well-executed organizing campaign.
Wal-Mart’s everyday low pay, benefits are costing taxpayers
If you think Wal-Mart saves you money, think again. The giant retailer whose annual revenues exceed $250 billion subsidizes its profits with millions of taxpayer dollars.Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart, a report released last year by the minority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and the Workforce Committee, found that each Wal-Mart store employing 200 people costs taxpayers well over $420,000 annually in public services.
That’s because many Wal-Mart employees are eligible for food stamps and child healthcare. Their meager pay and health insurance place most of them among the working poor.
"There’s no question that Wal-Mart imposes a huge, often hidden, cost on its workers, our communities and U.S. taxpayers," said Rep. George Miller, (D-Calif.), ranking minority member of the Education and the Workforce Committee. "And Wal-Mart is in the driver’s seat in the global race to the bottom, suppressing wage levels, workplace protections and labor laws."
To draw attention to how Wal-Mart hurts communities and to force the retailer to mend its ways, including giving its employees the right to form a union, organized labor is mounting a concerted effort with elected leaders and community and environmental groups.
The effort is being led by several unions, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, which has launched a Web site, www.wakeupwalmart.com, to educate consumers—the taxpaying public—about how Wal-Mart’s practices impinge on their own workplace benefits, as well as their communities. Additionally, legislation has been introduced in 26 states that would require disclosure of employers that are shifting healthcare costs to taxpayers.
The legislation, championed by members of the National Labor Caucus of State Legislators, is designed to help measure the costs to state healthcare programs—and again, taxpayers—when large, profitable employers shirk coverage.
The retailer’s employee health plan may provide the best example of how its business model costs taxpayers. A study by the AFL-CIO in 2003 pointed out that fewer than half of Wal-Mart’s employees are insured under the company plan. The relatively low participation rates by Wal-Mart employees likely result from the plan’s restrictions and cost to workers, the study says. Strict limits on benefits mean that even workers covered under the plan face large out-of-pocket expenses for basic healthcare.
It is not Wal-Mart employees alone, though, who are paying for the company’s failure to provide decent health benefits—we all do.
"Costs are passed on to other employers in the form of higher premiums they must pay in order to compensate for skimping by Wal-Mart and other large employers that shortchange their employees’ healthcare coverage," the study says.
The giant retailer also has been found guilty of violating child labor laws. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor cited the company for 24 child labor violations, including one incident in which a minor was injured while operating a chain saw. The Bush administration’s response to these violations—a measly $135,540 fine—gives new meaning to the term "slap on the wrist."
The National Coalition Against Child Labor, co-chaired by AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese, also has information about Wal-Mart on its Web site at www.stopchildlabor.org.
