Putting Priorities in Order

By Edward J. McElroy
AFT President

A few weeks after hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast, AFT secretary-treasurer Nat LaCour and I traveled to Houston to find out how the national union could help members in the affected areas. State and local AFT leaders from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas described the personal losses suffered by our members, whose homes, jobs and neighborhoods were swept away. But their suffering was only part of the story.

Our visit to Houston reminded Nat and me once again how fortunate we are to work with people committed to serving our members, no matter how difficult the circumstances. We were proud, but not surprised, to learn that local AFT leaders, many of whom had lost their homes, were making extraordinary efforts to help our members, even though the hurricane had cut the normal lines of union communication and scattered members to faraway states. Displaced local leaders created “virtual unions” using Web sites and e-mail to keep members informed about work conditions, disaster relief aid and the whereabouts of colleagues.  Our affiliates’ response to the hurricanes has been inspiring, even heroic. To support our affiliates, I have directed the AFT national staff to create a member-to-member database for every school in New Orleans, use our disaster relief fund to send money to members in stricken areas, and do everything we can to help.

The top priority of this relief effort is to help people rebuild their lives and the community at large. That also should be our federal government’s focus. The Bush administration’s response, however, has been a disaster in itself. Instead of deploying government resources to help our most vulnerable citizens, the administration has tried to use New Orleans and other affected areas as a laboratory for misguided policies that Congress would not pass without the political cover of a natural disaster.

By executive order, the president suspended prevailing wage (Davis-Bacon) protections in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, which means that workers on federally funded construction projects would be paid less than they were before the storm. Under pressure from organized labor and others, the president at press time reversed his decision. Another executive order allows firms involved in reconstruction—many with ties to the administration—to receive billions of dollars through noncompetitive, cost-plus contracts that guarantee profits regardless of how much the companies spend or waste.

The administration also is weighing the possibility of spending federal disaster relief funds to rebuild casinos—something that has never been done after previous disasters—even as some school districts, hospitals and other public services will remain closed for the entire year. Certainly, casino jobs are important in some communities, but they are not more important than schools.

President Bush was too slow in sending help to Katrina’s victims and too quick to send contracts to his corporate buddies. He and his allies also have used the hurricanes and flooding as an excuse to weaken environmental standards, limit individuals’ right to seek recourse in our courts and undermine workplace protections.

President Bush can reverse course right now by rescinding his anti-worker executive orders and focusing on measures that will help residents rebuild their homes, schools and hospitals. And, as he oversees the rebuilding of New Orleans and other communities, there is one thing that shouldn’t be re-created: isolated, impoverished neighborhoods that will be neglected by the rest of the city, the state and the federal government.

Responding to a catastrophe of this scale requires a national effort and the leadership of federal officials. The victims of natural disasters deserve better than they have gotten so far from the Bush administration. The hurricanes turned their lives upside down. To put their lives in order, the administration needs to make sure our national priorities are in order. That means taking cronyism and opportunism off the list and putting jobs, schools, housing and healthcare at the top.