Even if you’re not from the Bay Area, you’ve probably heard about the labor troubles at the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) – the rail system that is one of the largest public transit providers here in the Bay Area in terms of passengers. Hundreds of thousands of commuters use the BART system on a daily … Continue reading »
public employees
Governor Walker’s coup d’état
Governor Scott Walker and his Wisconsin senate Republicans have laid bare the motives for their coup d’état. By severing the financial part of the bill (which couldn’t be passed without absent Democrats) from the part eliminating the collective bargaining rights of public employees (which could be), and then doing the latter, Wisconsin Republicans have made … Continue reading »
There is power in a union
And it turns out, the American people value the rights workers gain through unionization, opposing efforts to weaken bargaining rights of public employees by 60% to 33%– almost two-to-one in favor of maintaining the rights of union workers to organize and bargain collectively. (Pause for the red meat critics to begin fuming and spewing incoherent … Continue reading »
The Republican strategy
The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working class — pitting unionized workers against non-unionized, public-sector workers against non-public, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don’t believe these programs will be there for them, and the poor against the working middle class. By splitting working America … Continue reading »