Remember, it’s (ORGANIZED) Labor Day by Cynthia Holder Rich
A Labor Day op-ed in my local paper by Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation entitled “It’s Labor Day, Not Union Day”, made me laugh – and then sit up and take notice. Michigan is a “Right to Work” state, a clever turn of phrase like the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative”, a 2006 ballot measure which led to the striking down of the use of affirmative action in admissions at member institutions of the Michigan state higher education system. These two social projects – “Right to Work” and the “Civil Rights Initiative” – operate both by the use of names that are attractive (who wouldn’t support the right to work? And who would be against civil rights?), and by ensuring the sustaining of privilege for those already privileged.
Sustaining privilege for the privileged
The Right to Work movement gained momentum in response to decades of union success in ensuring worker protections in the workplace and wage and benefit programs that made possible the creation of the American middle class, particularly in the industrial northeast and Midwest. While “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage” was one side benefit of union organizing and protection for many families, so too was a greatly-increased number of US high school graduates beginning to enter colleges and universities, and a significant increase in family wealth from the early 1900s through the late decades of the 20th century. The Right to Work movement receives much of its funding in many states, including here in Michigan, from conservative groups including Americans for Prosperity . AFP is named by SourceWatch a “front group funded by oil billionaire David Koch”. Mr. Koch’s philanthropic interests include the arts and culture – and making sure regulation does not limit government in any way, as research into his business shows. We could speculate on whose “right to work” Mr. Koch is interested in protecting…or we could conclude that the movement is actually named in a way to mislead people.
As the economy struggles, is organized labor to blame?
Today in Michigan and across the Midwest, workers are hurting from a variety of assaults. Unemployment figures remain steady or grow. The demands of workers are often blamed for our country’s economic woes. In Michigan alone, the legislature and Governor pushed through budgetary reforms that offered significant cuts in business taxes and funding for incentives for business, while cutting funding to K-12 and higher education. Collective-bargaining rights and teacher tenure are under attack or have been eliminated in many places, including Michigan. Calling worker protections and benefits which empower people to live long, hold on to their homes and have healthcare “job-killing” has been remarkably effective in encouraging citizens to turn a blind eye to history. The fact is that before organized labor, people lived, struggled and died at work, with long working hours, unsafe working conditions, and no benefits – and with no recourse if you wanted to keep your job. Democracy made it possible for unions to organize workers and protect vast numbers of Americans and their families.
Labor Day IS Union Day
So Mr. Mix’s contention that this isn’t “Union Day” is one more in a long string of misleading statements. He needs to check his history – and the funding streams that give his organization life and a voice in the legislative halls of Lansing and Washington, and in the media. Money will continue to talk and have power. For people without money, organization has long been needed. Followers of Jesus, who live under the Gospel mandate to stand with the poor, must remember and advocate for this right — and proclaim that in a democracy, the right to organize for one’s rights is something to celebrate, not deride.