Dozens of US states declare war on workers' rights

[Skip_In_Boulder]

The attacks on the rights of government workers arises from the fiscal crises in the states, which have been created, in an immediate sense, by declining tax revenue, higher demand for services, and the refusal of the Obama administration and Congress to provide adequate aid. In the longer term, these fiscal crises have been consciously created by tax policies that benefit the rich and the corporations. Now the state deficits are being seized upon as a means of establishing a new authoritarian legal framework for impoverishing millions of workers and their families.

The following is a partial analysis of anti-worker legislation under consideration in a number of states, based on a database compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

If a series of laws in Arizona are passed into law, as is very likely, it is not an overstatement to say that the democratic rights of public workers will be no more advanced than in a police-state dictatorship.

(snip)

Legislation pending in Tennessee is equally draconian. Senate Bill 1033 would designate any form of resistance to corporations a criminal offense. Deemed a crime in Tennessee would be any activity that "Restricts a business, or the owners or employees of a business, from exercising their rights, which are protected under state and federal law, in an effort to obtain something of value for a union or employee organization.

(snip)

Another Tennessee bill bans groups of workers from giving money to any political party or candidate. "No labor organization shall use any of the funds, moneys, or credits of the labor organization for the purpose of making contributions to any candidate with respect to any election," the bill states. "A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor."

Full Article: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Dozens-of-US-states-declar-by-Tom-Eley-110312-688.html

[ProfessionalLeftist]

1. What I'd like to see:

"No corporate organization shall use any of the funds, moneys, profits or credits of the corporate organization for the purpose of making contributions to any candidate directly or indirectly with respect to any election," .... "A violation of this section is a Class A felony."

[Skip_In_Boulder]

3. Well that went out the window last year.

And I don't think anything short of a Constitutional Amendment brings that back.

[regnaD kciN]

6. True, but...

...that same decision would make the second Tennessee bill (the one banning campaign contributions by unions) equally unconstitutional.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

7. Well that might be true here if we still really did

follow the "Rule of Law" in America. But the "Rule of Law" that is now being implemented states that Corporations are part of "the club", unions are not. And that is the "Rule of Law" that will be followed.

[Doctor_J]

2. The Repukes have done more to advance their agenda in 2 months

than the Dem Congress did in 4 years.

If we keep doing what we're doing, there will be nothing but Repukes within 3 more years. And our people continue to cheer these useless boycotts and petitions.

We are well and truly fucked

[Skip_In_Boulder]

4. Actually this is an agenda they have been working for decades.

We have just recently gotten to where we are at the endgame part of it. But this corporatist ideology withing the Republican party goes back to the 1920's.

[janet118]

5. Some fake grassroots group is advertising against labor . . .

in Massachusetts.

They are going after the one reliable source of funds for Democratic candidates. Why don't the Democrats have some corporate sugar daddies that believe in a strong middle class? Isn't there any American-based corporation that realizes that destroying the middle class will be detrimental to their business?

[Skip_In_Boulder]

9. How will it be detrimental to its business,

because we will be creating a class of people who can't consume any more? Not a problem, America has outlived its usefulness as a consumers market. If corporations loose a consumer in America there are now 4 to replace him in other emerging markets throughout the world, i.e China, Indonesia, etc. Our value now is as a labor market, cheap labor. Really cheap labor.

Welcome to the "New America".

[janet118]

11. Oh, so the founding fathers/patriotism crap is just a ploy . . .

to get stupid morons to help turn America into a Third World country. I thought so.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

14. Huh, what does that have to do with anything being discussed?

[al_liberal]

8. No concerted effort?

Why do you think we're seeing the exact same policy being carried out in every state the Rs won in the last election? This shit was handed to all of them from up on high.

When I voted for Obama, and when we won the Presidency and the congress, I was hoping to see a son-of-a-bitch of a president do the same thing the Rs do when they win an election, act like you have a mandate to enact whatever policy you want. Instead we got the great negotiator.

[Doctor_J]

10. amen, brother

they've done more in 2 months than our prez & congress did in 2 years. Disgusting

[janet118]

12. The Republicans vote as a bloc . . .

the Democrats vote like a herd of scaredy cats - and I think some of those cats are in the bag. The Democratic majority was a joke. They helped destroy the health care bill and didn't insist on strict limits on financial institutions. I blame Obama too, but when I look at the pathetic legislature he was working with, I can almost forgive him. He wasn't just negotiating with Republicans. His own party was in on the fix.

[Poboy]

13. R'd