Robert Reich, former U.S. labour secretary and professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, and ‘Viewpoint’ host Eliot Spitzer analyse why Michigan’s so called ‘right-to-work law’ is bad for the economy and the middle class.
“As labor unions have declined, workers have had less power, and — significantly — the median wage has declined in tandem. In fact, over the last 30 years, most workers have seen no increase in their wages at all,” says Robert Reich.
This is well worth watching as Reich explains the way that anti-union and big business are attacking unions.
In addition Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers in the USA sent this message to his members across the USA.
“Sisters and brothers: The attack on workers and unions continues as evidenced by what happened this week in Michigan, where so-called right to work was passed. The corporate cronies who tried to buy our election will try to push this anti-union legislation through many more states. As we continue to fight back, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are as relevant today as they were when he said them 50 years ago. Please share his quote below with everyone you know and keep fighting! What would Martin Luther King Jr. tell Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder about the so-called “right to work” bill his party is rushing into law? Here’s what Dr. King said in 1961:
Dr. King: “We demand this fraud be stopped”
“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.”
