The Slippery Slope

[ericadawn16]

Here's what scares me about Wisconsin. Yes, we all have to sacrifice when times are tough. Yes, that might mean a salary being frozen for a year or temporarily losing some benefits BUT...

Being able to come to the table and air your grievances against an employer and work to solve them together should NOT be one of them!

To me, it seems like a slippery slope where unions will be more and more weakened until they have no rights at all. Unions are already outlawed at Walmart, McDonalds and other workplaces. Florida and other states are "right to work" which means you can be fired at any time for NO REASON AT ALL.

Where will it end? The house budget suggested cuts to the EPA and other organizations, how do we know OSHA won't be next? How do we know that other worker's rights won't be sacrificed in the name of business?
Maternity leave, FMLA, ovetime pay, being able to work in safe conditions, being able to go home...

What I fear most is a return to the 1800s where unless you were rich, white and male, you weren't a real citizen.

Comments

[promiseoftin.livejournal.com]

Wisconsin is such a sad example of the rich defending only their interests. Where did our nation go wrong in that we now villianize our teachers and librarians?! Why doesn't Scott Walker take a pay cut and pay more into HIS health benefits, hmmm?

Always easier to take from the little guy for these politicians. :(

[geminia905.livejournal.com]

I'm very anti-union - they started out as a good thing, but now they're just greedy. That said, what that governor is trying to pull is a bunch of BS - notice he's not saying much about the hundreds of millions in tax breaks he gave to corporations.

Here in Indiana, we're a "right to work" state, too. Also, in the last few years they've repealed the law that stated workers are entitled to breaks and we won't even go into what they've done to worker's comp.

You can pretty much bet minimum wage will be on the chopping block at the first opportunity - the Republicans have been trying to do away with it for years.

[jackdavfan692.livejournal.com]

To me, it seems like a slippery slope where unions will be more and more weakened until they have no rights at all.

That's my fear about this sudden crusade, if you like, to weaken unions, as well. And really, if I'm being honest, I think that's exactly what these office-holding Tea Party Republicans' intention is.

I was talking about this the other day with, I think my dad, and he pointed out that it's a very smart move on their part. The gist of what he said was that in weakening unions to such a degree that they're virtually powerless, these leaders are weakening the middle class, which, in turn, will make people more willing to turn to them for relief from all the problems and difficulties they themselves have brought on the American people. Basically, they're trying to take down both the middle class and the Democrats still in office in one fell swoop, so they can have all the political power. The one domino that will be left standing (and, I guess, barrier to them taking power) is, of course, President Obama, but if their plan works, come the 2012 election, he'll be gone as well, and Republicans will be the party in power. That, there, is a very frightening thought =[! *Reads over what I wrote* Wow, it sounds like I'm describing a possible takeover by some nefarious dictator :}! *Thinks* But then, given the extremely radical ideology many of the Republicans now in office have, I guess that's not too far removed from the truth =/! *Shudders*

The only other thing I can say is THANK GOD for all the people around the country who are protesting these union-busting tactics, the fourteen Wisconsin Senators who are refusing to return to the state so its Senate doesn't have a quorum, and however many legislators from Indiana fled to Illinois for the same reason. This group, and those of us who are intelligent and informed enough to recognize what's going on might be the only thing that prevents the Republicans from being successful in...whatever this is they're trying to achieve :[.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

It looks like people are fighting back...

Even before the Republicans overstepped their power and pissed everyone off, it reminded me a lot of the 1994 elections. Those elections brought a Republican majority to congress and they did pass some awful stuff BUT in 1996, Clinton got re-elected and I think that's what we're going to see here.

The problem will be how much damage is done before then...multiple states want to abolish their child labor laws.

Are you on ONTD_Political?