Spokane7
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February 26, 2011 in City
Scores show support for Wisconsin unions
Wisconsin may be 1,600 miles away, but that state’s battle over collective bargaining hits close to home for organized labor in Spokane.
“They attack one union, they attack us all,” said Levi Hanson with the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association. “We’re fighting for the middle class in this country. We’re fighting for our very survival.”
About 200 people gathered at North Spokane Drive and Ruby and Division streets during the evening commute Friday to rally in support of union workers in Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker is trying to end unions’ collective bargaining rights.
The message from Spokane: We are all Wisconsinites.
“We’re standing in support of our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin,” Hanson said. “Everyone should have benefits, living wages, a say when it comes to their workplace. It’s something every human has a right to.”
Union members Friday said the Wisconsin attacks on workers’ rights are not an isolated incident; they are sweeping the nation.
“I feel it’s the first step in a pre-planned attack on all of labor in the United States,” said Kolby Hanson, business representative with Sheet Metal Workers Local 55. “I think an injury to one is an injury to all.”
Deven Johnson, president of the Northeastern Washington/Northern Idaho Building & Construction Trades Council, said workers recognize the need to make concessions at times, but consider the right to bargain collectively to be “God-given.”
“We think it’s an outrage that a legislative body would try to eliminate workers’ rights to bargain under the guise of balancing the budget,” he said.
Axing collective bargaining rights will lead to a decline in prevailing rates, benefits and working conditions, said Kevin Flynn, of The Laborers Northwest Regional Organizing Coalition.
“Without unions and collective bargaining, who is going to set the standards? The employers can do whatever they want.”
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D Statler on February 26 at 6:40 a.m.
The middle class in America have been under direct attack for the last twenty years. The rich few in America are not happy with us being able to control them by numbers.Our voting rights will eventually come under their fire. The distribution of wealth directly effects the distribution of power.Things have gotten progressivly worse for middle class Americans. I have said all along that there would not be a union in America if employers treated employees correctly.I am not a big union fan after paying dues for over 30 years and still paying. I could have used that money for something else.It has however,provided me and my family with a descent life.A small price to pay for alittle family security.
There are more factors involved in the decline of the middle class than just employers not caring about their workers.The insurance industry,the energy industry,the banking industry,just to name a few. Have been completely out of control since deregulated.Laws that have been snuck into place by the corrupt few have hurt us also.Government offices that have had no real value in the last 50 years.Slow cumbersome management of our government nationally and locally.Where do I stop?
Whats happening in Wisconsin looks like somebody trying to give the knife one last twist into the back of America’s middle class.This is no longer about union and employers’ relations.It is about our way of life in America!
lewis8457 on February 26 at 7:16 a.m.
Because of the banking community small business is dying in America. Add to that most of the major US companies hire over seas the zenith of America is over.
In pend o orelle county 47% of the employed are government workers.
With their unions wanting more and more we don’t have a chance in hell of ever getting out of the recession.
So in the mean time private sector goes with out while the union employees hold us to the fire for their annual raise.
And I am supposed to care about them? When they obviously don’t care about me.
skime on February 26 at 7:49 a.m.
The unions chased Boeing out of Washington, and shut down Bunker Hill mining. Look what they are doing to the education
system. They love spending other peoples money!
Ninch on February 26 at 7:57 a.m.
National Rural Letter Carriers’ have a union? Curious if they are employees of USPS or are contractors because either way I don’t get the purpose of this union.
And please quit the BS about the “middle class” being under direct attack. Note that it was the “middle class” that voted all these GOP/Tea Party candidates into office last year. FACT: it is the unions who have become the elite and continue to grab for more power with the aid of Obama and the liberal Dems. Lots of money and privileges exchanging hands within this alliance.
Lulubelle on February 26 at 8:25 a.m.
Unions built the middle-class. Even if you don’t belong to a union, your weekends, 40 hr work week, vacation and sick leave are due to the pressure unions exert through collective bargaining. No one seriously thinks employers offer decent wages and benefits out of the goodness of their hearts…..do they? If you are under that delusion, just check out this clip of Gov Walker cozying up to a “fake” Koch…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3a2pYGr7-k
That’s the plan, pit workers against one another and screw ‘em good before they figure out whats going on.
o_pleez on February 26 at 9:23 a.m.
Lyle - “The unions chased Boeing out of Washington, and shut down Bunker Hill mining. Look what they are doing to the education system. They love spending other peoples money!”
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So the article about the new tanker, and the 767 line in Everett isn’t true?
Boeing is gone? The 11,000 or so people that are going to work on the tanker line really aren’t going to?
Wow…..I guess the huge plants in Everett and Seattle are just sitting empty.
Other than that your comment was quite insightful, keep up the good work.
Ed Byrnes on February 26 at 9:30 a.m.
Lulubelle makes a valid point. Try to imagine what our working environs would be like without the accountability that unions force employers to take. I do not always agree with everything my union does though I would rather have those protections than not.
Do you notice that we never hear about the very wealthy in America needing to make concessions in the same way that us working and middle class people are asked to?
Lulubelle on February 26 at 10:27 a.m.
I’m not union member, nor are any of my family members….and I also take issue with some union practices……ie the Spokane Police Guild leadership. But I do support unions and union workers and appreciate the services they perform.
This latest union busting push by Wisconsin and some states just waiting in the wings isn’t just about budgets, pensions and benefits either. If unions can be neutralized, it will be a big boost to corporations looking for favors in tax breaks, deregulated safety standards, outsourcing opportunities and the “right to be exploit” (aka right to work) initiatives. The Koch brothers and their ilk can buy their favorite politicians. Unions have the “boots on the ground” grassroots to hold the line against corporate exploitation of working Americans.
D Statler on February 26 at 10:31 a.m.
Maybe Ninch and Lyle would like to move to Wiscinsin where the unions are under attack from people elected to protect the public. I am curious what you two do for a living? Are we, the real taxpayers in Washington providing you with subsidies too? I am the Middle Class and I have been under attack. My checks are shrinking and my bills are increasing.Look no farther than your own checkbooks to justify what I am saying.FACT: Believe me I would never vote for a Quack the likes of Wisconsin’s Quack !
DickAdams on February 26 at 11:25 a.m.
I wonder what cave the people claimed to support the unions live in? Even the MSM seems to believe that the Wisconsin governor is doing the right thing. The story smells like digested food through the bull. Pew.
hawken on February 26 at 12:05 p.m.
The article fails logically.
It is called argument from a “biased sample.” A classic, logical fallacy. It does fool many whom are so well equipped to embrace the fallacy.
Lulubelle on February 26 at 2:52 p.m.
Dick - if by “Even the MSM seems to believe that the Wisconsin governor is doing the right thing” you mean Fox….you might be right. Not so much all the other news outlets.
And that smell you refer to is coming from Walker’s shoes……he’s stepped in it good.
Bethany on February 26 at 11:54 p.m.
I think it’s important to realize that unions do not dictate how a business is run—just to ensure that people are treated fairly.