Governor Nikki Haley's Rage Against Workers

Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina has got a chip on her shoulder. Last week during her “State of the State” address she said the following:

“Unions thrive in the dark. Secrecy is their greatest ally, sunlight their most potent adversary. And we'll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted, and not welcome in the State of South Carolina.” 

 As if this remark wasn’t aggressive enough, this week Governor Haley announced the filing of a new bill that's sole intent is to weaken unions even further in her state.

Governor Haley claims this bill is about closing loopholes, but South Carolina is already home to some of the toughest anti-union laws in the nation -- less than 5% of the State's workers are unionized. Furthermore, she doesn't have the power to decide where unions can and can't be. The decision to form a union is up to workers -- not politicians.

This bill is nothing but desperate pandering fueled by Governor Haley’s selfish desire to regain fringe tea party support that is eroding following her ill-timed endorsement of Mitt Romney.

It’s understandable for Governor Haley to feel frustrated. South Carolina’s unemployment rate, at 9.9%, ties them for 10^th worst in the nation. But taking away the rights of workers does nothing to create jobs.

It would be nice if Governor Haley displayed a semblance of understanding workers before she so openly bashed them. We have the largest gap between rich and poor in this country since the Great Depression. An overwhelming majority of GDP is going to corporate profits whereas historic lows are being contributed to wages and salaries. It’s not workers whose power and influence needs to be curbed, it’s corporations.

Governor Haley should wise up and shift her focus away from abolishing the rights of working class Americans. Maybe then we'll see her put forth legislation that actually makes a positive difference in people's lives.

How Rich are the Superrich? Or, Why Many Politicians Don't Care About Dwindling Worker Rights and Growing Income Inequality

Mother Jones has an excellent article up on growing income inequality in this country--with great infographics on who has all the money (hint: just a few of us) and who doesn't (hint: most of us.) As the authors point out:

A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.

Below are just some of the clear-cut, startling charts from the article. They make the facts very clear: income inequality in this country continues to grow as corporations make more and are taxed less, even as most Americans say it's unfair. And we're almost powerless to do anything about it as our disproportionately wealthy members of Congress vote for the moneyed interests against the little guy, again and again.  

One of our only lines of defense left--one of the only institutions still fighting for the dwindling middle class--is labor, and that's why labor is under intense attack right now. The Wall Street types and CEOs like the Koch brothers are behind anti-union attacks like Scott Walker's, and they want nothing more than to crush unions for good so they can see a clear path to a total plutocracy in America.  It's why in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, Rhode Island, Minnesota--all over the country, workers are rising up and saying, no more.

When you take a look at these charts, you'll say, no more, too. Then head over and read the rest of the article. Finally, once you've boiled over, head over to VoteUFCW and find a solidarity rally in your neck of the woods. There isn't one? Start organizing your own. Let's show our millionaire politicians and CEOs what we think of growing income inequality and their attack on the American way of life.