Are Legislators Helping or Hurting You?

When a recent Washington Post headline screamed out “Flat City: Wages Are Going Nowhere,” it was old news to most American workers. They already knew their paychecks were buying less and less; that they were either paying a greater share of the cost for health care or seeing their employers drop benefits entirely; and that they had no meaningful job security.

But what most American workers may not realize is that they are part of a war—not a war of bullets and bombs, but of words—a war being fought every day in Congress, state houses, and city halls; in newspapers and corporate boardrooms; and on radio and television. Which side wins will have a profound impact on our future.

Powerful business interests have spent hundreds of millions of dollars influencing the debate. Their goal is to convince people that some iron law of economics requires American businesses and government to toss loyal employees out in the street, to force workers to give back wages and benefits or be replaced by lower paid workers here or abroad, and to dismantle health and safety, labor, and environmental protections.

These interests want us all to believe that the only way for American business to compete globally is by lowering wages. They preach that government is inefficient and must be reduced and that the marketplace can do it better and cheaper. They claim that the budget deficit is the source of most of the nation’s problems, and that it can only be reduced by cutting Medicare and converting Medicaid and other programs like job training, food stamps, welfare, and child nutrition into block grants to the states with drastically fewer dollars. And they also say that unions should be weakened, that the right to strike should be abolished, and that employers and employees cannot work together more productively unless the boss has increased control over workers.

The story of the 1990s—as it was for the ‘80s—is simple: Profits Up; Wages Down. The bosses are not sharing with the workers. Real wages are the best indicator of workers’ living standards. Simply stated, they tell us what our paychecks can buy. From 1989 to 1995, corporate profits rose and workers became more productive, but real wages stayed the same or went down for over three-quarters of all wage earners.

From 1950 to 1980 wages and productivity both rose at the same pace. Since 1980, however, workers have not benefitted from their increased efficiency. The benefits have gone instead to owners and stockholders. In 1960, the average chief executive earned about 12 times the wage of the average worker at the same place of employment. This year, that number has jumped to 135 times as much, according to Business Week magazine.

There’s another threat: job loss. The federal budget bill vetoed by President Clinton last month would have resulted in the loss of 2.2 million jobs by the year 2002—many of them held by public employees and health care workers. According to a recent study commissioned by AFSCME, over 1.2 million of these threatened jobs would come out of the health care industry alone as a result of slashing $433 billion from Medicare and Medicaid.

Throughout 1996, you should watch closely the proposed laws that are pushed through Congress by those corporate interests—laws reducing Medicare and Medicaid, making deep cuts in grants to state and local governments, raising the cost of student loans, gutting labor laws, stripping away health and safety protections. When you feel Congress is going in the wrong direction, don’t remain silent. Speak up!

In 1994, many citizens went to the polls and voted for a change. New people were voted into the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Throughout this past year, we have seen the changes supported by those now controlling Congress. Do they speak for you?

As citizens of the greatest country on earth—and members of the best union in this nation—you have a serious responsibility in this election year. Throughout 1996, you will hear politicians say many things; you will see, hear, and read various media reports. Based on the information you gather, you will have to decide who gets your vote—who speaks for you.

As you go through this important year, we would like to recommend some questions you might ask about what you hear—some standards against which you can measure candidates and issues. Ask yourself, “Who will benefit from this proposal?”

• Will it help create more and better paying jobs?
• Will it provide more job security for me and my co-workers?
• Will it protect workplace health and safety?
• Will it maintain or improve my family’s standard of living?
• Will it sustain the fiscal health of state and local governments so they won’t lay off workers and cut services?

Your decisions this year will affect your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. They may strengthen or weaken your community. Get the facts. Then vote for those who really speak for you.