We Are AFSCME, We Are the 99%
Sec.-Treas. Lee A. Saunders (Photo by Luis Gomez)
For many years, our union has called attention to the growing chasm between the super-rich and everyone else. Delegates to our conventions for at least the past two decades have passed resolutions opposing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and criticizing the corporate greed and short-term speculation that has sunk our economy.
Now that the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is as wide and deep as the Grand Canyon, the entire nation is finally aware of something we have known for a long time: Income disparity is growing, and it threatens our country’s future.
The Congressional Budget Office says that the gap widened dramatically between 1979 and 2007. According to the CBO, income for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans grew by 275 percent during those years. But for Americans at the bottom, income grew by only 18 percent.
Blind to Real Problems
Who are these “1 Percenters”? Bailed-out bankers, securities traders, hedge-fund managers and others in the financial sector. They also include half the members of Congress. That could explain why so many of our representatives are blind to the real problems affecting everyday Americans. Many Republicans are more focused on unseating President Obama in November than they are on fixing the economy now.
Your elected Executive Board endorsed the President for re-election because he is the clear choice for the 99% of Americans who have seen their incomes remain flat, or even fall. The choice in this election may come down to a President who knows what it’s like to struggle to pay the rent, or the scion of a wealthy family – Mitt Romney – who suggests that you shouldn’t run for office if you need the salary and have a mortgage.
The Power of a Movement
Some people say we’re inciting class warfare when we talk about the dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots. But there’s been a war on working families, unions and the right to organize since Ronald Reagan. The rich can buy lobbyists and lawyers who influence politics. Working families, students, the poor, and the unemployed can’t compete with that on their own. But through AFSCME, other labor unions and progressive coalitions, we are harnessing the power of a movement.
As members of a union that was born from the fight for a just economy, we are sick and tired of a country that only works for the 1 percent. We are calling on Congress to close corporate tax loopholes and end the Bush tax cuts, and we are calling on politicians to invest in the public service workers that are the heart of every community.
This isn’t about left versus right; it’s about right versus wrong. And we will hold all politicians accountable, no matter their party. This is a defining moment for our nation, and AFSCME is the last line of defense for the 99%.
