New Report: Jobs Well Done
by John Vandeventer
The story of America’s rise to global prominence is the story of the American worker. And everything about it is unprecedented. We’re the most productive. We’re the most educated. We’re the most innovative. And through that hard work, determination, and ingenuity, millions of our forebears turned what started as an American experiment into the American Dream.
Those workers weren’t just building cars and airplanes; they were building a middle class that brought such prosperity and stability to our economy, we became the envy of countries the world over. And, so, we did everything we could to keep it strong – strict laws that protect employees, freedom to form unions that give voice to workers, and limits on corporate influence that keep government working for the people.
But things are changing. Corporations have spent enormous amounts of time and money to change the rules of the game. American workers are still the most productive on the planet, but we no longer see the rewards. And, as a result, the middle class is shrinking at an alarming rate.
How did this happen? Where are those laws that protected workers? It turns out, many of them are still there, they just aren’t being enforced. Today, The American Prospect has released a 22 page report that details the growing crisis facing American workers and what the government could do, right now, to help stop it.
Case by case, the report follows the money that used to flow into the pockets of American workers, but now gets pumped into the balance sheets of multi-billion dollar corporations. Maybe most disturbing of all, though, are the many instances of our own tax dollars funding the very companies that are driving Americans out of the middle class and into poverty.
The solution doesn’t require radical new government policies. In fact, in most cases, it doesn’t even require any new laws. It just requires that the administration use the power it already has to enforce the laws already on the books. It requires that government listen to the conscience that has guided us to prosperity for centuries, and refuse to give our tax dollars to companies that exploit workers and destroy the middle class.
The timing of this report couldn’t be better (and not just because it’s almost Labor Day). The economy’s a mess, millions of Americans don’t have jobs, and those that do have never been more uncertain about what the future holds. This report should be a wake-up call for those in power. They already have the tools, the authority, and the precedent to take action that will create good paying jobs – jobs that will help lift our economy out of its slump.
But, it should also send an even bigger message to Washington that transcends the current economic situation. We need to get back to the very principles that have made our workforce and our country so strong for so many years. We need tough laws. We need strong unions. We need checks on corporate influence. We need to show the rest of the world that we are not willing to let the American experiment fail; we will keep the American Dream alive.
Read the report. Think about it. Demand action.
New Report: Jobs Well Done
originally appeared on
SEIU.org
on Thursday, Sep 2, 2010.
Posted:
September 2nd, 2010 |
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