March - April - United Mine Workers of America

“thIs Is aelites who are funding these politiciansaren’t interested in whetherthere’s a strong middle class or not.All they care about is whether workershave any ability to challenge theelites’ control over our economy. Aslong as we’re ‘kept in our place,’they’re happy.”picking our pocketsThe UMWA represents several thousandpublic employees in states andmunicipalities all over the UnitedStates. They see the whole issue ofreducing “over-generous” benefitsfor what it is: Nothing more than away for politicians to take money outof the pockets of those who serve usto pay for tax cuts that benefit thewealthiest Americans.“They say they’re trying to cutcosts,” said George Wilson, a l.U.2004 correctional officer at the JeffersonCountyprison inBrookville, Pa.“I used to workin another field,George Wilson,L.U. 2004DAVID KAMERASers use it as an interest-free loan.That’s where they always go whenthey want to stiff us.”According to Tax.com’s PulitzerPrize-winning analyst DavidCay Johnston, “Out of every dollarthat funds Wisconsin’s pensionand health insurance plans for stateworkers, [every cent] comes fromthe state workers. how can that be?Because the ‘contributions’ consistof money that employees chose totake as deferred wages—as pensionswhen they retire—rather than takeimmediately in cash.“It’s about bustIngunIons, perIoD.”“The same is true with thehealth care plan,” Johnston’s analysiscontinues. “Thus, state workers arenot being asked to simply ‘contributemore’ to Wisconsin’ s retirementsystem. They are being asked toaccept a cut in their salaries so thatthe state of Wisconsin can use themoney to fill the hole left by tax cutsand reduced audits of corporationsin Wisconsin.“The fact is that all of the moneygoing into these plans belongs tothe workers because it is part of thecompensation of the state workers,”he said. “The fact is that the stateworkers negotiate their total compensation,which they then divvy upbetween cash wages, paid vacations,health insurance and, yes, pensions.”and they wentafter the pensionsthere too.Employconsin,”said l.U. 6126 PresidentJoe Martinez, who represents publicworkers in las Animas County, Colo.“I think that all these states havesomehow overstepped by taking itout on their workers. These governorsand legislators aren’t giving upanything. If it’s going to be fair, makeit fair across the board.“Some unions are afraid to doanything, because they’re gettingslammed,” Martinez said. “It’s goingto be a heck of a battle for them to gettheir negotiating rights back. here athome, our contract expires at the endof the year, and who knows what’sgoing to happen then? Will they tryto take it out on us? We’ll see, butthey’ll be in for a fight if they do.”“This situation in Wisconsinsimply can’t stand as a precedent,”said Rhonda Smith, a l.U. 1995member at Southeastern IllinoisCollege in harrisburg,Ill. “I think there’s definitelya need for unions.I would hate to thinkwhat my job would belike without a union. It’sscary that someone couldYolanda Betz,come in and pull thisL.U. 1995out from under us. It’sun-American. We could all end upcleaning floors.”“It’s about bustingunions, period,”insisted Smith’s colleague,Yolanda Betz.“They would loveto get rid of us—it’sDAVID KAMERASthey’re everywhere“My members are hoping that itdoesn’t get any worse here, thatit doesn’t go like it did in Wis-6 March/April 2011 • United Mine Workers Journal