wow. hyperbole much?

[netmouse]

Just got an email from the democratic party about the primary election. At the bottom they have this to say:

BEWARE OF "RIGHT TO WORK" PETITION
At your polling site you may be asked to sign a petition to put Right to Work legislation on the november ballot.
Right to Work means Right to Work for Less. This legislation would:
Reduce wages and benefits
Weaken labor unions
Destroy the middle class
Please do not sign these petitions. This is an attempt by Corporations and out-of-state millionaires to further weaken Michigan's economy.

(emphasis mine)

this article reports that, "According to the U.S. government, poverty rates are 16 percent higher in right-to-work states. Due to poverty rates, these states have the worst infant mortality rates in the nation. Personal bankruptcies are also higher in right-to-work states."

That's not destroying the middle class, that's hurting the lower classes. at best the lower middle class...

Anyway, I'm not supporting or opposing the "Right to work" movement (here's another article against it) but I'm tired of people trying to play with my fear. I'm not afraid, people. Not more than is reasonable anyway.

Comments

[madkingludwig.livejournal.com]

It's an attempt to destroy unions. the "destroy the middle class" thing is only slightly disingenuous: the accusation stems from a belief, based on old data, that manufacturing jobs that economically place one in the middle class still exist. Those jobs were union jobs, but have been so depleted through "free trade" that they no longer have the cohesion necessary to bargain effectively. Therefore, had "Right to Work" laws been passed, say, 50 years ago, the sizable middle class that existed in the post-WWII era would have been destroyed at that time.
Now it is merely making sure that there will never be significant unions again.
And, yes, it is designed to depress wages and create a "more flexible labor market". Which does mean working twice the work for half the pay.

[pnh.livejournal.com]

Quite right. Widespread union membership, and the union-management detente that lasted from World War II to the mid-1970s, is what created the modern American middle class. The only thing inaccurate about that flyer is the tense; that middle class has been destroyed, bifurcated into a world of upwardly-mobile knowledge workers (you, me, and most of our friends) and downwardly-mobile losers bereft of any clout whatsoever.