The Attacks Continue

First it was Wisconsin, then Ohio, and now Iowa. Republicans in state legislatures all over the country are attempting to destroy the power of unions and take away the right of collective bargaining from public employees.

This morning, after fifteen hours of debate by Democrats, House Study Bill 117 passed in the Iowa House Labor Committee. Not only were Democrats not able to kill this union-busting legislation, but Republicans in committee refused to attach any of the 48 amendments proposed by Democrats to alleviate some of the devastating effects this bill will have on working class families. House Study Bill 117 will now go to the full House where, if passed, will destroy collective bargaining rights.

Even though Democrats were unable to kill this bill in committee, there are still many more opportunities to do so before it actually becomes law, and Democrats in Iowa refuse to let it get that far. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal ensured that the Democrats in the Iowa state legislature will “fight [House Study Bill 117] every step of the way.

House Study Bill 117 in Iowa is not the only union-busting legislation currently pending in state legislatures. Republicans have introduced similar bills all over the country such as Senate Bill 575 in Indiana, House Bill 474 in New Hampshire, and Senate Bill 5 in Ohio. This is no longer a state by state issue. This is now a serious attack on the right to collectively bargain for workers all over the country. We, as Democrats, need to not only work in these states to fight the already proposed legislation, but to also work together to stop the spread of such anti-union legislation and to preserve the rights of workers all of the country.

It's not just Wisconsin

“I’ll give up my union card when you pry it from my cold dead hand,” reads the sign of an Ohio protester who gathered with an estimated 3,800 others in an act of solidarity against Ohio’s Senate Bill 5. Although Wisconsin has been garnering more widespread media coverage, a frighteningly similar Republican sponsored bill is working its way through the Ohio Senate’s Insurance, Commerce and Labor committee. Protests reached fever pitch today as over 1000 protesters flooded into the Capitol building in Columbus, where the Senate Bill 5 testimony was being broadcast over speakers from a tightly guarded hearing room.

Union members are angry! In state legislatures and governors’ offices, where Republicans have dominated all branches of government after the 2010 elections, they are going after hardworking public-sector employees! No wonder teachers, firefighters, and policemen, alongside family and friends, are vocalizing their opposition in such magnitudes! So what’s at stake? A collective bargaining bill that gives organized state and local labor the right to collectively bargain for better working conditions, in addition to granting police and fire officials the right to seek binding arbitration.

Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich wants to reform this law and ban collective bargaining rights for all state employees and drastically limit arbitration rules for local governments. Senate Bill 5 will make it much harder for teachers and other local union members to bargain collectively and force them to pay much larger shares of health insurance premiums. Republicans claim that they are trying to rein in the rising cost of salary benefits earned by hardworking municipal workers, but taking away collective bargaining rights doesn't save money, it just hurts workers.

Kasich has even pushed for public workers who strike to be fired! This Republican claim that denies wanting to harm workers is not true. This is a politically risky tactic for Republicans given that a USA Today/Gallup Poll found 61% of Americans in opposition to laws undermining collective bargaining rights to 33% in favor. “I proudly served for Freedom, don’t take it away,” reads another protester's sign. The mounting fear for most union members is that if Senate Bill 5 passes, they will unilaterally be removed from collective bargaining, and their views and voices will be diluted and steamrolled by the government.

The Ohio protests are also receiving significant support from many high profile leaders who are standing by hard working Americans. Today, former Governor Ted Strickland, a past 21st Century Democrats endorsee, cheered on union supporters through a megaphone alongside former congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, another past endorsee, and Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17). Although United States Senate rules prevent members from lobbying on state legislation, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown has voiced an interest in expressing solidarity with state democrats.

Ohio is just one of several other states that are encountering bills that undercut state employees’ rights to collective bargaining. Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine and Pennsylvania are also facing the same situation where Republicans made significant gains in the wake of the midterm elections. 21st Century Democrats is committed to representing the interests of America’s Working Families and we are dedicated to doing all we can to promote a fairer, just and equal society for all.

State Workers Under Attack

Republican state governments have launched an assault on America's middle class. Bills in Ohio and Wisconsin have been taken up and have a primary goal of suppressing civil-service employees' collective bargaining rights. Republicans claim this is in the name of "balancing the budget," but in the real world, we know that this is all about - It's union bashing through and through!

Sadly, these partisan attacks on working and middle class families are what we come to expect from Republicans. But workers are not taking this sitting down. Protestors have taken to the streets in Madison, Wisconsin, and teachers have called in sick prompting significant school closings in the Madison, Milwaukee and La Crosse areas.

In Wisconsin this anti-union legislation would completely undermine the ability for many state workers to negotiate for better pensions, health care benefits or salary raises that exceed the Consumer Price Index. This is sabotage and it doesn't end here! In Ohio, Republican majorities are also attempting to hinder state and state institutions of higher education employees from collective bargaining. Republicans are hurting their neighbors, teachers, local law enforcement, town clerks and local response teams in order to further a partisan agenda. Republican Governor John Kasich fully supports the new bill and may propose his own proposal that would go even further to prohibit public employee strikes!

Protestors have converged on steps of the Capitol in Columbus, too. Republicans have their hands full! For almost thirty years progress has been made to facilitate effective collective bargaining for public employees and Republicans are determined to make them start fresh. These new union-assaulting bills will make it more difficult for public employees to provide for their families and will hurt local communities that depend on these employees. These sweeping Republic takeovers at the state level are putting families, neighbors, and communities at risk. If
Ohio and Wisconsin so eagerly implement these oppressive tactics, who's to say other states won't follow suit? There are similar efforts in budding stages just about everywhere Republicans took control of one or more branches of government: Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and to a lesser degree in Maine and Pennsylvania.. Something must be done and 21^st Century Democrats is fully committed to challenging these incursions on America's middle class' livelihoods.

Truthiness in Messaging

If there was ever a time that we should hook up public speakers to a lie detector, it was last night for the Republican response by Rep. Paul Ryan, I could go on for a long time about him, but instead I’ll just highlight some of the most blatant lies and pitiful attempts at obfuscation that were used.

“Our debt is the product of acts by many presidents and many Congresses over many years. No one person or party is responsible for it.” Right, except for the fact that the last Democratic president left us with a budget surplus and then a Republican president wiped that out by providing massive tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% and not paying for it. Oops.

“There is no doubt the President came into office facing a severe fiscal and economic situation.” Again, correct but he fails to mention who championed the deregulation which helped cause it. (Hint: It was Republicans)

“Unfortunately, instead of restoring the fundamentals of economic growth, he (President Obama) engaged in a stimulus spending spree that not only failed to deliver on its promise to create jobs, but also plunged us even deeper into debt.” But wait what about the 1.6 million jobs it has created so far?

Last, but not least, his argument against health care reform:

“What we already know about the President's health care law is this: Costs are going up, premiums are rising, and millions of people will lose the coverage they currently have. Job creation is being stifled by all of its taxes, penalties, mandates and fees.”

Once again, reality is taking a pretty big hit here. Premiums aren’t going up, sorry. Employees of small firms would effectively see unchanged premiums, at large firms the premiums would be unchanged or go down a little and more than half of those who buy their own coverage would qualify for tax credits, earning a family of four up to $88,000 per year.

Next, it’s not really a job killing bill. In fact HCR could increase jobs by 250,000 to 400,000 per year over the coming decade.

Those millions of people who are losing their coverage, yeah, that’s actually from a study where 123 million people would choose a public option if it were cheaper than their current coverage, but since there’s no public option I guess we won’t have to worry about this.

As an extra bonus, for all those Republicans concerned about the deficit, if we repeal HCR, the Congressional Budget Office expects that the deficit would increase by $145 BILLION from 2012-2019 and if you go to 2021 it’s an increase of $230 BILLION. Now that’s not very responsible.

Stay tuned for our look at one of our favorite ranting, raving, right-wingers, Michelle Bachmann and her response to the State of the Union.

Happy Anniversary to Citizens United

This Friday marks the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Citizens United case that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on federal campaigns. In 2010, we saw the disastrous consequences this decision had on our elections when special interests were able to buy a campaign victory in November. This ruling undermined the very ideals of the democratic process by allowing the money of corporations to trump the votes of Americans.

As a result of this decision, insurance and pharmaceutical companies were able to pour unlimited funds into the fight against health care reform and to elect anti-health care reform Republicans in November. Because of this, the Republican controlled House voted on Wednesday to repeal health care reform, one of the most important pieces of legislation ever.

We need to put an end to this corrupt influence and ensure that special interests do not take over our elections in 2012. We may not be able to match the millions of dollars corporations will spend, but we can beat them by organizing a strong grassroots campaign. 21st Century Democrats believes that by electing strong supporters of campaign finance reform, we can make a permanent change in the way elections are run.

Populism in Today's Politics - Register Now

A populist revival is currently happening in America and it is important we address the fact that as Democrats, we are the true voice of the Populist movement. It is crucial that we use this message to bring back our economy and ensure Democratic candidates are elected in 2012.

Please join 21st Century Democrats and a selected panel of populist leaders on Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm EST in our conference call, "Populism in Today's Politics: A Pre-State of the Union Conversation." Click Here to register for this event and to submit questions to our guest speakers.

Populist leaders Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, radio host Jim Hightower of Texas, and Democratic consultant Vic Fingerhut will answer your questions and address the opportunities we have and the challenges we may face with a populist agenda 2011.

Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity! Register Today and please spread the word about this exceptional event.

Attorney General Rich Cordray - Main Street's Avenger

The New York Times published a great article on Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray and his efforts to protect the people in Ohio. A small selection from the article is below.

Click Here to read the full piece.


New York Times
Oct. 11, 2010

Ohio Attorney General Fights Against Wall Street

"... Mr. Cordray in two years in office has demonstrated a willingness to sue early and often, filing lawsuits against global financial houses, rating agencies, subprime lenders and foreclosure scammers. He has wrested about $2 billion so far, a string of gilded pelts: a $475 million Merrill Lynch settlement, $400 million from Marsh & McLennan and $725 million from the American International Group.

Last week, he filed suit against GMAC Mortgage, accusing the loan servicer of filing fraudulent affidavits in hundreds of Ohio foreclosures.

His office has returned money to investors, pension funds, schools and cities. And he has directed millions to agencies fighting foreclosure ..."

It's Rich's dedication to protecting Main Street from Wall Street that makes him a real populist hero. We're proud to have endorsed Rich Cordray and look forward to continuing to support him after he is reelected.