“We all have to suffer”

 

“First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
                                       -Martin Niemöller¹

I’ve seen many people speak against the protesters and public workers in Wisconsin by saying ‘in this economy we all have to suffer.’

It’s true, we are all suffering. And most public workers (my family included) probably saw the increase in what they pay for their healthcare, pension, and other benefits coming. It was a pretty obvious move for Governor Walker.

This change represents a 7% pay cut for most public employees in Wisconsin². It is a falsehood that public employees have ‘paid nothing’ for their benefits. Generally speaking, public employees work for far lower wages than a private sector counterpart, and part of the exchange is the improved benefits. You can look at what a teacher makes, and decide for yourself.

And this is not necessarily the ‘only option’ that Governor Walker makes it out to be³. Other states have had similar issues and have come up with different solutions⁴.

This, however, is not the real issue. The real issue is the undermining of the basic rights of the citizens of this state.

Article 23, Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
(3). Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4). Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.⁵

It’s true, Scott Walker is not denying the ability to join a union, but he is taking away the fundamental power that a union has—the power of collective bargaining.

Without collective bargaining, a union only has one big option—to walk out, to strike. And this is not the best option for anyone—the state, the workers, or the people. And by law, public employees are prohibited from striking.⁶

And if you think that Scott Walker is only coming after the public employees, or that he’s only coming after the unions, you are mistaken.

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¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came... Retrieved 2011-2-16.
²http://www.nytimes.com/chrome/#/a/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17wisconsin.html Retrieved 2011-2-16.
³ http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/15/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-alternative-state-/ Retrieved 2011-2-16.
4 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/15/AR2011021504339.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 Retrieved 2011-2-16.
⁵ http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml Retrieved 2011-2-16.
⁶ http://host.madison.com/article_194318e4-3a2b-11e0-86bd-001cc4c002e0.html Retrieved 2011-2-16.