A View from the Battlefield It’s Union Busting Time! Public Sector Workers Under Attack By Jamala Rogers BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board

The public sector is comprised of those jobs that are mainly paid by our tax dollars - teachers, firefighters, police, government workers, etc. It may seem bizarre that these folks, who are almost never are paid what they’re worth, are the target of the GOP and other right-wing forces. The plan of attack is public, intense and coordinated. Labor unions and their allies had already got a sniff of something funky in the air after the Obama victory. Last year, as Republicans were salivating to regain their power in the Congress, they were also consolidating that power at the local and state levels. Republicans now have super majorities in states like Florida andTexas. (Texas can thank Allan Ritter who did a party switcheroo to give the GOP the upper hand.) Other states like Missouri are only a couple of legislators away from a super majority. A super majority in the wrong hands, with a corporate-driven agenda, can be devastating to working people. A host of legislation aimed at diminishing or eliminating workers’ rights has been given a stamp of approval by the Republicans. It includes overturning liveablewages, supporting right to work, implementing anti-immigration laws and destroying collective bargaining. Some states are trying to pass a so-called “Save our Secret Ballot” act which is twisted language taking away workers’ rights to form unions and operate in their own best interests. Luckily, this sneaky ballot initiative didn’t make it on the Missouri ballot. Another attempt, using the same tricknology to de-power unions, is the paycheck protection law to profit using union dues for political activity. As if union members don’t have sense enough to vote on where they want their dollars spent. Like synchronized robots, the GOP declared war on workers through proposed legislative bills in general assemblies across the country. InMissouri, unions and their allies are fighting hard to beat back these measures as I type. Why has a war with such a vengeance been called on these public workers? For one, these workers are the most unionized sector in a declining pool of folks who still have jobs in this country. Thirty six percent of public workers are in unions, compared with about seven percent in the private sector. After all, the government is a huge employer on the local, state and national levels. The Democratic Party has historically enjoyed strong union support. A union movement without workers and a dues-based budget reduces the ability to be an influential factor in national elections. Connect the dots, and we’re talking about an Obama loss in 2012. Looking at President Obama’s budget proposal, that includes huge cuts in services to the working class, he may need be to be reminded of who his base is and who’s trying to take bites out of his behind. Currently, St. Louis citizens are waging a battle to reclaim its police department which has been under state control since the Civil War. The bill recently passed in the House, the furthest it has ever gone. One of the alleged sticking points by the police association is they don’t want Mayor Slay getting his hands on their pension. They naïvely believe that it is really, really safe under the governor. The police association and its supporters need to keep a watchful eye on states like Wisconsin that are in a heated battle to stop the Governor’s plan to break the backs of public workers. There will be no sacred cows - pensions included - as states balance their deficits on the backs of working people. The St. Louis police keep acting as if it is a protected class; they’d better wake up and smell the smoke from the union contract fires. This is a time for all workers, union and non-union, public and private, to stand united if any of us are to maintain the crumbs that we have in terms of wages, benefits and healthy work conditions. No collective bargaining for workers is unacceptable. It’s time to think outside the box like the use of tactics by Democrats in Wisconsin to leave the state in order to halt the voting process. All eyes are on Wisconsin, Ohio and other states jumping on the bandwagon - workers, other state governors, right-wing funders, etc. This is a showdown that the workers must win. BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member, Jamala Rogers, is the leader of the Organization for Black Struggle in St. Louis and the Black RadicalCongressNational Organizer. Click here to contact Ms. Rogers.