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Reports

Colorado Still Sneers at Labor

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Posted on Apr 17, 2008

By David Sirota

Editor’s note: This is the second of two columns looking at the legacy of the Ludlow Massacre on its 94th anniversary.

The Ludlow Massacre’s tiny monument off I-25 in southern Colorado is easily missed if you don’t know where to find it. Though the nearby coal mine garnered international attention in 1914 after a government militia slaughtered union organizers there, the minimalism of the memorial is predictable. History books venerate Rockefellers—the union-busting mine owners—and disregard agents of progress like the labor movement.

But remember the parable about those ignoring history repeating it, particularly on April 20—the anniversary of the atrocity. As noted in last week’s column, the methods of Ludlow are being celebrated in our foreign policy. But they are also being trumpeted at home.

The Bush administration has abandoned American workers. While not sending militias to execute labor organizers, the feds now look away as corporations kill unions before they are ever born. And today many states are replicating that anti-union model.

A few years ago in Florida, labor leaders had to fight to remove language from a local government’s administrative code that said “unions would not help workers, and the county would oppose unions by any lawful means,” according to the Fort Myers News-Press. California’s state government has accelerated the outsourcing of public services to private contractors in order to avoid employing unionized workers—even though the practice costs taxpayers more money. The governors of Missouri and Indiana have eliminated public employees’ right to collectively bargain.

In Colorado, the persecution is most pronounced. You might think that because the reputation-staining Ludlow Massacre happened in that state, Colorado politicians would hesitate to further brutalize the labor movement. But just as racism still exists in the post-Jim Crow South, elected officials in Colorado still rough up workers—and lately that includes Democrats like Gov. Bill Ritter.

In 2007, he vetoed a bill eliminating unfair obstacles to unionization that exist only in Colorado. Though he later signed a modest order recognizing public employee unions (a recognition they have in most states), he also backed the concept of forced labor by endorsing legislation to ban those employees from striking. The Rocky Mountain News recalls that this right to strike was paid for in blood, with the Legislature originally granting it as penance for Ludlow.

Now, Ritter is berating labor-backed measures to help workers during the recession. On conservative talk radio, he attacked a ballot initiative asking employers to provide inflation-linked subsistence pay increases for employees. Ritter apologists say he hopes his position convinces corporate interests to halt their “right to work” initiative that would crush unions by limiting labor’s ability to collect dues. The rationale only proves the persistence of the anti-worker Ludlow legacy. This Democrat is countering a bid to totally destroy unions by helping prevent workers from getting the most minimum of raises.

Like so many politicians, Ritter is choosing the anti-union path of Elias Ammons, Colorado’s Democratic governor during the Ludlow Massacre.

As recounted in Scott Martelle’s book “Blood Passion,” Ammons was elected with union support, then became obsessed with finding an imaginary middle ground between business and labor, and ended up “aligning with neither.” His Colorado militia initiated the Ludlow Massacre to stop unions from forcing corporations to improve wages and working conditions. Ammons lost in his bid for re-election after one term.

Today, Ritter emulates Ammons by refusing to answer that age-old labor movement question: Which side are you on? Elected on the backs of workers, his priority is appeasing a business community just as rapacious as it was in 1914.

Ludlow’s legacy is indeed alive and well. The same story of worker repression and political cowardice that brought on a massacre is again unfolding in Colorado—and all over the country.

David Sirota is a best-selling author whose newest book, “The Uprising,” will be released in June. He is a fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network, both nonpartisan organizations. His blog is at www.credoaction.com/sirota.

© 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.

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By TDoff, April 20 at 5:28 am #
(203 comments total)

In these enlightened days of US Capitalism, we don’t need no stinkin’ unions.

With CEO’s free to steal from their companies, their stockholders, the government, their customers, each other, let the workers take their chances!

Why should they be set aside as a privileged class?

Reply to this | Hide 1 reply | Report this

By Pendelton, April 20 at 7:43 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Re: TDoff

Perhaps you don’t understand the great disparity of corporation renumeration for CEO’s compared to the lowest employee on the company’s ladder.

Perhaps you still have your head in the sand

The current administration, of what once was a great country, will go down in history as the most corrupt. Making the Roman empire look like a girl scout troop in comparison

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By Jane, April 20 at 4:37 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

In california, of all places, what’s the intention here?: first, give them what they want(wage increases up to 19% to keep up with hiring and detention). Then later, steathly, abolish the traditional union practices such as union reps, and replaced them with resolution center(the Corporate model). The answer for this: the members are all happy.

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By Eric, April 19 at 11:09 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

And for each example you list about some nit-picking little detail that makes you so anti-union (Management not buying you lunch?  How terrible!) there are thousands of examples of unions benefitting both management and workers.  The workplace rules you mention had been paid by the blood of the workers and union organizers killed in the past by management militias or management-influenced public servants (army and police).  Those workplace rules were hard-fought.  Just because they are now laws doesn’t make unions obsolete.  Those rules still have to be enforced and there are management folks and government officials who cannot be trusted to enforce those rules. 
As for your complaint about not being able to press a button or your complaint about the work rules at your factory?  You should have realized that your bosses were the ones that negotiated the contract with the union in the first place and established those rules.  Your ire should have been directed at your bosses who agreed to those rules, not the workers who abided by them.  If there were workers who did hate the job and the company, it’s little wonder - your attitude towards them…

“sniveling, chronically-unhappy employees who so hated their company and management that you could qualify their behavior as workplace sabotage; and, unionized workforces that have so retreated into their glass-house union world that they absolutely refuse to share any accountability or blame for their company’s performance, despite them coming into work every day and fucking shit up.”

… tells me you did your fair share to poison the waters. 
You say in one section of your post

Unions are like the appendix…

…an obsolete and potentially dangerous organ that can kill you if it blows up.

, and then in another section of the same post you say

Look, I recognize the need long-ago for unions and the fundamental right to collective bargaining, and I would fight any attempt to completely disband unions or deny their access to a CBA.

.  You sure are confused.
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By KISS, April 19 at 10:57 am #
(152 comments total)

There will always be the lame-brain that are union nay-sayers, and cannot see the Fascist control that has overtaken our government, both local and federal.

Thanks David for seeing that Emperor Bill Ritter was not clothed. So very sad to see dimmos that are really repugs in disguise. Postulating lies and innuendos while making sure that their monetary shares are rising, It must be the same mentality of CEO’s scourging the corporations and stock-holders.

An excellent documentary is Harlan County, USA is a 1976 Academy Award winning documentary film covering the efforts of 180 coal miners on strike against the Duke Power Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1973. It was directed by Barbara Kopple, who has long been an advocate of workers’ rights.

Harlan county mine war was in 1973 so it is not some distant memory of long ago. As I said in your part one this is in keeping with the mine disasters due to faulty or no inspections along with bribing of mine inspectors and intimidation, of this past couple of years...in other words nothing has really changed. Unions are in a back-slide and I’m willing to say mostly due to the workers own laziness or ineptness. We know how Hillary feels from her statements in the 90’s..” Screw-’em” concerning the Arkansas workers.

Going right along with the disintegration of unions is the lack of safe-guards for mine workers and the environment. These federal laws go back to before 1900’s when robber-barons controlled the law makers.. same as today.

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By Conservative Yankee, April 20 at 5:21 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Unions as phoenix

Rather than “obsolete” as Mr Giacobbe states; Unions are due for a rebirth without all the corrupting influences which made them ineffective.

The Chicken processing business would be a fine place to begin that rebirth. Some workers (mostly African American females) come to work wearing “Depends” because there is a four hour run with no bathroom break.

The cutting floor is covered with blood, no protective clothing is provided, and injuries often (if reported) result in a discharge of the injured worker.

http://watchdog.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=784722

Itinerant farm workers are also abused in their work place. They work on land drenched in pesticide, they often have their children in the fields with them many of the laws intended to protect workers are “waived” for agricultural workers. Their rate of cancer is 50 percent above that of the general population.

http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=308

http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get -document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030448&ct=1

Here in Maine woods crews and people imported to work in the “fish farms” are treated so poorly that local churches have launched a drive to get them clothing and medical care. Maybe a decent union could get the companies to issue them a pair of gloves for working outside in January… (the average January temperature in my part of Maine is -0-.

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By TDoff, April 19 at 8:52 am #
(203 comments total)

Coloradans just appear to be sneering. Actually, they are always sneezing or near-sneezing, due to the enormous amounts of coke they consume, which is readily apparent by the dusting of white powder that covers the whole state, almost year ‘round.
Aberrations like Ted Haggard, and his penchant for doping with same-sex prostitutes while presiding over the largest Colorado church congregation, result from this addiction to Colorado mind-bending. That explains why so many apparently irrational ‘conservative’ ‘think’ tanks headquarter there, they are seeking psychotic relief from their twisted values, deviated septums be damned.
How does Colorado maintain this environment, while maintaining a much higher population of same-sex-drug-addicted prostitutes than DEA agents?
Because it’s civic ‘leaders’ have the reputation of being staunch conservatives, despite their hypocritical predelictions, as messengers in direct contact with the almighty, which they are able to claim while maintaining straight faces; because they have strong contacts in Washington; and because ‘Image is Everything’ in their society, and they are good at faking it.
They make their money by seducing tithes from the gullible, various tax scams, and clipping coupons as members of the ‘lucky sperm’ club. The concept of ‘labor’ is anathema to them, which is why they abhor anyone who claims to recognize, let alone ‘organize’, ‘labor’.
Unions would have more luck organizing the ‘cottage’ owners on Martha’s Vineyard, than setting up shop in Colorado.

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By Conservative Yankee, April 19 at 10:49 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Not only Colorado

I’ve often wondered why so many assholes congregate in absolutely beautiful areas.  New Hampshire, Maine, Idaho Florida, just chocked full of narcissistic idiots.

This morning Maine’s northern newspaper ran a story about one of our assistant attorney generals. It appears he has a predilection for cocaine and sex with small children.

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By proletariatprincess, April 19 at 7:33 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Solidarity forever

Like the old Labor Song:
“...without our brain and muscle not a single wheel would turn....”

Imagine a nationwide general strike.  Imagine the power of workers united.....just imagine people who work for a wage demanding the real value of thier labor including dignity and respect...bread and roses.
The Labor movement will never completely be defeated....even the workers on the pyramids organized for better conditions and engaged in the first strike in recorded history.  The bosses always overreact to organized workers because they are afraid of the potential power of real class struggle.  Brutality crushed the miners at Ludlow but it didn’t kill the movement.  It is weakened and demoralized now, but it isn’t gone and never will be. There are more of us than there are of them...."greater than the might of armies magnified a thousand fold”.

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By Leefeller, April 19 at 6:30 am #
(1234 comments total)

Over paid and entitled

When people work for someone they always demand much more than they are worth, they want benefits, perks lots of time off, sick leave a heafty medical plan.  Even if they only wanted a living wage, I believe they are paid way to much. But what can you do with politicians when they vote themselves a raise?

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By proletariatprincess, April 18 at 6:47 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

why arent American workers more militant?

I know it is difficult and dangerous, but I often wonder why workers are more not rising up against the injustices and persecutions that we continue to see around the country.  They did in the 30s and before the Wagner Act when unions were illegal in many parts of the country. Employers want slaves, even if they have to pay them wages. Money isnt really the issue...tho they will always say it is.  What they really dont want, and will fight with all thier strength to prevent, is workers rights in the workplace and Labor to have an effective voice on at the national and state level.  It is class warfare pure and simple, but american workers dont seem to recognize to what class they belong.

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By Conservative Yankee, April 18 at 4:57 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Anti-Union

By Purple Girl, April 18 at 3:38 am

“I stayed - found my replacement, trained him and even continued to help by phone . These companies have failed to recognize their utter dependence of the Workers”

I understand that people do what they have to do, BUT your statement of service to this company is about the most anti-union position I have ever encountered.

Did you get paid when you “continued to help by phone”? Did you get paid additional for serving outside your defined duties by “training your replacement”? 

Of course “companies have failed to recognize their utter dependence of the Workers” How can they when they are being protected from this knowledge by workers with a misplaced sense of loyalty?

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By Purple Girl, April 18 at 3:38 am #
(240 comments total)

"Right to Work' Means right to be fired

The most disgusting example of this Doctrine is being used in the state that gave life to the Workers Right movements- Michigan.
I had a boss tell me he could fire me when ever eh wanted- just because he didn’t like the way I look one day. this pissed me off- Loafer wearing sockless ‘Sonny Corleone’Wannabe MF’er. so I said that was fair I could decide to not show up to work anymore when ever I didn’t like the way he treated me- I was the only employee in the Dept, and was the only one who knew how it ran & where everything was.I’d have screwed him harder than he could have screwed me! That Shut him up fast. After that converstion I began looking for a new job. If I didn’t care about my future refences and my dislike for Burning Bridges I would have Walked out then & there, but I didn’t- not for Him , but for ME and my felow employee who would have suffered do to the lapse of anew hire & their ‘learning curve’ . I stayed - found my replacement, trained him and even continued to help by phone . These companies have failed to recognize their utter dependence of the Workers- Without US, they would have no plush office to work at, nor the high priced cars to get them there.

Cave Adsum Inc America!

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