|
War Abroad Aimed at Poor
March- April 2003 Conservatives in the Capitol have launched an assault on labor rights, civil liberties and social responsibilities in the name of a looming war on Iraq. Remember how President Bush stripped federal unionized workers’ bargaining power through the creation of the Homeland Security Department and blamed labor for compromising security? That was just the beginning. Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay co-signed an anti-union letter, calling unionized workers “the big labor bosses” who were “willing to harm freedom-loving workers, the war effort and the economy to acquire more power”
Our country is heading in a wrong direction. Unionized and immigrant workers are being made the scapegoats. The war is giving the conservatives political ammunition to assail hard-working Americans. The US Patriot Act seriously undermines labor rights and civil liberties. SEIU Local 535 members must join the fight because the current federal policy threatens the lives of our soldiers, our clients, our families and our workers. This war will cost hundreds of billions of dollars and the president wants to give $674 billion in tax cuts to the rich. If the president has his way, there would be few resources to strengthen our economy, health care system, schools, and other vital public services at a time when working families need them most. Are we saying we have enough money to wage war but as the most powerful nation on earth, we cannot afford taking care of the sick and poor?
Citing a shortage of money, the federal government scrapped the Mass Layoffs Statistic Report and eliminated part of the Medicare outreach program. In a recent Medicare proposal, it left open the possibility that seniors may have to join private plans to get drug benefits. Economic experts warn that a war on Iraq would delay California’s economic recovery. Cutting federal funding to state-run programs could trigger another round of layoffs, wage freezes, and service cuts in California.
|
||||||||||
