Standing up for workers

Here's AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, responding to a question this morning:



This is exactly the point we need to hammer home. Republican governors are seeking to pit citizens against each other. They say to taxpayers, why should you subsidize pensions that are more generous than your own? Taxpayers need to rise above small feelings of jealousy and ask themselves, why don't I have a decent pension? What can I do in solidarity with unions and other working people to get a better deal for us all? Do we want to become more like our low-wage competitors? Or should we model our economy after a high-wage country like Germany? Wall Street won't defend the gains made by working Americans in the 20th century. We must do that for ourselves by turning off the T.V. and taking to the streets. Appeasement of the plutocrats hasn't worked. Millions are doing more for less, and still jobs are outsourced. But we've been here before. The plutocrats of today are no more powerful than the robber barons of the gilded age. We still have some democratic rights that we can exercise to demand another New Deal. We won't achieve victory without a struggle. We will only continue to lose ground if we don't join together now, and try to restore opportunity and hope for 80% of our nation.