Are Sweatshops Coming Back In A New Form?

Sweatshop USA

Many are too young to remember sweatshops. Sweatshops were largely in the garment industry and small groups of desperate workers worked long hours for low pay, in isolation and without any bargaining power.

The classic definition of a sweat shop was connected with industrialized America and included the following traits:

•         Prevalent in the garment industry origin between 1830s and 1850s

•         Desperate Workforce

•         Long Hours for low pay

•         Child labor may have been employed

•         Dangerous working conditions

•         Sweater/Subcontractor – had a workforce that did work for client, kept workers isolated and unsure of who the ultimate employer was, quickly replace workers for any reason

•         Workers Inability To Organize – due to isolation

•         Unions and labor laws largely ended sweatshops in the United States

•         Most garment related firms outsourced production to other countries that employ sweatshop practices

Labor laws and unions effected changes that largely did away with the practices and conditions that created an environment that was friendly for sweatshop formation. Now in the 21^st century are we set for the formation of a new type of sweatshop environment, not in sewing factories, but in corporate America, schools and government facilities? The reality is we may be already there. This is the current situation:

•         Desperate Workforce – millions of unemployed workers – Some with benefits exhausted

•         Sweater/Subcontractor – staffing firms – outsourcing – temp to perm – 6 month contract jobs etc.

•         Workers Inability To Organize – union membership low and unions being busted as in Wisconsin and elsewhere

•         This new sweatshop environment is invading all classes of work from public education, business professionals, health professionals and trade workers

What we are currently experiencing is a situation of surplus high-end workers that are becoming increasingly desperate after prolonged joblessness. The unemployment rate fluctuates as much from those giving up on searching for jobs as from new job placements. Many salaried workers have higher workloads and work longer hours than ever. Those trying to get back into the workplace often find themselves signed up with staffing firms and outsourcing companies that are the new age sweaters. Some find themselves working for companies on a temporary basis with hopes to move into a permanent position. Others find themselves getting back into the workforce on 6 to 12 month contracts that are often are not renewed because companies don’t want to take them onto their permanent payroll.

As for unions and collective bargaining, union membership is at an all time low. Unions are under attack and some are having their bargaining rights stripped like in Wisconsin. An article titled “WISCONSIN BUSTS THE UNIONS” by the Associated Press March 10, 2011 and published in The Huffington Post describes the move to strip public union bargaining rights in the state of Wisconsin. The key words are higher workloads, lower job security and little to no worker negotiating leverage, it sounds eerily similar to a sweatshop environment.

Are We Back To “Shut Up And Work” - Wisconsin GOP Strips Union Bargaining Rights

 State Flag of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin state Republicans separated the measure to strip public unions bargaining rights from the budget bill and passed the separate piece of legislation. In one move, what took decades of effort to gain was stripped in one fell swoop.

What exactly are we dealing with here in the midst of a severe economic downturn? It seems that there was the though that the harsh economic times would create a climate receptive to hardball type tactics even if it was against teachers and other public workers. An article titled “GOP rams anti-union bill through Wis. Senate” March 9, 2011 and published on the MSNBC website goes into what took place in Wisconsin.

 Why are millionaires and billionaires from all over the country sitting on the sidelines watching what should be a Wisconsin state matter, of course the answer is always money.

It’s All About Money

You see there is gold under the frozen tundra in Wisconsin and other states if those pesky unions can be moved out of the way. Just like the privatized prison system is a booming business, privatized school systems are the next big growth industry. Have you wondered about all of the recent trashing of public school teachers? With tight budgets gripping the country would it not be a relief for private industry to swoop in and say, “Let us take this budget item off your hands and allow us to run this for you.”

There is always a revenue angle to most of what goes on in this country and this is no different.

Bully Politicians Attack Teachers, Public Workers And Single Mothers

 Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

There seems to be something new that has replaced bullies at school and that is the bully politician. The bully politician seems to be pushing around teachers, firefighters, government workers in general and single mothers.

Governor Scott Walker is kicking workers in public unions even after they have agreed to financial concessions to deal with the state of Wisconsin budget issues. In other corners teachers seem suddenly to be scapegoats for our poor education system results. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee decided to take a round house punch at single mothers.

Is this a new trend to beat up on soft targets? An article titled “Mike Huckabee’s Portman slam marks a week of controversial comments” by Holly Bailey March 4, 2011 and published in Yahoo News goes into some of Governor Huckabee’s controversial comments. The former Presidential candidate made a reference to Oscar winner Natalie Portman as possibly glamorizing unwed motherhood. Single mother have one of the toughest jobs in the country and to get a slap like that was uncalled for.

Governor Scott Walker and others involved in a head-on assault on public labor unions have manage to gain supporters that are somehow painting public employees as a privileged class in society. An article titled “Mitch Daniels on Monday: ‘The elite in American society, really, are government unions’” by Jim Geraghty February 23, 2011 and published in the National Review details how Indiana Governor Jim Daniels stated that government union are the new elite in society. He stated that their pay and benefits are much higher than the public they serve.

Consider the situation and what is missing from the story. Many public workers such as teachers have college degrees as a requirement as do workers in other areas of government service. A word force that contains a large degree of college degree holding individual should have a decent average wage level, but to call public workers elite because they have decent pay, benefits and job security is a stretch. There was a time when decent pay, benefits and job security was a good thing.

Ask public employees about their job security with state and local budget shortfall and looming layoffs. An article titled “Unemployment falls below 9%, government cuts 30,000 jobs” by Steve Chiotakis March 4, 2011 and published on the public radio.org website examines how the overall unemployment rate for February 2011 went below 9% while at the same time 30,000 government workers were laid off. It seems that the tag of elitist is misplaced and maybe it belongs on the people throwing the term around.

Fewer Cops, Firemen, Teachers, Schools & Bad Roads - Broke America

We slide slowly into the abyss when it comes to the government services that we have taken for granted for years and it is a result of basic math ruled by the deep recession. We have to realize that the landslide that was the economy going over the cliff began in full force during September, October and November of 2008 before the election of President Barack Obama. That means that we have been mired in this situation for 2 years and 5 months.

While private industry tends to feel the effects of an economic downturn immediately, government entities tend to lag behind in feeling the pain because their revenue sources are affected later and over time. Businesses runs on more of a real time basis on monthly and quarterly revenue changes. Dips in revenue for a company will be met with changes on the cost side in the form of employee layoffs or other actions if the declines are lasting. Government revenues will dip later if an economic downturn lasts long enough.

Most state, local and national governments can weather small or short dips in tax income by dipping into special funds or floating a bond to accomplish special projects. When a downturn lasts as long as this one and then is compounded by the real estate collapse, then it is a 1 2 punch. Drops in consumer spending is killing state and local sales tax income. The housing crisis, falling property values and foreclosures severely dented property tax revenue that cities, counties and schools depend on. After two years the buffer is gone and there is simply not enough tax money coming in to meet past spending requirements.

The revenue shortfall means less of everything that we took for granted. Fewer policemen, firemen and teachers, but we may have more potholes in the streets. As an example the Dallas Independent School District is looking at possibly laying off 3,100 teachers, 800 support personnel and other cutbacks. Some cities are reducing police officers and fire fighters. On the other side of the coin is less to spend on things like street maintenance and repair. Many cities are already in the hole due to extra costs from dealing with cleanups after huge winter snow and ice storms.

So what does a country feel like with no local public pools open, as some cities have gone to,and fewer public library branches. When will the first news story come up where service cutbacks are blamed for some crime taking place because of reduced police presence or a home burns down because the closest fire station was closed due to budget cuts. The response will be sobering as we realize that there is a new reality at hand in the United States.

Is The State Of Wisconsin The Last Stand For Labor Unions

                             Wisconsin State Flag

The government worker standoff in the state of Wisconsin is like something rarely seen in the United States, true civil protest against a system that workers feel is meant to strip them of dignity and bargaining power. The tone from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is an old one filled with pre-union age code words wrapped in modern vernacular.

A statement from the Governor says that managers must have the ability to manage is his rational for stripping bargaining rights from the public unions although they have agreed to fiscal concession to deal with state budget issues. That statement translates into I make the rules, you have no say, so shut up and take it. This same theme has been echoed in other states, although the delay caused by the protests and Democrats leaving the state of Wisconsin has allowed the light of day to shine on the real issue, which is not the budget, but breaking the union.

In this strange time we live in public employees have somehow become the bad guys. Teachers, firemen and other civil servants are no being painted as spoiled elites. This must stop. Fire fighters were the heroes after the  September 11 attacks on the Wold Trade Center and now they are being branded as part of the problem. Some regular Americans are buying into this line of thinking and some politicians know that hard times are the ideal field to sow seeds of division.