{"title":"Privatization—Chipping Away at Government","authors":"Donald Cohen","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501746598.003.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501746598.003.0007","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter focuses on the right wing's astonishingly successful efforts to privatize public goods and services. Privatization has been one of the highest priorities of the right wing for many years, and the chapter shows how it threatens both labor and democracy. Intentionally blurring the lines between public and private institutions, private companies and market forces undermine the common good. This chapter documents the history of privatization in the United States, from President Reagan's early efforts to Clinton and Gore's belief in private markets. Showing how privatization undermines democratic government, the chapter describes complex contracts that are difficult to understand, poorly negotiated “public–private partnership” deals, and contracts that provide incentives to deny public services. With huge amounts of money at stake, privateers are increasingly weighing in on policy debates—not based on the public interest but rather in pursuit of avenues that increase their revenues, profits, and market share. Privatization not only destroys union jobs but also aims to cripple union political involvement so that the corporate agenda can spread unfettered. Nevertheless, community-based battles against privatization have succeeded in many localities, demonstrating the power of fighting back to defend public services, public jobs, and democratic processes.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114669190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"7. Building a Pro-Worker, Pro-Union Climate Movement","authors":"Lara Skinner","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-008","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter outlines tensions among unions in the energy sector and debates about a pro-climate, pro-worker agenda. Proposals for “green jobs” that protect the environment do not ensure good, union jobs. Energy-sector unions have often been wary of such proposals, arguing correctly that green jobs are rarely available in the same quality or quantity as jobs in fossil-fuel industries. Drawing on cases from climate initiatives in New York State, this chapter argues that unions must be at the table when proposals to expand green jobs are designed and implemented. It outlines a practical plan for unions to work with politicians and communities to ensure “just transition.” The chapter explains that while climate change issues have often pitted labor unions against the environmental movement and its progressive allies, there are also examples of successful “blue–green” alliances. These coalitions strengthen the labor movement by forging new ties with important allies and allowing workers to proactively shape the role of unions and workers in the emerging green economy.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130196292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fighting and Defeating the Charter School Agenda","authors":"Kyla Walters","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501746598.003.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501746598.003.0013","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter examines the dynamics behind a high-profile campaign led by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA). In 2016, right-wing forces sought to expand charter schools through a ballot initiative. Initially, all signs suggested that the charter expansion would easily pass. The MTA mobilized, and the ballot measure was defeated in a landslide. This chapter identifies several mechanisms that contributed to the teachers' success. Most important, the MTA committed to fighting. Together with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Jobs with Justice, and others, this grassroots coalition defeated Wall Street's money and showed the power of social justice organizing. Fifteen months later, in spring 2018, a string of strikes in red states showed that educators in many places have both the inclination and the capacity to fight, even where teacher strikes are prohibited.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130447068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Walker’s Wisconsin and the Future of the United States","authors":"Jon Shelton","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-005","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter outlines the rise of Scott Walker in Wisconsin, which foreshadowed contemporary attacks on public-sector workers and the election of Trump. As the industrial economy collapsed and Wisconsin workers' resentment intensified, Walker won the governor's seat in 2010 by blaming public workers and the special privileges they enjoyed and by promising to restore employment for industrial workers. The chapter details how Walker forced through Act 10, a legislative attack on unions in what had been one of the most progressive states. But despite Walker's promises, Wisconsin lags far behind projected job growth and employment levels in neighboring Minnesota, with its progressive agenda. The Walker agenda, and the coalitions that arose to resist it, presaged the Trump moment; it is an open question whether Walker's 2018 ouster itself is a precursor to future elections.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"170 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134061067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Index","authors":"","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-016","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127086678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Between Home and State: Care Workers and Labor Strategy for the New Open-Shop Era of Trumplandia","authors":"Jennifer L. Klein","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-012","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter also tackles how to build power under challenging conditions. It analyzes the case of home health care, which stands outside New Deal labor laws and is one of the largest and fastest-growing low-wage occupations. Building on decades of organizing, persistent political action, and mobilization with clients, home-care workers' unions won legislative battles enabling states to take on the role of employer and winning the right to engage in collective bargaining. But anti-union groups are now aggressively encouraging union disaffiliation through door-to-door campaigns, though home-care unions are fighting back. A critical component is deep member training and education, including “leadership academies” to cultivate workers' political education and skills. This chapter is a reminder that members make the union—with or without state recognition.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123602488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"12. Fighting and Defeating the Charter School Agenda","authors":"Kyla Walters","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-013","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115016988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Frontmatter","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/9781501746611-fm","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501746611-fm","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134400336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Frontmatter","authors":"","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-fm","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-fm","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127026488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"9. Trumpism, Policing, and the Problem of Surplus Population","authors":"Cedric C. Johnson","doi":"10.7591/9781501746611-010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501746611-010","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter tackles the issues of mass incarceration and aggressive policing, and their impact on low-income communities and people of color. It places Trump's defense of police and denigration of Black Lives Matter into historical context. The chapter connects the rise of the carceral state with an ideology that pathologizes poverty, blames working-class and unemployed people for their failure to get rich, and defines an urban “underclass” as the problem. In this context, the chapter analyzes Trump's reverence for police as the “thin blue line” that separates civilization from chaos. Focusing its attention on the intersection between class and race, the chapter unpacks the logic that has motivated a long-standing effort to shift power and resources away from the working class and toward the corporate elite. It argues that liberal antiracist arguments misunderstand the class relations that underlie the current system of policing. The chapter concludes that labor groups have a crucial role to play in fighting police abuse and mass incarceration.","PeriodicalId":177682,"journal":{"name":"Labor in the Time of Trump","volume":"68 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123190051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}