Karin Dryhurst

Not Just Heritage

Vallejo, a city near San Francisco, is poised to pass a measure that would allow the city to refuse contracts ordered by arbitrators in union talks. This struck me as part of the ongoing assault on public unions that may start with the Heritage Foundation but infiltrates mainstream media as well:

Vallejo, hammered by the recession, declared bankruptcy in May 2008, in part due to skyrocketing public employee costs.

Really? Blame workers for the state of Vallejo finances, without any explanation.

Amy Traub calls it like it is in the current issue of The Nation:

The lavish lifestyle of public workers is a myth, but the right-wing mythmakers know it's a powerful talking point. By attacking public workers, they can demonize "big labor" and "big government" at the same time, while deflecting attention from the more logical target of Middle America's rage: the irresponsible Wall Street traders, whose risky, high-profit business practices brought down the economy, and the lax regulators who let them get away with it.

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Posted at 3:55 PM, Jun 21, 2010 in Labor
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