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September Commentary from George Spiro Dibie The
Human Side of Three Million This editorial happens to be published during the month we celebrate Labor Day. That is just a coincidence. This is a story about my good neighbors George and Anna, but it could be about anyone of us. George and Anna have an 18-year-old son named Michael and a 16-year-old daughter named Laura. George has heard me complain about run-away production for years. We have had many conversations about the NAFTA agreement. The politicians promised NAFTA would create jobs for Americans by creating a more affluent working class in other countries. George wasn’t fooled. He knew that the jobs that were being exported were going to be done by workers in other countries who are paid $2 an hour, at best, and without benefits. He knew we couldn’t compete with countries where the exploitation of the working class is an acceptable way of life. Those exploited people weren’t going to be buying cars or anything else made in America. I told George that the situation is even worse in our industry, because foreign governments are offering tax and other financial incentives to producers who are willing to abandon America in order to increase their profits. I remember the day George told me that the managers of the manufacturing company he worked for were jubilant when George Bush was elected president. He told me that things are going to get better because the new president believes in the American dream. George believed that if you are honest and willing to work hard, the American dream is within your grasp. You can earn a decent wage, buy a home and car and educate your children. Last weekend, I saw George in his front yard with his son Michael. They were cutting the grass. We began talking about the usual topics––our families, politics, conflicts around the world and the economy, but I could sense that something was wrong. That’s when I noticed tears were rolling down my 53-year old neighbor’s cheeks. I asked George what was wrong, hoping that I could help. He told me that Anna had lost her job, because she took time off from work to fly home to attend her cousin’s funeral. He had just been given notice, because his company was moving its factory to Mexico. Like many of our members, George and Anna now see the world from a different perspective. We have exported some three million jobs during the past two years. The last time the American economy lost that many jobs in that short a period of time, Herbert Hoover was president. The economy is in shambles; the government is slashing taxes for their billionaire and millionaire friends and cutting budgets for education, health care and other vital services. Even with those cuts, government deficits are mounting. Someday our children will have to pay off those debts. Meanwhile, we are spending billions and billions of dollars in Iraq and other countries with much of that money going to corporate contractors who avoid paying taxes in the United States by registering as foreign corporations. I wish I could think of something to say to George, Anna, Michael and Laura to assure them that things will get better. But, the truth is that no politician is going to do that for us. Labor Day traces back to 1872, when an Irish immigrant named Peter McGuire inspired a spontaneous strike and march by more than 100,000 people on the streets of New York. They demanded more humane and fair working conditions. The politicians got scared and responded. How many people like George and Anna have to lose their jobs and dreams before hundreds of thousands of people are marching in the streets again? I hope it never comes to that, but this is no time for any of us who truly believe in the American dream to be passive by-standers. Today, more than any other time in the history of organized labor, we must stick together to fight the tyranny of global corporate greed in order to save the middle class. As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Please e-mail them to me. George Spiro Dibie, ASC
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