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4A Daily News – Tuesday, September 3, 2013 Opinion Strong unions make our union strong DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Underlying the picnics and outdoor activities that mark this last holiday of summer is a rich history of the vital force of collective bargaining that helps ensure the safety and equity of workers that toil in the business of corporate America. While many business owners and most Republicans see labor unions and government labor regulation as bastions of socialism and a thorn in the side of capitalistic enterprise, it is clear that now more than ever workers must act together to balance the power of employers to set wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions to maximize profit on the backs of those that make profit possible. Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries in the United States. Their activity centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership, and on representing their members in disputes with management over violations of contract provisions. Larger unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and electioneering at the state and federal level. In 2010, the percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States (or total labor union "density") was 11.4%, compared to 18.4% in Germany, 27.5% in Canada, and 70% in Finland. Union membership in the American private sector has fallen under 7% — levels not seen since 1932 due to employer-incited opposition and the erosion of union protection by state and federal governance. I would argue that moneyed corporate interests have corrupted our legislators and manipulated public opining to demonize a vital bastion of fairness. In contrast to the private sector the most prominent unions today are among public sector employees such as teachers, police, firemen, and government employees. Members of unions are disproportionately older, male and residents of the Northeast, the Midwest, and California. Union workers average 10-30% higher pay than nonunion in the United States after controlling for individual, job, and labor market characteristics. Although overall union membership is much smaller today compared to the peak levels in the 1950s, American unions remain a prominent political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns. To fight alleged employer antiunion programs, unions are currently advocating new "card check" federal legislation that would require employers to bargain with a union if more than helpful means to 50% of workers signed address and rectify such forms, or "cards," stating inequities and deserve they wish to be repreyour support even sented by that union. though they may cause The current procedure the prices of products involves waiting 45 to 90 and services to increase days for a federally somewhat. supervised secret-ballot After all doesn't employee referendum everyone want and on the subject. deserve to earn a living Strong unions have wage and to enjoy job helped to reduce security and benefits inequality, whereas Richard that help ensure that weaker unions have their health and that of made it easier for CEOs, their families are mainsometimes working with tained? I suggest that market forces that they much of the resistance have helped shape, to to unions comes from increase it. I suggest that non-union laborers who declines in unionization are jealous of the since WWII in the Unitadvances of their union ed States are unequivocally associated with a pronounced counterparts and think they should rise in income and wealth inequal- struggle like the rest of us. Such thinking is hogwash because only ity now plaguing our society. This income inequality is par- if we honor workers by supporting ticularly pronounced in communi- the unions that represent them will ties of color, where the per capita American workers have the means income of black Americans is less to balance the insatiable quest of than 60% of their white counter- profit by corporations and nameparts. Hispanics don't fare much less investors that can benefit from better with the propensity of their exploitation. Particularly in unrepresented and often undocu- these times of high unemployment mented workers in American con- and the widening divide between struction and agriculture. This is the haves' and have-nots such a prima facie evidence of underlying leveling force is necessary to even racism and discrimination where the playing field by having strong people of color still struggle to unions make our union strong. afford educations and access Richard Mazzucchi can be employment opportunities comparable to whites. Labor unions are a reached at living-green@att.net. Mazzucchi Positive Point Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; Email: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202225-3076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 3930707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Politicizing events; ObamaCare 'real disaster' Following the 50-year commemoration of the historic "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King in front of the Lincoln Memorial, I had inspiring, historically nostalgic and some outrageous, disappointing observations; little of what occurred last Wednesday rose to the level of uplifting, let alone inspiring. The meager, sub20,000 person crowd seemed to convey the near-irrelevance of what happened 50 years ago to the current racial and political climate. For an uplifting account of that day, go to Powerlineblog.com and scroll down to the August 28 entry, "Remembering the Great Civil Rights March of 1963" by Paul Mirengoff, wherein he recounts the day he spent with his dad among the crowds and hearing the speeches on what would soon become a most significant day in American history. I've posted it at DonPolson.blogspot.com among today's offerings. I also cherish memories of my own activities that advanced the cause of civil rights. Most disappointing was the incorrigible tendency of Democrats to politicize everything. By that I mean the exclusion of Republicans at every turn (the Senate's only African-American, Republican Tim Scott, wasn't invited), and the appeals to blatantly Democrat issues and ideas, no matter how disingenuously presented (Bill Clinton saying, preposterously, that it's easier to buy a gun than to register to vote). What I found truly disturbing, and relevant to recent controversy over a rodeo clown donning an Obama mask, was the photo of an American flag with Barack Obama's face replacing the 50 stars in the blue field. As I've shown, there is a mainstream acceptance, even celebration, of poking fun at our presidents; or at least there was until the current selective outrage by Democrats over such practices (Saturday Night Live—ok; rodeo clown—for shame). However, President Obama's face replacing the stars representing our 50 states seems to confirm the casual, even disrespectful, regard those on the political left have for our national symbol. I find only reprehensible motives for such a misuse of the American flag, which suggests that the core principle of our entire constitutional form of representative democracy—the United "States" of America—can blithely be supplanted with the visage of their "dear leader." This is of a piece with a flag widely used by the left and Occupy partisans that replaced the field of stars with corporate symbols. No corporation has a blank check on my, or anyone's, monetary freedoms or political liberties, but Obama personalizes the supremacy of "rule by men" over "rule by law" and the apparent slide into soft despotism currently characterizing the executive branch. On California's implementation of ObamaCare—also known as ACA, or Affordable Care Act— there are some troubling developments. Mainstream news media have generally taken the "never is heard a discouraging word" approach, apparently believing fealty to the Obama-crat regime demands protecting readers and viewers of their incisive "reporting," from unpleasant developments in the ACA rollout. The agenda, as demonstrated by the adopted rules for a netpreponderance of politiwork of more than cal cartoons on this page, 21,000 enrollment counseems to be to direct or selors who will provide deflect everyone's attenconsumers with in-pertion to a phony narrative son assistance as part of that places all blame for the federal Affordable any problems with ObaCare Act. In some cases maCare implementation they will have access to onto Republicans. Think personal and financial of the Star Wars mindinformation, from ID trick, "These are not the cards to medical histodroids you are looking ries. for." "But the state insurHowever, California Don ance commissioner and has no such barriers as Polson anti-fraud groups say the Republicans are effecexchange is falling short tively neutered in SacraThe way in ensuring that the peomento; hence, while ple hired as counselors "some Democratic I see it are adequately screened officeholders warn of the and monitored. [Jones] likely disasters lurking in Obamacare" (Max Baucus call- also said the exchange does not ing it a "train wreck" in the mak- have a plan for investigating any ing), all is proceeding apace here in complaints that might arise once the Golden State. Nonetheless, the counselors start work. That "With the recent regulatory decla- means consumers who might fall ration that the state exchanges need prey to bogus health care products, not verify income information for identity theft and other abuses will Obamacare subsidies, the Oba- have a hard time seeking justice if macrats opened up a huge potential unscrupulous counselors get hold for fraud that will most assuredly of their Social Security number, be exploited." bank accounts, health records or (Powerlineblog.com, July post other private information, he said. "Invitation to a Defrauding, con- 'We can have a real disaster on our hands,' Jones, a Democrat, said in t'd") Indeed, our Democratic Insur- an interview." To whom it may concern, I'll ance Commissioner, Dave Jones, has raised red flags over potential not be answering loaded, hypothetripoffs of actual consumers, report- ical "gotcha" questions on "samesex whatever" until said questioner ed by AP: "As California prepares to stakes a position on the real violalaunch its health care exchange, tions of conscience in commerce I consumer groups are worried the pointed out—people being forced uninsured could fall victim to to "celebrate" that to which they fraud, identity theft or other crimes morally object. Are you for or at the hands of some of the very against? people who are supposed to help Don Polson can be reached by them enroll. The exchange, known e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. as Covered California, recently