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No unions: Government by the rich, for the rich
- 02-24-2011
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Opinion by Ken Bernstein/CNN
Ken Bernstein is a National Board certified social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he serves as the lead union representative for the teachers.
Recent weeks have seen attacks on public employees in several states. In New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin, newly elected Republican governors are seeking to remove the right to collective bargaining, except perhaps on wages, and to eliminate or shift a major portion of the costs for pensions upon the workers. Longstanding procedures that guarantee due process for experienced teachers, commonly called tenure, are being targeted for elimination. Let's be clear what is going on. Only three of the top 10 spenders in the most recent elections were unions. Among the others were organizations representing business interests, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and individual corporations themselves. Both corporations and unions were unleashed by the Citizens United decision. If unions can be broken in the public sector, this will further tilt the political playing field on behalf of corporate interests and their Republican allies. (more...)
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