OP-ED | Wanted: Jobs for the Middle Class
by Sal Luciano | Oct 11, 2011 4:47pm
(16) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Opinion
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is right to focus on reinventing Connecticut to grow jobs here for the first time in 20 years. However, before anyone can figure out policies to rebuild the middle class, we need to know what is destroying it.
According to the latest statistics from the Connecticut Department of Labor, decline in local government jobs is aggravating our current recession. Connecticut’s numbers are shocking. While we gained 4,000 jobs this year, we lost more than 6,000 government jobs. In August alone, over 85 percent of the jobs lost were public employees. The number of teachers, 911 dispatchers, firefighters that we have on the job is at its lowest level in over a decade.
Connecticut’s middle class has been getting a raw deal for far too long. About 30 years ago, our fixed costs started rising: child care, health care, mortgages, transportation. At the same time, our wages began flat-lining. And then the attack started on what we thought were sacred parts of the fabric of America’s working class: collective bargaining rights, pensions, Social Security, employer-provided medical care.
Now, the middle-class is turning on itself, fighting over the last few slices of the cake that the super-rich haven’t devoured – yet.
It’s time we had a new deal for Connecticut.
Our union, Council 4, launched our Campaign for the Middle Class to restore our fundamental values about an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, to return the focus to investing in people – not just in corporations – and to make economic security possible once again.
As the Governor and policy makers begin to debate how we reinvent Connecticut, here are a few simple ideas:
· Stop slashing vital public structures. The first task of any job creation strategy must be to stop cutting jobs. That means making sure our cities and towns have the resources to fund the important services they provide. New Britain, for example, is set to lose $250 million in federal aid that supported special education programs. Without additional resources from the state legislature its likely these programs will collapse.
· Better subsidized workforce training. A recent report showed that despite well-designed continuing education courses at community colleges – courses that are supposed to prepare workers for the green jobs of the future – students are not signing up. Why? Because they can’t afford it. People no longer have the discretionary income to take courses that will prepare them for the jobs of the future.
· Raise labor standards and improve enforcement. Connecticut’s consumers need more money in their pockets to spend on products and services in their local communities. One problem: Connecticut’s workers are not sharing in the wealth that is being created. We need legislation that will ensure the creation of good-paying, family-supporting jobs.
· Fix Connecticut’s aging infrastructure. We are not suffering from a lack of work or an inadequate supply of workers. We need to put our carpenters, laborers, and other tradesman to work repairing our roads, bridges and rebuilding schools. Cutting corporate taxes or doling out taxpayer subsidies to corporation is not a jobs plan. Putting people to work upgrading our infrastructure is a jobs plan.
This is a critical moment for the governor and the legislature. We believe they truly care about rebuilding the shattered middle class. But to succeed, they must abandon the foolish budget slashing that never worked in favor of smart spending to jump start the economy. That’s what got us out of the Great Depression and every single slowdown since then.
We can restore the American Dream, but only if we begin investing in and focusing on the worker, not just the corporation.
Sal Luciano is Executive Director of Council 4, a union representing 35,000 workers.
Tags: AFSCME, Sal Luciano, middle class, jobs, Malloy, economy
(16) Comments
posted by: Martha H | October 11, 2011 5:57pm
Sal,
Excellent piece. (Don’t let the union-bashers & gov’t- haters distract you). Economic justice IS the American Way.
posted by: illogicallylogical | October 11, 2011 8:56pm
Really? You have the gall to post an OP-ED talking about the middle class when you make 150K/Year off the backs of hard-working state employees. How would you know what “Middle-Class” is when you clearly aren’t a part of it. The reason the Middle Class is suffering is due to decisions made by politicians and the dirty-dealings of Union leaders. You come up with these ideas of how to “save” the middle-class worker, yet stabbed the state workers in the back when it came to the contract negotiations. “Shared sacrifice”? Tier 1 employees aren’t sacrificing for this concessions package, Tier 2 employees minimally sacrifice (HD workers with 17 years on the job aren’t affected by the contract), and the second time in two years the Tier IIA workers bear the burden of fixing the state budget deficit which was created by the bad decisions of…Politicians and Union Leaders (AKA SEBAC). You talk about the Middle Class getting a “...raw deal for far too long…” yet haven’t contributed anything substantial in assisting your Middle-Class constituents…in fact your decisions and the decisions of your fellow Council have cut the pay and benefits of state workers. You didn’t do this because you’re a utilitarian at heart and were worried people would lose their jobs. You made these egocentric decisions so Union dues wouldn’t be lost. So next time before you post an OP-ED discussing economics and what the Middle-Class “deserves”, you might want to check your track record because you have absolutely no credibility in offering advice to the Middle-Class workers that fund your lavish lifestyle. Anyone in a “normal” job that performed their duties the way you have performed yours in the past year would have been fired.
posted by: Upset.Citizen | October 12, 2011 6:01am
@illogicallylogical - You’re right on! However, he had to publish his suggestions somewhere… After all nobody knows where the mega-million-dollar cost saving suggestion box is!
(Seriously, does anyone know where Malloy keeps the suggestion box? I have evidence of management waste I’d like to suggest he do away with…)
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | October 12, 2011 12:08pm
SEBAC will never be a part of SUSTINET—heath care for the unwashed masses.
SEBAC will never lower itself to the level of a ‘public option’.
Supporting a public option for ‘the others’ that’s a different thing.
Reinventing public workers will be a great start Sal.
Why not get right on that ‘SEBAC Super Soldier’ plan and then you can sort out our other social ills?
A good start would be the 21st Century Haz Duty Super Soldier that works for at least 30 years, can’t collect their pension until 62, and pension capped at the state per cpaita income (55K) with a pension base calc that ignores everything but 10-year average base salary without spiking schemes.
posted by: joeknows | October 12, 2011 1:08pm
illogicallylogical, Excellent Post! You are 100% correct.
posted by: Sadie | October 12, 2011 1:53pm
Although I agree with what Sal says, it is a little too little, a lot too late, to try and save face. Sal, it was your original intent to make the state workers part of Sustinet, and you were one of the 15 to negotiate (and I use that term loosely) a concessions package that is not saving the state any money as we sit here today. The only money being saved, are the dues, from the people who would have been laid off. Frankly, there are too many state workers, mostly management, but we all know that they were never getting let go for political reasons. Although you voted no to change the bi-laws after the vote, you knew the majority of SEBAC was going to vote yes, so you really get no points there, but you may have, if you listened to your members and refused a second vote. What SEBAC has done, is tell the likes of Martin Looney and Edith Prague, that they can spend as much money as they want, because the state workers will always give back. Shame on you and you should have resigned when you got caught lying about Sustinet.
posted by: ASTANVET | October 12, 2011 7:14pm
WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR ALL THESE PROGRAMS??? You have GREAT ideas…
Stop slashing public structures: Ummm… ok, who will pay for the increase to the municipal coffers? Oh, so you’re asking for a property tax raise on the #1 taxed state in the country… ok… good idea.
Workforce training - for what work??? where are the jobs that this training which will be paid for by whom? Taxpayers pay to send you to school - i don’t know about you but i put myself through school. Why am i going to pay for someone else’s education so THEY can get a job and hope that job is in the state.
Legislation to create family-supporting jobs- i have an idea, why don’t we start a law that abolishes poverty and makes it illegal! - we’ll make a law that says we will all make 100K… i just wonder who will pay for it, and what JOB will ever be created by drafting legislation???
let’s rebuild infrastructure - (stop raiding the transportation budget the comes from the taxes at the gas pump)
What a joke… ALL these ideas are eye wash, great coffee house conversation, but will not survive the light of day. How about de-regulating some of the crushing burdens on business. Look at the other article from actual EMPLOYERS and see what they think the state needs to do to spur job creation. The answer was GET OUT OF THE WAY.
I’m sure that opinion offends the delicate sensibilities of the academic elite.
posted by: ASTANVET | October 12, 2011 7:15pm
By the way, i see that a lot of your ideas would start jobs, State jobs, Municipal jobs more importantly UNION JOBS - no interest like self interest I guess.
posted by: Farrel | October 12, 2011 10:06pm
One of the interesting things about the last state negotiations is the fact that union negotiators hired an attorney to do the negotiations. Why? Most certainly those union leaders who sat at the negotiating table have always presented themselves as competent negotiators. I cannot believe that the union officials were so inarticulate, so wanting in basic skills, that they could not address effectively the members’ position at the bargaining table. You can be sure that the attorney is very well paid. One can only wonder why the total cost of those fees has not been made public, even to the general membership
posted by: Martha H | October 13, 2011 10:51am
Like Sadie, I have to agree with what Sal says, especially when he writes: “But to succeed, [the governor and legislature] must abandon the foolish budget slashing that never worked in favor of smart spending to jump start the economy. That’s what got us out of the Great Depression and every single slowdown since then.”
Sadie, let’s hope our elected officials hear Sal’s message!
posted by: ASTANVET | October 13, 2011 1:35pm
Yeah, Full moon. An article written by a union rep who’s only “solutions” involve massive spending and jobs for union workers… If my sarcasm makes it feel like it’s a full moon, it’s because I don’t think this article, or line of thinking has any points of reality.
posted by: Martha H | October 13, 2011 4:32pm
ASSTAN,
Well, Sadie and I obviously disagree and think this news site was right to publish Sal’s insightful piece.
posted by: Upset.Citizen | October 13, 2011 8:16pm
@Martha H - I never thought I’d say this, but we agree on something! Ctnewsjunkie is great! They treat everyone fairly and give everyone a voice regardless of how crazy their opinions are! You and I are polar opposites and they provide us a forum to agree to disagree - no matter how wrong you are. For the record: I’m the sane one! :D
Thank you Christine and crew!