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Bailouts' Anti-Labor Ploy

To The Editor:

There was a massive turn-out at the rally at City Hall on March 5 against the budget cuts. Does that mean that we can all go back to sleep because we've solved all our problems resulting from this economic crisis? No way!

Labor's opponents haven't gone to sleep. They, in fact, are re-doubling their efforts to scuttle labor's legislative program. In particular, big business is going all out to stop congressional passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a/k/a "Card Check."

Two of the biggest bailed-out banks, Citigroup ($50-billion bailout) and Bank of America ($25-billion bailout), have shown their appreciation to the working people whose taxes saved them from bankruptcy by hosting conference calls in order to raise millions to build big-business opposition to EFCA. How different is this from the "thank you" the taxpayers received from A.I.G. after we bailed them out and they immediately awarded the speculators who bankrupted the economy with "bonuses"?

If companies go bankrupt, as Citigroup, Bank of America and A.I.G. all but officially did, why are they allowed to use our tax money in an unapproved manner and to fight against labor's political agenda? EFCA is the most important pro-worker piece of legislation in decades precisely because the anti-labor efforts of Big Business have been so successful for several decades. Labor union membership is at its lowest level in 80 years because labor unions are hamstrung by current legislation that allows big business an unfair advantage whenever unions try to organize workers.

Citigroup and Bank of America use of our tax money to organize big business opposition to EFCA is a powerful display of Wall Street's greed and arrogance. Let's show our anger by joining in the demonstrations on Wall Street on April 3 and April 4 (1 p.m. each day) to demand that our tax money be used to "bail out the people, not the banks." Bring your union banners and your signs supporting EFCA. We need to show Big Business that it won't be "business as usual" from here on in.

Millions of workers are losing their jobs, their health care, their pensions and their homes. Isn't it about time to go to Wall Street so as to directly confront the corporations that caused this crisis? Can we just let these thieves get away with this multi-trillion dollar rip-off of the U.S. Treasury? No way!

See you on Wall Street.

MIKE GIMBEL

Editor's Note: Mr. Gimbel is a District Council 37 Local 375 delegate to the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council and chairs the local's Labor Community Unity Committee.