District Council 37, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, put forward a program of demands they will be supporting in Washington, D.C. (Public Employee Press, March 14, 1975). It is a typically reformist program. Uniting behind a program of bankrupt reforms, the union misleadership hopes to divert the workers from fighting for real solutions to the economic crisis we’re in. The following is a point-by-point discussion of the reformist nature of DC 37’s program:
We demand employment for all workers, with union privileges and wages. Not just stopgap measures, like busy work, for the unemployed, but jobs that are productive or socially necessary. We oppose programs like CETA or welfare workfare that provide the corporations with workers at a lower price to scab off fellow workers. Programs like that break our unity and the only winner is the monopoly capitalists. It is under capitalism that we have to compete with each other to be exploited at the workplace. We must unite with ALL WORKERS for the right to productive work, union privileges, wages and job security.
We oppose the demand for a government subsidized 32 hour work week at 40 hours pay as an anti-recession measure. It is the monopoly capitalists who profit from our labor, who should subsidize the 32 hour week for 40 hours pay, not the workers themselves –through the taxes we pay. To maintain profits, the monopoly capitalists have forced shorter work weeks with no pay or payless work days, “shared unemployment” arrangements and pay-cuts onto the workers.
$40 billion tax cut is not enough to make the corporations and rich pay their fair share. Most money comes from sales tax and gas taxes that we pay every day. We demand lowering of all taxes and free public transportation–not just a reduced income tax. It’s not just a question of buying power– whatever we buy we buy from the monopoly capitalists, because they own everything. We aren’t fighting to help them out of this crisis. We demand that the rich and corporations pay their fair share–they will not do it voluntarily. WE MUST FIGHT TO TAKE THAT FAIR SHARE FROM THEM!
We demand the elimination of interest on loans altogether. Interest puts us into more debt and under bank control. Even though 3rd World countries have 6% interest rates on their Import-Export loans, the banks’ greed to control and exploit 3rd World countries is the only deciding factor for lowered rates. We call for a moratorium of debts to banks–give the money to needed services for working people and poor people. Not to the rich!
We want to control the profits of oil corporations, cut down the prices of fuel, gas, etc., –but not to subsidize them under the name of “Public” Energy Company. A public energy company would not be a watchdog for us, but would be a direct subsidy to oil companies. It would help them develop new energy sources to exploit at our expense for greater profits. The rising price of oil is caused by the greed of the major oil companies and not the Arab countries or OPEC, who are rightfully fighting against the domination of the U.S. oil monopolies for their right to control their own resources.
We demand unemployment insurance at a minimum of 75% average income–UNTIL the unemployed gets a job. Health & hospitals coverage must be extended for laid-off workers–but not out of the pockets of the workers. The present bill for health insurance for the unemployed comes from the workers’ group insurance policy. We say it must come from the monopolies and corporations.
We want more federal aid to workers–instead of military spending or subsidies to the corporations. Any proposal for the Federal government to take over financing costs of municipal debts are not going to help the workers, but give a shot in the arm to the banks! Whether the city or the Federal government pays for it–it all comes from our taxes! When they talk about improving the market for local debts–its for the banks, not for the working people.
We must fight against any layoffs, attrition or budget cuts on all service programs. We demand improved and expanded welfare programs. The union is just selling us out to the city government by reopening the contracts and allowing attrition.
Almost all national health insurance plans, such as those backed by Kennedy, insure only one thing– the profits of the health industry, NOT quality health care. The abuses and atrocities of the health business were accelerated by medicare-medicaid, because more than ever now, profit is the motive force in health care. Unnecessary and dangerous medications and procedures are encouraged, stress on treating illness but not preventing it, has resulted in inflation–raising the real cost of health care for the average working family (i.e. the elderly now pay more for health care than they did before Medicare was passed). Furthermore, these guaranteed profits for insurance, drug and hospital industries– tax workers, not bosses. Even the Health Security Act, supported by union leadership, will be partly financed (36%) by a tax of employer payrolls and will in the majority be paid for by working people through general tax revenues and increased income taxes.
Social security benefits are hard-earned fruits of workers struggles during the last Depression, Today, the pittance that it provides the elderly, widowed, orphaned or handicapped to live on, is a mockery of that struggle. Now only must we fight any ceiling on such benefits, which really amount to income cuts in this period of inflations but we must fight to raise benefits to the average income level, extend social security benefits to all people, especially minorities, immigrants and women, who have been forced into menial jobs where no social security benefits taxes are paid by employers.
We realize that the war in Vietnam and all of our foreign policy including the financial and military aid to dictatorships around the world has been to guarantee the exploitation of raw materials, investments and markets for the monopoly corporations. It has not been in the interests of the working people who paid for these acts in blood and taxes. Not only do we support an end to U.S. aid of any kind– whether so-called “cultural programs,” “orphan-kidnapping”, business loans, CIA intervention, or military supplies, –but we DEMAND a withdrawal of all troops and bases from abroad, including our colonies Puerto Rico, Panama and Micronesia.