SEIU 721 Executive Director John Tanner is online at the Los Angeles Times debating Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. about the role of unions as a voice for working people during California’s budget crisis. Read what he’s saying and get into the debate at latimes.com.
by John Tanner
SEIU 721 Executive Director
Our political system is built on balance, and our economy should be too. As the national economic crisis shows, we’re sounder economically when working people have a say.
Last year the collapse of politically powerful companies like Lehman Bros. and AIG sent shock waves across our economy. That’s what happens when the people who make the rules are the ones who profit from them.
Where was the Bush Administration while this meltdown was brewing? The Wall Street Journal reported this year that the Bush Administration made 103 nonprosecution agreements with U.S. companies between 2002 and 2009 — including with insurance giant AIG. The Clinton administration did the same thing only 11 times.
Just this week, Bank of America employees alleged that the bank targets low-income working people and Latinos who can’t afford and don’t need the products and the choking debt that comes with them. Read about it in today’s LA Times.
SEIU supports these employees as they bring these practices to light. We are proud to be one of the organizations that advocates for working families.
The Obama campaign opened a lot of people’s eyes to the power of ordinary people to build strong organizations and fight for change. That campaign was won by grassroots organizations employing age-old tactics, such as talking to voters.
That’s what a labor union really is: a group of people who come together to have a voice. We’re essential to keeping the country and California strong.