|
Thousands Protest Passage of Indiana Right To Work for Less Law
IMAGE Protesters march to Super Bowl Village
Koch Agenda Passes In Indiana; Thousands Protest in Super Bowl Village
Sadly, Indiana is now the 23rd state where you have the “right to work” for nothing, thanks to Republican Governor Mitch Daniels’ signature this afternoon.
Today in the Republican controlled Senate, the union busting bill passed 28 to 22. The Statehouse was packed with protesters while the elite offered them the opportunity to be not represented once again. An estimated 3,000 protesters packed the Statehouse while an additional 3-4,000 made themselves heard on the lawn.
Protesters held signs saying “Ditch Mitch”, “Hands Off My Union” and “Stop the War on Workers” while chanting “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”
After the vote, around half of the protesters marched from the Statehouse to Super Bowl Village. The Super Bowl will be held there this Sunday.
And you guessed it; this law was pushed through in order to get it passed before the Super Bowl. USA Today reported:
Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, disputed that, saying “there is no empirical evidence … that right to work creates one job.”
“It’s a downward spiral to lower wages and fewer benefits,” she said.
The Legislature, she said, had rushed this bill, ignoring legislative procedures and traditions, to get it to Daniels before the Super Bowl. “Was it worth it?” she repeatedly asked, saying they had pushed a divisive bill based on “myth and anecdote” and not fact.
Protesters said unions helped build many of the buildings being used for the Super Bowl and this is how they are thanked. They plan to hand out leaflets before the game. Mitch Daniels responded with an ominous warning reported by Indiana OnPolitix, “Indiana AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Harris said protesters planned to hand out leaflets before Sunday’s game. Daniels said this week that it would be a ‘colossal mistake’ for union protesters to disrupt Super Bowl festivities and that any such move could backfire on them.”
Translation: Don’t you dare embarrass Republicans and most specifically presidential material and new Republican hero Mitch Daniels on national TV by showing Americans how you feel about the Koch Agenda and your rights as working people. And don’t you dare do it during the all-American Super Bowl, a tradition enjoyed by the working class of America. If you think you have the right as an American to protest your Governor and elected officials, think again. They will not have it! Silence, serfs.
Right to work for less states might as well hold up a pro-slavery sign for the middle class, as statistics show that the average wage is substantially lower for all workers in a right to work for less state. And while that is a far cry from literal slavery, it’s one step in many intended to reduce the American working class to an unrepresented, dependent class with no rights.
Republicans call healthcare reform that allows Americans to be covered with a pre-existing condition “slavery,” while in reality, if anyone is making a push toward enslaving the American people, it is the Koch Brothers/ALEC corporate agenda of the Republican Party.
As a Michigan protester said so aptly last spring, “Vote Republican, cut your own throat.”
Ditch Mitch, and while you’re at it, dump the rest of the Race-to-the-Bottom Republicans (analysis on right to work lies will follow this article) and anyone else who does not support a race to the top for middle class Americans.
Image: Indiana Democrats’ Facebook Page
|
