Behind the Wal-Mart Campaign in Maryland
Katrina vanden Heuvel at The Nation has a post up today about the recent victory in the Maryland General Assembly, which passed legislation requiring companies with 10,000 or more employees to spend at least 8% of their payroll on health benefits for workers.
Wal-Mart is the only company that would be affected, which is fitting since they are the company that is draining state resources for Medicaid and other public assistance programs due to their low wages and lack of benefits.
Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun gave a little more background on the campaign, which was largely pushed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), headed by maverick Andy Stern:
People may disagree with Andy Stern's broader proposals to shake up the labor movement (here are some of Katrina's reservations), but I think he's asking the right questions. Stern and SEIU are also one of a very few unions openly talking about a strategy for labor in the South.
This is a big win for Wal-Mart workers in Maryland (an honorary Southern state). It's also a victory for creative organizing and good progressive strategy.
Wal-Mart is the only company that would be affected, which is fitting since they are the company that is draining state resources for Medicaid and other public assistance programs due to their low wages and lack of benefits.
Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun gave a little more background on the campaign, which was largely pushed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), headed by maverick Andy Stern:
[SEIU] doesn't represent retail or grocery workers in Maryland, but has turned the state into a testing ground for its campaign to oppose Wal-Mart strategies that union President Andrew L. Stern claims are driving down wages and benefits for other workers.This ability to forge new alliances and think "out of the box" -- how often do unions organize in a state industry where they don't even have members? -- is what has made SEIU one of the fastest-growing and most influential unions in the country.
"Wal-Mart is the sewer pipe through which good jobs are being flushed," Stern, the union's charismatic leader wrote last year in his anti-Wal-Mart blog.
The union, which is conducting parallel efforts in Washington state and Colorado, tackled Wal-Mart in Maryland with help from the United Food and Commercial Workers union, progressive political groups, sympathetic lawmakers -- and from a Wal-Mart rival that provides more extensive health care benefits.
People may disagree with Andy Stern's broader proposals to shake up the labor movement (here are some of Katrina's reservations), but I think he's asking the right questions. Stern and SEIU are also one of a very few unions openly talking about a strategy for labor in the South.
This is a big win for Wal-Mart workers in Maryland (an honorary Southern state). It's also a victory for creative organizing and good progressive strategy.
5 Comments:
This goes to show how relying on employers to provide health insurance is ridiculous- we need to move to some minimum level of health care provided by the federal government- it will save billions in bureaucratic costs and take immense pressure off of firms.
Of course, since the moment you mention this the GOP calls you a communist it's not going to happen for a while.
J.S.
http://voicesofreason.info
Now, now, you're no communist; don't ever let that bad GOP tell you you are.
But I don't quite see how *this* shows how relying on employers for health insurance is ridiculous. Instead, this plugs a big hole in the system.
Walmart has 15000 employees in Maryland. Hopefully Walmart drops that number down to 9999 by closing stores. Further I hope Walmart targets the politicians who were the leaders of this bill and the stores closed are in their districts. I bet they will want a revote in short order.
This was union blackmail, pure and simple, as the largest employer in Maryland I hope they trash those involved in this piracy.
J.S. actually believes that putting the government in charge of health care will save billions in bureaucratic costs? Do you know what would happen to the level of health care in this country? Look at Europe, the biggest socialist libs on the planet. Crappy health care, high unemployment (they force all employers to provide health care which forces employers to cut jobs), and extremely high taxes. Face it - some jobs are only worth a certain wage. If you don't like it, get a good education and improve your situation. The ability for everyone to do this is what has made this country great. I hope Wal-mart leaves MD.
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