We Are All The Prolitariat [View All]

[solinvictus]

I suppose the title of this post could be taken to embrace class warfare, which it does, but I would remind any reader that class warfare was declared nearly a quarter century ago with the election of Ronald Reagan. His actions in breaking unions, deregulating business, eliminating the forward-looking energy policies of President Carter, and removing worker's protections clarified Reagan's views on the American middle class. Reagan's dreamy rhetoric failed to match his actions as "Reaganomics" and "trickle-down" were the watchwords of his tenure as President. Then, as now, the American middle class faced social and economic turmoil as American factories closed, large businesses folded, and Reagan's friends and supporters looted both Wall Street and the savings and loans.

Now, the Bush Economic Miracle has taken hold and all workers of every profession now must struggle for survival in an economy that is stacked to favor the corporation over the individual. I've read thread after thread and there is a common theme to most respondents: drastic wage reductions, longer work hours, outsourced departments, long periods of unemployment, and overall, a struggle to maintain current living standards rather than advance. I've read of highly skilled workers who fear asking for a raise, knowing full well that they are beholden to a corporation's ultimate dream circumstance: they feel lucky just to be employed. Myself, in 1998 I was dissatisfied with my job at a government agency and received better than 80% responses on resumes and inquiries. In the current market, I've sent multiple resumes each Sunday and Monday with no response. Even positions that should be a slam dunk given seem out of reach. Needless to say, it is frustrating and frightening to struggle in this environment.

It is certain that Bush's actions have contributed to our plight and I would wager it was intentional on his part. His tax cuts were tangible only to the upper 10% income bracket and strongly favored passive income over wages. His public rationale is this: remove taxes on passive income and these "earnings" will be re-invested to create jobs. Yeah, right. Pardon my cynicism here, but the last thing any of these speculators wish to do in invest in America under these circumstances. Across the world, investors are dropping the dollar, which would herald an American manufacturing boom except for one detail: our manufacturing base is now abroad in China. Far from the apparent expectations of Bush, this passive income is actually remaining in the hands of those who "earned" it. Chief executives who earn over five hundred times a worker's salary, get this, DO NOT return the money to the economy on a broad basis. More likely, these parasites ravage a company's payroll through outsourcing or smart sizing (for those who are business-speak impaired, this means working fewer employees twice as hard)only to receive a huge bonus for lowering operating costs. Now, once it becomes impossible to maintain the company with all the personnel losses, the executive is fired with millions in severance to be hired to repeat the cycle at a new company. Trickle down? No, not really, the money only shifts hands at the top through stock options, various bonuses (severance, performance, etc) and hiring within their own social networks.

In the old days, there was an assumed degree of adversity between those in management and those who were in production or labor. Though some adversity existed between the two, the animosity was largely a product of company propaganda created to divide all workers against another. In labor dichotomy, management is often assumed to be squarely on the side of the corporation. At times, I wager this is true, but I can not see such attitudes surviving in today's economy. These days, no one is immune from the hungry eyes of the corporate hatchet crew. In my experience, be wary if an employer calls in people with such titles as "business consultants" or "efficiency experts" or, as I call them, "The Bobs" from Mike Judge's "Office Space". In both situations where such consultants were utilized, the layoffs were announced within months and affected both workers and management. Again, no one is immune.

Here is the ultimate posit of my argument: if you are on a payroll, you are a prolitariat. I don't care if you manage, if you work, or if you sit in a cubicle: you are a worker. In my own experience, I was considered non-exempt management at a major insurer. This means, in a nutshell, I had all the responsiblities of management without the accompanying pay scale and exemptions in timekeeping. I was then as much a prolitariat as the Kelly Services hourlies who worked for me. I never set myself above them nor did I require anything of them I was unwilling to perfrom myself. In my work experience, management has proven as vulnerable as any other worker to the bean counter's cutbacks. More for less, that's the motto of today's corporations. In fact, an editorial letter written by a local paper company's CFO in the Birmingham News suggested that America needs to extend the work week upwards of fifty hours to compete with China. Great future for us all, eh? Work more for less money and fewer, if any, benefits.

Solidarity. That's the word we need in the workplace. I don't care what your profession; baker, accountant, clerical worker, bricklayer, machinist, whatever. We're all in the same boat if we receive a paycheck and few of us are essential enough to survive a downsize, an outsource, or an importation of H1B's from abroad. Managers, laborers, office workers, everyone needs to keep this in mind every day. We need a true labor movement that will embrace us all and will show those in power we mean business. I am sick of reading about CEO's receiving tens of millions in this current economy. The other day, the CEO of Blockbuster Video received over $51 million after laying off a third of their headquarters workforce. Imagine, if you will, how many jobs that money represented, how much healthcare, how many mortgage or rent payments, that were given to this man for taking away jobs. We need to renew our unions and expand them to include gray and white collar workers. Imagine something postitive: an all inclusive union and a politically active workforce. Imagine shutting down entire cities because of injustices inflicted on a single sector of workers. Imagine this: good health insurance for all workers and their families. Imagine raises and cost of living increases automatically calculated into contract negotiations. We need this now, more than ever, before the American middle class disappears.