Reply #24: What do the working people have left to give up? [View All]

[solinvictus]

Many, if not most, are working multiple jobs to support their families with no benefits. If they have a child get sick and have to take time off, it is a financial hardship because of either unpaid time off or it endangers their job(s). They often don't have health insurance and, if they do, it's an ordeal to miss any work for medical appointments. They don't have benefits many take for granted: sick and vacation leave, health insurance, flex time, and other work place perks.

Here's my issue with much of the liberal bourgeoisie in this country: their pet issues are, by and large, distant and abstract. Has anyone in power even mentioned universal healthcare? How about wage disparities and stagnation? Outsourcing, anyone? Of course working people are against illegal aliens, these illegal aliens are competing for their meager jobs. The "fair immigration process" espoused by many liberal bourgeoisie would likely be instrumental in throwing many American workers out of a job. Again, that's the attitude I'm addressing: the fact that liberal leaders will show more concern for illegal immigrants than American workers. Can you not see how that will create resentment among the blue collar population? Think about the resentment among tech workers who must compete with an endless well of Indian/Pakistani/Chinese H1B workers. Is cheap chicken, produce, and consumer goods worth sacrificing the livelihood of American workers? Aren't solidarity, equality, and common decency worth defending?

I'm going to address workers from firsthand experience and my own observations as a manager. I used to be a claims clerk for a major insurer, in the same department as my SO. We both earned about $8/hour for a family of three. We had a single dying clunker in operation, high rent, high day care, and utilities. Needless to say, it was a struggle. I received a promotion and managed a digital imaging center at the same company. I managed a variety of Kelly Services temps who had no prospects of promotion, benefits, or raises. One day, we were all discussing the Memorial Day weekend (which Kelly Services received no holiday pay) and the topic turned to hot dogs. A middle aged woman who was a long time employee said her favorite brand was Oscar Meyer, but she could only afford them on special occasions and normally bought generic chicken franks. Now, I'm certain a pack of Oscar Meyers was likely half her hourly wage. Can you see the issue that concerns me? A full time worker with impeccable attendance, performance, and attitude could not get ahead and agonized over a pack of weiners that is cheaper than a Starbuck's coffee. At times, I quietly gave employees gas money, brought sodas for the department, and generally did what I could to make the job bearable.

Workers are concerned with tangible issues that affect their daily lives, such as wages, healthcare, sick and vacation time, retirement benefits, and disability/Worker's Compensation coverage. I would wager they could care less about gay marriage, public morality, the latest political scandals, or the judiciary branch of government. The issue is about their dignity, their right to earn enough at work to pay for both rent and groceries. It's about these people putting up with shit daily while wearing a polyester uniform or a colored apron emblazoned with a company logo and a nametag. They work, sweat, bleed, and sacrifice so many of the rest of us can enjoy a post-industrial consumer society. My view is that the Democratic leadership has abandoned them and left these workers to fend for themselves with no one in their corner. I guess my question to you is what would you have these people sacrifice? They have no material possessions, no opportunities, and little hope or dignity left. What do they have to give?