Standing with Federal Workers? Or backing Trump?
The ABC group shows a dangerous side.
“Leaving politics at the door” apparently means not taking on Trump when he denies rights to workers. Focusing on “Bread and Butter” turns out to mean prioritizing Trump’s border wall. And “Standing with” apparently means asking others to retrain fired workers.
Workers Should Not Have Been Fired
First, these workers should not have been fired. Look for that simple statement of principle in the ABC statement. It is fully absent.
Workers Should Have Their Jobs Back
Second, these workers should have their jobs back. Look for that basic statement in the ABC statment. It is fully absent.
And it is not just words. It is deeds. At the large downtown rally to Stop the Cuts on March 24 – ARISE was powerfully present – Unity had a minimal presence – and ABC was fully absent. In each of the rallies since that I have been to or asked others about – was ABC there? No.
ARISE Stands in Solidarity with Workers Facing Bad Bosses
Third, I stand in solidarity with all workers – as workers. Unionized, ununionized, solidarity is a basic for workers. I am, ARISE is, all good unionists are opposed to workers being fired. But look at the ABC statement. Totally absent.
Instead, the second paragraph shows these workers sympathy, not solidarity. And the first paragraph names some of their “important” functions. Why the quotes? Read on…
We Oppose Anti-Immigrant Policies
When the third group writes about government functions, what do they put first?
Why are borders there at all? Hardly a “bread and butter” issue. No, they are pandering to base anti-immigrant sentiment.
Trump and Musk Do NOT Have the Right to Arbitrarily Fire Federal Workers
Fifth, they didn’t only side-step the firings. They said that Trump and Musk had the right to fire our union brothers and sisters (or sisters and brothers?) (or siblings – that’s probably best – it’ll take me a while to get used to it). Read this one closely, and then read it again.
That’s it. Musk fires thousands of workers – and ABC? recognizes that he had to make a hard decision? They sympathize with the workers? And with Donald Trump’s difficult choice? Wonder if they feel for superintendents who make hard decisions, or principals who make difficult choices? Some of us know which side we are on.
Workers Want Their Jobs Back. Workers are not Asking for “New Opportunities”
Sixth, they “stand” with federal workers, but don’t support the most basic demand – that the workers should be rehired, have their jobs back. (OK, that is really number two, from above. But there’s a new twist from the twisted author. Keep reading.) Workers are trying to get rehired. The fights are in the streets, in demonstrations and rallies, and in the courts. This is their fight today. But don’t look for that in ABC’s statement. It is totally absent.
Instead there is a bizarre call – not for action from labor and our allies, but on everyone except labor… and not to rehire our union siblings, but to retrain them. Retrain them?
Walmart? Charter school teachers?
Folks, I think they were counting on you to read the title, and not their words. But it’s here. Read it. Go over every line. Is this labor solidarity? Or pandering to Trump? Is that what you really want?
Do you want this:
A Clear Choice: ARISE!
Or would you rather sympathize with Donald and Elon?
A Clear Error, ACB
JD2718 
Petty.
The difference between
1. demanding workers jobs back (me, ARISE, any decent unionist)
and
2. empathizing with Trump/Musk (ABC’s “leadership decisions at the highest levels come with difficult choices”)
is pretty clear.
If you think that is petty, that says something about you, and also why you commented anonymously.
This is a fundamental difference between ARISE and ABC. Trump imminently threatens public education as we know it. We can’t elect a slate willing to put pandering to Trump voters over fighting the cuts. ABC appears to be to the right of Unity in many places where it counts. Deeply unsettling.