Governor Ventura Attacks the Right to Strike.

Ventura Attacks the Right to Strike.

By STEVE ARGUE
Beating back Minnesota Governor Jesse "the Body" Ventura's "final offer" government workers have gotten a better contract proposal by going out on strike. While the contract is not yet ratified by the union membership union officials have already returned the membership to work.

Now Ventura is saying he will cut jobs and needed government programs because of the strike. In addition, on October 22nd, Ventura stated that government workers should not even be allowed to strike.

Ventura warned striking workers of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) that they would loose their jobs if they didn't drop their strike and give into his demands.

The workers on strike included highway maintenance workers, janitors, tax collectors, and office clerks. Also included in the union are parole officers. The strike started on October 1st and lasted 2 weeks.

Ventura claimed that workers would have to be laid off if he gave into their demands because there would not be money to pay them. Peter Benner, AFSCME local 6's executive director, responded, "There are layoffs in good times. There are layoffs in bad times. So this doesn't deter us."

Ventura has now repeated this threat of lay-offs claiming the money isn't there to keep the workers. AFSCME Local 6 refutes this claim reciting the governments own budget records. Instead this looks like retaliation against the workers who stood up against his concessions contract. If Ventura gets away with it social programs will suffer as well from his cuts.

The 28,000 striking workers were forced out on strike by the governors concessions contract proposal, which included an increase in health care costs for workers. Also included was a small cost of living increase of 3.8% in the first year and 2% in the years after. These cost of living increases would have been offset by the new health care costs.

The new contracts that are coming up for a vote include a 3.5% increase this year and next year for AFSCME employees and a 3% increase both years for MAPE employees.

What was obvious with the Governors earlier proposal was that workers would pay a lot more for health care. What the proposal left unclear is how much more. The clinics that workers use would be rated first, second, and third tier and different tiers would charge different amounts. Making this proposal completely unacceptable was the fact that the clinics were not even rated yet. Union members had no way to know what their health care cost increases would be under the contract.

Under the new proposal the clinics are now rated. Workers will now know how much more they will be paying and be able to weigh that when they vote for or against the contract. In addition MAPE employees will get a one time lump payment of $250 designated to offset increased health care costs.

Over all the contract is better than the earlier proposal, but is still questionable in charging more for healthcare than contracts in previous years. The contract comes to a vote in mid November.

Governor Ventura cited the war as why workers should accept the earlier concession contract. On October 4th on Soucheray's conservative talk radio show Ventura stated, " Personally, I would be going to work because it's a tough time. We're going to war, in my opinion. Everybody has to bite the bullet a little bit."

In times of war and economic crises the capitalist class always wants workers to pay the price while the capitalists live in their mansions of luxury. Ventura's anti-union war drumming places him squarely along side the ranks of the anti-worker politicians of the Democrat and Republican Parties.

In addition Ventura mobilized 1,000 national guardsmen to do some of the work of strikers at state run facilities such as veterans homes, hospitals, and treatment facilities. The Department of Transportation also took out adds for scab snowplow drivers.

Teamster truck drivers refused to cross picket lines. Yet deeper union solidarity could have ended the strike very quickly and resulted in a better settlement. In the mid 90s Governor Arne Carlson's plan to call out the National Guard against bus drivers was thwarted by the Teamsters telling the governor that they would call a general strike if Carlson used the Guard. This type of action, flexing union power against state power, should have been repeated.

AFCME and MAPE workers deserve solidarity. They stood up in the front lines defending the standard of living of the working class against the ideological onslaught of the government, telling workers to sacrifice for the profits of the rich in a time of war.

No to lay-offs! No to cuts in social services! No to curtailments on the right to strike!