SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Public Workers Getting Snowed
Jan 04, 2011
The snow is mostly melted after a near-record storm immobilized much of New York for nearly four days last week. But before non-New Yorkers gloat -- beware -- the Big Apple's storm offers just a taste of a crop of problems that are likely to be coming your way.
Nationally, billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the toast of town for cutting budgets -- and resisting raising any kind of taxes on Wall Street. He proposed to that snowed-in folks enjoy the snow day by taking in a Broadway show, but residents of Brooklyn and Queens weren't lazing about, they were digging themselves out, or waiting for help -- that didn't come. And that wasn't just the fault of the polar weather but their mayor's priorities.
The conservative rumor mill did its best to make sure people never put two and two together. They spent their week blaming the Right's new favorite target: unionized public employees. As Dave Johnson at the Center for American Progress notes, propaganda machines begins with a simple narrative, repeat it endlessly, and then tie current events to the narrative to drive the point home.
The blizzard narrative became that it's not tax cuts or layoffs that trigger state shortages and service crashes. It's the workers. Public Services fouled up? It must be public service workers' foul play.
In this case, the New York Post ran a story based on three unidentified plow workers claiming that the streets weren't plowed because the union was slowing down work to protest the aforementioned layoffs. 900 State Workers lost their jobs in New York on New Year's Eve. Because the story fit the narrative, FOX News and others ran with the rumor and then the mainstream media jumped in. CBS News ran a story on the "report" of the slowdown, and the New York Times reported "public unease".
Buckle your snowshoes for more of this in the coming year, a lot of attacks from newly elected representatives and state officials on public sector workers -- and their unions. New Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is bragging that he's going to "force" state workers' benefits in line with everyone else, New York's new Democratic governor just announced a pay freeze, and John Boehner is calling for austerity. For the state and its workers, mind you, not the super-rich few. Let's make a New Year's resolution not to get snowed.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 GRITtv
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
The snow is mostly melted after a near-record storm immobilized much of New York for nearly four days last week. But before non-New Yorkers gloat -- beware -- the Big Apple's storm offers just a taste of a crop of problems that are likely to be coming your way.
Nationally, billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the toast of town for cutting budgets -- and resisting raising any kind of taxes on Wall Street. He proposed to that snowed-in folks enjoy the snow day by taking in a Broadway show, but residents of Brooklyn and Queens weren't lazing about, they were digging themselves out, or waiting for help -- that didn't come. And that wasn't just the fault of the polar weather but their mayor's priorities.
The conservative rumor mill did its best to make sure people never put two and two together. They spent their week blaming the Right's new favorite target: unionized public employees. As Dave Johnson at the Center for American Progress notes, propaganda machines begins with a simple narrative, repeat it endlessly, and then tie current events to the narrative to drive the point home.
The blizzard narrative became that it's not tax cuts or layoffs that trigger state shortages and service crashes. It's the workers. Public Services fouled up? It must be public service workers' foul play.
In this case, the New York Post ran a story based on three unidentified plow workers claiming that the streets weren't plowed because the union was slowing down work to protest the aforementioned layoffs. 900 State Workers lost their jobs in New York on New Year's Eve. Because the story fit the narrative, FOX News and others ran with the rumor and then the mainstream media jumped in. CBS News ran a story on the "report" of the slowdown, and the New York Times reported "public unease".
Buckle your snowshoes for more of this in the coming year, a lot of attacks from newly elected representatives and state officials on public sector workers -- and their unions. New Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is bragging that he's going to "force" state workers' benefits in line with everyone else, New York's new Democratic governor just announced a pay freeze, and John Boehner is calling for austerity. For the state and its workers, mind you, not the super-rich few. Let's make a New Year's resolution not to get snowed.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
The snow is mostly melted after a near-record storm immobilized much of New York for nearly four days last week. But before non-New Yorkers gloat -- beware -- the Big Apple's storm offers just a taste of a crop of problems that are likely to be coming your way.
Nationally, billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the toast of town for cutting budgets -- and resisting raising any kind of taxes on Wall Street. He proposed to that snowed-in folks enjoy the snow day by taking in a Broadway show, but residents of Brooklyn and Queens weren't lazing about, they were digging themselves out, or waiting for help -- that didn't come. And that wasn't just the fault of the polar weather but their mayor's priorities.
The conservative rumor mill did its best to make sure people never put two and two together. They spent their week blaming the Right's new favorite target: unionized public employees. As Dave Johnson at the Center for American Progress notes, propaganda machines begins with a simple narrative, repeat it endlessly, and then tie current events to the narrative to drive the point home.
The blizzard narrative became that it's not tax cuts or layoffs that trigger state shortages and service crashes. It's the workers. Public Services fouled up? It must be public service workers' foul play.
In this case, the New York Post ran a story based on three unidentified plow workers claiming that the streets weren't plowed because the union was slowing down work to protest the aforementioned layoffs. 900 State Workers lost their jobs in New York on New Year's Eve. Because the story fit the narrative, FOX News and others ran with the rumor and then the mainstream media jumped in. CBS News ran a story on the "report" of the slowdown, and the New York Times reported "public unease".
Buckle your snowshoes for more of this in the coming year, a lot of attacks from newly elected representatives and state officials on public sector workers -- and their unions. New Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is bragging that he's going to "force" state workers' benefits in line with everyone else, New York's new Democratic governor just announced a pay freeze, and John Boehner is calling for austerity. For the state and its workers, mind you, not the super-rich few. Let's make a New Year's resolution not to get snowed.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy