I hope you’re enjoying the posts from people attending labor rallies. If you missed them: Larry Neilson reported on an MLK Rally in Seattle; Doug Barnes reported on a rally at the University of Washington; and Doreen McGrath took time from her vacation in sunny Florida to report on a protest in West Palm Beach. I recommend you go back and read them if you haven’t. It helps to know that, contrary to silence from the media on the matter, we are not alone when we stand up and fight for our rights as workers.
Tuesday’s march and rally at the Capitol gave a strong kick-start for a week of protests that will continue through Friday. The day was organized and led by the Olympia Coalition for a Fair Budget, a local grassroots group that lives up to its name.
The day was tainted by the dramatic Olympia weather, which mixed chilling winds and rain with teaser pockets of sunshine. Despite the intimidating weather, around two to three hundred people participated throughout the day, starting with a march to the Capitol building.
During the march, I witnessed and participated in a crowd of citizens intent on getting the legislature to save basic services. I noticed some of the chants that focused on increasing taxes with slogans like “Revenue Now” that didn’t articulate where this new revenue was coming from. If there’s one thing I agree with the Tea Party on, it’s that working class Americans are taxed enough already. I think it is corporations and the wealthy that need to pay more in taxes. So, I was excited to here the chanting change to slogans like “We want health-care, not corporate welfare” and “tax the rich”. A small detail, but an important one to note.
The march was followed by a rally at the Capitol Steps that included a variety of speakers and performers, all denouncing the budget cuts and many calling for a third party to represent the working class. Music ranging from hip hop to folk called on people to rise in solidarity against capitalism and oppression.
One of the leaders of the rally announced the House Democrats proposed budget. It was all cuts cuts cuts with no new sources of revenue. Cuts included hundreds of millions of dollars taken from education, pensions, and the Basic Health program. It also included the privatization of wholesale liquor as well as furloughs (a/k/a pay cuts) for state employees.
Blatantly absent was any attempt to balance the budget in ways that don’t hurt working people (like the Sisters Organize for Survival campaign is calling for). So, billions of dollars in tax loopholes will continue to go to big business while the sick, the elderly and the young must endure service cuts. Cuts, mind you, that often prove fatal to the vulnerable.
In response to this all-cuts budget, I joined the other protestors at a mock wedding. The bride: the Republican and Democratic Parties of Washington. The groom: Large corporations. Their love: a shared interest in huge profits. The location: inside the Washington state capitol. The loud and poignant ceremony witnessed by we the people and with numerous state lawmakers and staff-members as spectators, made it clear that it’s time to end the government’s buddy-buddy relationship with corporations.
The ceremony was followed by a march to the governor’s office with the demand to stop the cuts. After chanting in front of the office, we were stopped by the Capitol police then went outside to hear a response from the governor.
The response was pathetic. Via a message from her Chief of Staff, the governor made it clear that she and other state Democrats are ready to give in to service cuts while leaving business subsidies riding strong. I’d summarize the message she gave us as this: “We tried last year to increase revenue, but voters rejected all tax increases without a 2/3rd Legislative Vote so we can’t raise any new revenue. I don’t want to cut services but I don’t have any other choice.” By the end I wasn’t sure if I was listening to a response from Tim Eyman or the governor.
Here’s the problem with the governor’s response. What she and state Democrats tried to last year was fill the budget gap with increases in regressive sales taxes. Yes, the people did reject this. I was one of them. But a strong majority of Washingtonians are in favor of eliminating corporate tax loopholes in order to save basic services. The governor’s only attempt to save services was to increase taxes on workers. Apparently big business loopholes are too holy to even talk about. Again, if you want to see a plan that balances the state budget without cutting services or raising regressive taxes, go here: http://www.radicalwomen.org/budget_brochure_2011.html
After the rejection by the governor’s Chief of Staff, the rally ended. While Tuesday’s protest will likely be one of the smaller ones that happens this week at the Capitol, it did an astounding job of getting the week going with strong demands:
· End corporate loopholes and give-aways to big business.
· Stop scapegoating public workers, immigrants, and the poor.
· Don’t balance the budget on the backs of women, people of color, and the most vulnerable.
· Defend public schools and affordable tuition.
· Hands off collective bargaining. No layoffs or givebacks! Create jobs instead.
— Re-posted for Kevin of Radical Women by Larry Neilson
Radical Women Website