Remembering MLK- Honor the dignity of workers

Remembering MLK: Honor the dignity of workers

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., walked the picket line the day before an assassin’s bullet ended his life. A Nobel Prize-winner courted by presidents, King spent his final hours with Memphis garbage collectors fighting for the right to unionize. As we remember King’s legacy on the anniversary of his death, the struggle for economic justice continues amid new assaults on workers’ collective bargaining rights, the worst income inequality since the Great Depression-especially for African Americans, and irresponsible budget cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable.

Governors in several states are using budget shortfalls to gut bedrock labor rights and social safety nets that give workers a fair shake and families economic security. Conservative lawmakers are targeting teachers, nurses and first responders even as they dole out generous tax breaks to corporations. More than 20 states, including Louisiana, are chipping away at the Earned Income Tax Credit, which primarily helps poor working families. Some Republican leaders and business associations are even eyeing minimum-wage laws.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to close Louisiana’s budget gap relies on cuts to vital state programs that serve the common good. A new report by the nonpartisan Louisiana Budget Project proposes a sensible alternative – raising rates for the highest-income households so our state can make smart investments in education, health care and public safety.    Potential sources of new revenue, according to the report, include the estimated $7.1 billion the state loses from hundreds of tax exemptions.

Along with tax policies that favor corporate interests and millionaires, Louisiana has a shameful record when it comes to protecting workers on the job.  New Orleans has the highest incidence of wage theft in the region, according to a survey from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Immigrant laborers in construction, agriculture and restaurant services are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who refuse to pay workers the wages they have rightfully earned.

Tough times call for shared sacrifice and prudent use of resources. But the working poor and public servants who teach our children and keep our communities safe did not create the budget crisis, and hurting them with drastic cuts won’t solve our fiscal problems. Wall Street recklessness, irresponsible tax cuts for the rich and a culture that celebrates excessive materialism all contribute to a crisis that will require more than political grandstanding to solve.

In response to this urgent challenge, religious and civil rights leaders are once again standing up for workers, just as Martin Luther King did. Interfaith Worker Justice and the NAACP recently hosted rallies, vigils and teach-ins in Ohio, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida, Washington, DC, and other cities to mark the anniversary of King’s assassination and renew his tireless call for economic justice.

What’s at stake now in Louisiana and other states transcends the debate over balancing budgets. This is about preserving the American dream for those who work hard and play by the rules. Unions are not without flaws, but they are one of the few institutions that protect working families at a time when powerful business interests dominate politics and pursue an ideological agenda that benefit the privileged few. Many corporate leaders and conservative politicians – especially here in the South – have effectively demonized unions for decades, even as studies show that all workers benefit from better wages and stronger workplace protections that collective bargaining helps secure.

Calls to honor Dr. King’s legacy are never in short supply.    Yet we miss the wisdom of his integration of racial and economic justice if we fail to make fair budget choices, protect labor rights and defend the dignity of all Louisiana’s workers.

– Alex Mikulich, PhD

Research Fellow

Jesuit Social Research Institute

Loyola University