By Kristopher Marc
March 2001
Marxists have always said that the state is nothing more than a tool used exclusively for the interests of the owners of capital and against the interests of the working class. The interests of the working class and the interests of the bourgeoisie are nearly always in contradiction to one another. President Bush's recent and very open actions against the interests of the working class exemplify perfectly the antagonisms between the working class and the bourgeois; the oppressed and oppressor.
George W. Bush has always had a very easy life. Since birth, men in big business, specifically the oil industry, have always surrounded Bush. Bush was an owner of the Texas Rangers and an oil executive much like his father. That atmosphere helped to mold and form his ideas and goes a long way towards explaining his current actions against labor. He was born on the opposite side of the workers and he lives and acts against the workers as well. It has been said that the Ivy Leaguer G.W. Bush was born on third base and he thinks he hit a triple!
Today it shows more than ever whose side he is on and it is definitely not on the side of the working men and women of America. Since the beginning of his presidency G.W. has shown he would hinder organized Labor and environmentalists at every turn. Moreover, he has forwarded the interests of his class over, above, and opposed to the interests of the working class. Recently, President Bush backed away from legislation, union supported and ten years in the making, that would mandate ergonomics improvements in the workplace that would effectively prevent nearly 1.8 million repetitive stress related injuries yearly. Big Business is more than happy about G.W.'s stance on the ergonomics legislation issue because if at all possible they would rather the individual worker shoulder the costs of their work related injuries. In total, the regulatory ergonomics precautions would amount to nearly $4 billion spent by big business. Not taking care of this issue will cost nearly $50 billion in sick days, lost wages and lowered productivity. The bosses do not want to spend more money on their hired help than they have to. Bush, who is worn like a ring on the pinky of big business, is obviously following the advice and or demands of those who paid for his election campaign.
Regarding the ergonomics issue, many union leaders say that business will fight to kill any rules that contain any mandates or teeth. This is obvious, as the bosses have been exacting influence in politics since the inception of capitalism. Business always fights against the gains the workers wish to have and they employ lobbyists and even the president to see that their agendas are the ones that are met. Labor is ignored, chided, and alienated.
Bush also has pulled the rug out from underneath organized labor in other areas. With the recent interference with the NWA mechanics union effectively holding off strikes for another 60 days as well and promising to do what he can to keep the workers from rightfully withholding labor because negotiations failed. Bush has also said that he would keep other workers in the airline industry from striking if he were faced with the chance. Bush announced this at a rally in South Dakota where he was trying to garner support for his tax plan that will cut taxes on the wealthiest five percent of the population. Bush shows yet again whose side he is on and it is not the side of the workers.
"Intervention is what it is," said Edward Wytkind, executive director of the AFL-CIO's transportation trades department, which represents 32 transportation unions. "It's an act that poisons collective bargaining and subverts the process." Bush's decision to deny the 10,000 workers at Northwest Airlines their right to withhold labor is because he wants to "protect the hard working men and women of America from travel disruptions." This is obviously not the case, as Bush only wants to protect big business and their profits. Disrupting the process in favor of big business is what Bush wants because that is what the Bosses want.
Case in point, according to one CNN news report, Northwest gave $69,749.81 to Bush's inaugural committee. The airline was second only to American Airlines in industry contributions to federal candidates in last year's election with $1,366,705, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The airline industry overall gave Bush $184,801 -- almost three times more than to presidential rival Gore, who received $62,425. Moreover, Bush's labor secretary, Elaine Chao, served on Northwest Airlines' board of directors, but stepped down before she took office. Bush has also attacked environmental issues such as regulation on carbon dioxide emissions for power plants. Bush cited a recent study, which proposed that these regulations, which would go a long way towards protecting the environment, would force a shift from coal use to natural gas usage and higher energy costs. We do not suppose that Bush's personal and business links with the bourgeoisie in this sector has much to do with his decisions, once again, against labor and the environment!
With all of the above-mentioned atrocities performed or backed by G.W., big business is drooling for more. Business lobbyists are looking ahead at what Bush will let them sink their teeth into next. The Bosses' hounds want to pass a broader agenda that would pare back environmental and land use regulations, limit corporate liability for faulty products, rewrite rules protecting the privacy of patients' medical records, cut red tape blocking new oil refineries and pipelines, and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling.
The working class must combat these open attacks on it by the owners of capital and its tool, the bourgeois government. The working class can do this by forming a mass party of labor, which would forward the real interests of the working class, opposed to the interests of the bourgeoisie. The bosses have their party, the Republicrats, now headed by G.W. Bush, which openly forwards the interests of the bosses and is also openly against labor. The workers have no choice but to join together against their common enemy in an act of self-defense. Stop the exploitation of the working class by the bosses and the boss's government!
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