After Janus, we are all red-state teachers

Like many, I applauded teachers in red states who protested against unfair, unlivable wages. Republicans eviscerated their freedom to negotiate fairly in the workplace. As a result, teachers were left with less to live on. One Oklahoma teacher famously said that if it he did not have a second job, he would be on food stamps.

Now, after the Supreme Court’s latest decision, working people in Connecticut may be facing the same fate.

Nominally, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 was a decision about how public sector unions collect fees. In reality, the decision overrules a unanimous, longstanding precedent in order to go after workers. The 5 to 4 decision was a victory for the Koch brothers and other dark money groups who do not want to pay workers their fair share.

Janus will erode wages — plain and simple. According to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, state and government workers in Connecticut could lose $2,149 a year.

That is because unions empower working people to collectively bargain for better wages, working conditions, and benefits — like health care, paid sick leave, and retirement. The result? Union workers earn 25 percent more than those without a collective bargaining agreement.

Every working person will suffer. Unions collectively bargained for 40-hour work weeks, overtime, and paid vacation time. Those became standard for every American worker. So, when you cut unions, everyone bleeds. In fact, a 2016 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that declines in unity density since the late 1970s has decreased non-union private sector worker wages by about 5 percent . In EPI’s estimation, workers have lost $2,704 a year. Every worker; every year.

The Supreme Court’s decision will only make that problem worse. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan said, “There is no sugarcoating today’s opinion. The majority overthrows a decision entrenched in this Nation’s law — and in its economic life — for more over 40 years.” They did so to rig the rules against working people and for corporations. Nor, is it the end. There are 8 other cases against unions and collective action that are pending in 7 states, including Connecticut.

So, like the red-state teachers, we need to fight back to give working people a fair shot.

One legislative solution I am fighting for is the Workers’ Freedom To Negotiate Act. It would provide strong recourse when labor rights are violated; protect workers from being misclassified as independent contractors or supervisors; ensure federal contracts and grants go to companies that have fair pay and safe workplaces, and; protect fundamental labor rights — such as going on strike.

America is a great nation because of a strong working class. We cannot let the conservative Supreme Court undermine that. Let us learn from the red-state teachers and band together. Then, we can enact an agenda that empowers workers. It is past time for workers to get a fair shot, and a raise.

Janus will erode wages — plain and simple. According to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, state and government workers in Connecticut could lose $2,149 a year.