Capitalism: It’s just not that into you

We went to see Capitalism: A Love Story Thursday night. As far as I’m concerned, Michael Moore is a national treasure. This particular film wasn’t his best effort (I especially loved Sicko, even as it enraged me by triggering memories of bill collectors and hoop jumping for services), but I’m glad he’s still using his bully pulpit to represent the rest of us. People who groan about “polemic” and “oversentimentality” and such aren’t getting it. This is straight-up preaching to the choir. Like a rousing speech at the union hall or a picket-line chant, this is all about getting asses off the seats and into gear.

The film opens with bank robbery—a visual play on the theme of who’s committing the real grand theft. And then…three foreclosures. Three families being kicked to the curb. I notice the expression on my daughter’s face changing as she realizes this is a documentary. We’re watching a woman appeal to the carpenter boarding up Anthony King’s home in Detroit: “You’re a working-class person! I’m just sayin’….couldn’t you make a different choice?!”

“Mama? Is this real?”
“Yeah hon, it’s real. This is going on all over the nation. People are losing their jobs and their homes. Everything they’ve worked for.”

By the time we’re watching the Hacker family lose their Peoria farmstead that goes back four generations due to the perfect storm of ballooning mortgage payments and Randy Hacker’s jobsite injury on the railroad (eventually landing him on permanent disability)….
my daughter is really blanching. She notices this is fairly close to home. Her godmother lives not too far from Peoria.

“Is this going to happen to us?”
“I sure the hell hope not, kid.”

Mixing cuts of schlocky educational films on capitalism produced for high school students in the 50s with home movies and other documentary footage, the tagline of the film (“A Love Story”) is brought to light. But this isn’t just any love story. No, it’s a made-for-Lifetime television saga: a tale of epic dysfunction, enabling, excuses, and let’s just go ahead and say it….abuse. “This is Capitalism, a system of taking and giving. Mostly taking.” Moore traces the “courtship” period of his childhood, pointing out the steady benefits of the boom-time of no competition on the world stage (the competition having been bombed into oblivion in WWII), and frankly, no competition for white people in the good jobs (Moore phrases it, “as long as we were willing to put up with a little of this (shots of civil rights activists being beaten by the police and/or having firehoses and dogs turned on them), and a little of that (war footage).” Home movies from Moore’s childhood show his father as the happy, robust patriarch in the swimming pool; Life is Good. Later, Moore takes his father on a walk through the Flint of today—desolate, boarded up houses, factories reduced to rubble, looking much like the remnants of war footage interspersed throughout the film. His father is slender in his old age, stooped posture, eyes searching, trying to conjure the image of the building where he worked while he and his son gaze through a chain-link fence at the empty, weed-strewn lot that once housed a factory that provided thousands with paychecks. Flint isn’t alone; it’s what most of the rust belt looks like.

We meet Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures, a brokerage company that dives into the wreckage of the Florida housing market, the debris of what once were people’s lives. He frankly describes what his company does and how the name was derived—what vultures do in the ecosphere, swooping in after the carcass that others have conveniently already killed…even down to the properties of vulture vomit. Moore asks him what are the differences between him and actual vultures. “Well,” says Zalewski, “I don’t vomit on myself.” Condo Vultures threw a party for themselves on opening night of the film as a promotional opportunity.

Moore interviews some priests for their opinions on whether capitalism is compatible with Christianity. Seems as if these priests take liberation theology seriously; Father Dick Preston bluntly states, “Capitalism is evil, immoral, and contrary to the teachings of Jesus.” Father Peter Dougherty puts it in stronger terms, “Capitalism is radically evil.” Bishop James Alan Wilkowski showed up to support and offer communion to the workers conducting a sit-down strike at Republic Windows and Doors, talking about growing up the son of a steelworker on Chicago’s southeast side. Moore wickedly overdubbed an old movie on Jesus; when the sick man was brought for a healing, Jesus refused to help, blithely saying something about a “pre-existing condition”.

“Dead Peasant” insurance (the name given in the industry) is the practice of taking out a life insurance policy on a worker with the hope of benefiting from his or her death—like a lottery ticket on the life of an employee. Irma Johnson learned about this practice when her husband died of brain cancer. Her husband’s employer was the beneficiary of the policy that she knew nothing about. A widower who worked for Wal-Mart was devastated to learn his wife—a part-time cake decorator—was insured by the company for their own benefit. While he was left with nothing to pay the hundreds of thousands in medical bills from his wife’s asthma attack, coma, and death, Wal-Mart pocketed the change.

We never did get a concise definition of what a derivative is, although we did find out that if we could accurately explain one, we would probably be offered jobs on Wall Street. (from what I could gather, a derivative sounds like a combination of playing the horses and the shell game, but hey, whadd’a I know?)

Moore didn’t pull punches on either political party—both corrupt Dems and corrupt Rethugs got the ax swung at ‘em. Senator Chris Dodd was especially noted for being a “Friend of Angelo” (Mozilo, head of Countrywide Financial, who offered sweetheart deals for his “friends”). Legal-to-the-letter or no, the concept “appearance of impropriety” didn’t seem to mean much to this crowd.

There were heroics, too. The workers at Republic Windows and Doors won. Sheriff Warren Evans halted the sales of foreclosed homes in light of bank bailouts until relief came through for homeowners, too. Community organizers in Florida re-occupy houses for displaced families living in vehicles or on the street.

There’s a lot to unpack with a subject this large. Capitalism is a Leviathan, and I excuse Moore for the disconnected flow of the film. That leaping from subject to subject, story to story, and method of telling speaks to the difficulty of trying to escape the Titanic, rather than rearrange the deck chairs. I imagine this was a rushed project—an attempt to get the word out, to motivate, strike while the iron is hot. Yeah, he isn’t above cheap stunts like the crime scene tape around Wall Street….

“That’s a crime scene? That’s where they stole the money?”
“You fuckin’ A, kid. That’s the crime scene, baby.“

….but dammit, other media outlets are too afraid, too mealymouthed to take sides. Whatever else may be said about our era (Moore describes it at the start of the film by juxtaposing old movies about ancient Rome with scenes from the present), this is definitely a time for declaring where we stand.

To be real: the commentary that my daughter and I raised back-and-forth with one another throughout the film? That’s how I was raised, too. Old-school labor union democratic socialism, the kind referenced in the film as FDR’s Second Bill of Rights. As is pointed out in the film, other nations enjoy this “second bill of rights” while people in the United States did and do not. While I was raised with an ethic of solidarity, the outside world, the world that feared unionism treading in its space, taught that capitalism is “human nature”. That looking out for “number one” was the way of the world. That people were fundamentally selfish and lazy, and that given any opportunity to cut corners or abandon others, they would. The philosophy of the gabbillotu, the overseer. Another legacy of the U.S. history of slavery; the recognition that oppressed people would resist in any way possible, no matter how limited their means to do so—but this time, extended to reference the entire character of people at large.

Unreferenced in this capitalistic worldview is the call to Craftsmanship. Creativity. The will toward artistry, imagination, virtuosity as a province of the common people. Capitalism holds that these qualities are rare. I disagree. Seeking craftsmanship, taking pride and ownership in one’s work, is as human as language…and as widespread. And that’ll be the subject of the next post—mastery, without masters. Assabenedica.

Health Insurance, Unemployment and Bankruptcy (cross-posted at Feministe)

Awhile back*, I posted about my daughter’s premature birth, hospitalization, my concurrent job loss, and…..health insurance. I tried to explain to non-U.S. readers exactly why the loss of a job meant the loss of healthcare and probable bankruptcy. We take that for granted in the U.S.—that in the event of a serious illness like cancer, in the event that one doesn’t have a spouse, parents, siblings, or a trust fund, that one will probably go bankrupt. That for most of us, serious illness or injury means the loss of a job. And the converse, too—that the loss of a job means crossing one’s fingers and hoping one doesn’t get sick or injured, because one will be left without a means of getting treatment. The two situations go together here like thunderstorms and rain.

So, when the illustrious Lauren of Feministe sent me this link, I wasn’t surprised at the findings. As costs have gone up, the number of uninsured people has risen exponentially. This graphic doesn’t even delve into the problems of rising deductibles (hence, a bigger bite of the paycheck). The 7% cost given for the average Illinois worker with family coverage is I’m assuming the pre-tax income cost—not take-home pay.

Here’s another interesting graphic with a timeline, on job losses and unemployment rates. Notice any similarities to the graphic on health insurance? How about this one on bankruptcies?

Over 60% of bankruptcies in the U.S. are the result of medical bills, and three-quarters of those people had health insurance at the time of their diagnosis.

The public option is still polling strong, so where is the political courage? WTF?

*wanna read a story much worse than mine? Check out “How I lost my health insurance at the hairstylists”.

It’s Cold & Flu Season….Do You Have Paid Sick Days? (cross-posted at Feministe)

Not a day goes by lately that I don’t see some update or another on H1N1, or on the seasonal flu vaccine. It’s that time of year again. The National Partnership for Women and Families has a good site on supporting paid sick days, as both a worker justice issue and a public health concern. If you are a U.S. reader, visit their interactive map and find out about campaigns going on in your area. In Illinois, 46% of Illinois workers do not have paid sick days; that’s 2.3 million workers. Women Employed is leading the Illinois Paid Leave Coalition in support of the Healthy Workplace Act (HB 3665), state legislation that would:

• allow employees to earn up to 7 paid sick days per year, accrued hourly for every 30 hours worked
• provide leave for the employee’s own illness, to care for family members, or for medical appointments
• both full-time and part-time workers qualify

On the federal front, the Healthy Families Act would offer the same thing nationwide—seven paid sick days per year, for the 48% of workers in the U.S. (and 80% of low-wage workers) who do not have them.

Expensive? Not according to a study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

9 to 5, a national organization of working women, has an action alert on this issue, with sample letters to the editor for local activism.

Let’s face it, we’ve all gone to work sick. That’s where we catch most of our illnesses—at work, because others are doing the same thing. And those of us with kids—well, those classrooms start resembling a sick ward around November (my daughter’s school had a notable number out for a couple of weeks last winter; it’s a Title I school, so most of the parents are low-income with no sick leave). It doesn’t have to be this way.

Lu Lutta Continua

The Employee Free Choice Act and the Lies that Bind

The Employee Free Choice Act is currently stalled in committee (House Education & Workforce) while talk of “compromise” (read: watering down of the bill) continues by Democratic heavy-hitters (like Diane Feinstein and new-kid-in-town Arlen Specter) who seek passage of a more employer-friendly, less-likely-to-result-in-more-unions version. Bedda matri. Do we need a viable third party or what? What is driving this push to alter the bill? Public opinion? No, 73% of people in the U.S. support the legislation. Lack of a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, combined with a Republican president likely to veto? (obviously no). Perhaps it’s the $50 million employers spent on anti-EFCA ads in States where Senate seats are up for grabs. Perhaps it’s fear of resistance to Obama’s Supreme Court nominees. (if it’s the latter, let the damn bill sit in committee until Souter is replaced!) In the meantime, the lies about EFCA keep rolling on.

The top lie about the EFCA? That it removes the secret ballot.

FACT: The EFCA gives the choice whether to use card-check or a secret ballot where it belongs—back in the hands of the workers. Right now, only the employer gets to choose to recognize card-check and negotiate, or request a secret ballot. Furthering the lie, union workers are being told through anti-EFCA propaganda that passage of the EFCA will remove the secret ballot from all union proceedings, including votes  for union officers, by-laws changes, and matters up for vote on the floor. This is not true. It merely gives the choice to have the card-check be the ballot or not, and for that choice to move from the hands of the employer to the hands of the employee. Period.

What the Employee Free Choice Act will do:

1. provide workers with the choice of majority card-check or a secret ballot election to validate their choice to be union
2. prevent stalling on first contract collective bargaining. if the two sides cannot reach an agreement within 90 days, either side may request mediation from federal mediators. if mediation does not work, both sides are obligated to binding arbitration
3. increase the penalites for labor law violations: up to $20,000 per violation for violating employee rights during organizing drives or first contract negotiations; triple back pay awards for workers fired or discriminated against during organizing drives; require the NLRB to seek a federal court injunction when there is reason to believe that workers’ rights are being violated

Why is the EFCA needed?

• 92% of employers require employees to attend closed-door anti-union propaganda meetings during an organizing drive
• 80% require supervisors to attend anti-union training sessions
• 78% require supervisors to deliver anti-union messages to employees during working hours
• 75% hire consultants to run an anti-union campaign
• 57% threaten to shut down partially or totally if employees vote for a union
• 47% threaten to cut wages and benefits if employees vote for a union
• 34% fire workers for union activity

(sources: aflcio.org and Kate Bronfenbrenner’s “No Holds Barred” fact-sheet.pdf)

The benefits of unionization are well known to U.S. workers, which is why 60 million would join a union if they felt they could. Unionization has the biggest positive impact for women: unionization raises women’s wages by 32% compared to nonunion women, increases the likelihood of having a pension and health insurance, and give women a vehicle to fight gender and race-based employment discrimination. For women, the financial benefits of unionization are higher than those of a four-year college degree.

So far, over 2 million workers in the U.S. have signed petitions in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. To contact your Senators and Representative in support of EFCA, go to this website for phone numbers, or the official U.S. website here for addresses as well as phone numbers. I’m glad that my U.S. Representative, Phil Hare (17th District) is in favor of this legislation, and sits on the Education and Workforce Committee (where the bill is now). Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris are also on board (though Burris has a record of waffling). But hey, don’t stop there! Diane Feinstein and Arlen Specter, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and others could use some encouragement to do the right thing and stand up for workers rights.