Listics

Jeneane Sessum excerpts a 1990 article by Michael Ventura:

As a worker, I am not an "operating cost." I am how the job gets done.

I am the job. I am the company. Without me and my companion workers,
there’s nothing. I’m willing to take my lumps in a world in which
little is certain, but I deserve a say. Not just some cosmetic "input,"
but significant power in good times or bad. A place at the table where
decisions are made. Nothing less is fair. So nothing less is moral.

And
if you, as owners or management or government, deny me this - then you
are choosing not to be moral, and you are committing a crime against
me. Do you expect me not to struggle?

Faced with a budget crisis, the Governor of the State of Wisconsin intends to lay-off 10.000 state workers. My advice:  take a close look at how this is being managed.  There is a clear win possible if they take the time to work with the demographics of the situation.  The number of baby boomers due to retire can make up the bulk of the target staff reduction, but that will require working with people, re-organizing work to deliver public services with less staff.  Before the governor chops off heads, he owes it to the state to show us a demographic analysis of retirement projections.

Either that, or there are going to be bricks through windshields, fires, walk-outs, intimidation of contractors who are engaged to do state workers’ jobs.  We could be looking at a one term governor here, and it’s too bad he’s a Democrat faced with clearing up Republican caused problems.  But it’s worse that he isn’t applying the egalitarian principles we’d expect from a Democrat.  Is there still room for progressives in the Democratic Party?