Casino workers support the demonstration at Congressman John Kline's office at 101 West Burnsville Parkway, Burnsville, Minnesota from Noon to 1pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 demanding an increase in the Minimum Wage.
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The minimum wage should be a real living--- non-poverty--- wage legislatively tied to calculations of the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics based on all cost of living factors.
Any employer who can't pay the workers required to do the job for which they have been hired a real living wage should just do the work themselves or let their spouse and children do the work.
Casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry working in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages and without any rights because the Democrats approved the "Compacts" creating this horrendous industry where a bunch of rich, white mobsters own the slot machines leaving Native American communities saddled with huge debt-creating poverty breeding misery are thoroughly fed up with the Democrats.
We are asking all workers to consider this question before casting their votes in November:
How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?
Working class voters have three good alternative choices when they enter the voting booth in November--- all three of whom support substantial increases in the minimum wage:
Jill Stein--- Green Party, Rocky Anderson--- Justice Party, Stewart Alexander--- Socialist Party.
The path to real living wage jobs for every American worker is by creating jobs through solving the problems of the people--- paid for by peace dividends derived from ending these dirty imperialist wars and taxing the hell out of the filthy rich much of whose wealth has been derived from paying poverty wages.
For example: A National Public Health Care System would create more than ten-million new good-paying union jobs.
For example: A National Public Child Care System would create over three-million new good-paying union jobs.
We need to re-establish the historic liberal-progressive-left coalition which can bring about the change and kind of reforms required to protect, defend and raise the quality of life and standard of living for all working people while protecting and advancing the rights of all working people.
Affirmative Action must be enforced so people of color, women and the handicapped get access to the jobs as required by Federal Executive Order #11246. Enforcing Affirmative Action is one way to increase everyone's standard of living because it places pressure on wages to go up as these huge pools of unemployed people which drive wages down are eliminated. An end to discrimination benefits us all.
Of course a good union contract is better than any government anti-poverty program but still we must insist that the United States government wages a war on poverty instead of funding these dirty imperialist wars killing us all.
The wealthy don't need any government help because with their wealth they can fend for themselves; it is working people who need government action on their side not government working against them.
The only way we are going to push wages up and solve the problem of unemployment at the same time is through a combination of union organizing, fighting for the minimum wage to be a real living--- non-poverty--- wage, massive public works jobs programs as described above combined with bringing back depression-busting programs like WPA, CCC and C.E.T.A. and recognizing that an injustice to workers anywhere is an injustice to workers everywhere threatening our rights to a standard of living in line with what the United Nations' universal Declaration of Human Rights requires.
If workers are going to begin winning struggles there must be the realization that workers without any rights or a voice at work have no rights in the communities where they live.
"At-will hiring; At-will firing" legislation must be terminated because it is the primary obstacle to workers organizing and asserting their rights yet the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party repeatedly refuses to bring forward the need to rescind "At-will hiring; At-will firing" legislation; why is this?
Wall Street is our common enemy. Whether it be U.S. Congressman John Kline opposing an increase in the minimum wage or MNDFL Governor Mark Dayton refusing to negotiate a new contract in good faith with State workers or President Barack Obama refusing to take a stand in solidarity with the embattled workers in Wisconsin or the MNDFL which has refused to bring its full weight to bear in ending the lock-out of more than 1,300 workers employed by American Crystal Sugar in the Red River Valley--- none of these politicians deserve the votes of working people.
In struggle and solidarity,
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council