BRATTLEBORO — Having just passed another International Workers' Day on May 1, it's a good time to take stock of the condition of workers in the United States.
We find politicians and the ruling class drooling about low unemployment and a booming economy. Who are the true beneficiaries in this economy?
Workers' wages have been largely stagnant for decades. The country's (and the world's) wealth has been transferred to a tiny fraction of the population. Large swaths of the United States are experiencing a massive economic and social decline.
Families and communities are living with high levels of stress and material deprivation, consistent with a profound lack of access to resources. The world's commons are being privatized for profit, and masses of people are being walled off from basic human needs and rights.
In addition, many of the institutions (like labor unions) that traditionally helped working people organize and exercise their power have been eviscerated over a period of decades.
All of these factors are predictable and expected given the fundamental nature of our economic system. It's then not surprising the ruling class sees the current economic reality as wonderful; they are the beneficiaries.
Not everyone is taking this reality sitting down.
Teachers and other workers have been on the leading edge of this fight over the past couple of years. Teachers see daily the struggles of students' families to make ends meet. They see the draconian steps to reduce education spending at the same time that tax breaks are handed to the rich.
While this fight has been pronounced in states outside of Vermont, the issues are similar here.
We have the same combination of low wages, unaffordable housing costs, and drug addiction. Students and teachers have experienced cutbacks in support staff and special-education funding. Rising health-care costs are being foisted on teachers and working parents, while health-care and pharmaceutical owners (and their managers) bathe in money.
What should the reaction of working people be under such severe conditions?
Both historically and in the present day there is a solution: organize, stand up, and fight back. Over the weekend of May 10, local teachers and other activists are gathering to address these issues at the Stand Up Fight Back! conference in Brattleboro, organized by Educational Praxis and Spark Teacher Education Institute, in partnership with Marlboro College and Brattleboro Solidarity. Join us.