1. Making a Secure Retirement Part of the American Dream for Everyone IAM 751 Retirees Mark McDermott www.markmmcdermott.com Facebook: markmcdermottworkshops June 17, 2013

2. Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action Grassroots – diverse – activist – multi-generational 1,200 dues paying members

3. Finding Our Common Ground How many of you, your family or your close friends and their families are concerned about: Adequate income in retirement? A secure Social Security system? Adequate services as we get older? Stable Medicare system? Quality caregivers available to help us stay in our homes? A bright and secure present and future for our children and grandchildren?

4. How do you feel about these problems facing you, your family, and your friends and their families? 4

5. The Power of Our Story “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes." George Santayana, 1936

6. Telling the True Story of Labor’s Role in Creating the American Dream “The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress…The captains of industry did not lead this transformation.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

7. My Family’s Story

8. A Nation Divided Ku Klux Klan March in D.C. - 1925

9. Henry Ford - 1931 “The average man won't really do a day's work unless he is caught and cannot get out of it. There is plenty of work to do if people would do it.”

10. Hunger, Poverty and Homelessness Plagues Our Nation - Depression 1932.

11. Growing Solidarity Between Black and White Workers – Early 1930s

12. Police Kill 5 Ford Hunger Marchers - 1932

13. 100,000 in Funeral Procession for Martyrs of Ford Hunger March Massacre

14. GM Sit-Down Strikers: Occupy Flint, Michigan - 1937

15. National Guard Occupies Flint

16. Women Defending Striking Workers

17. Occupy GM in Flint: Victory

18. Sit-down Strikers Occupy Racist Woolworth Stores and Win Recognition – 1937

19. The Rise and Decline of the American Labor Movement - 1890 to 2012

20. Historic People’s Victories in the 1930s Social Security Home and farm ownership opportunities Right to organize unions in private sector and strong labor movement Unemployment insurance and public assistance Minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and child welfare protections Strong regulation of financial industries Farm workers and domestic workers exclusions

21. Historic People’s Victories 1960s and Early 1970s Medicare/Medicaid Pensions and pension protections Broader higher education opportunities Environmental victories – Clean air and water Safer workplaces – OSHA Civil Rights and Voting Right Acts Anti-poverty programs Anti-discrimination Open housing

22. 30 Years of Shared Prosperity – 1947-1979

23. Corporate America Stealing our Shared Prosperity – 1979-2011 Poorest 20% of families’ average income drops while the richest 5%’s grows 75%. Lower middle class, middle class and upper middle class see very slow growth.

24. The Super-Rich Stealing our Shared Prosperity – 1979-2011 Richest 11,000 families’ average income rises 386%. Their minimum income is $8.6 million and their average income is $35.5 million (2006 data.)

25. Winning a Secure Retirement Rising standard of living Steady, long-term employment Social Security with COLA Defined benefit pensions Medicare and Medicaid Own your home

26. Sharing Our Stories: How Have You and Your Families Benefited from these Great People’s Victories?

27. “There’s Class Warfare, all right. But it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” Warren Buffett, World’s Third Richest Man Corporate America’s Class War 1980 to Today

28. Lewis Powell – August 23, 1971 Confidential Memo To: Eugene Sydnor, Chairman, Education Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Subject: Attack on Free Enterprise System 2 months later, President Nixon appointed Powell to the U.S. Supreme Court.

29. Corporate America’s Class War Crush organized labor Promote free trade and export manufacturing jobs Undermine democracy with massive campaign spending by corporations and wealthy Voter suppression Deregulate financial industries and corporations Cut social programs for poor, unemployed and needy Sharply reduce taxes on corporations and the wealthy Privatize government

30. Published on Thursday, February 10, 2005 by the Associated PressAssociated Press As Union Nears Win, Wal-Mart Closes Store The War Against Workers

32. Immigrants Didn’t Wreck the Economy: They are our Sisters and Brothers

33. Our American Dream is Being Stolen Record profits Big bank bailouts Record number of foreclosures Record income and wealthy inequality Tax breaks for corporations and the rich Insecure retirements Shrinking opportunities for our families

34. General Electric’s Legal Tax Evasion U.S. profits – 2002-11: $80.2 billion Average tax rate: 1.8% Official rate: 35% GE saves: $26.5 billion GE lobbying – 2002-11: $220 million Return on lobbying: 12000%

35. “If there is no struggle, there can be no progress…find out what any people will quietly submit to and you will have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.” Frederick Douglass, 1857 Fighting for the American Dream: Finding Hope and Getting Organized

36. The People Speak Corporations Have Too Much Power National Harris Poll – June 2011 These groups have too much power: Major corporations – 88% Banks and financial institutions – 85% Lobbyists – 84% 36

37. Stealing our Children’s Dreams: Harder to Move Up and Crushing Student Debt “the U.S does not have as much mobility as most other advanced countries.” “Family background plays more of a role in the U.S. than most comparable countries.” $1,000,000,000,000 and counting!!!

38. Militant Students Force Congress to Keep Lower Interest Rates for Student Loans

39. Stealing a Secure Retirement from Our Families and Us Stagnant standard of living Kill defined benefit pensions; 401 (K)s Attack Social Security Attack Medicare Less stable, full-time employment Harder to buy a home

40. Strengthening Social Security Eliminating the income maximum “the cap” on which wage earners and employers pay Social Security taxes will preserve Social Security for decades. Watch our Scrap the Cap video. http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=ZZQlbtlErLo

41. Bad Idea #2: Lower Benefits by Changing the Cost of Living Adjustment Obama - YESU.S. Senate – BIG NO

42. Changing the COLA = Adopting the Chained Consumer Price Index (Chained CPI)

43. Take Action Today Scrap the Cap Say NO! to lowering Social Security Benefits by changing the Cost of Living Adjustment to “The Chained Consumer Price Index.” JOIN PSARA!!!!

44. People Like Us Have and Can Change the World. This is our Time. Women’s right to vote - 1920 American labor movement – 1930s Sweeping New Deal victories – 1930s Civil rights movement – 1950-60s Sweeping Great Society victories – 1960s Anti-war movement – 1960-70s World-wide anti-apartheid movement – 1940-90s Toppling the Berlin Wall – 1980-90s The United States – 2013 forward

45. Discussion What were your “aha” moments today?

46. Mark McDermott www.markmmcdermott.com Facebook: markmcdermottworkshops www.markmmcdermott.com The author wishes to acknowledge the financial contributions and technical assistance from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 that helped create the original version of this presentation and slideshow. The author is solely responsible for the content.

48. Corporate America Winning the War of Big Ideas 1973 – Heritage Foundation 1977 – Cato Institute – 1977 1970 – American Enterprise Institute – 10 staff and $1 million; by 1980 – 125 staff and $8 million (1980) 1980 – Heritage publishes Mandate for Leadership. Reagan gives a copy to all Cabinet members at first meeting. 1988 – 2/3 of 2000 recommendations implemented.

49. What ideas does this story give you about how we can take back the American Dream for the people you love and care about?

50. Children on the Picket Lines

51. A Brighter Future: Youth More Progressive as Racial Differences Shrink Our young people strongly support: – Role of unions in protecting working people – Government should ensure that all people have adequate food and affordable housing – Increased federal spending for public education Gaps between whites and blacks and Hispanics shrink White youth reject conservative views of their elders. Source: Amanda Logan and David Madland, “Millennial Economics: It Don’t Matter if You’re Black or White or Hispanic”, Center for American Progress Action Fund, October 2008. http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/pdf/progressive_gap.pdf

52. Who Gets What Share of the National Income: The Top 1% versus the 99% Source: Saez, Emmanuel, “Income Inequality in the U.S., 1913-1998 - Updated to 2008, http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/ See article and the Updated to 2008 in Excel - Table A0

53. Record After-Tax Profits for U.S. Corporations 2010: $1.93 Trillion Cash and $1.5 trillion in Offshore Corporate Profits

54. The Great Racial Wealth Divide 2009 Source: Pew Research Center, “Twenty to One: Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics, July 26, 2011., page 15. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2011/07/SDT-Wealth-Report_7-26-11_FINAL.pdfhttp://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2011/07/SDT-Wealth-Report_7-26-11_FINAL.pdf

55. Gender Gap in Hourly Wages - 2009 Source: Economic Policy Institute, “Change in real hourly wages for men and women by wage percentile, 1973-2009.” http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/view/188 http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/view/187 http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/view/188http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/view/187

56. Our Youth Face a Difficult Future High levels of unemployment Skyrocketing tuition costs Huge student loan debts Education cutbacks Upward mobility in the U.S. lower than many wealthy industrialized countries

57. What does the American Dream mean to you and your family?

58. Police and U.S. Army Kill 2 Bonus Marchers and Destroy Occupy D.C. - 1932 Source: M. B. Schnapper, American Labor: A Bicentennial History, Public Affairs Press, 1975, page 460. Copyright.

59. Why do you think we can win big election victories but then are unable to win big reforms needed to turn our country toward a new shared prosperity and brighter future?

60. Pop Quiz Right-wing Republican Governors Attack Public Employees and their Unions - 2011 Which group most supports public sector unions and public sector employees against these attacks? 18 to 34 year olds 35 to 55 year olds 55 and older

61. Young People Strongly Support Public Sector Unions

62. Racism Dividing Working People and Undercuts Needed Unity “The net result of all this (union racism) has been to convince the American Negro, that his greatest enemy is not the employer who robs him, but his fellow white workingman.” W.E.B. DuBois (1913); founder of NAACP (1909) Source: Howard Zinn, People’s History of the U.S., page 321. Michael D. Yates, Why Unions Matter, page 147.

63. What lessons can we learn from this history that will help us move toward making the American Dream real for everyone?

64. How do you feel about these problems facing you, your family, and your friends and their families?

65. What values and principles that you hold dear are violated by our shared prosperity being stolen from us?

66. Taking Action What are the most important things you learned today that can help you in your work as stewards, union leaders and community leaders? How can this information be used to help build a stronger Teamsters Union and broader labor movement?

67. President Herbert Hoover - 1929 Darling of Corporate America “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.”

68. 100,000 in Funeral March of IBT 574 Martyr in Victorious 1934 Minneapolis Strike

69. Economic Hard Times Hits Unevenly Record levels of income and wealth inequality People of color – higher unemployment and smaller wealth than whites Construction workers devastated Manufacturing workers hit hard by offshoring Women’s wages continue to trail men’s Our youth face growing challenges in pursuing education Upward mobility is lower in the U.S. than in much of Western Europe

70. A Corporate Prophet Speaks “Yet it will be a hard pill for many Americans to swallow – the idea that doing with less so that big business can have more…..Nothing that this nation, or any other nation, has done in modern economic history compares with in difficulty with the selling job that must now be done to make people accept this new reality.” John Carson-Parker, Business Week, 1974. It took more than a sales job to create this new reality.

71. Many Movements: Too Little Justice Labor Communities of color Seniors Women Immigrant rights Environmental Hunger, housing, homelessness, human services Occupy Gays and lesbians Faith Students and youth Fair trade International solidarity Corporate responsibility Political reforms

72. General Electric Legal Tax Evasion U.S. profits – 2002-11: $80.2 billion Average tax rate: 1.8% Official rate: 35% GE saves: $26.5 billion GE lobbying – 2002-11: $220 million Return on lobbying: 12000%

73. What does the American Dream mean to you and your family? 73

74. Finding Our Common Ground How many of you, your family members, your close friends or their family members have experienced the following in the past five years? Lost a job or worried abou Worried about losing job or can’t find full-time work Couldn’t get or exhausted unemployment benefits Lost or didn’t have health insurance

75. Racism and Bigotry as Corporate Strategy “We pursue policies to keep the races and nationalities apart…Stir up suspicion, rivalry and hatred among them.” Philip Armour, CEO of largest meatpacking company in the world.

76. Finding Our Common Ground How many of you, your family members, your close friends or their family members have experienced the following? Difficulties in paying the bills or facing bankruptcy Lost their home, facing foreclosures, underwater mortgage, or difficulties in paying the rent Moved in relatives because they can’t pay the rent

77. Racism Divides Working People and Undercuts Needed Unity “The net result of all this (union racism) has been to convince the American Negro, that his greatest enemy is not the employer who robs him, but his fellow white workingman.” W.E.B. DuBois (1913); founder of NAACP (1909) 77 Source: Howard Zinn, People’s History of the U.S., page 321. Michael D. Yates, Why Unions Matter, page 147.

78. Police and U.S. Army Kill 2 Bonus Marchers and Destroy Occupy D.C. - 1932 Source: M. B. Schnapper, American Labor: A Bicentennial History, Public Affairs Press, 1975, page 460. Copyright. 78

79. Racism and Anti-Immigrant Bigotry in the Great Depression: 1 to 2 Million Mexican- Americans and Mexicans Deported

80. Solidarity Critical in Victory in 83-Day 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike

81. Growing Racial Solidarity Key to Victories in the 1930s Probably the greatest and most effective effort toward interracial understanding among the working masses has come about through the trade unions…Probably no movement in the past 30 years has been so successful in softening race prejudice among the masses. W.E.B. DuBois, Founder of the NAACP

82. Democratic President, Big Congressional Majorities - What Happened? 1965-68, 1977-80, 1993-94, and 2009-10. Democratic President and large Congressional majorities. We only won broad reforms in 1965-68 – Great Society victories. Labor law reform beaten four times. Last three periods – major reforms largely blocked

83. How to Take Our Country Back Clearly vision, values and agenda Growing labor movement Effective education and communication Permanent long-term broad coalitions Aggressive mass movements Critical to involve our young people Credible threat to replace Democrats who oppose reform agenda

84. Major Victories Led by Young People 2011-12 Bank of America $5 debit charge stopped Verizon $2 pay online charge stopped Student loans – Congress forced to keep 3.4% interest rate President’s directive staying deportations of young immigrant students Anti-sweatshop victories on campuses

85. Taking Action What are your “aha” moments today? How can you use this information to be more effective in your political work, bargaining and new organizing? 85

86. FIGHTING FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OUR FAMILIES AND OURSELVES Our Nation is Not Broke: Corporate America and the Wealthy Are Hijacking the American Dream

87. Corporate After-Tax Profits Hit All-Time Highs – 2010-11 Corporate after-tax profits hit all-time record highs in 2010 and 2011 as a share of the national income while claiming the need for tax cuts and higher profits.

88. Workers’ Share of National Income Hits Record Lows – 2010-11

89. $950,000,000,000 Divided equally between the lowest 80% of households = Additional $10,000 per year

90. Community Rallies Behind Strikers

91. A New Woman Emerges in the Strike Wave – 1930s “The women that participated actively became a different type of woman, a different type from any we have ever known anywhere in the labor movement and certainly not in the city of Flint. They carried themselves with a different walk, their heads were high, and they had confidence in themselves.” 91

92. We Pay Our Taxes – What about the Rich? In 2010: 3,000 earning more than $2 Million paid $0 24,000 earning more than $550,000 paid $0 78,000 earning $200,000 - $550,000 paid $0