It’s the biggest falsehood since the neocons peddled the big lie that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
The new big lie being spread by Indiana’s Republican dominated state government, in the name of elusive economic growth, is that Indiana needs to return to the late 1950s and bring back right to work (RTW) as an instrument of state public policy.
It was during the last vestiges of Jim Crow (1957) when Indiana first passed anti-union organizing legislation, (aka right to work). During those days of de jure and practical segregation in Indianapolis, right to work proponents claimed it would usher an era of prosperity and more jobs for Hoosiers, including Negroes, as we were known then.
But the repeal of right to work in 1965 and the passage of federal civil rights laws helped grow Indiana’s African-American middle class; especially among Black union workers at Indy’s manufacturing plants. Those union jobs helped make the standard of living for Blacks here slightly better than other Midwestern communities.
Now, Indiana’s radical Republicans, with the open assistance of lame duck Gov. Mitch Daniels says right to work is what Indiana needs to attract jobs in a state where unemployment’s rising.
Despite lowered corporate tax rates, millions in tax breaks, abatements and incentives Indiana’s still not attracting jobs, so Republicans believe union busting and depressing middle class wages will do the trick.
But it’s odd that when Isuzu set up in 1987 and Toyota in 1996 both of those big automakers came to Indiana despite Indiana not being a right to work state.
Even the shaky LiTEBOX and those alleged 1,100 jobs Mayor Greg Ballard and Gov. Daniels announced in October would be non-union.
So why the focus on right to work now?
And why won’t the radical Republicans and their big business toadies explain how right to work states and laws benefit African-Americans? During last year’s RTW debate, I kept asking proponents for the research on how right to work has helped Black folks. I’m still waiting for answers.
Maybe they won’t answer because the facts are not on their side.
The 2010 Census American Community Survey (ACS) reports median household income for African-Americans nationally was $33,579. Of the 22 right to work states; Blacks in 17 of those states have lower median household incomes than the $33,579.
And of the 10 states with the lowest Black median household income, eight are right to work states.
The 2010 Census ACS also reported African-American unemployment nationally was 18 percent. But in nine of the 22 right to work states, the Black unemployment rate exceeded the national figure.
Instead of a law that busts unions, our African-American community wants to see real “right to work” laws that would prohibit companies from denying employment for arrests without convictions, or that resulted in not guilty verdicts. African-Americans want an end to the “at will” employment standards that allows employment discrimination to be rampant in Indiana; and ludicrously expensive to prevent.
That’s the law changes that would improve employment in our African-American community and improve Blacks’ standard of living.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis/Marion County’s radical Republicans, with the tacit approval of Mayor Ballard have introduced radical changes to the city/county’s nearly 600 precincts. Radical changes designed to confuse voters, including African-Americans, in the critical 2012 elections.
After raiding the city treasury giving $225,000 to David Brooks, one of Indy’s radical Republican operatives, Republicans didn’t just make technical precinct boundary corrections required of the mayor by the State Election Board; Brooks and Ballard radically changed the county’s political precincts.
The nefarious Brooks/Ballard precinct plan redrew 319 of Indy’s 597 precincts. To add confusion, Brooks/Ballard renumbered precincts making it confusing for voters next year.
Indianapolis changed every precinct number and boundaries at the start of 2008. Now, four years later we’re doing the same thing? There’s no reason except to create political mischief; and play havoc with next November’s network election exit polls.
The 2010 Census did require some changes in precincts in the growing areas of the city/county. Franklin Township, which grew in population 70.2 percent, saw 26 of its 29 precincts change shape. Decatur Township which grew 31 percent had all but one of their precincts change boundaries.
But GOP stronghold Perry Township, which grew 17.4 percent, saw only 28 of their 59 precincts change boundaries.
And townships that had small overall population growth, but had large non-Hispanic white population drops and large Black population gains, the Brooks/Ballard plan made huge precinct changes.
In Pike (overall population growth 9 percent, Black population growth 51.2 percent) Brooks/Ballard changed 42 of Pike’s 52 precincts.
In Warren (overall population growth 5.8 percent, Black growth 63.3 percent), Brooks/Ballard messed with 49 of Warren’s 58 precincts.
In Lawrence (overall population growth 5.8 percent, Black population growth 31 percent) Brooks/Ballard changed 58 of 81 precincts; including all precincts in Ward 27, a ward with a huge Black population.
The massive precinct changes were cover for Brooks/Ballard’s dastardly plan to create a permanent Republican City-County Council majority in a Democratic city/county.
The foundation of their partisan remap is packing the African-American diaspora within Indianapolis/Marion County into six firm Black majority districts and two other districts where Blacks are the dominant racial group. Comprising eight of the 10 districts solidly or leaning Democratic.
Worse, compared with the politically neutral council district map created by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2003, the Brooks/Ballard map dismembers communities of interest, makes a travesty of compactness and divides townships up like chopped liver.
In the current council map, 13 of the 25 council districts are contained wholly within a city/county township. Every township, but Decatur and Franklin, had districts that wholly represented some of a township’s area.
The Brooks/Ballard redistricting shreds the concept of township representation as just nine of the 25 districts are wholly contained within a township.
Worst case was Pike, the township with the highest percentage of Black population, which was divided into five council districts, none of which are wholly located within the township.
The cynical Brooks/Ballard partisan packs our Black community into districts that would make us feel good about Black representation, but consigns our community to never be part of a council majority status.
Like the radical Republicans right to work efforts, Brooks/Ballard council map would return our Black community to subsurvience; not progress.
Both efforts must be aggressively fought.
See ‘ya next week.
You can email comments to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
