Unions divided
Now that City Council has approved the beverage tax,
winners and losers will be tallied ("Soda tax makes history,"
Friday).
Teamsters Local 830 lost big. As sales plummet once the
tax is enacted, we will feel a corresponding loss of jobs.
The beverage companies lost as sales of sugar-sweetened
and diet drinks will tank. Consumers lost since they'll absorb the tax. The
business community lost because it's another antibusiness levy.
But the hidden cost is the damage it has done to the
labor community.
Mayor Kenney promised goodies to certain unions in
exchange for their support. The building trades were promised $100 million in
construction. AFSCME District Councils 33 and 47 and the police and
firefighters were promised cash for their pension funds. The teachers and the
Service Employees International Union were promised jobs.
Those unions and the local AFL-CIO chapter knew the
damage the tax would do to the Teamsters, but they didn't care about our fate
or didn't have the guts to take a stand against the levy. Those deals got the
mayor his tax, but they have destroyed union solidarity in Philadelphia.
Those unions most responsible for this betrayal will face
a difficult time securing our support for their issues.
|Daniel H. Grace, secretary-treasurer, Teamsters Local
830, Philadelphia, dgrace@team830.org
Source: Philly.com
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