Franklin D. Roosevelt, c. 1933
I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy – a corporate-backed think tank based in Michigan that calls climate studies a “pseudoscience”, opposes the minimum wage, and argues against state support for more affordable college tuition – has attacked EOI.
Why? Because our research determined that when local child care workers collectively bargained for access to classes and training, it measurably improved their knowledge and skills, and supported their work caring for children. And without collective bargaining, it is highly unlikely these opportunities would have been available to them.
(Judging from the tone of the post, Mackinac apparently thinks preventing the spread of disease and promoting strong family bonds – via minimum standards for paid sick days and paid family leave – are also bad ideas. But I digress.)
Mackinac doesn’t actually dispute EOI’s research findings. That’s likely for two reasons:
- They can’t.
- It’s not really the training that gets under their skin. It’s the fact that these workers organized themselves, and in the process made things a little better for themselves and the kids in their care. And you just can’t have that when you’ve got it in for collective bargaining as a matter of ideology.
EOI is proud to have landed on Mackinac’s little hit list, along with 17 other organizations including: Daily Kos, Alliance for Retired Americans, Jobs With Justice, and Change.org.
And if you’d like EOI to end up on more lists like Mackinac’s, please support our work – we promise to do our darndest!
