Examining the Tea Party

The NAACP in collaboration with the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights recently released its report exposing the Tea Party, its racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, islamophobia, nativism and its militia impulse. The various Tea Party factions (Freedom Works Tea Party, Tea Party Nation, 1776 Tea Party, ResistNet Tea Party, Tea Party Patriots, and The Tea Party Express) all make up an umbrella of spoke like organizations serving as radial limbs.  At its core the central shaft comprises disaffected white leaders espousing racist ideas and advocating violence and many of whom are formally associated with white supremacist organizations. This well researched documented report is a sobering read.

The Tea Party is not a political party rather a movement that emerged through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests in response to several Federal laws: the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the health care reform bill.  The movement’s primary concerns, leaders of the movement claim, are cutting back on the size of government, lowering taxes, reducing wasteful spending, and reducing the national debt and federal budget deficit.

“Take America Back” is the Tea Party mantra directed at the African American President and clearly meant to address the nation’s growing population of people of color:  Latinos, Asians, and African Americans. Essence Magazine reveals what is meant in an article written by Gini Sikes, a white journalist, who was hired to go undercover and report on the 2010 convention of the Council of Conservative Citizens who kept their meetings secret from the media. “As a White journalist hired by Essence to tell this story, I’m able to mingle with them,” wrote Sikes. “I discovered they have widely varying agendas, but two things clearly unite the majority: unyielding loyalty to their race and a hatred for President Obama.”

The leaders have a hidden unspeakable agenda with goals directed toward the social realm. The movement claims not to be Republican, but embraces Republican political philosophy to which opportunistic Republicans attempted to control, advising Tea baggers to disrupt and essentially break up town-hall meetings. This attempt at capturing and channeling this new found energy, seems to have failed with the rise of little known Tea party candidates, Sharon Angle, Joe Miller, Christine O’Donnell and Rand Paul, upsetting the establishment in race after race only to later stumble because of their inexperience is delivering their extreme message and dealing with the media.

The Tea Party is like an escaped circus chimp reeking havoc and danger on to all around. The question is will the American electorate wise up and push back on this extremist movement? Voting is the only way to sedate the creature and put it back in its cage.

MWAA Skirts Minority Contracting Suppresses Wages and Undermines Security

Thursday the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority held its 20th Annual Business Opportunity Seminar to attract minority and women entrepreneurs as well as local disadvantaged businesses (LDBs). The problem is its all smoke and mirrors with few contracts going to either minority or women entrepreneurs. The lions share are awarded to “local disadvantaged businesses,” i.e. the good old boys who consistently and overwhelming manage to beat out other qualifying bidders. LDBs usually skim off the cream of these lucrative contracts leaving the curds of low wages and inadequate benefits to seep down to the Black and Latino work force. Senator Rockefeller has recently called for a top to bottom investigation of MWAA contracting practices. This would be the first step toward necessary reform and real equal opportunity.

Senator Rockefeller should begin by reviewing security contracting. Infrastructure security at Reagan National Airport is supported by an unarmed guard force of 40 officers. Five years ago MWAA awarded contract oversight to a Maryland company Master Security. Prior to this award under the company Securiguard officers enjoyed satisfactory benefits and pay. Before the recession Master Security came in immediately cut pay and benefits with MWAA approval and has since refused to grant pay raises or cost of living increases during its 5 year tenure.

The officers organized a collective bargaining unit. Many work long hours sometimes 16 to 18 hour shifts in inclement weather yet they have no sick leave or night differential pay and nor other standard benefits enjoyed by most contract security officers. They have no pension or retirement plan. The situation at Reagan National is particularly untenable because the officers are paid well below the regions prevailing wage standard earning only $12.50 an hour while the prevailing wage is $21.26.
The Reagan officers are paid far below the prevailing wage standard. This deprives them of the ability to maintain comfortable living standards adversely impacting the region. Moreover paying low wages forces MWAA to rely on immigrant workers. This increased reliance diminishes the quality of infrastructure security with lower standards and greater exposure to threats from both outside and within.
MWAA enjoys a unique status an as a recipient of federal funds. It is for the most part a government contractor and as such should be a model employer yet it routinely violates prevailing wages laws. Prevailing wage laws set the floor for wages, overtime pay, training, pension plans, health insurance other benefits paid to workers on public financed jobs.
The cost of living in the Washington metropolitan region is high. The Reagan officers are demanding to be paid the prevailing wage to keep pace with rapidly increasing transportation and subsistence costs. Without the necessary increase workers will be forced to move outside the Beltway for cheaper housing thus incurring higher transportation costs.
MWAA by failing to observe the prevailing wage law jeopardizes airport security and diminishes regional living standards. Enough with the annual dog and pony show touting equal opportunity. MWAA should award contracts to minority and woman owned businesses as mandated by federal law and stop the charade.