I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy – a corporate-backed(opens in new tab) 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(opens in new tab).
Why? Because our research determined(opens in new tab) 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(opens in new tab) 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(opens in new tab), Alliance for Retired Americans(opens in new tab), Jobs With Justice(opens in new tab), and Change.org(opens in new tab).