Just last month, George II declared war on labor unions in the United States. He used four executive orders to:

1. Revoke the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in federal projects.
2. Require federal contractors to post a notice telling workers that they can duck paying a potion of their union dues.
3. Dissolve the National Partnership Council, a Clinton mechanism that sought to help agencies and unions to resolve their differences.
4. Revoke a policy of job protection for employees of federal contractors when the project is awarded to another contractor.

He also suspended an existing regulation that prevents the government from awarding contracts to bidders who have broken environmental, labor, tax, and other laws; the “contractor responsibility” rule.

There were warning signs, of course. Bush appointees to many posts were clear indicators that the right wing of the Republican Party was in control. Charles James, the new Justice Department antitrust chief signaled a change that even the Wall Street Journal, the most conservative of our national newspapers, saw as turning “back the clock on antitrust enforcement 10 years.”

Mitchell Daniels, the new budget director,” is a former Republican chairman from Indiana with ultra-conservative credentials. His office will have great impact on how federal contracts are implemented.

Worst of all, Theodore Olson was appointed solicitor general of the United States. Often called the “tenth member of the Supreme Court,” this office has tremendous influence over how the court rules on pending cases. We all remember the shameful action of the high court to hand the office of the presidency to George II. How bad is Olson’s record? As a protégé of Justice Clarence Thomas, he is on the record against environmental protection, the rights of women and minorities, free choice, affirmative action, and labor unions. The Los Angeles Times described his appointment as the “right wing’s seizure of power”.

While all of Bush’s actions are predictable from his prior record, his actions are a signal that George II will make George I look practically friendly by comparison. Bush’s record as governor of Texas was consistently anti-labor and pro big business. Throughout his career, George II has been bailed out by his father’s friend, most of whom made their money in oil, gas, and energy.

It is no coincidence that Bush is doing little to help California in our current energy crisis. While the fact is that California union workers are building the power plants that will pull the state out of this energy crisis, that doesn’t fit George II’s agenda. Even though PLAs have been used successfully for decades to produce safe, on time, on budget projects while protecting the environment, the president can’t wait to try to dismantle this process. As a bonus, George II gets to attempt to damage the career of Governor Gray Davis, a potential future opponent, as he lets California dangle in the wind.

So why is the president attacking unions so aggressively? In Watergate, the rule was to “follow the money.” That is true again.

Not only will Republican lawmakers introduce legislation this month to gain wide access to the Arctic wilderness for the oil industry, they will also propose billions of dollars in tax credits to an industry enjoying record profits. George II’s so-called energy plan is using the current energy crisis to line the pockets of old friends and allies. The public-interest group Taxpayers for Common Sense estimates the total windfall to oil companies will be as much as $20 billion over the next 10 years under this plan.

Do they need the money? High fuel prices produced a fourth-quarter increase in profits of 93 percent at BP Amoco PLC, 60 percent at Royal Dutch/Shell, and 127 percent at Texaco Inc. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s quarterly net profit of $5.2 billion was the largest ever recorded by an U.S. corporation. An interagency task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney responded to criticism by stating, “We’re shedding all preconceived notions.”

What they’re shedding is any further pretense about the George II agenda.

As the president lets California and the rest of the nation struggle with real energy shortages, old friends like El Paso Corp. are making a killing in the natural gas market. In the last five years, the Texas energy company has gone from $3 billion in annual revenues to over $21 billion. Their stock has increased by 400 percent. Because 93 percent of all North American power plants use natural gas for fuel, El Paso and other Bush friends are poised for immense control and consolidation of America’s energy needs. They have expanded into electric generation and now have power plants in the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. With the construction of new facilities in Mexico, Central America, the Bahamas, Florida, and North Carolina, El Paso Corp. sees a bright future under George II’s tenure. They predict that fuel prices will stay high for the next decades. They’re betting on ol’ George to make it happen.

America’s unions are in a battle for the next few years, even though the larger contest is between the American public and the old friends of the Bush dynasty. The only thing amazing about George II’s agenda is how quickly and openly he reverted to his core beliefs in helping the rich get richer. He will try to use labor unions as the scapegoat in this process; trying to divert the attention of the American public from the real issue: The Robber Barons are back in the White House. If there was ever a time for labor unions, members of Congress, and state legislators to come together for the long, tough fight, this is it.

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