All Republican governors’ eyes are on Wisconsin and Ohio. If anti-union measures are successful in these two states, there is the strong possibility that similar policies will spread to other Republican led states. Our own Gov. Chris Christie is licking his chops in anticipation of a roast of public employee unions in these states. His finger-pointing rhetoric at union benefits and pension obligations during his recent annual budget speech gives some insight into his desire to bring an anti-union battle here to New Jersey. Luckily, we have a legislature that is less eager to blame others for our current budget crisis and instead focus on reasonable solutions and a way forward.

However, other states across the nation are not as insulated as we are from this new Republican strategy of blame-for-gain. It has already been more than two weeks of protests since the newly elected Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker threatened to remove the rights of public employees to engage in collective bargaining through their union representatives. Even after offers of benefit reductions and pay cuts, Walker is still not willing to halt his anti-union threats. In Ohio, the senate has just passed a bill through committee that would eliminate the rights of thousands of public workers to protest and limit their rights to negotiate details of their state contracts. Knowing what is at stake, workers in these two states and across the U.S. have been showing their support for public employees and their rights to collectively bargain and protest. As early as 1768, workers here in America have had to rise up and protest against injustices, unsafe working conditions and the attitudes of employers who were driven by greed and the intoxicating spirit of capitalism. It was not until the declining working conditions of the Great Depression and bloodshed by workers in protest that the issue of worker’s rights made its way into congressional legislation. The movement ultimately culminated into the passing of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Under this act, workers were given the right to form unions, collectively bargain and take part in strikes. As a result, the American workforce saw drastic improvements in pay, retirement security and working conditions.

However, Section 152 of this act establishes by definition the exclusion of federal, state and public employees from protection. In light of this fact, many states have enacted similar protections to cover their public employees. This state legislation defining the rights and protections of public workers is the target of the current political leaders in Ohio and Wisconsin.

The fact of this issue is that newly empowered Republican governors are waging a war motivated by partisan politics and discrimination. It is an assault on hard-working Americans by greedy sociopathic top-down dimwits in an attempt to try and wiggle out of financial obligations on which they blame their current state budget crises. The motivation is based on a deplorable, but win-win strategy for Republicans. It is a strategy that weakens traditional democratic supports and strengthens traditional republican supports. For example, you have governors such as our own Gov. Chris Christie who refuse to pay pension fund obligations for our hard-working middle class state employees in favor of tax cuts. In their minds, the union workers that they are screwing out of a pension — who in recent history always support Democrats — would never vote for or support them in elections anyway. Though, those who they are able to secure tax cuts for are current and possible future supports. It is a strategy that sacrifices American values to capitalize on political partisanship.

If allowed to go unchecked, these Republican majority states will be setting back the rights of our public-working citizens to an era pre-National Labor Relations Act. What comes next: the elimination of a minimum wage, the reinstatement of child labor or the allowance of a 16-hour workday? Although dramatic, the point is that the right to strike and assemble to form collective bargaining strategies should be the right of all American workers. Instead, we are left with a national policy that excludes state, federal and agricultural workers from being guaranteed these rights out of fear. It is a government fear that citizens will be able to disrupt the tranquility and harmony of the day-to-day functions of government. And only recently, Republican leaders are taking advantage of this exclusion under the federal law as a way to threaten and bully concessions out of public employees. My only question is — why aren’t their more people in the streets protesting?

Christopher Pflaum is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in genetics with a minor in political science. He is the president of the Rutgers University Democrats. His column, “Carpe Diem,” runs on alternate Thursdays.