You want an obscene contrast between the absolute flogging American workers are getting versus how big corporations are getting off? Compare the scandalous termination of the pension plans for 134,000 United Airlines workers, on the one hand, to the passage of the bankruptcy bill (with Democratic Party support), on the other hand.

On the one hand, United washes its hands of its obligations to people, while, by the way, continuing to enrich its executives. I feared this was coming last summer when I wrote about the pension system being close to collapse. And I became even more concerned this past Fall because the government agency that takes over pensions–the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)—had huge financial losses to cover. Let’s remember something: pensions belong to workers. Pensions are monies workers deferred as wages today so they could save some money to have a little better life in their retirement years.

And this is just the beginning—the rest of the struggling big airlines such as Delta and USAir will be asking for the same relief. We are looking at a possible disaster that will overwhelm the PBGC and, ultimately, end up being paid for by taxpayers. So, let me get this straights: executives get off with millions in their pockets while workers lose their pensions and the rest of us get stuck with the bill. Sound familiar?

By comparison, the Congress just passed and the president signed the bankruptcy bill which was a wet kiss to the credit card companies. The bill makes it more difficult for average Americans to file for bankruptcy when they are overcome by debt. Mark my words, within the next few years, there will be many United workers who, without the level of pensions they had counted on, will be drowning in debt but have no relief because of the new bankruptcy rules.

If these airlines line up one after another, we may be facing a situation analagous to the air traffic controllers strike in 1981. When the controllers were fired by Reagan, the labor movement did not do enough to declare that fight a fight for all of labor. After the firing of the controllers, it was open season on unions. If labor doesn’t take on this pension looting–albeit, endorsed by a federal court–we will rue the day because the message will go out loud and clear that pensions can be terminated at will.