There’s 50 States in the Union, Right?

Well, when it comes to the best work environments by state, we aren’t even in the top fifty. Louisiana ranks 51 in the Work Environment Index which “rates working environments in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in terms of average pay, employment opportunities, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, fair treatment between genders and ability for employees to unionize.”

I can’t say I’m surprised. Louisiana has been bending over backwards for businesses at the expense of workers for as long as I can tell. We sold our soul, as well as the coastal wetlands, to the oil industry. Chemical plants and oil refineries pollute our air and water. Look how Tom Benson and the Saints jerk the city of New Orleans around. And we rely so heavily on the tourism industry that pays wages which only contribute to our working poor.

If you were shocked by the scenes of poverty in the flood waters of Katrina, be shocked by this, too. It is not cool to accept this crap anymore.