Friday April 10 (Second Friday)
STREET HEAT -
THE AFL-CIO MOBILIZATION COMMITTEE
9:30-11am, AFL-CIO Hall, 640
Page Blvd, near corner of Osborne Ter, across the street from the old
Westinghouse, Springfield. This meeting will focus on the campaign to win
the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, including meetings with
Congressmen and Sen. Kerry. Also on the agenda: the YWCA; Postal job loss; Bank
of America; Your Organizing! Community and labor activists are urged to
attend. Info; send agenda items to: Jon Weissman, 732-7970, street_heat@pvaflcio.org.
News Notes
American Rights at Work has launched a new TV ad
to help kick off a tremendous surge of activity in support of the Employee Free
Choice Act during the Congressional recess.
• View the ad on www.AmericanRightsatWork.org and
www.FreeChoiceAct.org.
• Direct YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXvGYr8a5o8
Info: Liz Cattaneo,
Communications Director, American Rights at Work, 1100 17th St NW, Suite 950,
Washington DC 20036; 202.822.2127 x104; lcattaneo@americanrightsatwork.org;
www.americanrightsatwork.org.
***
Companies aren't supposed to attack workers who want a union,
but Rite Aid and other employers are doing it every day. When 650
workers at Rite Aid's distribution center in Lancaster, CA, wanted to join a
union to address problems like sweltering heat in the warehouse, the company
threatened and fired them.
The federal government was preparing to charge Rite
Aid with 49 labor law violations, but let the company off with a slap on the
wrist. After workers prevailed and voted to join the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union last March, Rite Aid continued the attacks. Now the company
is refusing to sign a first contract and has hired an anti-union consulting
firm to guide the company through the decertification process. This situation
at Rite Aid is a perfect example of why passing the Employee Free Choice Act is
so important.
We can't let Rite Aid succeed in its attempt to rob
their workers of their right to collectively bargain. Please tell Rite Aid
CEO Mary Sammons it's time for Rite Aid to do the right thing: Respect
workers rights, stop union busting, and sign a fair agreement: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/riteaid?rk=Dd1i6x6q5hBUW.
***
"It's a Depression" by Robert Reich is
at http://www.truthout.org/040409C.
***
AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on RAMPING UP THE
EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT CAMPAIGN
As we head into the April congressional recess, we are
entering the most crucial two-month period in our important campaign to restore
the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.
Last week’s defection by Arlen Specter confirmed what
we already know: The path to victory will not be easy. But neither does it
rest on the decision of one senator. Rather than closing off options,
Specter’s announcement has opened up an important conversation with a
number of moderate Republicans and Democrats who are now working on additional
solutions to the fundamental problems addressed by the Employee Free Choice
Act.
Now more than ever, we need to visibly demonstrate our
strength. I am asking for the unqualified and active support of every national
union as well as every state federation and labor council. Now is the time for
our campaign to escalate and for every one of us to be fully engaged.
§ If
you or your local unions have staff in the target states (listed below) not yet
assigned to the campaign, now is the time to ask them to set aside everything
possible for seven weeks and work toward our common goal.
§ If
you have not asked every one of your local unions in these states to generate
hand written personal letters and phone calls to senators, now is the time.
§ If
you have not yet given as much as you can to the Media Fund that is so
important, now is the time.
§ And
this recess is the time for every state federation and labor council to
communicate with every representative and every senator – to thank them
or ask for their support.
As we enter this next phase of our campaign, it is
important to remind ourselves of the fundamental principles that underlie our
support for the Employee Free Choice Act:
1 -- Workers must have a real choice to form a
union and bargain for a better life, free from employer intimidation.
2 -- Companies cannot be allowed to delay
endlessly and stall out the choice of the majority of workers.
3 -- There must be real penalties for violating
the law. Companies must be held accountable.
Winning legislation that meets these principles will take
everything we all can do together – and I am confident that we will do it.
We have the support of the president, the vice president,
and large majorities of the United States House and Senate. They agree
with us that we have to fix our broken system and give workers a free choice to
bargain with their employers in order to restore our middle class and build an
economy that works for everyone.
We also have the support of 73 percent of the public
because voters understand we have to level the playing field and hold
corporations accountable. Their support means the corporate-dominated
status quo is simply unsustainable.
Our job over the next seven weeks is to make sure every
senator understands this is a top priority and a necessity for America’s
working families. Working together, we can and will get it done.
If you have questions or want to discuss your
commitments, please contact Fred Azcarate at 639-6229 or fazcarat@aflcio.org.
Priority States
Alaska Delaware Maine New Mexico Virginia
Arkansas Florida Missouri North Carolina Wisconsin
California Indiana Montana North Dakota
Colorado Louisiana Nebraska Pennsylvania
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Win the Employee Free Choice Act - visit http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/, http://jwj.org/freechoice/index.html, and http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion.
Donate to the media campaign: https://secure.ga6.org/08/turnaroundamericafund?source=taafundwebpage.
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