Anti-union bill defeated in Missouri

From: PWW

Author: Tony Pecinovsky
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 05/28/09 13:12

ST. LOUIS -- The fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act recently won a victory here in Missouri. House Joint Resolution 37, better known as Save Our Secret Ballots, went down in defeat when the Missouri legislature adjourned May 15.

HRJ37 would have amended the Missouri constitution to require secret ballots for all union elections. The Missouri legislation is part of a nation-wide campaign by big business, anti-union forces designed to give the impression that workers are against the Employee Free Choice Act, organized labor's top priority.

According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “The Save our Secret Ballot” organization is pushing similar anti-union constitutional amendments in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Utah. The group is based in Nevada.

Free Choice will strengthen the rights of workers to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation (often called card-check); it will also place stiffer penalties on employers who violate the law.

Current labor law allows for card check representation or a secret ballot. However, the choice is not made by the workers. It allows the employer to decide which process will be used.

According to a Cornell University study, 92 percent of private-sector employers force employees to attend closed-door, captive audience meetings where they are forced to listen to anti-union propaganda; 80 percent of employers require supervisors to attend training sessions attacking unions; and 78 percent require that supervisors give anti-union messages to workers they oversee.

Employee Free Choice would let workers, not their bosses, decide how they want the union recognized: through card check representation or through an election.

Many see state-level campaigns for bills like Save Our Secret Ballots as dangerous not only because they weaken workers' rights, but also because they help the right-wing and big business build momentum as it tries to stop Free Choice at the federal level.

Senator Robin Wright-Jones, who helped block HJR37, told the World, "HJR37, the so-called Save Our Secret Ballots initiative, would have done nothing to protect workers' rights. It would keep a broken system in place. Big business' unsolicited interest only underscores the fact that the current system by which union elections are held does not meet the needs of today's workers. So why keep it?"

Additionally, Wright-Jones asked, "Why is the Chamber of Commerce concerned about workers' rights? They've never cared about workers before."

Wright-Jones was referring to a spirited Jobs with Justice rally held earlier in May outside of the Clayton, Mo., Chamber of Commerce meeting where Karl Rove, who is staunchly anti-EFCA, was the keynote speaker.

"The Employee Free Choice Act would give workers power in the workplace -- power to fight for and win better wages, working conditions and benefits," Wright-Jones added.

HJR37 failed in Missouri because the MO AFL-CIO and Change To Win affiliates mounted a grassroots campaign that highlighted workers' struggles for a better life, while shedding light on employer misconduct. Labor's mobilization - from phone-banks to legislative visits -- showed right-wing, anti-union forces that Missouri isn't just the Show Me State. It's a union state.
tonypec@cpusa.org

Unity in the Community!

This weekend students from Little Village Lawndale Highschool, North Lawndale College Prep, Farragut, and Castellanos rallied and marched against violence in the Little Village and North Lawndale Community. Gangs in Chicago are a part of the everyday life of students, whether they join or not. Neighborhoods are divided up into, often small, turfs that are dangerous, even for non affiliated students, to cross in and out of. In Little Village we struggle to designate safe passages that can get student safely to school, jobs, or events across opposing gang turf.

 

Gang conflict within the school is also a common problem, and these gang conflicts can quickly become racial conflicts.  Chicago is highly racially segregated, and then further segregated by gangs. Schools are a meeting point crossing neighborhoods, racial, and gang lines. LVLHS is majority Latino, but also has a growing African American student body. African American students come from neighboring communities that have different gang affiliations. When gang conflict between Latino and African American gangs, or gang members, happen at or around school, larger conflict ensues. These larger conflicts turn into racially targeted violence that create huge racial tensions in the school and community.

 

The Unity March was called to address these issues, and bring youth in the community together against violence. 

The rally was led by students, who talked about the need to end violence, read the names of the 36 Chicago Public Students murdered this year, and sang the Black National Anthem. The March went through the center of the community and through the neighborhood dividing line between the Latino community of Little Village and the African American community of North Lawndale along Ogden Ave. 

This is the first of many actions neighborhood members and youth will take to curb the violence Little Village and North Lawndale students live with everyday. One of the many demands: Jobs for Youth!

Wanna get involved?  Email ursula@yclusa.org to get connected up with the Chicago Club!

May First en Milwaukee!

May 1st, 2009.  I was confundida as to where I should go on this day.  Madison, where I have implemented some roots already during this school year, or Milwaukee...where I have put my time, heart and soul?  Milwaukee is where my passion & dedication is.  I made my way to back at 8 in the morning, for some reason, I found myself nervous.  I could not and still can not explain why I felt this rush from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.  Parked on 10th & Washington, & made my way to 5th.  Confusion hit me...where was the chanting? Why is there so much parking space around UCC?  I made it to Voces, 100+ people were there.  "VOCES DE LA FRONTERA- WORKERS CENTER", "LATINOS EN ACCION" signs were being held by 3 people.  Mujeres gritaban "¡Comida! ¡Tortas! ¡Aguas!"  We were there for a good 45 minutes waiting for more community members to arrive....casi nadie estaba.  Familiar faces glanced back at me, I felt at home.

El programa empezo, easily, 300 miembros de la comunidad were there.  As we started marching, it was a complete snowball effect.  By the time we hit Veteran's park, 30,000 personas were there.  It was inspiring to see abuelas y abuelas marching hand in hand.  Mamás, papás, trabajadores, estudiantes, LGBTQ de la comunidad.  The "popo" was there, but they were well behaved.


May 1st has been for the past 4-5 years historical for acciones de la comunidad inmigrante.  Demandas de licensias, in-state tuition for estudiantes, un alto a las redadas, humane legalicasion.  Nuestro movimiento seguira creciendo, y seguira demandando hasta que el ¡YA BASTA! sea entendido por tod@s, sobre todo por l@s politicos.  

Las fotos que ven, son personas que drew me in, algo en los ojos, algo en la forma en la que estaban parad@s, una connecion bella que tubimos.

Jeanette Martìn, a Madison Y.C.L.er originally from Milwaukee, writes about her experiences on May 1st and shares some of her photos.  Wanna get connected up with the Y.C.L. in Madison or the Y.C.L. in Milwaukee?  email ursula@yclusa.org for more info.