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National Fight for Bargaining Rights Begins Dec. 10: Workers' Rights are Human Rights
Following is a statement by CWA President Morton Bahr on the campaign to gain workers' bargaining and organizing rights that begins Dec. 10:
Washington, D.C. -- Dec. 10 is the date that the United Nations designated as International Human Rights Day. The labor movement in the United States has set Dec. 10 as the start of our campaign to protest the violation of workers' rights in this county and to make labor rights a full element of human rights.
Union busting has become the nation's fastest growing industry. We have watched companies systematically ignore labor law and violate workers' rights, with no penalty at all for these illegal acts.
There are workers in many sectors who have been struggling to gain a first contract for too many years, because their employers are following an anti-union playbook of delay and stalling tactics. There are too many workplaces where employers, unable to keep workers from voting in a union, orchestrate a decertification campaign, rewarding management supporters with promotions or special treatment.
Workers at Comcast, Adelphia, the Chinese Daily News and too many other "low-road" employers have been denied the right to form a union and bargain a contract. That's why today, in communities across the country, we've joined together for this fight to win real bargaining and organizing rights.
From New York to Cleveland to Los Angeles, union members, Jobs with Justice activists and community supporters will be shining a very public light on the abuses and illegal actions taken by employers every day to thwart workers' rights. This public testimony – and the consequences and hardships endured by working families -- will be heard in hundreds of communities.
We're not just paying witness to this lawbreaking. We're determined to change the law and change the current climate that rewards employers who systematically engage in union busting.
That's why we're supporting new legislation introduced by worker friendly lawmakers that gives workers the opportunity to make a fair choice about union representation and includes real penalties for employers that break the law.
Support for this legislation will be a litmus test in our support for political candidates in the coming political season.
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Washington, D.C. -- Dec. 10 is the date that the United Nations designated as International Human Rights Day. The labor movement in the United States has set Dec. 10 as the start of our campaign to protest the violation of workers' rights in this county and to make labor rights a full element of human rights.
Union busting has become the nation's fastest growing industry. We have watched companies systematically ignore labor law and violate workers' rights, with no penalty at all for these illegal acts.
There are workers in many sectors who have been struggling to gain a first contract for too many years, because their employers are following an anti-union playbook of delay and stalling tactics. There are too many workplaces where employers, unable to keep workers from voting in a union, orchestrate a decertification campaign, rewarding management supporters with promotions or special treatment.
Workers at Comcast, Adelphia, the Chinese Daily News and too many other "low-road" employers have been denied the right to form a union and bargain a contract. That's why today, in communities across the country, we've joined together for this fight to win real bargaining and organizing rights.
From New York to Cleveland to Los Angeles, union members, Jobs with Justice activists and community supporters will be shining a very public light on the abuses and illegal actions taken by employers every day to thwart workers' rights. This public testimony – and the consequences and hardships endured by working families -- will be heard in hundreds of communities.
We're not just paying witness to this lawbreaking. We're determined to change the law and change the current climate that rewards employers who systematically engage in union busting.
That's why we're supporting new legislation introduced by worker friendly lawmakers that gives workers the opportunity to make a fair choice about union representation and includes real penalties for employers that break the law.
Support for this legislation will be a litmus test in our support for political candidates in the coming political season.
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