In a capitalist society, only capital matters. Strong unions
demand an active and engaged membership. This means participatory democracy,
where members actually feel that they are the union, instead of a small clique
making all the decisions. Unions are under attack because they aren’t viewed as
winning. But there is still time to show that the bosses have misjudged union
power if unions mobilise their memberships to defend themselves. A massive show
of force is necessary. When the union acts powerfully, the members feel
powerful; strong unions defend themselves. And they defend their community
against corporate attacks. All unions should be the voice of the people in
their ongoing fight against low wages, deteriorating working conditions and
rising costs of living. Ultimately, unions must be transformed.
The San Francisco Labor Council, has called upon the AFL-CIO
to organize “massive marches in Washington D.C. and on the west coast to defend
public services and to call on the Supreme Court to rule against the plaintiffs
in Friedrichs v. CTA…” In Oregon SEIU 49 and Portland Jobs With Justice passed
a similar resolution, as did the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, which
specially called for May 1st to be the day of national action.
Open Letter to the
U.S. Labor Movement about the Friedrichs Case
To All Labor Union Officers and Rank and File Members:
Our movement faces imminent danger. The Supreme Court has
signaled that it plans to rule against unions in the landmark case ‘Friedrichs
vs California Teachers Association.’
The destruction that such a ruling would cause cannot be
exaggerated. Public employee unions could be decimated across the nation,
exposing all other unions to deepening attacks. Employers everywhere will be
emboldened to take action against us, directly affecting our bargaining power
and ability to organize. When Scott Walker attacked unions in Wisconsin,
AFSCME’s membership dropped 64%. Similar numbers are possible across the
country if we lose Friedrichs.
In response, the San Francisco Labor Council recently passed
a resolution calling for the AFL-CIO to organize “...massive marches in Washington D.C. and on the west coast to defend
public services and to call on the Supreme Court to rule against the plaintiffs
in Friedrichs v. CTA…”
We, the undersigned, urge all unions to collaborate to make
this vision a reality: a nationwide day of action, with mass rallies in every
state. On or about May 1st would give us time to fully mobilize before the
decision will be announced.
Massive rallies across the country can become a reality if
we fully mobilize our members as well as the broader community. The war on
unions is part of the same war against working people in general who are
suffering under the insecurity of part-time, low-wage work and cuts to public
education and social services combined with rising rents and other costs. Their
fight is our fight and ours is theirs. If we fight for them, they will fight
for us.
We can also mobilize all the positive sentiment that the
public shares towards the public employees who are targeted by Friedrichs,
especially teachers, firefighters, and other union members dedicated to public
service.
We encourage all members and officers to sign and forward
this letter to others in your local community and/or regional/national
affiliates of your union. If necessary, members are encouraged to use the
resolution included below to pass in your unions, which is a modified version
of the San Francisco Labor Council resolution.
By uniting the labor movement on this issue and working with
our community allies we have the power to affect the Supreme Court's decision.
The fate of the U.S. labor movement is in our hands.
Draft Resolution to Defend
Public Employee Unions and Public Services by Marching on the U.S. Supreme
Court
Whereas: Public sector unions have been in the forefront of
defending education and other vital public services from cutbacks and
privatization; and
Whereas: Right-wing think tanks and state and federal
politicians, bankrolled by corporations and billionaires who stand to benefit
from workers' inability to defend themselves, are attacking public and private
sector unions; and
Whereas: In the first half of 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court
will decide Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case brought by a
dissident teacher and right-wing legal foundations that seek to impose open
shops on public unions, thereby encouraging freeloaders and severely weakening
the dues base necessary to provide services; and
Whereas: The severity of the threat is underlined by the
fact that Wisconsin AFSCME's membership declined by 64% after Governor Scott
Walker stripped public‐sector unions of their bargaining
rights and a year later imposed “right
to work” laws that
stopped all unions, public and private, from requiring membership or fair share
payments to sustain the union; and
Whereas: Union members organized to fight are the real power
that can stop the assaults on working people’s livelihood;
Be it therefore resolved that [name of union] use political
action funds to mobilize members and friends to oppose all manifestations of
“right to work;” and
Be it further resolved that [name of union] urge the AFL‐CIO,
NEA, and SEIU to work together to organize massive marches in Washington D.C.
and in every state on or about May 1st, 2016, to defend public services and to
call on the Supreme Court to rule against the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. CTA;
and
Be it finally resolved that [name of union] use its ties to
other unions, labor councils, labor federations and to those organizations
served by union members to build a united front to educate and apply pressure
to counter the threat of right to work laws nationwide.
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