Thanks, Rep. Lewis, for Backing Indiana Working People
Many thanks and kudos to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for calling the Indiana Democratic Caucus today to encourage lawmakers to stay strong and firm in their efforts to stop the state’s Republican leadership from doing an end-run around the democratic process.
In encouraging the caucus to keep fighting against Republican moves to pass so-called right to work legislation, Lewis told Democratic lawmakers they are taking action not only for Indiana but for the entire nation–and the entire nation is depending on them.
“Make no mistake–the Republicans are out to destroy unions and our democracy.”
Lewis’ participation is especially meaningful because of his relationship with Indiana. He was campaigning for Bobby Kennedy in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, the day that Dr. King was assassinated.
State Rep. John Bartlett (D), who took part in the call, said ”it is an honor to hear from anyone who has been in the struggle for as long as Congressman Lewis has been.”
His words were a major boost for our morale and he strengthened our resolve.
Lewis, who spoke about the long and constant struggle for economic justice, offered the caucus his assistance whenever needed.
Cablevision Workers Stay Strong in Tough Battle to Form Union
Teresa Casertano in the AFL-CIO Organizing Department tsends us this report.
Next week, 285 Brooklyn employees of Cablevision Systems Corporation will vote on whether to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Faced with low salaries and inadequate protections on the job, Cablevision installers in Brooklyn
decided to join together to seek changes at work. The cable installers, who
complete eight installations per day, carrying heavy ladders and climbing
poles, earn a third less than their unionized counterparts. In contrast, Cablevision CEO James Dolan received $13 million last year. Dolan is also the executive chairman of the Madison Square Garden Corporation where he received another $2 million in compensation.
When workers began their efforts to organize at the workplace, the company hired a well-known union-busting firm to carry out a campaign to persuade them to give up their efforts to join the union. It launched an internal website called “Why Union Free?” and required all 285 workers to attend anti-union meetings. But workers have not been convinced to give up–they have been holding their own worker meetings and take actions to show solidarity and unity among the union supporters. Read the rest of this entry »
Interfaith Service for Jobs: Creating Good Jobs Is a Matter of Will
James Parks, communications director at the D.C. Office of Interfaith Worker Justice, sends us this.
More than 500 people packed the Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., Jan. 16 for an Interfaith Service for Jobs. The service was sponsored by Faith Advocates for Jobs to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and to call on our nation’s government to make King’s dream of economic justice and good jobs a reality.
John Butler and Linda Evans, two unemployed Washington, D.C., workers, told the crowd that they were organizing, protesting and pushing for our national leadership to create good jobs. Butler said it was hard having to decide between paying his rent or buying needed medicines. “America, you can do much better than this,” he proclaimed.
Evans said she was concerned about the future of the “babies” who are just starting work. They were raised to believe that getting an education would lead to a good job. But that’s not the case anymore, she said.
Solis to Receive Top Award at MLK Event
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Tonight in Detroit, where hundreds of activists are gathered for the annual AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance, participants will honor several individuals for their outstanding contributions to working people. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will receive the top honor for her extraordinary dedication and commitment to improving the lives of workers throughout her lifetime. The At the River I Stand award is given to a national leader who has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to civil rights and workers’ rights.
Since her 2009 appointment as labor secretary, Solis has worked to end wage theft, improve job safety by holding employers accountable and spotlight abuses like sexual harassment, workplace violence and gender discrimination. She also has significantly broadened the department’s outreach by holding a series of webinars, parterning with Facebook to help people find jobs and launching an app to help workers track their hours and how much they should be paid.
Martin Luther King Jr., Friend of Labor
This is an excerpt of a cross-post from the American Constitution Society Blog by Angelia Wade, associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO. The post coincided with the recent opening of the King National Memorial.
When he was assassinated in April 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis lending his support to striking garbage sanitation workers who were seeking to have their union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), recognized so they could negotiate a contract that raised their standard of living.
Dr. King’s support of the labor movement as a pathway to better jobs and justice did not just begin in 1968. Throughout much of his life, he advocated as much for economic equality as he did for racial equality. He once stated that it did no good for a man to eat at an integrated lunch counter if that same man could not afford to buy a hamburger at the establishment.
Dr. King said the labor movement was a key vehicle for people of color to gain economic equality. He often extolled the benefits and successes of organized labor. In October 1965, in an address to the Illinois AFL-CIO, he said many forget that it was the labor movement that
Watch Live Webcast of Historic National Symposium on Jobs, Justice and American Dream
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On Aug. 26, two days before the official dedication of the historic Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C., the AFL-CIO and The King Center will host a national symposium to explore how far we have come in fulfilling King’s dream of a nation of economic equality and justice for all people.
Watch a live webcast of this important symposium on jobs, justice and the American dream. Click here Friday morning at 9 a.m. to join the webcast. Also, check out the live Twitter feed during the symposium on the AFL-CIO website and follow the events on Twitter with the hashtag #jobsjustice.
Two panels of experts, workers, political leaders and activists will talk about the steps we need to take as a nation to make King’s dream a reality. Martin Luther King III, president of the King Center will make remarks along with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker.
The first panel will discuss the threat that a lack of jobs presents to the economic progress for which King fought most of his life. Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), will highlight the Read the rest of this entry »
Martin Luther King III: Labor Has Unique Opportunity to Rebuild
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| Martin Luther King III’s daughter, Yolanda, and his wife, Arndrea, join AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker at We Are One event in Atlanta. | |
This morning, I interviewed Martin Luther King III after he spoke to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting here today in Washington, D.C.
Question: What issues did you discuss with the Executive Council this morning?
King: I never thought that in 2011, 43 years after my father’s passing, that we would have to be engaged in a serious campaign to protect and preserve the rights of workers, to make sure collective bargaining is maintained. It’s a sad day in America, but that sad day also creates a unique opportunity for labor and civil rights organizations to work together like we’ve never worked before. Some of that began on April 4, when over 1,500 demonstrations occurred in America and across the world.
Question: You say in your guest column on the AFL-CIO website that your father would be marching in Wisconsin today. Why is that?
King: We have economic challenges in this country and we blame the folks who are working and placing no blame on the corporations that have farmed out jobs around the world and these CEOs who have runaway paychecks. The elected leaders are putting the responsibility on the people who are making this country work. My father always stood up for justice and righteousness. So he would certainly be in the forefront of those saying collective bargaining is a right, that workers should not be mistreated.
N.J.’s Wowkanech: Workers’ Rights, Civil Rights Same Struggle
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At a jammed Electrical Workers (IBEW) hall in Trenton yesterday, New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech reminded the audience of union, community and civil rights activists that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
“understood the link between economic justice and social justice, and that the fight for labor rights and civil rights was the same struggle.”
The We Are One event on the anniversary of King’s 1968 assassination included AFT President Randi Weingarten, Pulitzer Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, civil rights leaders and lawmakers.
King was killed in Memphis helping sanitation workers fighting for collective bargaining rights and a union. Weingarten tied King’s life-long struggle for equality to today’s struggles for workers’ rights.
Dr. King fought for civil rights, economic opportunity and educational opportunity, and that’s what we are fighting for today—not budget issues.
Why Martin Luther King Jr. Would Support the Public Worker Protests
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In this guest column, Martin Luther King III, president and chief executive officer of The King Center, explains why his father would be on the front lines today supporting public employees.
Forty-three years ago my father, Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated while he was in Memphis, Tenn., supporting a strike of municipal sanitation workers. It was, in his eyes, more than a quest for a few more dollars in a paycheck. He saw the strike as part of the great struggle of his time—a struggle for democracy, for truth, for justice and for human dignity.
These are the same basic reasons that my father would be joining with millions of other Americans today in supporting public employees in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states, where collective bargaining is now under attack.
Join Us Online and on the Ground for ‘We Are One’ Actions
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You can keep up with all of the We Are One events on April 4 by checking out a live Web stream, Twitter feed and photo slide show of ongoing events at the AFL-CIO site. And stop back here to get blog updates throughout the day.
If you are out at a rally or event, share what’s going on through Twitter using the #April4 hashtag. And if you’re on Twitter and attending a rally, please send twitpics using the #April4 hashtag and we will add them to the slideshow at www.aflcio.org.
On April 4 and in the days before and after, working people are joining students, religious leaders, elected officials and community activists across the country in more than 1,000 We Are One actions to show solidarity with workers under attack and to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated that day in 1968. He was in Memphis April 4 helping sanitation workers fight for the same workers’ rights now under attack in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere.
Click here to find an event near you. With all of next week as a window for action, it’s not too late to plan an event. Click here for ideas you can use to stage your own event, here for resources and here to add an event to our We Are One calendar.
