Today, the AFL-CIO joined unions, public and private employers, elected officials from both parties, religious organizations, academics and civil rights organizations filing amicus briefs in Janus v. AFSCME, defending working peoples right to effectively organize and negotiate.
Working people have always had to fight for the freedom to work and retire in dignity. Corporate CEOs and special interests have spent millions in their attempts to strip that away, said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Today, working people are taking this fight to the Supreme Court. Were standing up for the freedom to sustain a family while still being able to take time off to care for a loved one, receive quality health care and enjoy a secure retirement.
Working peoples freedom to join together in strong public-sector unions has been protected since a unanimous Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago. That ruling secured these unions ability to effectively advocate and negotiate on behalf of their members.
Now, a Koch-backed network of corporate interests is challenging those longstanding legal precedents. Their goal is to undermine working peoples right to organizeand theyve said so themselves. These same right-wing special interests have previously attacked LGBTQ rights, voting rights and womens health care.
The AFL-CIO was joined today by the State of California, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, several U.S. senators, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 20 state attorneys general, Republican elected officials, former presidents of the District of Columbia Bar Association, distinguished law professors and others. This action comes as organizers prepare to stand against the corporate interests behind this case during a Working Peoples Day of Action on Feb. 24. This will mark the 50th anniversary of striking African American sanitation workers first march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.
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