Senate leaders reach federal budget deal, despite Trump

WASHINGTONWhen it comes to the looming showdown case at the U.S. Supreme Court, the nations top four state and local government workers unions are campaigning for the best and preparing for the worst.

 

Thats because the lineup of justices on the High Court 5-4 GOP-named makes it probable, if not likely, that every single state and local government worker in the country could be a potential free rider after the tribunal issues its decision in Janus v AFSCME District Council 31.

 

The leaders of the four unions are confident theyll triumph in the controversial case, which started in Illinois. The court hears oral arguments on it on Feb. 26.

 

But to show the justices where the public is, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, Lily Eskelsen-Garcia of the National Education Association, Mary Kay Henry of the Service Employees and Lee Saunders of AFSCME also said backers will mobilize for a Nationwide Day of Action on the issue two days before, on Sunday, Feb. 24.

 

The AFL-CIO got into the act, too. Federation President Richard Trumka circulated an on-line petition, seeking 20,000 signatures before the day of action. He said the petition would be sent to the Supreme Court, but didnt say how or if the justices would pay attention.

 

Corporate lobbyists, extreme legislators and greedy CEOs want to weaken working peoples collective power by denying our right to join in union. They are asking the Supreme Court to strip our freedom to speak out together for fair treatment, better wages and safe working conditions, Trumka said.

 

Under questioning at a Feb. 7 press conference, the union leaders discussed nuts and bolts of internal organizing theyre undertaking in case they lose. Theres a high probability of that: The court tied 4-4 on a virtually identical case two years ago, and new Justice Neil Gorsuch, named by GOP President Donald Trump, has been extremely anti-worker in his rulings in lower courts.

 

The Right to Work crowd which unions call the right to work for less committee recruited and paid for attorneys for dissident Illinois public worker Mark Janus and two col-leagues challenging a 42-year-old decision letting public worker unions collect agency fees from non-members they represent, covering just costs of bargaining and enforcing contracts.

 

Public worker unions in RTW states cant collect those fees. A ruling for Janus would make every one of the nations state and local government workers a free rider who could use union services but not have to pay for them. That could cost unions millions of dollars and thousands of members, and lose all workers protection and benefits unions obtain.

 

 

Januss right-wing backers contend everything unions do is political, and thus forcing Janus and every other worker to pay agency fees much less union dues violates the workers 1st Amendment free speech rights.

 

The Janus case is about trying to take away the right of public service workers to organize to protect the most-vulnerable in our society, said Saunders, whose union has more than 1.4 million members. The billionaires and special interests funding Janus dont believe

we should have a seat at the table.

 

Theyve grown so used to getting their way, they havent presented any real arguments to the justices for their stand, Saunders said of the right-wing and the three workers it recruited.

 

Weingarten also pinned the blame on rich right wingers. She singled out the Koch brothers, Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her family and the Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee as particular culprits. This case is about power, Weingarten declared. The funders of this case want a new Gilded Age and see unions as a threat.

 

This is an intentional attack on strong unions, added NEAs Eskelsen-Garcia, whose unaffiliated union, with more than 3 million members, is the nations largest. Even before she joined, NEA was my ticket to the middle class by fighting for the student aid she needed to go to college, she added. It was the same story for millions of other people, Eskelsen-Garcia said.

 

The greatest impact was for women and people of color, Eskelsen-Garcia, a Salt Lake City teacher, said. African-Americans earn 15 percent more if theyre unionized than if theyre not, in comparable jobs. And Latinos like herself earn 22 percent more. And NEA also gave Utah teachers the strength to successfully demand better facilities, more nurses and counselors and other aid for their students.

 

The right-wing groups have made it their business to dismantle unions, workers and their protections for the last 40 years, SEIUs Henry said. Its unthinkable the extreme billionaires behind Janus want us to have more resources, added Peter MacKinnon, president of SEIU public service workers Local 509 in Marlboro, Mass., one of several rank-and-file unionists who also spoke.

 

But while the union leaders talked about the benefits of unions to workers and the public, they also had to discuss what theyre doing if they lose at the court.

 

SEIU, Henry said, is going to double down on organizing new workers, particularly through the Fight for $15 and a union movement, which it strongly backs. Its unacceptable to have 64 million people working more than 80 hours a week and they still cant make ends meet. And in events on Feb. 12, SEIU will link structural racism to the anti-union campaign.

 

Saunders said AFSCME saw the threat coming three years ago and started extensive one-on-one conversations with members. Its already reached more than 700,000 of its 1.4million unionists.

 

Were treating internal organizing as a priority Saunders said in a post-session interview. Were knocking on doors, having those conversations, listening to what our members have to say and asking them to become more involved and engaged. They understand and will reconnect with their union.

 

Weingarten said after the press conference AFT has a massive education campaign going among its members and the general public about how this is a de-funding strategy of the right wing, just like theyre de-funding the public schools and the government.

 

AFT is also focusing resources on internal organizing, she added. But members are woke to a which side are you on? moment, she added. She also tells them what happened to individual workers when right-wing Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., and the state legislature made most state and local unions RTW sites.

 

In one of my locals, they (members) had to pay $5,000 more each for health care benefits and $5,000 more for pension benefits. So when we talk with our members (nationwide), people get it. So much so that AFT gained 100,000 members last year, to 1.7 million, Weingarten added.

 

Eskelsen-Garcia said well invent new tools whatever we need to invent if the justices make all her teachers and school staffers potential free riders.

 

Theres also one more move unionists are doing, Henry adds: Jumping even more into politics. Each one of our locals is seeing more of our members signing up for voluntary political donations and actions. That gives us a shot at countering the attack by the billionaires, she said.

 

Source: PAI