Showing they do not plan to totally ignore electoral activism, leaders of the "Change to Win" coalition of unions -- notably those that left the AFL-CIO -- plunged into two political causes in early August.
The larger, and more high-profile, involvement came as the Service Employees, led by President Andrew Stern, sent hundreds of people to a mass march in Atlanta on Aug. 6, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
That outpouring of labor support came after the Rev. Jesse Jackson addressed the AFL-CIO convention in late July -- where Stern and his allies were absent -- about the march. Jackson noted the act is a key to expanding voting rights in the South, and that GOP President George W. Bush has been noticeably silent about supporting renewal of its vital provisions. They expire on Aug. 6, 2007.
The second instance of Change to Win political involvement came in this year's New Jersey gubernatorial race, where Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine is running for an open seat at the statehouse in Trenton, and where UNITE HERE Co-Presidents Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm spoke at a pro-Corzine rally in Atlantic City on Aug. 8.
The Change to Win Coalition includes the Teamsters, SEIU and United Food and Commercial Workers, which all recently announced their departure from the AFL-CIO to form a new labor federation, and the Laborers, UNITE-HERE and United Farm Workers, who currently are members of both federations.
"Whether you wake up in a blue state or a red state, all Americans who go to work every day should have the same rights--to make their voices heard at the polls and in the workplace,?" Stern said in Atlanta. "Millions more workers must unite in strong unions in the South and Southwest if the hard work of all Americans is going to be rewarded," he declared at a rally after the march, which drew 10,000-plus people.
Members of SEIU recently voted to concentrate on organizing workers in the South and Southwest, regions with significant African‑American, Latino and immigrant populations and where the right to vote is currently under attack, the union said in a statement.
online pharmacy order phenergan no prescription with best prices today in the USA
That includes an attack in Georgia. Ralph Williams, President of SEIU Local 1985, the Georgia Public Service Employees, called on the federal government to reject a recent Georgia law that would make it tougher to register to vote.
online pharmacy https://www.bostondentalgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/paxil.html no prescription pharmacy
Under the Voting Rights Act, the feds, must review and approve -- "pre-clear" -- all changes to laws that could affect voting rights in nine states, to prevent or eliminate racial discriminatiion in voting. Georgia is one of them. The "preclearance" provision is one of the Voting Rights Act sections that will expire in two years.
Georgia's new law requires voters to possess a valid state ID card at a cost of $10 in order to register to vote. That amounts to an illegal poll tax, Williams said. ID cards are available only at selected sites, such as auto license offices, that are often inaccessible to poorer people, African-Americans or both, Williams and others noted.
"The Change to Win unions will make it a top priority to push Congress to reauthorize key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which is scheduled to expire in 2007," SEIU said in a statement. "The only way to protect the Voting Rights Act and win consistently on legislation that levels the playing field for African‑Americans and other minorities is to address the crisis facing American workers, which is hitting people of color the hardest," said Anna Burger, the Change to Win coalition chair.
"It is no coincidence that new attempts to roll back voting rights protections come at a time when income inequality is at an all‑time high," she added. In New Jersey, UNITE HERE Local 54 explained, the rally for Corzine was to both back his gubernatorial bid and to thank him for past support. In October 2004, Local 54, the Atlantic City hotel and restaurant employees union, was forced into a one-month strike affecting seven of Atlantic City's 12 hotel casinos.
"Corzine walked in a picket line and encouraged Local 54 members to hold to their principles in the best tradition of collective bargaining," the local added. UNITE HERE has endorsed Corzine's bid for the governor's chair.
Share
Showing they do not plan to totally ignore electoral activism, leaders of the “Change to Win” coalition of unions — notably those that left the AFL-CIO — plunged into two political causes in early August.
The larger, and more high-profile, involvement came as the Service Employees, led by President Andrew Stern, sent hundreds of people to a mass march in Atlanta on Aug. 6, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
That outpouring of labor support came after the Rev. Jesse Jackson addressed the AFL-CIO convention in late July — where Stern and his allies were absent — about the march. Jackson noted the act is a key to expanding voting rights in the South, and that GOP President George W. Bush has been noticeably silent about supporting renewal of its vital provisions. They expire on Aug. 6, 2007.
The second instance of Change to Win political involvement came in this year’s New Jersey gubernatorial race, where Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine is running for an open seat at the statehouse in Trenton, and where UNITE HERE Co-Presidents Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm spoke at a pro-Corzine rally in Atlantic City on Aug. 8.
The Change to Win Coalition includes the Teamsters, SEIU and United Food and Commercial Workers, which all recently announced their departure from the AFL-CIO to form a new labor federation, and the Laborers, UNITE-HERE and United Farm Workers, who currently are members of both federations.
“Whether you wake up in a blue state or a red state, all Americans who go to work every day should have the same rights–to make their voices heard at the polls and in the workplace,?” Stern said in Atlanta. “Millions more workers must unite in strong unions in the South and Southwest if the hard work of all Americans is going to be rewarded,” he declared at a rally after the march, which drew 10,000-plus people.
Members of SEIU recently voted to concentrate on organizing workers in the South and Southwest, regions with significant African‑American, Latino and immigrant populations and where the right to vote is currently under attack, the union said in a statement.
online pharmacy order phenergan no prescription with best prices today in the USA
That includes an attack in Georgia. Ralph Williams, President of SEIU Local 1985, the Georgia Public Service Employees, called on the federal government to reject a recent Georgia law that would make it tougher to register to vote.
online pharmacy https://www.bostondentalgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/paxil.html no prescription pharmacy
Under the Voting Rights Act, the feds, must review and approve — “pre-clear” — all changes to laws that could affect voting rights in nine states, to prevent or eliminate racial discriminatiion in voting. Georgia is one of them. The “preclearance” provision is one of the Voting Rights Act sections that will expire in two years.
Georgia’s new law requires voters to possess a valid state ID card at a cost of $10 in order to register to vote. That amounts to an illegal poll tax, Williams said. ID cards are available only at selected sites, such as auto license offices, that are often inaccessible to poorer people, African-Americans or both, Williams and others noted.
“The Change to Win unions will make it a top priority to push Congress to reauthorize key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which is scheduled to expire in 2007,” SEIU said in a statement. “The only way to protect the Voting Rights Act and win consistently on legislation that levels the playing field for African‑Americans and other minorities is to address the crisis facing American workers, which is hitting people of color the hardest,” said Anna Burger, the Change to Win coalition chair.
“It is no coincidence that new attempts to roll back voting rights protections come at a time when income inequality is at an all‑time high,” she added. In New Jersey, UNITE HERE Local 54 explained, the rally for Corzine was to both back his gubernatorial bid and to thank him for past support. In October 2004, Local 54, the Atlantic City hotel and restaurant employees union, was forced into a one-month strike affecting seven of Atlantic City’s 12 hotel casinos.
“Corzine walked in a picket line and encouraged Local 54 members to hold to their principles in the best tradition of collective bargaining,” the local added. UNITE HERE has endorsed Corzine’s bid for the governor’s chair.