It?s against U.S. law. It?s against international law. Most Americans don?t think it happens. Even most union members don?t think it happens. But it does. All the time. Employers aggressively fight workers who exercise their legal freedoms to form a union. There?s a $1.7 billion industry of lawyers, ?consultants? and other thugs whom companies hire for one reason: To deny workers their guaranteed rights on the job. Companies routinely harass, interrogate, threaten and fire workers ? and get away with it.
Even when workers win a union election, companies drag out challenges or negotiations to the point that, one-third of the time, workers never achieve a contract.
Enough is enough.
?Most Americans lose their democracy the minute they start work,? said Shar Knutson, president of the Saint Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. ?It?s time we expose the truth for what it is.?
On Dec. 10, unions and their allies plan to use International Human Rights Day to issue a wake-up call to Americans ? and media ? who are oblivious to the cold reality workers face. Across the country, they will march on regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board, march on union-busting law firms, or hold workers? rights forums.
In the Twin Cities, demonstrators intend to make it an international issue ? literally.
Taking the case to the United Nations.
Hundreds of clergy, community activists, students and union members are expected to converge at the State Capitol Rotunda to meet with the Swedish consulate general, former Gov. Wendell Anderson. The goal: Carry a message to the Swedish ambassador to take the case of American workers to the United Nations and demand that the U.S. government live up to the Declaration of Human Rights it signed 55 years ago.
?We are trying to bring to light the human rights violations that occur in regards to a worker?s right to organize,? said Alan Kearney, chair of the Twin Cities Dec. 10 planning committee. ?Labor law has got to be reformed.? Kearney knows firsthand ? he is director of organizing for the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota.
The event originally was scheduled for the Swedish American Institute in Minneapolis, but the expected crowd is more than the Institute can handle.
Legislation targets worst abuses.
According to polls done for the AFL-CIO, 53 percent of American workers would join unions if they could. That?s four times more workers than actually belong to unions.
?Unions are highlighting the problem, yes, but this is an American worker issue,? Kearney said. ?It?s other American workers who suffer when they try to exercise their freedoms and try to go through the NLRB process.?
Besides fighting to raise public awareness, unions are also fighting for new federal legislation introduced last month. The ?Employee Free Choice Act? would reform American labor law by eliminating loopholes that companies frequently abuse in fighting their workers? attempts to organize. The proposal is similar to legislation the late Sen. Paul Wellstone introduced in 2001. Among its major provisions:
- Card-check recognition, to eliminates the need for elections by mandating certification of a union when more than 50 percent of workers in the bargaining unit sign union authorization cards.
- First-contract arbitration, in which an independent arbitrator imposes a binding initial contract if the employer and employees cannot reach a negotiated settlement within 7 months.
- Stronger penalties against companies that violate labor law, including fines of up to $20,000 per violation, back pay of three times lost wages if a worker is illegally fired for organizing activities, and possible federal court injunctions.
- Equal access, which gives union representatives the right to present their side to workers if the company holds captive-audience meetings.
The union advantage.
Unions point out the advantages to workers ? and communities ? when workers are organized. Workers covered by union contracts have wages that are 26 percent higher than nonunion workers. They are 50 percent more likely to have health insurance ? and their insurance is more affordable. They are 5 times more likely to have guaranteed pensions.
States with the highest percentage of union members (including Minnesota) have higher household incomes, lower levels of poverty, and lower crime rates than states with the lowest percentage of union members. Unionized states also have better support for public education, higher voter turnout, and higher levels of unemployment benefits and workers compensation.
The basics
What: Restoring Workers? Rights rally
When: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 3 p.m.
Where: Capitol Rotunda, 75 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul
Information: Tim Geelan, Minnesota AFL?CIO, 651-227-7647
Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org
Share
It?s against U.S. law. It?s against international law. Most Americans don?t think it happens. Even most union members don?t think it happens. But it does. All the time. Employers aggressively fight workers who exercise their legal freedoms to form a union. There?s a $1.7 billion industry of lawyers, ?consultants? and other thugs whom companies hire for one reason: To deny workers their guaranteed rights on the job. Companies routinely harass, interrogate, threaten and fire workers ? and get away with it.
Even when workers win a union election, companies drag out challenges or negotiations to the point that, one-third of the time, workers never achieve a contract.
Enough is enough.
?Most Americans lose their democracy the minute they start work,? said Shar Knutson, president of the Saint Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. ?It?s time we expose the truth for what it is.?
On Dec. 10, unions and their allies plan to use International Human Rights Day to issue a wake-up call to Americans ? and media ? who are oblivious to the cold reality workers face. Across the country, they will march on regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board, march on union-busting law firms, or hold workers? rights forums.
In the Twin Cities, demonstrators intend to make it an international issue ? literally.
Taking the case to the United Nations.
Hundreds of clergy, community activists, students and union members are expected to converge at the State Capitol Rotunda to meet with the Swedish consulate general, former Gov. Wendell Anderson. The goal: Carry a message to the Swedish ambassador to take the case of American workers to the United Nations and demand that the U.S. government live up to the Declaration of Human Rights it signed 55 years ago.
?We are trying to bring to light the human rights violations that occur in regards to a worker?s right to organize,? said Alan Kearney, chair of the Twin Cities Dec. 10 planning committee. ?Labor law has got to be reformed.? Kearney knows firsthand ? he is director of organizing for the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota.
The event originally was scheduled for the Swedish American Institute in Minneapolis, but the expected crowd is more than the Institute can handle.
Legislation targets worst abuses.
According to polls done for the AFL-CIO, 53 percent of American workers would join unions if they could. That?s four times more workers than actually belong to unions.
?Unions are highlighting the problem, yes, but this is an American worker issue,? Kearney said. ?It?s other American workers who suffer when they try to exercise their freedoms and try to go through the NLRB process.?
Besides fighting to raise public awareness, unions are also fighting for new federal legislation introduced last month. The ?Employee Free Choice Act? would reform American labor law by eliminating loopholes that companies frequently abuse in fighting their workers? attempts to organize. The proposal is similar to legislation the late Sen. Paul Wellstone introduced in 2001. Among its major provisions:
- Card-check recognition, to eliminates the need for elections by mandating certification of a union when more than 50 percent of workers in the bargaining unit sign union authorization cards.
- First-contract arbitration, in which an independent arbitrator imposes a binding initial contract if the employer and employees cannot reach a negotiated settlement within 7 months.
- Stronger penalties against companies that violate labor law, including fines of up to $20,000 per violation, back pay of three times lost wages if a worker is illegally fired for organizing activities, and possible federal court injunctions.
- Equal access, which gives union representatives the right to present their side to workers if the company holds captive-audience meetings.
The union advantage.
Unions point out the advantages to workers ? and communities ? when workers are organized. Workers covered by union contracts have wages that are 26 percent higher than nonunion workers. They are 50 percent more likely to have health insurance ? and their insurance is more affordable. They are 5 times more likely to have guaranteed pensions.
States with the highest percentage of union members (including Minnesota) have higher household incomes, lower levels of poverty, and lower crime rates than states with the lowest percentage of union members. Unionized states also have better support for public education, higher voter turnout, and higher levels of unemployment benefits and workers compensation.
The basics
What: Restoring Workers? Rights rally
When: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 3 p.m.
Where: Capitol Rotunda, 75 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul
Information: Tim Geelan, Minnesota AFL?CIO, 651-227-7647
Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org