Working families recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law protecting workers’ right to form or join a union and engage in collective bargaining.

Thanks to the NLRA, unions have built America’s middle class and lifted million of workers from poverty to prosperity. Still, too many naysayers claim that given our nation’s current economic predicament, we cannot afford to have unions.

Seriously?

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he signed the Act into law on July, 5, 1935, the NLRA will help us achieve “common justice and economic advance.” This is exactly what the NLRA has done, despite the numerous obstacles Big Business and other anti-union forces keep throwing in its way.

Without organized labor, many of the things we take for granted – things workers in other nations can only dream of – would not exist. The eight-hour work day, the 40-hour week, safety and health regulations, pensions, vacation and sick days were all won through the power of collective bargaining. Do our detractors think employers provided these benefits out of simple generosity?

As Labor Secretary Hilda Solís pointed out recently on The Huffington Post, thanks to collective bargaining:

“Working people were able to share in the gains of their productivity and labor and management together forged creative solutions to create the powerful engine of the American economy we all are proud of.”

To really jumpstart our economy, we must rescue the middle class and help it grow. This is why AFSCME also supports initiatives such as the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would make it easier for millions of workers to join unions and stiffen penalties to employers who violate their right to do so.

Now – when our country needs it most – is time to fulfill the promise of the National Labor Relations Act and give workers the chance of a better tomorrow.

Calling it the “fiscally sensible and morally decent” thing to do, the Washington Post calls on the U.S. Senate to pass the jobs bill to send badly-needed aid to states and extend unemployment benefits.

On the subject of federal funding to help state governments, “There is no good reason to oppose this help and every reason to offer it.”

States are staggering under the impact of the economic slump, with revenue down and demand for social services up. Some 30 states were counting on the Medicaid money to balance their budgets, as required by law. The other cuts they would be forced to make if the Medicaid funds are not forthcoming would further slow the economic recovery. Passing this package is the right thing to do, and fiscally prudent too.

Blocking continued unemployment benefits due to deficit concerns, argues the Post, is also shortsighted because they are most likely to be spent immediately to help stimulate the economy. “Unemployment benefits — which average just over $300 a week — are an essential lifeline. The Senate needs to extend them.”

Read the full Washington Post editorial.

A message from AFSCME’s new International Secretary-Treasurer Lee A. Saunders.

(Lea este mensaje en español del nuevo Secretario-Tesorero Internacional de AFSCME, Lee A. Saunders.)

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

Just over a week ago at the AFSCME Convention in Boston, I was humbled to be elected Secretary-Treasurer of our great union. I am enormously grateful for the support I received from President McEntee and so many brothers and sisters who played a part in my campaign.

I am writing today to assure you that I will do my very best every day to represent your interests, to stand up for our union and to fight for the public services that the members of AFSCME provide.

As the first contested election for a top officer’s spot in decades, the campaign for Secretary-Treasurer was spirited and energetic. But we all must understand that no matter where we started out, we’ve got to end up together — especially now, when so much is at stake for working families from one end of this country to the other.

Danny Donohue and I stood for election because we are both deeply committed to AFSCME members and deeply devoted to this union. I have known Danny for many years and worked closely with him in New York. As I told the delegates to the Convention, I will always appreciate his graceful call for unity as our campaigns came to an end.

In 2010, as we confront unprecedented state and local budget crises and attacks on public services, we must never forget the words from our constitution: “We are equally dedicated to exert ourselves, individually and collectively, to fulfill the promise of American life.”

Fulfilling the promise of American life requires us to move forward as one, finding the strength, the determination and the resilience to lift up all working families.

United, we must:

• confront and overcome the forces that have declared war on our jobs and our pensions and benefits;
• beat back privatization, because it not only robs us of jobs — it weakens vital public services;
• learn from the experience of our remarkable retirees and prepare new leaders to carry on the fight;
• continue our commitment to diversity — because diversity is at our core and gives us strength; and
• elect public officials who respect the services we provide and will stand with working families, come hell or high water.

My first lessons in union activism and solidarity came from my parents. My late father, who died a year ago this month, spent many years as a bus driver in Cleveland and was a dedicated member of the Amalgamated Transit Union. I still remember the early lessons he taught me about the true meaning of solidarity. My mother was a community activist who went back to college after raising me and my brother, and ultimately became a community college professor and member of the American Association of University Professors. It’s because of them that the first thing I did when I started working for the State of Ohio was to join the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA), an affiliate of AFSCME.

As a kid I would sometimes ride with my dad when he made his final bus run of the day. I’ll never forget the pride he took in his job. He treated every person who boarded that bus with respect — the same respect he commanded as a driver. That’s what our union is about: standing up for the dignity of all work and all working people.

As I begin my new responsibilities, I hope I can count on your help and your advice during the battles ahead. Working together, we can accomplish great things for our union, our members and the vital public services that make America happen.

In solidarity,

Lee A. Saunders
International Secretary-Treasurer

In June, an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities confirmed the gap between rich and poor in the United States has reached levels not seen since 1929.

The CBPP report found a financial Grand Canyon separating the very rich from everyone else. Read more at Crooks and Liars.

This full-page ad will run in Sunday’s Plain Dealer.

This weekend AFSCME is running a $175,000 ad campaign calling on Republican Sens. Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and George Voinovich to stop the obstruction and pass the jobs bill.

The ads, entitled “Jobs Matter More,” send the message that while the national deficit matters, protecting and creating jobs must be the nation’s first priority.

AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee explains:

“It’s not complicated, but Republican senators don’t seem to understand: More jobs now mean less debt later. Without help now, there will be devastating cuts to vital public services and major job losses in both the public and private sectors.

“The GOP filibuster of the jobs bill means more pain for working families, more debt and a prolonged recession. We’re telling senators that it’s time to stop the obstruction. It’s time to pass the jobs bill!”

Read the press release for more details.

International Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders was sworn in this morning as AFSCME’s 39th International Convention concluded in Boston.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Saunders addressed the delegates and pledged to work for AFSCME members and workers across the country:

“Throughout our history, this has been what we do. We come together in support of those whose names may never be known, but whose work safeguards neighborhoods and strengthens communities.”

Stressing the importance of moving forward as a united union, Saunders praised Danny Donohue, his main competitor for the Secretary-Treasurer position, saying “You are my brother today, tomorrow and always. And I thank you for your grace and goodwill.”

Sec.-Treas. Saunders said he will continue to promote the Next Wave program, which recruits and trains young union leaders, and build on AFSCME’s commitment to diversity and equal pay for women. He also said he will work with councils and locals on a campaign to turn back efforts to gut defend defined pension plans.

Read the press release for more.

Hundreds of AFSCME women – and a few men – discussed ways to build leadership skills Thursday during the first-ever Women’s Leadership Café.

The readiness of existing AFSCME leaders to pass along their skills and knowledge to other members was a central theme of many stories. Philadelphia city accountant Marguerite Morgan noted, for instance, that after just seven years as an AFSCME member, “I’m already an officer” – recording secretary of Local 2187 and a trustee of DC 47. “That’s because our officers saw something in me I didn’t even see in myself.”

Confidence – based on the knowledge that you are in a powerful union – was also cited as a motivator for taking charge.

Linda Alexander, a nursing assistant at a county psychiatric nursing home and president of Local 2664 (Wisconsin Council 40), put it this way: “With AFSCME behind me, I knew I had somebody at my back.”

During the Café session, Lonetta Cook won first place in a drawing. Cook, a member of Local 1553 (Council 2), will receive a round-trip ticket to the 2011 Women’s Conference (location to be decided).

Delegates adopted several resolutions Thursday. Among them were five calling on AFSCME to:

• fight for the passage of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (#23) and the Employee Free Choice Act (#60);
• hold politicians that promise – and then fail to support – AFSCME’s agenda accountable (#38);
• fight privatization of Human Services Delivery Systems (#12);
• and urge Congress to pass the Protect America’s Workers Act to extend Occupational Safety and Health Administration coverage to all public employees (#39).

Local 2414 (Council 40) Pres. Gary Mitchell is the new International Vice President for the Wisconsin District. Mitchell won the election Thursday with 31,466 votes, defeating Council 24 Assist. Dir. Jana Weaver, who obtained 30,299 votes. Mitchell will be sworn-in at the Convention on Friday morning.

“Organized labor built this country, organized labor can save this country,” progressive talk radio and television host Ed Schultz said Thursday during a program on political achievement. “The country is on your shoulders!” Schultz, as emcee, introduced three AFSCME members who related their successes, including the defeat of a ballot referendum to consolidate public services with another town.

Ken Fortier, a recycling truck driver for the Village of Johnson City, N.Y., and president of Local 3718 (District Council 66), said the union’s 39 members led a coalition that included police and firefighters to stop the measure. Their contract – and almost 100 jobs – was on the line. They succeeded: The measure was defeated by just one vote.

Robin Edwards, president of Child Care Providers Together Michigan/AFSCME Local 3051 (a joint venture between Council 25 and the United Auto Workers), told the story of 40,000 home-based child care providers who won the right to organize – and later a first contract – by helping to re-elect Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) in 2006.

Passing the “Fair Share Act” was the goal of AFSCME Maryland, said Sheila Hill, a corrections officer at the Patuxent Institution in Jessup, Md., and president of Local 1319. Their efforts, including lobbying and a State House rally, paid off: The bill passed by overwhelming margins and became law last year. The program was preceded by political analyst Donna Brazile, who reminded AFSCME members of the battle that lies ahead in the mid-term elections.

“AFSCME is the Green Machine for a reason,” Brazile said. “You don’t wait for politicians, you lead the fight and you’re going to draw a line in November.”