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Guy

Mention in Illinois the names of the anti-union governors of Indiana and Wisconsin – Scott Walker and Mitch Daniels – and, well, just start watching, listening and counting.

When the Wisconsin and Indiana governors separately ventured into Illinois April 17 and 19 for pre-arranged speaking engagements in Springfield (Walker to business leaders) and Champaign (Daniels to Republican leaders) almost 10,000 union members and supporters in total at both locations showed up to demonstrate their displeasure.
They unfurled union banners, set up 20-foot inflatable rats and displayed signs proclaiming, “union buster.”
Both demonstrations were organized, in part, by the UTU’s Illinois State Legislative Office, Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy and the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund.
In Wisconsin, Walker was an architect of legislation to curtail collective bargaining rights and weaken the organizing abilities of labor unions. He also rejected federal funds to build high-speed rail in Wisconsin, which cost Wisconsin hundreds of jobs. Because of grass roots efforts in Wisconsin by organized labor and its friends – funded in part by the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund — Walker faces a recall election in June.
In Indiana, Daniels supported the recent passage by the state legislature of right-to-work (for less) legislation.
“Illinois UTU members were thrilled about the opportunity to gather with our brothers and sisters of labor to protest the appearance of governors who care more about business interests than the working families,” Guy said. “We sent strong messages to the two anti-union governors, as well as our Illinois lawmakers, that attacks on collective bargaining rights won’t work in Illinois.”
The Champaign rally included a workshop on the negative impact of right-to-work (for less) legislation on collective bargaining, and guidance on how union members should communicate the issue to their communities and fellow workers.
 

Wisconsin Rally; Wisconsin; Rally; protestINDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law right-to-work (for less) legislation in Indiana that prohibits union-shop agreements and prohibits union contracts that require those who decline to join a union from paying any fees for representation – essentially encouraging free riders and severely damaging the financial ability of unions to serve members.
Contracts covered by the Railway Labor Act are not affected; but union contracts covering bus and local transit workers are.
Indiana becomes the first manufacturing state in the Midwest to have such a law, which is more common in the South. Twenty-three states have right-to-work (for less) legislation.
The Indiana AFL-CIO said, in a statement, that the Republican majority in Indiana has “set our state upon a path that will lead to lower wages for all working Hoosiers, less safety at work, and less dignity and security in old age or ill health. Sadly, the passage of this bill not only means that workers’ rights and ability to collectively bargain will be significantly weakened, it means that strong arm tactics, misinformation and big money have won at the Indiana Statehouse.”
Anti-union legislation signed into law by Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich last year was repealed in a voter referendum supported by the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund and union members throughout Ohio. That law sought to restrict collective bargaining rights.
In Wisconsin, there was a successful recall of two senators who supported legislation to curtail collective bargaining rights, and a recall of Gov. Scott Walker, an architect of the legislation, is underway.
It is expected that a voter referendum will be launched in Indiana to repeal the right-to-work (for less) law, and the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund will participate in that effort.
To learn more about the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/collective-bargaining-defense-fund/

Wisconsin Rally; Wisconsin; Rally; protestA new assault on labor unions is commencing in Indiana, with the Republican-controlled legislature setting their No. 1 2012 priority on passing right-to-work legislation that would permit workers covered under collective bargaining agreements to opt out of paying union dues.
The objective is to weaken union finances, bargaining clout and political power, says The New York Times, which reports that while right-to-work laws are on the books in 22 states in the West and the South, this would be the first right-to-work law in the East, New England and the Midwest.
If the legislation passes the Republican-controlled Indiana legislature, it is expected to be signed into law by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has been identified by the Economist magazine as a possible emerging candidate for U.S. president this spring.
The UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund will be assisting other labor unions in an educational campaign among Indiana voters, similar to the efforts in Wisconsin that unseated two Republican senators in a recall and which resulted in voter ballot-box repeal of legislation in Ohio that curtailed public employee collective bargaining rights.
The New York Times says Democratic lawmakers in Indiana “have also hinted that they might once again flee to Illinois, as they did last year, to block votes on anti-union bills.”
According to The New York Times, 8.2 percent of Indiana’s private sector workers belong to unions, compared with 6.9 percent nationwide. “That is down from more than 20 percent three decades ago as many unionized factories have closed and largely nonunion industries like finance and retail have expanded,” reported the newspaper.
The New York Times cited a study that the portion of free riders in right-to-work states ranged from 9 percent in Georgia to 39 percent in South Dakota. And another study cited found that in the five years after states enacted right-to-work laws, the number of unionization drives dropped by 28 percent, and in the following five years by an added 12 percent, while organizing wins fell by 46 percent in the first five years and 30 percent the next five.
To learn more about the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/collective-bargaining-defense-fund/

By Assistant President Arty Martin
While we go about our daily lives, political extremists are gaining strength and working non-stop to undermine and eliminate much of what we cherish on the job and look forward to in retirement.
It’s not just Wisconsin and Ohio where right-wing majorities voted to eliminate public-employee collective bargaining rights.
In 20 states, bills have been introduced to restrict or eliminate collective bargaining rights.
In 14 states, right-to-work (for less) bills have been introduced, allowing workers to refuse to pay union-representation dues while unions remain required to represent the workers refusing to pay dues.
Right-to-work (for less) legislation is an dastardly effort to strangle union finances and disrupt the ability of unions to engage in collective bargaining, fight for better safety laws and prosecute work-place grievances.
In existing right-to-work (for less) states, workers earn 3.2 percent less and are less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance and pension benefits.
In Congress, three conservative senators — Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — have introduced national right-to-work (for less) legislation that would similarly amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act.
In seven states, bills have been introduced to eliminate laws requiring contractors on state-funded projects to pay prevailing wages. A university study of 10 states, where half of all highway and bridge work in the U.S. occurred, revealed higher-wage workers built 74 more miles of roadways and 33 more miles of bridges for a total cost of half-a-billion dollars less than was accomplished by workers earning less than the prevailing wage.
Bills have also been introduced in Congress to close the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces private-sector workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively; and to reverse a National Mediation Board decision that determines airline and railroad union-representation elections based on those actually voting and not count those not voting as “no” votes.
Political extremists — in every state legislature and in Congress — has chosen organized labor as a target to be attacked, weakened and destroyed.
At risk is all organized labor has achieved for the middle class in America — the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, injured worker compensation, unemployment insurance, workplace health and safety protections, restrictions on discrimination in hiring, time off for family and medical emergencies, and restrictions on child labor.
Eliminating collective bargaining doesn’t solve budget deficits; it demoralizes the workforce.
Cutting wages doesn’t create jobs; it depresses economic activity. For every $1 million in wage reductions, six jobs are lost, according to a study by the AFL-CIO.
Busting unions doesn’t make the economy more competitive; it widens the gap between the rich and poor and undermines the foundation of the middle class, which is the engine of economic growth.
Unions establish wage rates and worker benefits that non-union employers follow to stay competitive.
The time has come for our membership to get mad about this attack on middle-class wages, benefits and workplace safety.
Our jobs, our workplace safety, our benefits and our families’ economic security are at stake.
Contributing to the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund and the UTU PAC is how we coordinate an effective and successful response to the political extremists’ attack on organized labor.
In union there is strength, and when members of all labor unions engage in political solidarity, the result is millions of union members and their families working toward a common goal of electing more labor-friendly lawmakers
As President Futhey says, “We have drawn a line in the sand from which we cannot retreat. We can and will make a difference. We will not go away. We will not forget.”
Please observe what is happening in state legislatures and Congress. The attack is on you and your family. Participate in the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund and the UTU PAC to the greatest extent you are able.
I will always encourage everyone to be passionate about their beliefs. But I also want our members to be more passionate about their jobs, because without our jobs, we would have no means to be passionate about the other things we want in life and for ourselves and for our families.
Be a proud part of labor solidarity to stop the attack on organized labor before we are destroyed and it is too late.