With the passage of Senate Bill 727 today in the NC State Senate, we are seeing an escalation of the attacks on workers and our organizations. Activists have expressed a need for unity and bold action now more than ever to help fight back this vicious tide.
They are asking workers and their organizations to continue to pressure the House to vote against this bill and then focus attention on Gov. Perdue, demanding she veto it. A veto of this bill is viewed as a pro-worker veto!
Below is a statement of solidarity from UE local 150, NC Public Service Workers Union.
#####################################################
The Attack on NCAE and Education Workers is an Attack on All Workers!
As the NC GS 95 98 bans teachers and all public sector workers in North Carolina from collective bargaining that arrives at contractual agreements, the bill “targeting” NCAE to eliminate payroll deduction for voluntary dues, is clearly meant to destroy NCAE and is part of a strategy to destroy all public sector unions and associations that give public sector workers a collective force.
This is an attack on democracy, and the right of teachers and all public sector workers to voluntarily contribute resources to their organizations that aid them with information, training and other tools to collectively and individually advocate for themselves and for the millions of people who they provide education, public services and healthcare.
The same politicians making the major budget cuts impacting jobs and services are the same ones attacking worker rights. This attack is part of a larger agenda to privatize public services, to use government to repress people’s democracy and to shift power and control over vital public resources to the banks and corporations – who are unwilling to pay their fair share of taxes – to be used to make more profits.
All public sector unions, associations, the rank-and-file and faith, community and student organizations must stand and act together against this attack on workers rights, public services and democracy.
The struggle against this attack must be more than the traditional lobbying at the state legislature. Our unions and associations must mobilize our rank-and-file members and their families to participate in people’s assemblies, rallies, forums, and other actions in the communities, work places and business districts within various political districts to show the breath and dept of our resistance and resolve not to allow the clock to be turned back on democracy.
The NC Public Service Workers Union-UE Local 150 commits to stand in solidarity with NCAE in fighting against this attack.
We call on NCAE and all public sector unions and associations to join with UE150 and others in the Labor Faith and Civil Rights Coalition in Defense of the Public Sector, to help build a united and powerful movement based on the labor movement principle that An Injury to One is An Injury to All.”
In Solidarity,
NC Public Service Workers Union-UE Local 150
