WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2006
Link between politics, organizing underscored at convention

The link between political activism and organizing more workers into labor unions came into stark focus Tuesday at the WSLC Convention in Wenatchee as several speakers explained why one can't happen without the other.

AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff told delegates that, according to National Labor Relations Board statistics, more than 20,000 American workers are fired every year for choosing to support unionization, which is against the law.  It may be illegal, but employers commonly do it because they know they are unlikely to ever be prosecuted for breaking this law, especially when the Bush administration is actively discouraging unionization.

Acuff earned a rousing ovation when he said immigrant workers aren't our enemies, the employers that exploit them and deny their basic human rights are: "When a Mexican worker tries to come to America to feed his family and a future for his children -- the same things all of us want for our families -- I don't call him illegal, I call him Brother!"

He said that federal labor law reform -- in the form of the Employee Free Choice Act -- is necessary to restore the freedom to join unions in America . The bill now has 215 co-sponsors in the House -- including all of Washington 's Democratic congressional delegation -- just three short of an outright majority. Both Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray are among the 43 Senate co-sponsors of the bill. The Washington State Labor Council and other unions have repeatedly asked Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8th) and our state's other two Republican U.S. Representatives to support the EFCA, but to no avail. And that, said Acuff, if why the 2006 election is so important to labor law reform and organizing more workers.

To reinforce the importance of sending worker-friendly representatives to Washington D.C. , delegates got to hear from two labor-endorsed Democratic challengers seeking to unseat Republicans who rubber-stamp the policies of the Bush administration and Republican congressional leaders. Both Peter Goldmark, who is challenging first-term Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-5th), and Richard Wright, who is seeking to unseat Rep. Doc Hastings (R-4th). On Wednesday, delegates will hear Hastings' other challenger, Republican Claude Oliver, the labor-endorsed candidate for the primary election, plus labor-endorsed Democratic challenger Darcy Burner, the woman many think will unseat freshman Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8th).

Other highlights Tuesday included:

• House Speaker Frank Chopp discussed the coming legislative session after congratulating the Washington State Labor Council for being an effective advocate for working families in Olympia. He said the House Democrats' 2007 agenda includes many issues that are important to organized labor, including workers' compensation reform that improves the system without harming the interests' of injured workers; health care legislation that takes another step toward health insurance for every child in the state (among other things); energy legislation that helps create good jobs building an energy infrastructure that lessons our dependence on foreign oil; and much more. 
  

• Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 described the union's efforts to help Wal-Mart workers and the "Change Wal-Mart, Change America" national bus tour, visiting 35 cities in 35 days to talk about how much better America can be if rich, powerful corporations like Wal-Mart are held accountable when they harm our communities' standard of living. The bus tour will conclude in Seattle on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. For more information, visit: www.wakeupwalmart.org. 
  

• A bunch of other stuff the staff of WSLC Reports Today will have to report on later today because we stayed out too late following the COPE Barbecue political fundraiser and karaoke night at the convention. But first, some aspirin...

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2006
Save the Date: Major trade rally Wednesday, Sept. 6 in Seattle

The AFL-CIO, the Washington State Labor Council, the Martin Luther King Jr. County Labor Council and organizations representing working families in South Korea plan a rally and march at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle. Download, post and distribute a rally leaflet. 

That week trade negotiators from the United States and South Korea will hold the final round of negotiations for the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement. By all indications, it will be little more than a carbon copy of other failed trade agreements like NAFTA, that mean weak protections for workers' rights and the environment, and undermining public services while creating strong protections for multinational corporate investment and profits. 

More details on this event will be posted here on Friday. In the meantime, learn more about the KORUS at the AFL-CIO website.