Philadelphia Jobs with Justice: Labor Has Another Card to Play?

Monday, April 27, 2009

Many have said that the Employee Free Choice Act was dead in the water after PA Senator Arlen Specter reversed his position of supporting a debate about the bill to one of vowing to obstruct the law by supporting a Republican filibuster.

Now, it appears that Specter is looking at loosing the Republican primaries unless he re-reconsiders the issue and gets some union support.

Meanwhile, there are some indications that the labor movement might have some other plans that don't include the support of Senator Specter...

A crowd of workers, labor leaders and community activists launched the most determined lobbying effort yet for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act at an April 22 Washington press conference.

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker stood in front of a crowded hall where she announced that labor will get 60 U.S. senators to shut off a planned GOP-led filibuster against the bill. Standing with her were noted author Barbara Ehrenreich, Jobs with Justice Director Sarita Gupta and President of the National Organization of Women Kim Gandy. http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/15362/

The JwJ Pledge

During the next year, I will be there at least five times for someone else's fight, as well as my own. If enough of us are there, we'll all start winning.

STAND UP for our rights as working people to a decent standard of living.

SUPPORT the right of all workers to organize and bargain collectively.

FIGHT for secure family-wage jobs in the face of corporate attacks on working people and our communities.

ORGANIZE the unorganized to take aggressive action to secure a better economic future for all of us.

MOBILIZE those already organized to join the fight for jobs with justice.

Volunteer

Jobs With Justice is looking for Volunteers! Interested in workers' rights? Interested in fighting for social justice work? We need volunteers to help fight for the rights of workers in Philadelphia, as part of a broader social justice struggle. We need people to help distribute handbills, with data entry, writing articles and letters, mailings, photocopying, and much more.

If you want to engage with Jobs with Justice and be part of the solution, please be in touch!

Contact:
director@phillyjwj.org

Student Labor Action Project

As Philadelphia students and youth we commit ourselves to the struggles of working class people in this city and to the fight against all forms of oppression including racism, sexism, and homophobia. We stand for equality, the rights of workers, justice, and democracy. We are against the corporatization of education and aim to make our universities fully accountable to the communities they were built to serve. We believe that direct action wins working class families better working conditions, affordable health care, paid sick days. SLAP provides dedicated student leaders with the skills and tools necessary to affect meaningful change for workers on our campuses and in our communities through trainings, events, and actions.

Contact:

Paul Prescod

piknrol@aol.com