PA workers' rights next in Koch's crosshairs

As if public sector workers didn't have enough of a struggle coming up this year, it looks like the right wing billionaire Koch brothers have our Keystone state workers coming up on their hit list.

Writes Will Bunch over at the Daily News:

"Last week, the president of a tea-party-linked political group heavily funded by the Koch oil-and-gas fortune - Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity - told reporters covering the labor unrest in Wisconsin that Pennsylvania is one of three states, along with Ohio and Indiana, where the group plans a push to curb union benefits and power.

"Americans for Prosperity, or AFP - the national budget for which has soared to $40 million in the past two years with support from the Koch brothers and like-minded wealthy conservatives - sent another strong signal last week when it announced that former Reading-area lawmaker Sam Rohrer, who was backed by many tea-party groups when he ran for governor in the 2010 GOP primary, will serve as the group's state executive director.

" 'I personally believe - and I think AFP would underscore this - that anybody who's paid by the public, who's paid by the taxpayers, has neither the right to strike nor the right to collective bargaining,' Rohrer said in a phone interview."

Also interesting--Koch donated $5,000 to Corbett's campaign back in the fall. Looks like we've got a big fight on our hands this spring.

Wisconsin: We are One!

Workers' rights are human rights!

Join us and many others this Thursday to rally around the brave folks in Wisconsin who are delivering a reminder of this fundamental truth to Governor Scott Walker.

Across the country, working people are mobilizing in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin. People of faith, union members, and community groups alike are banding together to send an unmistakable message straight to the ears of Scott Walker and his buddies: we will NOT take an attack on workers' right to organize lying down.

So let's get mad, speak out, and stand up as one! Join Philadelphia Jobs with Justice, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and many, many more in a city-wide show of solidarity.

Thursday February 24, 2011
11:30 AM
MSB Plaza – 15th and JFK (Across from City Hall)

We will be heard!

Coming this summer--JwJ National Conference in DC!

Mark your calendars--it's almost that time again. This summer, join JwJers from across the nation as we converge in DC to discuss how activists, workers, and their families can face the current harsh economic realities and fight for a world that values people over profits. It's a time to reflect, to engage, and to strategize for the struggle.

The details:

Build power. Fight back. WIN!
Jobs with Justice National Conference
August 5-7, 2011 in Washington, DC

This year - starting now - we are expecting an array of serious attacks on workers’ rights to hit state legislatures, including Right to Work for Less laws, paycheck deception, anti-prevailing wage bills, anti-immigrant bills, and continued attacks on the public sector. Corporations want to use the failing economy as an excuse to reverse every worker protection put in place over the last century, but we won’t let that happen.

Come to the Jobs with Justice conference to learn from and strategize with labor leaders, rank & file workers, students, religious leaders, community activists, workers excluded from labor law protection, and many, many more about how to build a powerful movement of working people to defeat the corporate agenda.

Please save the date & stay tuned to learn more about the program, action, and celebrations planned at the 2011 Jobs with Justice National Conference.

Round-up: SLAP gets a shout out from the AFL-CIO blog, and kittens of the world unite

First of all--don't forget: we're rallying with the UFCW tomorrow at 11 a.m. at City Hall against Walmart's poverty wages.

Second: lots of sleet, lots of organizing, and a rally tomorrow--we've got a lot going on, so I'll keep this short and sweet. A few links to warm your activist hearts:

• AFL-CIO's blog interviewed national Student Labor Action Project organizer Chris Hicks yesterday.
• Pro-democracy protestors: 2, authoritarian leaders: 0--in both Egypt and in Yemen, demonstrators proved that organized direct action can really work.
• Also, I am having trouble locating a third heartwarming and relevant story in the news. So, in lieu of telling you more depressing stories about New York City and its war on public workers... here is what you get when you type "kittens of the world, unite and take over!" into Google Images.

Heart warmed? Good! Now go sign up for UFCW 1776's rapid response team. They need your help fighting liquor store privatization in Pennsylvania!