THE BRIEF
 

Brothers, sisters, and siblings,

 

​As we mourn the workers we’ve lost this Workers Memorial Day, our legislators are pushing a bill, HB 2127, that will strip working Texans of critical safety protections. Here is how you can take action, and what you may have missed this week in the Texas Legislature.

 

HB 2127 will leave all working Texans without basic workplace protections at the local level, and it will leave many vulnerable in times of crisis, with our local governments unable to respond to the needs of our communities.

We can’t give up on the working people of our state. Call your Senators​​ TODAY and tell them to vote no on HB 2127.
 

BILLS WE'RE WATCHING

HB 1055

Would enable Texas workers who are out of work because of a strike in another state to be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits.

HB 1043
Would ban non-compete policies for workers earning less than $15 an hour. For low wage workers, this practice is nothing more than a way to prevent them from finding jobs with higher pay.

HB 778
Would require construction contractors and subcontractors to provide Workers’ Compensation coverage. We’re the *only* state that doesn’t require Workers’ Compensation – even though one construction worker dies every 3 days in Texas. See our Director of Politics & Policy testify in support of the bill here.

HB 2717

Limits the maximum length of trains to 8500 feet. Long trains are among the top contributors to derailments and blocked railway crossings, which threaten the safety and lives of railroad workers and communities.

HB 3662

Requires a minimum of two crew members on every train.

BILLS COMING UP NEXT WEEK

HB 2734 This bill, which is a priority for Teamsters, would require a person to be physically present in any self driving commercial vehicle in Texas. Recent polling shows 71% of Texas residents would be uncomfortable sharing the road with an unmanned commercial truck.

SB 150

 SB 150 would make unemployment benefits even more unattainable for Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. This bill will hit hardest low working Texans who can not afford to save for a safety net.

MAY DAY RALLY

Join us at the Capitol on Monday at 1pm to fight for care workers in honor of May Day. More info here. 

WORKER POWER

On Thursday, Workers at Youtube Music voted 42-0 to form a union. This election will bring Google, their joint employer alongside Cognizant, into the bargaining room for the first time in history. (link to AWU post)

Workers at Powerhouse Animation announced their intent to unionize with the IATSE animation guild. This marks the first time the animation guild has successfully organized in a Right to Work state.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AT THE CAPITOL

In the words of our President, Rick Levy, you don’t have to elbow many people out of the way to advocate for workers at the Texas Capitol. Corporate voices have an iron grip on our legislators, and the only way that’s going to change that is by making the voices of workers louder. Participating in the legislative process is easier than you might think.

 

Learn how to register in support of or opposition of a bill, leave a comment on a bill, or sign up to testify for/ against a bill here.

 

Find which State Representative represents you, and their contact information, here.

 

You can even set up alerts for the bills you care the most about, here.

 

LABOR IN THE LEGE INTERVIEW SERIES

This week, we released our second episode of our companion Labor in the Lege interview series. We sat down with Patty Quinzi from Texas AFT to break down why vouchers are an elaborate scam to defund public schools, and what they would mean for Texas. You can watch it here.

In solidarity, 

Texas AFL-CIO