Here is your weekly news from the Texas Labor Movement.
Late last night, the House of Representatives passed the most significant upgrade to U.S. labor laws in 80 years!
We are one step closer to an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
America’s labor laws are no longer an effective means for working people to have our voices heard. The long overdue PRO Act will provide significant protections for workers exercising our legal right to form a union, a right that’s been trampled on for decades by union-busting consultants and anti-worker politicians.
The PRO Act is the labor movement’s number one legislative priority this year for a reason. Working people are hungry for a bill that will ensure a process for reaching a first contract once a union is recognized, prevent the misclassification of employees, protect the right to strike and so much else.
Thank You to These Representatives for Standing with Workers, Voting YES on the (PRO) Act.
And there was Rep. Henry Cuellar (Democrat, TX-28), voting AGAINST the (PRO) Act. Here's our statement:
Union for Staff of Center for Public Policy Priorities Recognized by Management
Our friends at the Center for Public Policy Priorities announced today that, following management recognition of the union, staffers are going to speak up together regarding terms of employment through the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union.
CPPP is a progressive Austin-based think tank that has developed unparalleled expertise in budgetary and policy matters that affect poor and working poor Texans,
The union gained recognition at the unanimous request of a whip-smart staff. Next step will be bargaining for a contract.
Texas AFL-CIO Comment on U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spending Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Prop Up Cuellar
The Congressional District 28 contest between COPE-endorsed challenger Jessica Cisneros and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has commanded national notice, with Cisneros making a powerful grass-roots pitch for progressive policies in a district dominated by working families.
News that Cuellar is the object of an "unprecedented" campaign foray by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spurred this statement from Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy:
"The Chamber of Commerce reports Cuellar has an 85 percent lifetime voting record on its issues. Even worse, the website fivethirtyeight.com calculates that Cuellar votes with President Trump more than any other Democrat in the entire U.S. House."
"Voters in CD 28 need their representative in Congress to match up with their hopes and aspirations, not function as Donald Trump's favorite Democrat."
IUPAT Representative/Census Ambassador Provides 2020 Census Update
Melissa Sanchez - International Union of Painters and Allied Trades sat down with Secretary-Treasurer, Montserrat Garibay for a short informational video.
Trump Elevates 2020 Election Stakes by Attacking Public Schools, Calling for Voucher Program
It's the issue that never quite goes away. In Texas, the Legislature concluded long ago that steering taxpayer dollars away from neighborhood public schools and to private and religious schools through a voucher system would undermine Texas. The Legislature has opposed vouchers on a bipartisan basis even as some of the strongest voucher backers sit in the state's highest offices. The Texas American Federation of Teachers leads the Texas AFL-CIO's long-standing opposition to private school vouchers.
This week, President Trump made vouchers a centerpiece of his State of the Union address and slammed public schools as "failing government schools." The sight of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up her copy of Trump's speech as he concluded is a great metaphor for how we feel about private school vouchers.
If you need further incitement, Trump's voucher plan is embodied in legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Potentially making matters worse by opening a legal back door, the U.S. Supreme Court this week heard arguments in connection with a Montana voucher plan on whether states can ban spending of public funds on religious schools.
Trump's frontal attack on the bedrock of the American education system is yet one more reason to think of the Nov. 3 presidential election as the most important one in generations.
Texas AFT didn't waste any time commenting on Facebook:
Tonight the president referred to the need for taxpayer money to fund private and religious schools as a necessity to get kids out of "failing government schools." Perhaps he should respect the true foundation of democracy--our true public schools for all. (We'll applaud him for the idea of building bridges and planting trees.) Trump is pushing a $5 billion voucher program.
Report: Recently Naturalized Citizens Might Approach the Half-Million Mark in Votes Next Election
The estimate by the National Partnership for New Americans includes Texas residents who are on track to become citizens in time to vote on Nov. 3.
The Texas AFL-CIO Citizenship Clinics encourage eligible residents to vote as soon as they achieve the legal right to do so. Slowly but surely, naturalization is helping change Texas.
Our Citizenship Campaign heads into Fort Worth this weekend and then gears up for a stop in Corpus Christi on February 22nd. Call 512-477-6195 if you want details or would like to volunteer.
Well I'm about to get sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friends
Is anybody's guess
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