John,
Summer will always stand with workers.
That’s why on Monday, Summer met with the new University of Pittsburgh Chancellor to discuss recent organizing efforts at the university to form a Pitt Staff Union with the United Steelworkers. After staff seeking to form a union filed an unfair labor practice against the university’s administration, Summer made her disappointment clear and is urging the administration to remain neutral during the staff’s organizing campaign. Every worker deserves a union and every employer should abide by the law and respect workers’ rights to organize—especially publicly funded universities.
Pitt staff’s organizing efforts come at a time when our labor movement is witnessing a rebirth and revitalization that has been brewing for years. Last year, we saw the success of workers at Starbucks and Amazon organizing to form the first unions of their kind, defeating union-busting billionaires. This summer, we have witnessed the power of actors, writers, and entertainment workers striking for fair wages with WGA and SAG-AFTRA, bringing Hollywood to a standstill. The Teamsters threatened the largest single-employer strike in American history, and won a massive and historic contract for its workers across the country. And just last week, the UAW’s new leadership organized an overwhelming 96% of workers voting to authorize a strike next month, if the Big Three automakers refuse to bargain in good faith.
This is the power of our labor movement.
And as a former labor organizer, Summer personally knows how high the stakes are for workers in the fight for better protections and higher pay, and now she’s one of their loudest megaphones in Congress. In fact, the very first piece of legislation Summer introduced in Congress was the Hazard Pay for Health Care Heroes Act, while standing with UPMC healthcare workers against the hospital’s poverty wages and poor treatment of staff.
Last year, corporate Super PACs and right-wing billionaires dumped literally millions of dollars to try and elect a union-busting corporate lawyer and keep Summerout of Congress. If they had their way, Summer Lee wouldn’t be fighting for workers in the House.
Summer will always have our backs, so let’s have hers.
Union strong 💪,
Team Summer Lee
