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Raph Graybill speaking with IAFF Local #8 at the Annual Montana State Council of Professional Fire Fighters in Helena.
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John, think of this like an article, not a campaign email for money.
This Labor Day weekend I wanted to do something different.
We already know that unions built the American middle class and fought to protect our rights in the workplace. This Labor Day weekend, to honor all the work done by our unions, let’s dive deeper.
To see just how important this fight is, we need to look closer at the ways our legal system has been turned against workers and unions—and how we can fight back by taking back the Attorney General’s office.
Here is the first of a short, three-part series examining recent court decisions highlighting the coordinated attack on American unions.
Knowing what’s happening is just the first step. We need a government whose chief lawyer works for workers, not against them. The Attorney General must be the stopgap against attacks by anti-worker politicians.
It’s why we need to win back the Attorney General’s office in 2020.
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Part 1 — Locking workers out of court; keeping workers divided.
In recent years, powerful special interests have tried to force workers into signing their rights away—by forcing workers into ‘individual arbitration agreements.’
Unions are important for protecting the rights of workers and stopping unfair labor practices. But if workers can’t enforce their rights in court, the protections we have may not matter.
“Individual arbitration” is like a private court: a private decision-maker gets paid to resolve a dispute. None of the protections given to workers in regular, public courts apply. And the big corporation that forces a worker to arbitrate is often the one paying the decision-maker! It’s fundamentally unfair and it’s rigged against workers.
The basic premise of American labor law is that workers have a right to work together, to stand up to unfair practices using their collective power. Forced arbitration agreements undo all of that. They’re wrong. Even worse, these forced “agreements” prevent workers from protecting their rights as a group--workers are required to pursue claims against their employers individually.
During the Obama Administration, the National Labor Relations Board (a government agency that makes decisions about labor law) held these arrangements violated federal labor law because they stifled organized activity by workers.
Federal courts across the country backed the Obama Administration’s decision and rejected challenges brought against the rule by anti-union activists. The courts held that locking workers out of court and requiring workers to fight alone is against our labor laws.
But the United States Supreme Court, in a 2018 case called Lewis v. Epic Systems, ruled for big businesses and against workers—making these unfair agreements perfectly legal under federal law across the country.
That’s where things stand today. But it’s not the end of the story. State officials can still examine when these agreements are being used in egregious ways to cover up illegal activity against workers. That’s why it’s important that our state officials tasked with enforcing the law (1) understand the subtle landscape that has been carved out against workers and unions and (2) have the skills and conviction to fight for the right to organize and against unfair labor practices.
That’s why I’m running for Attorney General: because it’s time we have an Attorney General who works for us.
Coming tomorrow: Court-based attacks on public sector unions.
Thank you for reading and have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend.
-Raph Graybill
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P.S. Other campaigns are coming up against their month-end deadline. We are too. If you agree that it's important to fight for the right to organize would you please consider donating to our campaign?
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