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Here is your weekly news from the Texas Labor Movement.
Revised USMCA Proposal 'Far From Perfect' But 'New Standard for Future Trade Negotiations,' Trumka Says
A precedent-setting provisional endorsement of an improved United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by the national AFL-CIO has set the stage for a vote on the treaty in Congress.
The endorsement came after AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka briefed the AFL-CIO Executive Council on the details at a special meeting.
The AFL-CIO issued this news release:
AFL-CIO Endorses USMCA After Successfully Negotiating Improvements
Labor Federation President Richard Trumka on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), provided final text accurately reflects changes:
Make no mistake, we demanded a trade deal that benefits workers and fought every single day to negotiate that deal; and now we have secured an agreement that working people can proudly support.
I am grateful to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies on the USMCA working group, along with Senate champions like Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden, for standing strong with us throughout this process as we demanded a truly enforceable agreement. I also commend Ambassador Robert Lighthizer for being a straight shooter and an honest broker as we worked toward a resolution.
Working people are responsible for a deal that is a vast improvement over both the original NAFTA and the flawed proposal brought forward in 2017. For the first time, there truly will be enforceable labor standards-including a process that allows for the inspections of factories and facilities that are not living up to their obligations.
The USMCA also eliminates special carve outs for corporations like the giveaway to Big Pharma in the administration's initial proposal and loopholes designed to make it harder to prosecute labor violations.
The USMCA is far from perfect. It alone is not a solution for outsourcing, inequality or climate change. Successfully tackling these issues requires a full-court press of economic policies that empower workers, including the repeal of tax cuts which reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas.
But there is no denying that the trade rules in America will now be fairer because of our hard work and perseverance. Working people have created a new standard for future trade negotiations.
President Trump may have opened this deal. But working people closed it. And for that, we should be very proud.
2020 Election Battles Are Joined as Filing Deadline Passes; Central Labor Councils Gear Up Endorsement Machinery
The political field for what is shaping up as a historic Nov. 3, 2020 election is pretty much set following yesterday's filing deadlines for the major parties. The primary elections that decide nominees or propel candidates into runoff elections will take place March 3, 2020. The first day of early voting for those primaries will occur on Tuesday, Feb. 18 - just a little more than three weeks after the conclusion of the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in late January.
We are in the thick of the political season. And that means Central Labor Councils across the state, along with the Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, are in high gear in their endorsement processes.
The process of ascertaining which candidates merit support based on their records and potential to help working families moves toward a big goal: completion of a Texas AFL-CIO COPE endorsement list at the conclusion of the COPE Convention on the weekend of Jan. 25 and 26.
Texas AFL-CIO Director of Politics Jeff Rotkoff reports CLCs have stepped up and are equipped to send labor questionnaires to all candidates, conduct screening processes and consider the results. While the full COPE Convention makes statewide endorsements (this year, U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission, Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals), Central Labor Councils combine to cover almost all the U.S. House, Texas House and Texas Senate contests. CLCs also endorse in a wide array of local elections. The adoption of a statewide COPE endorsement list by Jan. 26 will mark a key point for working families in the 2020 nomination process.
Endorsements require two-thirds support of the relevant bodies, guaranteeing they reflect a broad consensus. The CLCs and Texas AFL-CIO COPE Committee may consider further endorsements or adjustments later in the year in light of primary and runoff results or other developments.
This political cycle is infused with electricity and marks a momentous opportunity for working families.
Teen Vogue Explains Union Organizing Rights
In its latest "explainer" on the labor movement, Teen Vogue posts information on the right to organize.
The magazine has become a go-to source of information on how young people can speak up together for better working conditions lifting up unions in the definition of what it means to be in fashion:
While overall union membership rates have declined over the past three decades, the youngest cohort of U.S. workers have injected the workforce with renewed energy for organizing. In 2017, more than 75% of the net new union members added to the ranks industry-wide were under the age of 35, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
As more young people find themselves stuck in precarious jobs with variable hours and benefits, some are turning to unions to help secure their rights. Just look at the recent swelling of support for unionization in "new" industries such as digital media, white-collar tech, and nonprofits.
These burgeoning unionization efforts - and management's responses to them - inspired Teen Vogue to talk to union experts and organizers to determine what you need to know about your right to organize your workplace and how your bosses might try to stop you, no matter where you work.
Defense Bill Compromise Propels Parental Leave Provision for Federal Employees
In a year that has seen federal workers furloughed and otherwise socked by anti-union White House policies, this week's news that a bipartisan compromise in Congress appears poised to deliver paid parental leave to the federal workforce is remarkable.
The policy has major gaps, including an absence of protections for caring for sick family members, but it's a start and further indication that as election imperatives intensify, Congress is finding ways to bridge partisan gaps and working families are finding ways to get a piece of the action.
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Texas Progressive Organizations Call for Sen. John Cornyn to Investigate Citizenship Application Backlog
Texas AFL-CIO, Progress Texas, America's Voice and six other voting rights and immigration reform organizations are calling on U.S. Senator John Cornyn to investigate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the backlog of 80,000 Texas applications for citizenship.
The letter sent to Cornyn reads as follows
Dear Senator Cornyn:
We, the undersigned organizations, call on you to investigate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the backlog of 80,000 Texas applications for citizenship.
The Houston Chronicle recently reported over 80,000 Texans are stuck in Naturalization Limbo. Federal immigration officials are taking significantly longer than before to weigh applications, and some cases are now taking a year and a half or more to make it through a process that used to take about six months on average. The right to citizenship must be carried out in order for our state and country to truly be democratic.
There are tens of thousands of Texans who are a part of our economy and our communities that are awaiting the ability to participate in our democracy through voting. The right to vote is a privilege and responsibility of every American, and we must ensure government officials value integrity and fairness in our election system.
As you know, our state has a history of voter suppression. These processing delays are just the latest hurdle potentially keeping immigrants from voting booths in Texas, and must end now to ensure that no one’s right to vote is infringed upon in our state. The delays have already kept some new citizens from voting in recent elections. This is unacceptable, and must be investigated.
The administration has also proposed raising fees to apply for citizenship from $725 to $1,170 for most applicants, while eliminating existing waivers offered to immigrants who can’t afford to pay. This would price out many Texans from U.S. citizenship and reserve U.S. citizenship for the wealthy only.
Our diversity is our strength, and the pathway to citizenship must be accessible for eligible immigrants from all walks of life. We must ensure that this process is affordable to Texans in order to live up to our democratic values.
Senator Cornyn, as U.S. Senator for Texas, you have the authority to provide Texans with an answer and relief to their long held worries of the naturalization process.
Under no circumstances should Texans be subjected to wait for their naturalization process for as long as they have. An 18-month wait is unacceptable.
The tens of thousands of Texans awaiting the naturalization process are counting on you, as well as the staff, members, volunteers, and other Texans affiliated with the undersigned organizations.
We call on you to investigate the backlog of 80,000 Texas applications for citizenship, Texans have waited long enough in the naturalization process.
This song goes out to the striking ASARCO mine workers across Texas and Arizona who continue to hold strong into the holiday season.
Please consider making a donation to the solidarity strike fund to help buy supplies and food for the picket line. Click HERE to donate.
Enjoy the Weekend...After All, We Fought For It!
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