Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Organized Labor Must Take up Community Issues to Win This War



Note. We are posting this again as it is an example of a small step that unions can take organizationally to link up with the communities in which we live and union members serve. I re-visited this after some discussions with the parents, teachers, their allies including and Black Lives Matter activists, in Kentucky where there has been an ongoing war by the state government, against teachers, education in general and the students. Unfortunately trade union leaders have attacked the most aggressive and forward thinking of this movement, led by Jefferson County communities which includes Louisville. 

As is so often the case, the conservative minded trade union leadership refuses to take up social issues outside of the realm of wages hours and working conditions of their members. In the Kentucky case, teachers and parents from Louisville and Jefferson County argued for the teachers union to include opposition to a gang ordinance bill in conjunction with its other efforts, a bill that would have severe consequences for its victims which means overwhelmingly black males and youth of color. (It has since passed). Not only do these youth, their families and their communities need union support, (all they asked was for the organized labor movement to oppose the gang ordinance) such a decision would strengthen all the teachers in their struggles for better conditions and the poor whites who tend to live in rural areas.

An influential leader of the teachers' group KY120  defended her refusal to oppose the bill on the grounds that she didn't want to "risk fracturing the nascent movement." and that by after discussing it (with her members I assume)  the mood was that if they started "muddying the water" it would weaken the movement. Of course, the opposite is true. She is quite willing to fracture the movement by refusing to recognize the extreme importance of opposing this bill for those who would be impacted by it. But not only would opposing what amounts to racist legislation directed primarily at black youth strengthen the movement,  it would be a small step along the road to uniting the different constituents, it doesn't muddy the waters at all, it clears them up.

Rather than strengthen the union by supporting the more militant and forward thinking Jefferson County activists, the trade union leaders came together at a JCTA press conference in March to condemn them. In other words, rather than strengthen the union by helping the Jefferson County folks build their influence and links across the state, they chose to weaken the union. Brent McKim head of the Jefferson County Teachers Association was joined by leaders from Afscme, SEIU, and the Teamsters.  John Stovall, president of Teamsters Local 783 basically blamed the Jefferson County activists of causing his members to lose money and of "…pimping our people out and putting their jobs in jeopardy,"   Sue Foster, president of JCAESP AFSCME Local 401 had the same approach, blame those that are the best fighters. Were they as aggressive in dealing with the bosses we would be in a better shape all round. Primarily through Jefferson County's lead, the teachers ignored an agreement between, the Kentucky Teachers Association leadership, (NEA),  KY120, a self described teachers advocacy group and the state to not call in sick and continue disruptions that closed the schools for 6 days. This is what is behind the attacks on Jefferson County, they showed what actually works and what doesn't.

Brent McKim, the president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association took a back seat with regard to attacking his members and  instead hurled some slander at one of the strongest advocates for public schools and the communities they serve who is not a teacher and has also been critical of the union leadership for the right reasons. He claimed her activity and support was based on personal gain, and the desire to win contracts as she is self employed. You know you're on the right track when they resort to this

This reminded me of this small step taken by UNITE in the UK and I remembered this video I hope the reader watches it.  For a small fee, people outside the union's regular jurisdiction get a voice, it brings the community closer to the union movement and the issues facing us at work and where we live can begin to meld. It it a very small step but an important one in making it harder for our enemies to set us against each other and instead understand each others issues and see how similar they are. In short, we can gain power in our struggle for a healthier, more humane society.

It would hope that union members in Kentucky reading this and any others in unions will bring this issue in to their locals and fight to get something similar going here. They hate when we talk to each other.

Richard Mellor
Afscme Local 444, retired
June 2018

A trade unionist from Britain that reads our blog pointed out this development in the largest trade union in Britain and Ireland. For a very small sum of 50p a week (around 75c) anyone can join Unite, officially called Unite the Union.  It is an attempt to link organized labor with the communities.

What is important about this very small step is that a union is not simply calling for the need for communities and unions to build closer links but is taking organizational measures along that road.

For their 50p the non members get certain benefits.

For those who are regular visitors to this site you will have seen the three videos from a forum put on by the Oakland Education Association that represents teachers in Oakland California. The videos are short clips (excerpts) of presentations by teachers from West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona about the recent struggles in those states. (see links to videos below) These were rank and file led and all the speakers in this instance were women.

As we have pointed out in previous posts, the strike in West Virginia took place in a state where strikes are illegal. Not only that, the teachers and other education workers, realized that if they were to win they would have to bypass their official leadership which, as is the case throughout organized labor, is conservative and loathe to violate any laws regardless of how harmful they are to workers and our ability to defend our interests. In West Virginia, the workers won a 5% wage increase for themselves and all state workers. All the recent teachers battles took place in this manner, rank and file led and both inside and outside the union structures. We have some commentary with each video.

An important thread that jumps right out at us when we watch these women give their reports is that all teachers and education workers were included in the events whether they were in an AFL-CIO union, the NEA or no union at all. Even non-union Charter School teachers were included and had voting rights on decision making.

These teachers struggles are a great lesson for us here in the US as to how a trade union should function and should be built on. While the Unite example above (the video is a union video) doesn't go as far as our teachers here just did with voting rights and such, it is important in that is an organizational measure to reach out to the community taken by a major union body.

Here are the short clips from Kentucky, West Virginia and Arizona Teachers. They are very inspiring.

 

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