Page 3 - Work_Force_April_2018

Stay union, stay strong
cseany.org
April 2018 Vol. 21, No. 4
See pages 3, 4, 5, 10-11
We recently stood together with our labor brothers and sisters across the state at recent AFSCME Working People’s Day of Action events in New York City and Buffalo.
Thousands of working people joined in these and nearly 30 other Working People’s Day of Action events across the country.
Our message was clear — we are working to unrig the system that has allowed billionaires to keep getting richer on the backs of working people.
“We are here to tell [anti-labor groups] that they will NOT succeed, that we are not going anywhere,” said CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan. “The road ahead will not be easy, but no matter the obstacles ahead, we cannot and will not abandon our heritage and dishonor those who fought and died so we have this right to be union.”
AFSCME International President Lee Saunders noted that working people are standing together in the face of attacks. “We stand united in fighting a rigged system that rewards the super-wealthy
at everyone else’s expense,” he said in a news release. “We will not rest until we build an economy where everyone has a voice on the job, a seat at the table and a chance to succeed.”
Along with labor leaders, numerous elected officials spoke at the rallies. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli were among those who spoke at the New York City rally.
The governor pledged his support to working people. “If we stand together, nobody can beat us,” he said.
DiNapoli, whose mother was a CSEA Nassau County Local member and whose father was also a union member, spoke about how unions ensured his family’s economic security.
“Do we want an America that chips away at the hard-won labor victories?” he said. “No! We want an America that values unions and working people.”
Standing together in Albany
CSEA Capital Region members also recently showed our solidarity by joining our labor brothers and sisters for a rally that coincided with the Janus oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Janus case is a blatant attack on unions. (See page 5.)
Capital Region President Ron Briggs recalled The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s contributions to labor justice.
“If we are silent when the
Supreme Court tries to silence
our voice, our lives begin to
end. If we are silent when greedy
corporations and the millionaires
behind them continue to oppress
working families, our lives begin
to end. If we are silent when
politicians pass legislation that
favors the wealthiest few over
working families, our lives begin
to end,” Briggs said. “In a year when we remember the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King while he was in Tennessee participating in
an AFSCME sanitation workers strike, one must wonder just when will working families be put first? Dr. King knew that our solidarity would be our strength. United we stand, divided we beg.”
“If you’re not at the table, then you’re on the menu,” Sullivan said. “We’re never going to be on the menu.”
On the cover, Warren County Local President Sue Sheehan, front center, joins in the Working People’s Day of Action rally in New York City. (Photo by David Galarza.)
“
“When you attack labor, you attack New York, a state that
is proud to have the highest union membership in the United States of America!” Cuomo said. “I believe we need more unions today, not fewer. There are workers today who are being victimized and abused and need the strength and solidarity of the labor movement more than ever.”
Briggs
I’m sticking with our union because the dues I pay are the very reason I earn what I earn (fair wages), have what I have (health benefits now and into retirement) and can bargain for what I want (schedule, leave time, uniform ” reimbursement, to name a few.)
— Sue Sheehan, Warren County Local President
Cuomo
“The road ahead will not be easy, but no matter the obstacles
ahead, we cannot and will not abandon our heritage and dis”
— Mary E. Sullivan, CSEA Executive Vice President
honor those who fought and died so we have this right to be union.
CSEA Executive Vice President Mary E. Sullivan and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
April 2018
The Work Force 3
Photo by David Galarza