The U.S. Supreme Court has now made its decision in the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 case, and the ruling was no surprise.
This case was never about free speech. It was just an attempt by greedy corporate interests to destroy the American labor movement. It’s outrageous that the court not only overturned its own precedent, but did so on the backs of working people.
Now, a new set of challenges is arriving at our doorsteps. For some of you, this will be literally true as anti-union groups plan to visit your homes to convince you to quit our union.
On a national level, groups like the National Right to Work Foundation have stepped up efforts to trick union members into quitting their unions and giving up rights and protections we’ve fought so hard for over the years.
These groups are funded by the rich and powerful because they know if they can convince enough people to quit their unions, they can line their pockets with the money they save from giving us the wages, health care and the dignified retirements we have earned.
If you haven’t already heard from these anti-union groups, there’s a good chance you will soon. They think they can convince everyone that leaving our union will save a few dollars by gambling with protections, even though they won’t put it that way.
Guess what? It’s never going to work.
New York State is the most unionized state in the country, with more than 2 million people belonging to a union. We understand the value of being part of the union. We know that by sticking together, we can protect our futures. We can protect our pensions, our leave time and our safety and health while we perform our jobs every day.
CSEA has been fighting for our rights for 108 years, and we’re not going anywhere. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and I hope you won’t be fooled into thinking you’re going to get something for nothing, because that’s exactly what the rich and powerful are hoping for.
They would be very happy if you quit on yourselves, your co-workers, and your families and loved ones, because they would reap the benefits while hardworking Americans all suffer.
Remember, we all do better when we stick together.
Stay Union, Stay Strong!
