Over and over again the last few months, we’ve seen over and over again that our future is electric, clean, and union made. The United Auto Workers (UAW) have already committed $40 million to organize electric car and battery workers in the United States; and they’re racking up big wins at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant, and other southeastern auto plants. Meanwhile, the second biggest teachers union in the US, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), passed a resolution declaring a Climate Emergency.
Today is May Day, celebrated around the world as International Workers’ Day. On this day, we commemorate the 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago, where a bomb detonated amid massive strikes organized by workers demanding an eight hour work day, killing dozens of people. And in this moment of profound protest and struggle (again and as always, with the strongest possible support from labor leaders like UAW’s Sean Fain, as well as lots of climate groups like us), now is the time for climate and antifascist groups to stand with labor unions. SIGN NOW to tell Congress to protect our right to organize and pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act!
While unions have done so much for workers since 1886 — winning the 8 hour work day, the weekend, and many other protections against pollution and persecution — their influence has waned in the United States thanks to corporate-friendly laws. The share of U.S. workers who belong to a union has fallen since 1983, when 20 percent were union members. Today, only 10 percent of U.S. workers are in a union.
Labor unions mean higher wages, better working conditions, and dignity for every worker. They also mean a Green New Deal and a faster transition to the clean-energy economy.
For years, corporations and political figures have rigged the system against working people by eroding our labor laws. This has led to lower wages, unfair working conditions, more pollution and increased inequality. Increasingly, corporations are threatening workers who try to organize a union with plant closings, outsourcing, firing, or other forms of retaliation.
The PRO Act would hold these bad actors accountable.
The PRO Act will empower workers to unionize and negotiate for better pay, benefits, and working conditions while holding corporations accountable to their climate and clean energy goals. By passing the PRO Act, Congress can give power back to working people to build a cleaner, greener industrial economy.
On May day, tell your member of Congress to pass the PRO Act!
PS we made a series of WPA-style graphics supporting our “Green New Deal is Union Made” campaign. Check them all out below os on our social media accounts and tell us which are your favorite(s).
