Letter from the Local President

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as 'right to work.' It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone. Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped.”

These words, spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, speak to the heart of where we find our nation now. There are forces at work that use tainted propaganda and smear tactics to convince the workers of America that unions are the problem. In fact, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you, the opposite is true. The time is now to stand strong and hold our values and beliefs close to our hearts.

As Molly Ivins said, “Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts.”

As talk of a nationwide “right-to-work” law starts to echo in the halls of government, we must stand together with resolve and solidarity as never before. Share the positive influence of the union, with not only our fellow brothers and sisters, but also with those less informed as well. Knowledge and light are the tools we can use to navigate the dark and keep our union — and our livelihoods — moving toward the sunnier skies that lie ahead.

Yours in solidarity,

Lance Lewman
Washington-Mid Atlantic Local President