Click Here to read more about RTW and why it is bad for workers, not just Union workers, but all workers.
Make your voice Heard! Say NO to RTW Laws! By Clicking Here, you can email your State Senator & House Representative by simply entering your Zip Code. There is a sample letter already written for you that you can modify or you can write your own if you wish. It takes less than one minute and can really make a difference. Make your voice heard now by Clicking Here!
Are you interested in having us contact you when volunteers are needed to march? Please Click Here to be put on our “Contact Me” list today.
Get Ready For The NM War On Workers!
A commentary By Teamsters Union Local 492 Recording Secretary, Trey White
I hope you all had a great 2014, and hope 2015 is even better for you. 2015 looks promising from the indicators economists study.
The 2014 election in New Mexico had a low voter turnout which is usually not good for labor. So unfortunately, while the good, hard working people of New Mexico punched in for work on November 4th, 2014, corporate America was busy buying another election, and you can probably understand, they do not have the workers best interests in mind when they are handing out that cash to the candidates, quite the opposite.
Well the pay off for the big spenders is about to play out in our own back yard here in New Mexico, when anti-worker politicians outnumber the labor friendly ones in the NM State House of Representatives for the first time in 60 years. No matter who you voted for, I am sure you don’t want your elected politicians undermining the collective voice you have at work, so please, read on. If you believe the Union has no positive effect on your life, please Click Here to read some American History you may not be aware of.
Now it is time for the men and women of the State of New Mexico who punch a clock everyday to start voicing their opinions (loudly) about laws these unfriendly-to-labor lawmakers look to change.
We will be asking for volunteers at the end of this article to assist in this fight, or you can just Click Here now to be put on our “Contact Me” list.
Here is what the War on Workers looks like for the 2015 Legislative session:
- A change in workers compensation eligibility (NOT IN THE WORKERS FAVOR) designed to lessen the employer’s liability.
- Removal of the state’s Little Davis Bacon Act (which keeps wages from falling) on construction projects that qualify.
- Repeal of SB33 which requires that Union negotiated wages in the construction trades are the prevailing wages on state funded construction projects.
- And saving the most important for last, there are 6 different, but equally damaging, versions of “right-to-work” legislation being introduced.
“Right-to-work” (RTW) is one of those names given to a law to trick people into believing it’s a good cause. Who doesn’t want the right to work? Everyone should, but this is America and you and I as Americans, already have the right to work. But that is not what this law is about. The law divides the Union workforce into two factions; dues payers and freeloaders. RTW laws may differ from state to state (there are 6 versions of the law being written for the 2015 fight against the workers of NM), but they all have one thing in common, protect the freeloader.
RTW laws let the worker at a Union job stop paying dues, but the Union is still required by law to provide all services to the non-dues paying worker. The freeloader gets all the benefits of the Union for free, even though it costs money to employ local Union business agents who negotiate those great wages and benefits that the freeloader came to the Union Job for in the first place. The Union is also still required under RTW laws, to help with grievances and terminations, etc. of the freeloader. But if everyone is freeloading, the Union will not be able to continue to pay the salaries of those business agents, and eventually there will be no one to help the freeloader, and that is the ultimate goal of RTW, to weaken (or eliminate) the Union and thereby weakening the workers’ position in the workplace.
Ask yourself, would these same anti-labor lawmakers ever pass a similar law called “Right-to-Live”, where someone would have the “right to live” here, drive on America’s roads, send their kids to America’s schools, work an American Job, and collect a Social Security check when they retire, but not have to “join America” or ever pay taxes? Of course not, but that is essentially what these lawmakers expect from Unions; to support a person who is reaping all the benefits of The Union (The Country) without paying The Dues (The Taxes) that built it and keep it running, and retire with a Pension (Social Security Check) that is just not available to most modern day non-union workers.
These legislators that pretend RTW is good for the worker are not just lying to you, they are hypocrites. Their only motivation in passing RTW is to please the big corporate donors that got them elected, not to do what’s right for Americans.
Click Here to read more about RTW and why it is bad for workers, not just Union workers, but all workers.
The four issues mentioned above that are being introduced in 2015, including the 6 versions of RTW, will hurt WORKERS and the MIDDLE CLASS. This is clearly a potential race to the bottom for New Mexico workers.
If working families in New Mexico are important to you and your family, it’s time to mobilize friends, family members and everyone that feels that a living wage and worker rights are crucial parts of raising a family here in New Mexico. The Teamsters, along with other worker friendly organizations, are going to need your support during the upcoming legislative session if we are going to defeat these destructive measures being introduced. We will need volunteers to march on the capital in Santa Fe when these bills come up for a vote. We will try to give you as much notice as possible, but unfortunately the process can be quite unpredictable (which they do intentionally).
Are you interested in having us contact you when volunteers are needed to march? Please Click Here to be put on our “Contact Me” list today.
By Clicking Here, you can email your State Senator & House Representative by simply entering your Zip Code. There is a sample letter already written for you that you can modify or you can write your own if you wish. It takes less than one minute and can really make a difference. Make your voice heard now by Clicking Here!
Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself about issues that may impact you greatly. Please encourage your co-workers and family to do the same. The working class cannot afford to sit back and watch as corporations have their way with this great country of ours, let’s take it back, together!
