Solidarity Takes the Day at DNC Meeting
March 01, 2011
AFSCME’s members of the Democratic National Committee took center stage at the DNC’s annual winter meeting and made an impassioned plea for support of workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere whose rights are under attack.
President McEntee led the charge and told the DNC members in no uncertain terms that “The battle in Wisconsin is not just for public sector workers. It’s really a battle for human rights!”
Secretary-Treasurer Lee A. Saunders added his own call for solidarity: “We all come from different parts of the country. But today we are all Wisconsin Badgers!”
They were followed by more than a dozen labor leaders who are members of the DNC calling on all Democrats to stand together to protect workers’ organizing and bargaining rights.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis set the stage with a fiery speech of her own saying, “All they’re asking for is to be treated with dignity.” During her standing ovation, she rallied those in the room by declaring, “The fight is on!”
To show their solidarity with the workers of Wisconsin and any others whose rights are being denied, the DNC unanimously passed a resolution encouraging Democratic leaders to stand up for American workers and make sure they get a fair break.
DNC Resolution 14: Saluting America’s Working Families WHEREAS, America’s working families are the backbone of our communities and the foundation upon which our great nation was built; and WHEREAS, working men and women exemplify the heroic patriotism that we aspire to -- when our country came under attack on 9/11, our first responders unhesitatingly rushed to the front lines where they saved countless lives with the sacrifice of so many of their own; it is the nurses and teachers and so many others who devote themselves every day to keeping our families and communities healthy and giving our children a shot at a brighter future; it is working men and women who build and maintain the infrastructure of our lives, from roads to bridges to broadband to green technology; it is the unsung service workers whom we rely upon to prepare and serve our food, mop the floors and maintain our hotels; it is working people in thousands of industries and occupations who make our economy work; and WHEREAS, all working women and men have dignity and the right to respect and a free choice to use the strength of their numbers to gain a voice at work; and WHEREAS, protecting the freedom of America’s workers to form unions and bargain collectively to gain a voice at work and a better life is the law of the land and a core principle of the Democratic Party; and WHEREAS, without the freedom to join together in unions, working people would have no way to check unrestrained corporate power, no way to secure fair wages, no way to curb the outsourcing of good jobs and no way to secure balance in our economy; WHEREAS, the Democratic Party always has been, and always will be, the champion and defender of working men and women and their freedom to come together in unions; and WHEREAS, whether it’s creating the minimum wage and Social Security, fighting pay discrimination, enhancing worker safety, ending child labor, or creating the weekend, the Democratic Party always has been, and always will be, a fierce advocate for an economy that works for everyone; and WHEREAS, America’s workers are under vicious and unrelenting attacks across the country from politicians using the same old politics to silence their voices and eliminate their ability to check corporate power through their unions; and WHEREAS, these attacks on working families are blatant political payback to corporate and Wall Street CEOs for their unprecedented support of anti-worker candidates; and WHEREAS, these anti-worker Governors and State Legislators are trying to slash workers’ salaries, benefits and pensions, earned through years of contributions, while not asking Wall Street, corporations and the very wealthy to pay their fair share; and WHEREAS, these anti-worker Governors and State Legislators continue to promote outsourcing American jobs overseas; and WHEREAS, the Democratic Party is committed to fighting for, and taking action on behalf of, the millions of Americans who are struggling to find work and support their families; WHEREAS, too many Democratic elected officials have joined the chorus of anti-union politicians or refused to stand tall for America’s working families and the American Labor movement; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) encourages Democratic candidates and officeholders at all levels of government to stand in solidarity with America’s working families and their unions and oppose deceptive legislation such as so called “right to work” and “paycheck protection” legislation; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC encourages Democratic candidates and officeholders at all levels of government to oppose, in active and visible ways, these attacks on working families and their unions; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC encourages Democratic candidates and officeholders at all levels of government to actively support, in visible ways, workers’ local organizing campaigns and collective bargaining – while publicly challenging Governors, State Legislators or corporations that thwart workers’ freedom to form unions to improve their lives; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends that Democratic Committees at the state and local levels pass similar resolutions, and advocate state laws and local ordinances supporting and defending the rights of working Americans.
