HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-05-23 Public Comment - J. Strout - Wonder why we need strong and inclusive Labor Unions_ This is a women's human rights and racial, economic and reproductive justice issue - not a Labor Day sales emailFrom:Jan Strout
To:Jan Strout" via MT NOW Political Action Team
Subject:[EXTERNAL][BULK] Wonder why we need strong and inclusive Labor Unions? This is a women"s human rights
and racial, economic and reproductive justice issue - not a Labor Day sales email
Date:Tuesday, September 5, 2023 9:08:55 AM
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From our allied organization the National Women's Law Center. Congratulations on
standing to advance human dignity!
Please read, share and take action.
Thank you.
Onward!
In sisterhood and solidarity,
Jan
Jan Strout
pronouns: she/ella
co-leader, Bozeman City for CEDAW women's human rights Task Force (Resolution
adopted April, 2022!)
President, Montana NOW
Co-leader, Women United: Organizing Global Feminist Futures!
Bozeman, Montana
206.251.0880
"If you are free, free somebody else. If you have some power, your job is to empower
somebody else." - Toni Morrison
Fighting for gender justice in the courts, in public policy, and in our society.
Justice for her. Justice for all.
Dear Jan,
Did you know that President Glover Cleveland established “Labor Day” as a national
holiday in 1894 after 125,000 railroad workers went on strike because their employer
lowered their wages without lowering rents in their company-owned city? Eventually,
the railroad corporation hired the strikers back with one stipulation: they must pledge
never to join a union. So, we thought, what better way to celebrate Labor Day than by
discussing why unions make labor better and fairer for everyone? As the President of
NWLC United, our organization’s union, I am ready to honor those brave railroad
workers by providing you all with some context on why collective bargaining is
essential for labor justice and gender justice:
Unions help close the wage gap: Women working full time who are union members
typically make $214 more per week than women who are not union members, which
equals $11,128 more a year. Over a 40-year career, that amounts to $445,120. And
while the gender wage gap persists even when women are unionized, women in
unions are consistently paid wages that are not just higher than their non-unionized
counterparts but also more equal to men’s wages.
Unions are essential in the fight for reproductive rights: Unions fight every day for
workers to have autonomy over their lives—from gaining more control over work
schedules to accessing a living wage—and an essential aspect of that is being able to
make your own decisions about whether, when, and how you want to parent. Denied
abortions and forced births can limit someone’s ability to advance in the workplace,
expose them to pregnancy discrimination at work, and force them to face all the
financial burdens and health risks that come with labor and delivery—not to mention
the impact of raising a child without the financial resources to do so. Even before the
Dobbs decision wrongfully overturning Roe v. Wade, many workers, particularly those
in low-paid jobs, found it incredibly difficult to access abortion care because of
workplace practices such as unpredictable work schedules, low wages, lack of paid
leave, and lack of health insurance. After Dobbs, many unions are taking up the fight
to protect and fund workers' ability to travel for abortions since restrictions or outright
bans in some states now require travel across state lines, which may require time off
from work and cost a lot of money.
Unions address racial justice: Unions are crucial for women of color—particularly
Black women—whose paid and unpaid labor built our economy. Management typically
skews white and male, meaning historically women of color have been locked out of
decision-making. Unions offer the opportunity to take some power back and make
meaningful improvements to workplace culture, pay, and benefits that may otherwise
never be addressed. Among full-time workers, unionized Black women typically make
19% more per week ($157 more) than Black women non-union workers. And
unionized Latinas typically make 36% more per week ($268 more). That’s $13,936
more per year, amounting to $557,440 over a 40-year career.
Unions have helped remedy the child care crisis: There is no workforce and no labor
without child care workers—parents and caregivers can’t do their jobs without
accessing child care. Child care workers are some of the most underpaid and
undervalued in the labor force, yet both the federal and many state governments have
denied them adequate funding. Unions give care workers bargaining power so that
they can negotiate for the higher salaries and benefits they deserve. For example,
Child Care Providers United in California just secured a 20% average pay increase, the
nation’s first retirement fund for child care providers, and a significant investment in
health care funding.
NWLC United is proud to have signed our first collective bargaining agreement last
fall—putting into practice the values NWLC was built on. Our contract is one of the
most progressive in the movement, but there is still so much to build on in the future.
This Labor Day, I challenge you all to find a way to support unions. Whether that is
advocating for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which will help to ensure
working women can come together collectively, donating to the Writer’s Guild of
America Strike, or becoming an outspoken advocate for unions in your community.
In solidarity,
Caitlin Panarella
she/her/hers
President, NWLC United
National Women's Law Center
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