Unionists nationwide mark Human Rights Day with rallies, marches and teach-ins

AFT affiliates participated in events around the country to commemorate InternationalHuman Rights Day, Dec. 10, and rev up the labor movement campaign to restore every workerâs freedom to form a union.

International Human Rights Day marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations and its member states 55 years ago. One of the fundamental freedoms this historic document sets forth is the right to form and join a trade union.

Even though on paper U.S. workers have the right to form unions, current laws are not strong enough to prevent employers from routinely abusing workers' rights. Peter Hart and Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm, reports that 42 million U.S. workers would form a union today if given the opportunity. Yet workers in the United States are routinely denied their choice to have a union because employers harass, coerce, intimidate - even fire - employees to keep them from exercising this right (see Where We Stand elsewhere in this issue).

That's why AFT members and others participated in rallies, teach-ins, vigils and other events, from coast to coast and on Guam, to remind politicians and their communities that organizing a union is a fundamental and universal human right. Here is a sampling of activities:

More than 500 labor activists gathered at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle to observe International Human Rights Day. Steady rain throughout the lunchtime rally didnât dampen the spirits of the demonstrators who turned out to support striking Dairy Gold workers, hear from elected officials and Washington Labor Council leaders and watch a skit put on by a group called "Billionaires for Bush."

Forty members of the Washington (state) Federation of Teachers came out to advocate on behalf of two tenure-track faculty members at Cascadia College who were terminated after they became involved in forming a union there last year. The state federation is helping the teachers file a suit to have their tenure reinstated.

"It's a subtle retaliation," says WFT president Sandra Schroeder, but the message is clear. The new union hasn't been able to make much progress in negotiating its first contract, either.

These are examples, of why the country needs labor law reform, said speakers like U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), and also why a change in the White House would seem to be in order, McDermott said.

Unionists in Northern California, including members of the United Educators of San Francisco, rallied downtown in Union Square in support of the striking employees of Vons, Safeway and Albertson supermarkets. Rally speakers also voiced their support for the rights of immigrant workers not to be exploited.
 

EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Philadelphia labor activists were heartened by the turnout for a Workers Rights Board (WRB) hearing at the end of the workday. An overflow crowd of 1,200 packed the Arch Street Friends Meeting House for the event, which was co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and Jobs With Justice.

The WRB comprises community and religious leaders who throw their clout behind unions and other organizations seeking equity in the workplace. On this occasion, they heard from Candace Salinger-Lerner from the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers and Joanna Kempner, a member of Graduate Employees Together at the University of Pennsylvania (GET-UP) and eight other union members who had been retaliated against for their efforts to form unions.

"Penn used its vast resources to spread myths and obstruct our right to organize," said Kempner. "Our mailboxes were stuffed with anti-union propaganda, deans threatened to cut department funding, activists were singled out and, worse, the administration tried to bust the union by driving wedges between graduate students."

In neighboring Ohio, dozens of members of the Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU) took part in a march and rally at Marc's Store, which is known for its low wages, limited benefits, lack of pensions and anti-worker/anti-union policies.

Marc's has been accused of intimidating workers who have sought to form a union. In November, the National Labor Relations Board said the company engaged in unfair labor practices at two of its Ohio stores.

Nearly 600 unionists, including members of the service employees, steelworkers, and food and commercial workers unions, joined CTU members and leaders for the protest at Marc's.

In Washington, D.C., members of the AFT staff were among those who gathered en masse for a noon rally just blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Held on the steps of the U.S. Department of Labor, the rally featured Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who has sponsored legislation that would make it easier for workers to form and join unions.