Dallas Labor Resumes Campaign June 3
Neighborhood canvassing and phone banking continue at 10AM Saturday, June 3, from 1408 N Washington #240. Like most union people, we will observe the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Everyone is invited on June 3, no previous experience is necessary. Come on down!
We have to worry about NAFTA
Speak Up for Progress!
Texans need to pay special attention to their state and national representatives. Texas may breathe easier if the State Legislature ends on May 29 as scheduled. The threat of a special session continues. At the same time, Congress is taking a recess May 27 to June 2. That means they are supposed to be accessible in their home districts.
Labor encourages the citizenry to call, write, fax, email, and visit our political representatives at all levels. There are very few issues that do not affect working people for good or ill. It is relatively easy to get contact information on-line.
There is a way to send faxes to senators without having a fax machine. Text “Resist” to phone number 50409 and then follow the easy directions. You are asked to enter your zip code to determine your Senators, then to compose a short letter to be faxed to them. They provide the address/fax # etc.
The best way to stay current on political developments is to write Texas AFL-CIO Communications Director Ed Sills and get on his mailing list.
Texas Organizing Project organized a visit to Congressman Jeb Hensarling’s office at 6150 Abrams in Dallas, then they called a rally for May 24 which was subsequently called off for strategic reasons. A few people came anyway and had a good time. See a short video on the Texas Alliance for Retried Americans Facebook Page. TOP has rescheduled the action for June 1 at 5:15PM.
Union Leadership Praised by Democrats
Even though all union political activities are non-partisan, union people received high praise at the Annual Johnson-Jordan Dinner of the Dallas County Democratic Party. They recognized several outstanding local heroes, including the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 6215 and Dallas AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Mark York.
CWA 6215 received the "Booster of the Year Award. They wrote: “CWA has long been an ally of the DCDP, regularly providing financial support to the DCDP and offering space for DCDP meetings, seminars and telephone banks. We also work together on the distribution of yard signs, block-walking and strategic planning to win races in Dallas County. We are, indeed, grateful for their support.”
Mark York, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Dallas AFL-CIO Council, received the "David Axelrod" Award. They wrote, “This award was first awarded last year ‘for a person who has worked behind the scenes to help the Party accomplish its goals.’ Indeed, he has. Mark has organized block walks, yard sign distributions and phone banks throughout Dallas Council. He has recruited and interviewed candidates and advocated for these candidates for the AFL-CIO and for the county. He has provided advice and counsel to party leadership and has organized lobby efforts on issues critical to the DCDP. He is most deserving of the award, and he is a great role model to us all.”
Will NAFTA Improve?
When President Trump said he would re-negotiate the infamously unfair “trade” treaty between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, many voters assumed that he meant to make it better for working people. Trump’s executive actions, his health care ideas, and, especially, his proposed budget have eroded away that rosy expectation. If NAFTA is to improve, it will take a major push from working people.
The Communications Workers Newsletter said, “We are working with allies and pushing for a trade deal that creates good jobs in the U.S., maintains worker and environmental safeguards – and enforces them – and eliminates the private justice system that multinational corporations now use to challenge local, state, and federal laws not in a country’s court system but before a private panel of corporate lawyers.”
Labor Looks at Trump Budget
The Washington Post says that the Trump budget proposal would slash $3.6 trillion (with a “t”). AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka protested: “President Donald Trump's budget is the most significant betrayal yet of the working people he claims to support. This budget is a blueprint for how to rig the rules of the economy to favor the wealthy and corporations, while taking away our freedoms and protections at work.
‘The proposals presented in this budget defund core programs that are vital to working families. Breaking Trump's promise from the campaign trail, this budget slashes $1.5 trillion from Medicaid, $59 billion from Medicare and up to $64 billion from Social Security. It strips funding for workplace safety research by 40% and totally wipes out health and safety training and investigations of chemical accidents, putting more working people at higher risk of dying on the job. It starves our children of the education they deserve by cutting $10.6 billion in education and $143 billion in student loan funds that help students afford college. And it forces a 6% pay cut on the people who make our government work.
‘The ultimate insult of this budget is that all of these sacrifices are levied on working families in order to justify massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.”
More Actions Coming Up
May 27-Jun 2: Congresspersons are supposed to be in their home districts during recess. Now is the time to visit!
May 30, 7A: Early voting starts for June 10 runoff election
Jun 1, 5:15P: Rally at Congressman Hensarling’s office, 6510 Abrams. Contact Rashd Ibrahim of Texas Organizing Project
Jun 3, 10A: Dallas AFL-CIO gets out the vote. Meet at 1408 N Washington. Call 214-826-4808
Jun 22-25: ATU Women’s Caucus meets at Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 4801 LBJ Fwy.