During a discussion this past weekend on the future of American unions, AFSCME President Lee Saunders and the leaders of the three other public sector unions (AFT, NEA and SEIU) discussed how, despite the Supreme Court’s decision in the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 case and a 40-year attack by anti-worker interests, the labor movement remains energized, optimistic and ready to capitalize on the progressive momentum that’s sweeping the nation.
During the discussion, “The Future of American Labor: Initiatives for a New Era,” hosted by the Albert Shanker Institute, Saunders described AFSCME’s strategy going into the Janus case, and laid out goals for the future, chief among them organizing, relying on partners and allies to advance causes that improve the lives of working families, and calling on labor-friendly leaders to enact laws that work for working families.
Saunders said that AFSCME had been preparing for a verdict like the one in the Janus case for years. Read on: Union Leaders Discuss the Future of American Labor
Read more: How the Public Employee Unions Refused to Die - The American Prospect
“One of the most important things, if not the most important thing we should be working toward, is organizing workers. ... That has to be priority No. 1. We will always have to fight defensively against the attacks that confront us, but we should always be organizing new workers into the labor movement.” ~ Mary Kay Henry, SEIU
Read more: ‘Future of Unions’ Conference Speakers Push Sectoral Bargaining - People's World
“Labor issues are community issues and community issues are labor issues, and we will fight for both.” ~ Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.,