Unions Must Act Now to Survive Supreme Court Deathblow
July 7, 2015
Unions Must Act Now to Survive Supreme Court Deathblow
by Shamus Cooke
Unions have a decision to make: organize or die. It’s that simple. These are the only two options now that the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case “Friedrichs v. California Teacher Association.”
The court intends to take aim at the head of organized labor by ruling against the California Teachers Association, and in the process fundamentally change labor law in a way that would cripple public sector unions, the last bastion of significant social power in the U.S. labor movement. If the public sector unions are destroyed, the private sector and building trades will be targeted next, as the devastation in Wisconsin proved.
Although the Supreme Court is expected to be anti-union, there is still time to change the Court’s mind. The Supreme Court is like any other political organization: it is incredibly sensitive to public sentiment and flexed social power.
For example, gay marriage wouldn’t be legal today if not for the boldness, tenacity and mobilization of the LGBTQ movement. The labor movement has much to learn from this experience. Like labor unions today, gay marriage wasn’t very popular too long ago. But activists fought like hell to change public opinion and display their power, winning their rights in the process.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/07/unions-must-act-now-to-survive-supreme-court-deathblow/
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Workers must organize now or they will be trampled. This is actually a scary story.
