Bernie Sanders Is Making Union Solidarity an Essential Theme of the 2020 Campaign

[Donkees]

The senator is rallying with labor and proposing to upend “right to work” laws.

By John Nichols TODAY 5:19 PM

Excerpt:

Often, when veteran political figures emerge as serious contenders for the presidency, they soften their messages. Not Sanders. He’s as ardent about showing solidarity now as he was when he was elected as the fiercely pro-labor mayor of Burlington, Vermont, almost four decades ago.

As usual, Sanders has a program to go with his activism. He has made overturning so-called “right to work” laws—which undermine the ability of workers to form unions and collectively bargain—a major theme of his 2020 bid. The senator is championing a workplace democracy agenda, which he has proposed in legislation cosponsored by Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan. “This legislation that we’ve introduced says that, in America, workers have the constitutional right to organize. That’s called freedom of assembly,” Sanders explained in a speech last week. “And therefore in that legislation, we outlaw the ability of states to pass and maintain right-to-work legislation.”

On Monday, in a speech delivered to a Las Vegas conference of the International Association of Machinists union, Sanders called on 2020 candidates and elected officials to practice a deeper level of solidarity.

“Corporate America and the billionaire class have been waging a 40-year war against the trade union movement in America… What the billionaire class understands is that if they can destroy the trade union movement in America there is nothing to stop them in their never-ending quest to have it all,” declared Sanders.

The bolder course that Sanders has charted is a big deal. It has the potential to transform not just presidential and party politics but the governance that will extend from the 2020 election.

https://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-labor-union-speech-2020/