I'm going to keep this short. As we move into the primary season, let's not forget about the House of Labor. Let's hold our Democratic primary contenders accountable. Let's make
Card Check a priority.
Card Check legislation is all about simply giving working people a simple up-or-down vote on whether they want a union, by-passing the gruelling and pro-business National Labor Relations Board process.
It's all about freedom of choice for people at work. Essentially, this is a bill of rights issue: this is Freedom of Assembly. Only when we who sell our labor for a paycheck understand that we are all in the same boat against the bosses will the Democrats see a resurgence. In the face of organizing, the VRWC is just a house of cards.
I know many of us Kosites are active in the primary season. So show up at events, write letters, ask your candidates: WILL THEY TAKE STEPS TOWARDS PASSING/SIGNING CARD CHECK LEGISLATION!?
The labor movement built the modern Democratic Party. The labor movement was the engine of the New Deal. But,
"Labor, like Israel, has many sorrows. Its women weep for their fallen, and they lament for the future of the children of the race. It ill behooves one who has supped at labor's table and who has been sheltered in labor's house to curse with equal fervor and fine impartiality both labor and its adversaries when they become locked in deadly embrace..."
--John L. Lewis, 1937
As we get closer to primary season, I'm going to keep pressing this issue. You're going to get sick of hearing from me. But every candidate, in every state, should be asked: WILL YOU SUPPORT CARD CHECK!? And if not, they shouldn't be expected to be sheltered in labor's house.
Chicago: Howtown on the Make