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Brothers and Sisters,
I want to start this week’s newsletter with a few thank you’s. First off, the NALC hosted their annual food drive this weekend and their efforts and your participation made for a successful drive. Food banks are in higher demand than usual given the current economic hardship, and the contributions and leadership the NALC provide are invaluable to Hoosiers who have hit hard times. Also, this past Saturday we had a successful block walk in Indianapolis and I want to thank everyone who turned out to phone bank and hit the streets for the Employee Free Choice Act. Metal Trades Department President Ron Ault was the keynote speaker on Saturday and you can see video highlights from his speech here. Check out photos from Saturday here. Great efforts by all! I am excited to announce that Indiana has another
visitor this week. Stewart Acuff, who is the Special
Assistant to President John Sweeney, is traveling around Indiana
to attend events for the Employee Free Choice Act. Indiana is
one of many states that have been on Brother Acuff’s tour
and we are honored to have him. If you will be in the
Indianapolis area on Friday morning, please make every effort to
stop by the IUPUI Law School and see Brother Acuff debate the
Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce. See more
details in the ‘Upcoming Events’ section. Keep up the great work,
Indiana!
In Solidarity,
www.employeefreechoice.typepad.com/in/ IN THIS ISSUE: 1) Spotlight: Georgia
Pacific-Wheatfield Stood Strong for 2
Years
1) Spotlight: Georgia
Pacific-Wheatfield Stood Strong for 2
Years
Workers at Georgia Pacific are
another textbook example of why America needs the Employee Free
Choice Act. It took
almost 2 years after workers voted ‘yes’ to forming
a union for them to actually get a first
contract.
Brian McIntosh is a former worker at Georgia Pacific who was fired before the workers were able to reach an agreement with Georgia Pacific. Listen to Brother McIntosh tell his story here. “Anyone who opposes this
legislation needs to stop and listen to workers like us who know
firsthand the lengths employers will go to defeat a union. The last 3 years of our
lives have been consumed by this, all because we wanted a
union. Last time I
checked, employees are supposed to be guaranteed that right, I
can tell you that’s a joke. We need the Employee Free Choice Act,”
said McIntosh.
Tom Perez is another worker from Georgia Pacific who is also a member of the negotiating team. See video of Tom Perez from the Indiana University Teach-In on the Employee Free Choice Act here. The courage, perseverance, and
dedication exemplified by Tom, Brian, and their fellow brothers
and sisters who can now proudly call themselves members of the
United Steelworkers, is inspiring. These workers stood strong and finally
prevailed in settling a first contract, but it took 2 years too
long. Not to mention, our
weak laws mean the charges filed against the company may result
in meaningless penalties against the company. The Employee
Free Choice Act addresses and corrects both of these
issues. Stand with workers at Georgia Pacific and
other workers across the country, call and write Senator Bayh to
tell him this cannot continue to go on in
America. “No one should have to go through what we went through,” said Brother Perez.
2) Ally of the Week: State Representative John L. Bartlett
This
week’s ally is Indiana State Representative John L.
Bartlett for District 95 in Indianapolis. Representative Bartlett
was a member of the United Auto Workers for ‘42 years, 2
months, and 12 days,’ and still proudly carries his union card with
him. In
addition, Brother Bartlett has years of public service
experience. He has
served as the President for the Coalition of Black Trade
Unionists, Executive Committee member of the NAACP, Chairman of
the UAW’s Civil Rights Council in Region 3, and was a
founding member of the Sheridan Heights Association for
Neighborhood Enhancement. Currently
Representative Bartlett is helping to get the word out about the
Employee Free Choice Act.
“I believe in this legislation; I believe in it as
a union member, as a community member, and as an elected
official,” said Rep. Bartlett. Representative Bartlett is a strong advocate for
labor in the Indiana Statehouse and always makes time to attend
labor events around his district. On Saturday at the Indianapolis block walk,
Rep. Bartlett encouraged members to take their message not only
into the streets on Saturday, but also into the workplace on
Monday to get more members involved. “We should have 1,000 people turn out
for this issue.
This is our time, Brothers and Sisters!”
See video of Representative Bartlett here.
3) Upcoming Events
Bookmark this link to stay up
to date on events around the
state: 4) In the News
“Biden Says Unions Are Way to Rebuild Middle
Class” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090512/APF/905120809 “Employers told to prepare for Free Choice law” South Bend Business Weekly http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/TBW/905089818/1104/Biz We Need More Letters to the Editor Around
Indiana! Click here and enter your zip code for the newspapers in
your area. Select
which one you want your letter to go to, and then easily submit
your letter online. Call Kaitlin
for help with writing your letter at (412) 417-5984. Kaitlin also has a
number of letters already written, we need volunteers to sign
off on them though!
Please call today!
5) Take Action!
Call Senator Bayh today toll
free at 1-866-207-2060 Click here for sample messages. Write a letter to Senator Bayh
today Thank him for his past support and urge him to
co-sponsor and support the Employee Free Choice Act again this
year.
Write a Letter to the
Editor If you go to the website of your local paper, there
is often a link to send in a letter via email. Or click
here to
use an easy tool from the AFL-CIO. If you'd like some help writing a letter to the
editor for your local paper, call Kaitlin DeCero at (412)
417-5984 or email her at kdecero@employeefreechoice.org. Employee Free Choice Act Media
Fund Corporate front groups are spending
hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat the Employee Free
Choice Act and prevent working Hoosiers from bargaining for a
better future. In order to continue our fight for
passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and defeat BIG money
corporate interests, we are going to have to raise some funds
ourselves. Please donate to the Employee Free Choice Act Media
Fund today via this
secure online tool. Working Families
Toolkit Don’t forget to visit the Working Families
Toolkit to register
and then begin creating new flyers and fact sheets for your
local union. www.workingfamiliestoolkit.com Blog Stay informed by bookmarking the new Indiana
Employee Free Choice Act Blog and help spread the word by sharing the link with
friends, family, and fellow union
members: http://employeefreechoice.typepad.com/in/
Employee Free Choice
Act Campaign Contacts State Lead: Ramon Becerra (312) 330-2040 or rbecerra@aflcio.org Member to Member: Steven Henderson (317) 632-9147 or shenderson@inaflcio.org Communications: Kaitlin DeCero (412) 417-5984 or kdecero@employeefreechoice.org Faith: Nancy Holle (317) 509-7453 or nancyholle1@aol.com and Lettie Oliver (317) 508-5184 or loliver@inaflcio.org Community: Allison Luthe (317) 450-4019 or Allison@centralindianajwj.org and Shawn Phetteplace (703) 606-2396 or sphetteplace@afscme.org Small Business: Susan Fuldauer
(317) 727-4505 or susanfuldauer@sbcglobal.net
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