Thousands March Nationwide To Denounce Anti-labor Rulings

Angered by a slew of recent NLRB decisions that are stripping workers of their rights, CWA members and staff joined fellow union activists at rallies around the country Nov. 15, including a huge march from the AFL-CIO to National Labor Relations Board headquarters in Washington, D.C.

I'm here today because new rules from the Labor Board undo everything we worked to achieve," said CWA member Jonathan Upright, an AT&T retail sales consultant in Winston-Salem, N.C, speaking at the Washington event. "Why would the federal agency that's supposed to protect workers' rights actually make it harder for workers to exercise their rights and make their lives better? It's not right."

Upright and his coworkers at an AT&T Mobility center contacted CWA after management announced pay and benefit cuts early this year. CWA's national neutrality and card check agreement with AT&T helped them form their union without a struggle. But now the NLRB is forcing AT&T's hand.

"Now there are notices from the Labor Board posted around our worksite instructing us how to get rid of our union," Upright said. "Our retail centers are the first in the nation to have to post these new legal notices. I just want to remind you that the Labor Board never posted a sign telling us we had the right to form a union."

Upright said he's confident his bargaining unit is strong and can withstand the assault, but he's worried about other workers. Upright said the assaults will end with a revolution at the ballot box next November — which in turn will move the Employee Free Choice Act from legislation to law.

The crowd of about 1,000 members of unions ranging from the Teachers to the Steelworkers to Seafarers marched several blocks to the NLRB building. They carried signs demanding "renovations" at the Labor Board and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act which will restore workers' rights to organize and bargain contracts. Workers in at least 20 cities across the country held similar rallies Thursday at local NLRB offices.

The Republican-controlled NLRB issued 61 decisions in September that stack the deck against workers. Collectively, the decisions make it harder for workers to form a union through majority sign-up, often called card check, and make it easier for employers to negate workers' choice for a union. The rulings also make it harder for workers who are illegally fired to receive back pay, easier for employers to discriminate against union organizers and easier for them to ecape bargaining obligations.

"The Bush Board has steamrolled the rights of American workers again and again," United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts said in a fiery speech. "This agency is supposed to protect workers' rights and enforce their freedom to improve their lives through unions. Instead, we have a board that has blatantly promoted a corporate agenda at every turn. I don't know how they can sleep at night. It's time for this attack on America's workers to end."