06/10/2009 - 3:07pm
 |

|
| Local 1700 members recently marched across Los Angeles for the Employee Free Choice Act, and President Obama introduces Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. |
Working Americans are welcome again in Washington. Union members mobilize across the county for the Employee Free Choice Act.
On April 24, nearly 1,000 union members jammed Los Angeles' train hub for a Town Hall meeting with Hilda Solis. The Union Station event was an opportunity for President Barack Obama's new U.S. Labor Secretary to hear about the problems military veterans are having returning to the workforce and civilian life, especially during the current economic crisis.
05/27/2009 - 3:32pm
Union action will be key for political, contract progress
ATU Local 1700 members deserve a big pat on the back for helping to elect Barack Obama. Even so, I don't expect the disgraced supporters of George Bush to give us any credit. With hours of Obama's inauguration, Big Business and the "Wing Nuts" that run the Republican party made it clear that they want the new president to fail. The 30-minute honeymoon is over.
We took a big step toward putting America back on track last November. Now we must defend and expand that victory every day. This is the fight of our lives. The Obama Administration needs our active support to succeed. Without union members exercising our organized strength in the streets, not even a Democratic White House and Congress can restore the middle class.
We won more progressive legislation under Richard Nixon than during the Clinton Administration because the labor movement was more powerful in the 1970s than the 1990s. Without union support, Obama will not be able to overcome the powerful special interests standing in the way of health care reform, a healthy environment, or ending senseless wars.
If our political momentum stalls, you can kiss the right to organize a union or to a decent retirement goodbye, along with putting an end to unpaid work time for bus drivers, adopting reasonable regulations for all of public transportation, and reforming FMCSA hours of service regulations.