Protect the right to organize, stop union-busting
Representative Magaziner recently helped to introduce the PRO Act in Congress, which is a comprehensive piece of legislation to protect the rights of workers and ensure workers’ ability to collectively bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
The Economic Policy Institute notes
that while “[n]early half of all nonunion workers say they want a union in
their workplace… only 12% of all workers are actually represented by a union.”
The PRO Act closes loopholes in current labor law and smooths the unionization
process, as can be seen here.
“The right to form a union is one of the most fundamental rights for all workers in our country,” said Representative Magaziner. “When workers band together to collectively bargain, they are able to secure higher wages, better benefits, and better working conditions not just or themselves, but for non-unionized workers as well.
“That’s how unions built the middle class
in this country.”
The press conference was held outside the
Pace Blvd. Starbucks in Warwick, where last year a unionization effort was
thwarted by the company. “Starbucks workers across the country have been
fighting for their right to join a union and have been meeting a wall of
harassment and opposition from the corporation,” said Representative Magaziner.
Cassandra Burke was the organizer of
the Starbucks unionization effort in Warwick, a unionization effort that failed
on a tie vote. Had the PRO Act been law, there is a good possibility that the
Warwick Starbucks would be unionized today. Burke began their unionization effort
having heard about the firings and harassment Starbucks workers had to endure
across the country during their unionization efforts.
Many of these these stories were confirmed
by a judge who recently ruled that Starbucks had violated federal
labor law “hundreds of times” during the course of a unionization drive in
Buffalo. According to the National Labor Relations Board, 512 unfair labor
practice charges have been filed against Starbucks over the
last four years.
“To me, unionization was always an act of
self-defense,” said Burke. “You could see, plain as day, how
Starbucks was treating its union workers and you knew you could be treated the
same in an instant if they feel it is profitable.”
Also speaking at the event were AFL-CIO President George Nee and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Crowley.
Representative Magaziner also mentioned the
successful effort of Seven Stars Bakery workers to
form a union.
“Seven Stars Bakery is a much smaller
company than Starbucks. They had a unionization effort last year [and the company]
didn’t fight it,” said Representative Magaziner. “It was a successful one and
they’re now working with their union on their first contract. So if a much
smaller Rhode Island company like Seven Stars can do it, the certainly a big,
multi-national corporation like Starbucks can handled a unionized workforce as
well.”
The PRO Act passed the House last year, but failed in the Senate.
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