seiu

News is suddenly moving so fast that it’s becoming hard for me to keep up; that’s why we’re not finishing the story today that we just began Tuesday. You know, the one about Titan Cement suing two North Carolina residents who appear to be doing nothing more than speaking the truth.

Unfortunately, other important news has forced itself to the front of the line, and it’s going to demand that we break schedule, whether we like it or not.

That’s why today we’re going to be talking about Wisconsin, and how workers there are fighting back against the State’s Republican legislators and Governor, who seem to have gone out of their way this past three weeks to govern without the consent of the governed.

It’s kind of chilly today in Wisconsin…but I can assure you, things are heating up fast—and it ain’t because of spring.

There has been a lot of innuendos and misinformation out there about what SEANC/SEIU Local 2008 did and did not do in the decision not to make endorsements in this year's NC state legislative races.
As an elected officer in SEANC, and a member of the 2008-2010 State EMPAC Committee, I was approached by a former Democratic party activist and asked to weigh in. The following is factual and is my own representation of the process that was decided upon for this year's campaign.
First some background:
1. SEANC is a member-driven organization. While the staff is encouraged to offer their opinions and insight into the pressing issues that state employees deal with, only "active" members of the association have the authority to make decisions on the directions of the association.
2. The state EMPAC committee is composed of 18 members elected from around the state to make decisions on endorsements and campaign contributions in primary and general elction races.

Sometimes stories happen because of planning; other times serendipity intervenes, which is how we got to the conversation we’ll be having today.

In an exchange of comments on the Blue Hampshire site, I proposed an idea that could be of real value to unions, workers...and surprisingly, employers.

If things worked out correctly, not only would lots of people feel a real desire to have unions represent them, but employers would potentially be coming to unions looking to forge relationships, and, just to make it better, this plan bypasses virtually all of the tools and techniques employers use to shut out union organizers.

Since I just thought this up myself, I’m really not sure exactly how practical the whole thing is, and the last part of the discussion today will be provided by you, as I ask you to sound off on whether this plan could work, and if so, how it could be made better.

It’s a new week...so let’s all put our heads together and rebuild the labor movement, shall we?

They're apparently more serious than we thought:

Wearing matching "Bring Jobs to North Carolina" T-shirts, Donnell Smith of Fayetteville and Shelitia Brooks of Raeford told people they were trying to create better jobs and more affordable health care.

What they didn't say is they're also trying to throw 8th District Democratic Congressman Larry Kissell out of office.

But could they also be inadvertently helping to throw Tim D'Annunzio "in" office?

Next Tuesday's Wake County School Board election promises to be a watershed event for race and poverty. I have followed the issue closely and today's Op Ed article in the Raleigh News&Observer by David Zonderman, "On school vote hangs our future", expresses what's at stake as capably as any observer.

Few recent school board elections have carried such historical and educational weight. Voters should remember the modern civil rights movement's struggles and realize that the fight for educational access and equity did not end with Brown v. Board of Education. That campaign for quality education continues today. In an increasingly diverse nation and an ever more complex world, all children need and deserve the best education possible in classrooms that reflect the rich and variegated human mosaic of America.

Last week I let everyone know about Town Halls on Health Care that are being held across the state by the State Employees Association of NC, SEIU Local 2008.

Since then we have a few updates, including a Western NC event, and 2 Congressmen!

Over the next three weeks, the State Employees Association of North Carolina will host a series of town hall meetings on health insurance reform across the state. SEANC and community members will share their health care concerns and hear local experts discuss the dire need for health insurance reform. SEANC also invited local congressmen to join the town hall events.

“State employees are concerned about health care. Many of them can’t afford to cover their spouses or children on the State Health Plan, adding to the growing number of uninsured North Carolinians,” said SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope.

Last week the NAACP celebrated its 100 year anniversary. Saturday the NAACP of NC and partners led thousands in the 3rd annual “Historic Thousands on Jones Street”, the HKonJ rally in Raleigh to support a 14 point People’s Agenda for better schools and health care, equal justice, affordable housing, worker fairness, voting rights, environmental justice, and more. Point #1 advocates that “All Children Need High Quality, Well Funded, Diverse Schools”. Point #11 calls for “Collective Bargaining for Public Employees and Support Smithfield Workers Right to Unionize.”

The NAACP of NC and 12 local branches have signed on to support the NC Hope Coalition in calling for the repeal of the ban in GS 95-98 on collective bargaining by public employees. The Coalition has a core of 11 labor groups including the SEANC, SEIU and NCAE and was an important element of the HKonJ rally. Some marchers wore yellow gags with the words “Repeal 95-98”. Just Monday the NAACP again showed its support for NC unions by awarding Richard Burr, Howard Coble and Americans for Prosperity a “Hypocrisy Award” for the misleading "Defense of the American Worker" campaign which opposes the "card check" bill. Just yesterday the NAACP of NC again expressed support for the “Employee Free Choice Act” even as conservative patron Art Pope stood with Richard Burr to oppose it.

So it comes as some surprise that the Executive Director of SEANC, Dana Cope, and the Legislative Director of SEANC, Ardis Watkins, have together taken steps to undermine the school diversity policy in effect in Wake County and to give succor to opponents of public education and in some cases, collective bargaining.