Charlie's PageA MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY-TREASURER
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
This past January I began my thirty-eighth (38th) year of full time service to the members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Over that period of time many changes have affected the labor movement and the lives of workers in America. Those who would destroy our way of life have found ways to divide working women and men, by creating "wedge" issues designed to appeal to passions and prejudice's, which in turn, cause us to forget labors' true purpose. The workers who founded our movement bled and died for only one reason, they believed in the principle that all work has value and every employer must put greed aside, create good jobs, at fair wages with benefits and conditions that recognize that value.
As a direct result of their milant pursuit of that belief, Union workers created a middle class that proudly proclaimed that their children would have a better life than theirs. The wages they earned created the world's greatest economy. They brought homes and cars, enjoyed vacations with their families, had fully paid health care and knew that they could retire with a secure pension.
Unfortunately, those successes fostered many phenomenas that have brought us to the Bush disaster. Several years ago anti-labor Employers and their allies launched a plan to weaken the power of our concerted activities through a series of laws, political activity and plain old propaganda. Those who fought for and loved their Unions were convinced that being middle class meant abandoning their militancy, failing to educate our children about what Unionism had done for them and allowing "me first" to replace caring about others.
We live in a Country that spends billions on a rich mans war and denies health care to millions of our fellow citizens. We allow conservative politicians and judges to cut taxes for the wealthiest, steal Presidential elections, pass and change laws that jeopardize our jobs and our way of life through trade deals that make the rich richer. Making us compete against their third world wages they have destroyed the middle class and the union way of life.
During the next several months those same politicians will become our friends and once again try to convince us that strong Unions and good jobs should be secondary to a religious issue, guns and gays.
The only issue for workers should be jobs with dignity, for Americans, and the Unions that create them. We must register to vote and only elect those who will commit to recreating a Unionized middle class. A new civilization that assures that Health Care, Pensions and a bright future for workers and their families is a deserved right and not something we must beg for.
Charles M. Byrnes Secretary Treasurer
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Sign up for D.R.I.V.E. Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) The Labor movement is the only voice for what is left of the middle class in America. The Bush Administration has been on a mission to fulfill the wishes of Business and Multi National Corporations. Since Mr. Bush became President real wages have fallen, employees must pay for much of their health care, defined benefit pensions are endangered, people are loosing their homes, and we are being told that social security may not be there, our children are dying in foreign countries because there "were weapons of mass destruction" and Labor Unions are fighting for their very existence. This is the first generation that cannot say that their children will be better off than their parents. Recent surveys have revealed that 50 million workers would choose to join a Union if they were protected from Employer retribution. Those same studies revealed that; 1. In 30% of all organizing campaigns Employers fire pro Union employees 2. 40% threaten to close the business if the Union gets in 3. 82% bring in Union busters to threaten and coerce employees 4. 92% require one on one mandatory meetings All of these practices are illegal and all of them go on without much opposition or punishment by the National Labor Relations Board. Labor has proposed the Employee Free Choice Act which would require company's to allow workers to form Unions without intervention and to recognize the union if a majority of the employees sign authorization cards. The legislation passed the House of Representatives but the Senate was intimidated by a threatened veto by Bush. History has shown that America works best when it has strong Unions. Our economy is vibrant when the middle class has spendable income and jobs are created. We must fight for the American Dream. We must stand up and fight for our way of life. No worker can call him or herself a Unionist if they are not politically active. There is no excuse for failing to register and vote. There is no excuse to allow other issues to cloud our goals. We must hold politicians accountable and we must demand a different America. As Teamsters we have the ability to contribute to D.R.I.V.E., the political arm of our Union. Our fight cannot be won without money. Every one of us can afford one ($1.00) or two ($2.00) dollars per week to put worker issues on the table and to turn the clock back. We must reverse the downward spiral we find ourselves in. D.R.I.V.E. Representatives will be in our Local Union in the near future. Please sign up and help in the fight. D.R.I.V.E. FIGHTS TO PROTECT OUR PENSIONS, HEALTH CARE, AND OVERTIME
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