City declares 'Workers right to organize' day

City declares 'Workers right to organize' day
July/August 1998

On June 22, the Gainesville City Commission proclaimed June 24, 1998 "Workers Right to Organize Day" in the city of Gainesville. Central Labor Council President Elsie Allen said:

"In our city, as in others around the country, unions are the way working families get the chance to win better living standards and build better communities.

"Unions lift standards for all working families, offering a 33 percent wage advantage, better health and pension, and a way to fight discrimination and a voice for workers in our community."

In a press release, The Central Labor Council stated: "With this proclamation local community leaders note that unions add stability to the local economy by producing secure jobs, and closing the wage benefit gap for women and minorities, and that the right to join a union is a right protected by federal law."

Allen stated "The decision to join a union belongs to workers, not employers. Millions of workers would join a union tomorrow if employers didn't routinely declare war on workers who choose to join a union...but few will get the chance to decide for themselves. In countless affairs, a majority of workers say they want to join together in a union. But they are blocked by their employers who wage an ugly war--a war of firings, humiliation, isolation, and division that has gone on in secret for too long.

"We know it doesn't have to be this way--there are good examples in our city of employers and employees prospering together. We're appealing to employers in our city to respect our futures and our choices by following these good examples and ensuring that the decision to join a union belongs to workers."