Texas AFL-CIO: Don’t Mourn, Organize!

Texas AFL-CIO ^ | 11/11/2016 | Texas AFL-CIO President John Patrick

[mdittmar]

No sugarcoating it. The national results are a disaster. A self-serving corporate huckster rode to victory on the jet fuel of racism, anti-immigrant xenophobia, sexism and demagoguery. In spite of Donald Trump’s pseudo-populism and claims to represent the working class, his victory is rooted in efforts to divide and undermine our communities. 

  We now begin a period where the most basic freedoms and protections will likely be under severe and concerted attack. 

  In light of the looming sea change in the federal government, the Texas AFL-CIO lays down this marker: You can be damn sure the Texas union movement will continue to fight for the rights of working people. But in these times, that is not enough. We will keep building a broader, bolder, more inclusive labor movement that respects all workers. We will fight alongside allies to protect workers who are immigrants, religious minorities, women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ members whenever they come under attack.

  Resistance will not be easy, but Texas union brothers and sisters have never shied away from a fight. Combating hatred and demagoguery requires courage and a willingness to recommit to putting ourselves on the line, perhaps in ways we have never done before. We will meet that test. Really, we have no choice.   

  Though there is no cause for real celebration, the results in Texas actually bucked the national trend, and the labor movement played a significant part in that. Texas union members conducted tens of thousands of one-on-one conversations on doorsteps and in workplaces in targeted districts and regions across Texas. In direct mail and digital advertising, we talked about the stakes of this election for working families. 

  We talked minimum wage and paid sick leave for full-time employees. We talked improving public education, job training and equal pay. We talked civil, voting and human rights. Our advocacy was not and will not be just about politicians on the ballot, but about what it takes to provide a fair shot to every working family. 

  Candidates who ran on these and other pro-worker issues benefited from our support, and some won tough races that went against the national grain. We were one of four states in which Hillary Clinton significantly out-performed President Obama. Texas voters narrowed the margin of statewide Republican victory. Together with our allies, we flipped four seats in the Texas House. We made significant strides at the county level, particularly in Harris County. 

  As we painfully assess what lies ahead, we remain proud of the efforts of Texas union volunteers and their families in this election. In the context of the Trump wave, the Texas results suggest real change is not only plausible, but likely to arrive sooner than anticipated if we continue to fight and organize together for working families.

  The Texas AFL-CIO is a state labor federation that includes 237,000 affiliated union members who advocate for working families in Texas.

[mdittmar]

Well,that's kinda mean-spirited,The afl-cio,Hillary Clinton's Values Are Union Values

[Fiddlstix]

Screw ALL Unions! Texas Doesn’t Need Unions!

[fwdude]

Unions are so 1970’s. Give them a time machine and they can knock themselves out.

[HiTech RedNeck]

What would it take to organize the union... into chucking off this idiot?

If I were union, I might like it better if the damned thing wasn’t bent on suicide.

[SaveFerris]

Wow, what leftist-kook hysterical idiots.

[SaveFerris]

[blueunicorn6]

I grew up in a union family.

My Dad walked on picket lines in the snow.

Mom and I brought him food while he was on the picket line.

I despise unions.

They are leeches on the company and the workers.

[RetiredTexasVet]

“...We made significant strides at the county level, particularly in Harris County. ....”

Significant strides in Harris County .... unionized the “Central American Sex Slaves”, “street dealers” and the “drug mules” ... about the only ones left not part of the mob already!

[HiTech RedNeck]

“SUICIDE IS PAINLESS!” (’cause I got such a golden parachute)

[HiTech RedNeck]

What used to have a rationale, in that the government was not positioned to enforce sane standards, has long ago lost it.

[Demanwideplan]

Then why did the Republicans dominate throughout the political spectrum on November 8, 2016 if it was just about a self serving man whose standard of living will be lowered once he becomes President?

He is sacrificing so much to be the President.

[apillar]

If the AFL-CIO had any sense they would be on bended knee begging Trump to work with to salvage what little power they have left. More than 50% of union households in Michigan voted for Trump. The AFL-CIO is in the position that the democrats no longer need them as they demonstrated that they can no longer deliver the votes and the Republicans don’t need them because they are now getting the union vote anyway despite what the union leadership wants.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Organize for what? For the DNC? The people that want to continue shipping jobs overseas? Idiots

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

****A self-serving corporate huckster rode to victory on the jet fuel of racism, anti-immigrant xenophobia, sexism and demagoguery.****

UNIONS! They were formed on the same foundation!

[stubernx98]

Look out Unions here come the robots!