Real hope for constitutional protection for equal rights

Bill Knight column for 1-27, 28 or 29, 2020

My first grandchild was born the morning when thousands of people braved freezing temperatures to participate in Chicago’s Women’s March blocks away. I pray the world will be warmer and welcoming for her and all women, and a positive step occurred that week when the Virginia legislature became the 38^th state to ratify the Equal Right Amendment.

It’s been years since Illinois and Nevada, in 2018 and 2017, respectively, ratified it, and generations after Congress passed it in 1972 and sent it for the required ratification by three-quarters of the states.

First proposed in 1923, the ERA seemed dormant for years, recently revived after non-partisan concerns ranging from the Me Too movement and ongoing disparities in pay equity to Brett Kavanugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and memories of ex-Sen. Joe Biden’s treatment of Anita Hill during Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ own confirmation hearing in 1991 – plus President Trump’s past and ongoing behavior toward women, of course.

Virginia’s Jennifer Carroll Foy, co-sponsor of Virginia’s House of Delegates’ ERA resolution, on Jan. 15 said, “Which side of history do you want to be on?  The world is watching: your mothers, your sisters, your daughters; 160 million women and girls across this country are waiting.”

Eleanor Smeal, president of Feminist Majority, said, “I always knew this day would come. It has never been a question of if, but only a question of when. The fight for the ERA has been long because we’ve had a powerful entrenched opposition who has wanted to preserve the old order of women being forced to work twice as hard for half as much and paying more for less. But this time of taking advantage of women and their families is coming to an end.”

Opponents for decades exaggerated the ERA, but it’s straightforward: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.”

Renewed enthusiasm could also stem, from the growing awareness that laws and court rulings can come and go much easier than constitutional protection – or its absence.

“Women are realizing that nothing that we have is permanent,” said Kate Kelly, an attorney at Equality Now. “Nothing is too sacred to be rolled back, and things that we have taken for granted in the past are now up for grabs.”

Now up for grabs is the ratification process.

Legislatures in Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota and Tennessee backtracked on previous approvals; deadlines set in 1972 and 1982 passed; and Assistant U.S. Attorney General Steven Engel in a Justice Department memo this month said because of that, it’s too late to ratify.

However, his opinion is only advisory, without the weight of law or a court decision. And the Constitution doesn’t mention amendment deadlines or states rescinding votes. In fact, the 27^th amendment prohibiting Congress from changing federal lawmakers’ pay during a term was approved in 1992 but actually passed Congress centuries earlier: 1789.

Further, Illinois’s Steven Andersson, a former Republican lawmaker from Geneva who supports the ERA, said the amendment itself doesn’t mention a deadline, which appears only in language introducing the measure.

Still, Right-wing interests could impede ratification for years.

Nevertheless, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has anticipated legal challenges, and for months has prepared to push for its acceptance.

“If we have to go to court, I won’t hesitate,” he told the Associated Press.

“We recognize that this is not the last fight for the ERA,” said Smeal, a past president of the National Organization for Women. “We are entering into a legal fight for it to be recognized.”

Maybe it’s a new grandpa’s feeling of hope, but I’m optimistic that the country could move to a stronger, better place for the 51% of the U.S. population that’s female – and granddaughter Alice.

Often charmed by coincidences, I found my mood boosted a bit more when I realized the original ERA was co-written by a suffragist and women's rights activist named Alice (Paul).

New trade pact not universally backed

Bill Knight column for 1-23, 24 or 25, 2020

Although the U.S. Senate last week approved the negotiated version of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), labor unions and environmentalists weren’t unanimous in their enthusiasm.

True, the AFL-CIO praised the rewritten trade deal, but the federation also conceded that “it alone is not a solution for outsourcing, inequality or climate change.”

That’s reminiscent of the old joke where a police officer pulls over a driver for running a stop sign, and the motorist says he shouldn’t be ticketed because he did slow down. Then the policeman pulls his baton and start clubbing the driver, who complains.

The officer says, “Do you want me to slow down or stop?”

Working Americans want unfair trade and outsourcing, inequality and climate change to stop, not just slow.

 “The changes embodied in the USMCA still constitute Band-Aids on a fundamentally flawed agreement and process,” said Thea Lee of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). “The USMCA will in no way offset or reverse the massive devastation caused by the original NAFTA agreement.”

The USMCA, expected to be signed by President Trump any day, could be beneficial to workers in a few industries, and it’s at least somewhat possible for labor rights in Mexico to improve. However, such changes are neither guaranteed nor will affect incomes for U.S. workers, as acknowledged by the United States International Trade Commission’s USMCA report.

Replacing the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the “New NAFTA” was considered earlier than originally scheduled after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell exploited delays in President Trump’s impeachment trial and backtracked on his previous plan.

The U.S. House last month approved legislation to implement the USMCA in a 385-41 vote, with 192 Republicans and 193 Democrats supporting it, and 2 Republicans and 38 Democrats voting against it.

Illinois Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said, “I hoped the USMCA would significantly improve on the inadequate labor and environmental protections in NAFTA.”

However, it didn’t satisfy the Chicago Democrat, so he was the only no vote out of Illinois’ Congressional delegation.

Some in organized labor also aren’t convinced.

“The USMCA remains a tool for corporate interests and provides insufficient relief to address the problems for working people,” said Carl Rosen of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. “The USMCA will still allow corporations to move their work to the locations with the lowest standards for workers and the environment while limiting the abilities of democratically-elected governments to uphold the interests of working people.”

About 1 million jobs were lost after NAFTA, according to EPI and the U.S. Labor Department, mostly due to factories moving to Mexico, and imports increasing. NAFTA also contributed to wage decline (since well-paid manufacturing workers were forced to accept other jobs paying less), and cheaper consumer goods on foreign-made goods haven’t made up for the lost income.

The Machinists also criticized the USMCA.

“As we made clear from the very beginning of this process, any acceptable deal must effectively address the continued outsourcing of hundreds of thousands of jobs to Mexico,” said Machinists president Bob Martinez. “Unfortunately, we are not aware of provisions in the newly negotiated agreement that effectively address this matter.”

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Trade Watch, said the agreement “won’t bring back the jobs that we lost.”

The United Auto Workers took a neutral position, recognizing that the proposal would increase North American content for vehicles to 70% and mandates those cars and trucks be made by workers whose average pay is $16 an hour, but UAW President Rory Gamble also said, “Companies intent on keeping wages down will go to great lengths to keep wages down and jobs in Mexico.”

Elsewhere, the proposed agreement has virtually no support from leading environmental groups, who feel it doesn’t “meaningfully address climate change.”

Ten environmental organizations had signed an appeal to Congress to reject the USMCA, saying, “This final deal poses very real threats to our climate and communities. The deal does not even mention climate change, fails to adequately address toxic pollution, includes weak environmental standards and an even weaker enforcement mechanism, supports fossil fuels, and allows oil and gas corporations to challenge climate and environmental protections.”

Meanwhile, Communications Workers president Chris Shelton also reserved judgment, commenting, “While a net improvement, the USMCA is not a future template for a progressive vision of trade that puts at its core our values of good jobs and rising wages.”

New book offers day-by-day unionizing tips

Bill Knight column for 1-20, 21 or 22, 2020  

It was exactly 100 years ago when organizing by the Laborers boosted membership to almost 100,000, strengthening the union enough to more than double workers’ wages in markets including Chicago and New York, and encouraging members to support African Americans’ efforts to win equal treatment by unions as well as employers. (In fact, the Laborers denied applications by proposed Locals in Cincinnati and Kansas City because they were still segregated.)

Organizing in the 21^st century is far different than 1920, with many companies still willing to violate labor law and government likely to not penalize lawbreakers. But with 64% of the U.S. public approving of organized labor, according to Gallup polling, and wages, hours and working conditions still far from equitable, workers still unionize. So, Bob Oedy’s 2019 book, “The Million Dollar Organizer: 365 Tips for Professional Union Organizers” (204 pages, published by Union Organizer Press) is as timely as ever.

Less philosophical than Saul Alinsky’s classic books, such as “Reveille for Radicals,” Oedy’s paperback is like eating out of a lunch bucket on the job and listening to old hands reminiscing and offering suggestions.

Building on his 2008 book “Bigger Labor: A Crash Course for Construction Union Organizers,” Oedy packages 365 valuable ideas – one for each day of the year, appropriately enough.

(Incidentally, the “million dollar” in the title doesn’t mean the calling is a lucrative vocation comparable to some CEO; it refers to a unionized worker’s cumulative earnings over a career, just one reason to unionize.)

Organizing is a day-by-day effort, but it often stretches for weeks and months.

The grunt work of organizing isn’t a glamorous or easy endeavor. In fact, in today’s labor-relations climate, it can be tough. As Steelworkers president Tom Conway said this fall, “Employers face no real financial penalties for breaking federal labor law by retaliating against workers during a union organizing campaign.”

But as Oedy reveals – or reminds – readers, it’s not insurmountable.

Here, he blends familiar, common-sense suggestions and unexpected advice, making the task more possible.

A long-time organizer with decades of experience in the electrical construction industry, Oedy also is a Renaissance Man of sorts, an environmentalist and musician as well as long-time union organizer whose books also include 2010’s “Green Career Ladder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Profitable Careers in Sustainable Energy” and 2014’s “Punk Rock Las Vegas Survival Guide: Beer, Bowling and Debauchery Las Vegas Style.”

Writing in an authoritative but light tone, he shows techniques to reach out, communicate and spur action.

The lessons run the gamut:

* Ask, learn, study past campaigns, and listen – especially to hear others’ points of view.

* Network with peers, partners, the community and volunteers, and cultivate relationships.

* Be personable by being polite and respectful, sending thank-you, birthday and holiday cards, and showing compassion by attending workers’ family funerals and other events, and nurture ties by including the rank and file, empowering volunteers and involving workers in an organizing committee.

* Don’t be an elitist or bourgeois, or act superior, keep egos in check, control emotions, avoid gossip, be trustworthy, admit mistakes (“it’s better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission” sometimes), and don’t be “wormy,” as the building trades describe those who try to curry favor with bosses by working overtime for free, skipping breaks, etc.

A few key takeaways:

* A realistic goal of grassroots support is 70%, the “magic number” to make union-certification victories more likely.

* Identify and research contractors and sub-contractors.

* “Pray for guidance; tap into the power of faith,” he counsels. “Even if you’re not religious at all, it’s easy to find inspiration in the knowledge that your life’s work will benefit your community and make the world a better place.”

Finally, to activists dedicated to recruiting workers to stand together to advance their situation, these tips from and for the trenches are invaluable, together offering a guide to help put in to practice the old and true saying, “educate, agitate and organize.”