URGENT ACTION!

February 18, 2011

Brothers and Sisters,

It’s go time.

After weeks of delay and denial, the Republican leadership in the Indiana House of Representatives just announced that the House's Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee will hear House Bill 1468, which contains so-called "right to work" language THIS MONDAY at 9:00 a.m. at the Indiana Statehouse.

This last minute addition to the schedule is designed to give the public as little notice as possible and prevent working men and women from coming to Indianapolis to oppose this bill.

It's time to fight back and make our voices heard!

IBEW Local Union 21 members living in Indiana we need your help NOW and ask that you:

1. Call your state representative at 1-800-382-9842 right NOW and tell them to vote "NO" on House Bill 1468.
2. Ask your spouse, your children, your friends and neighbors to call their state representatives NOW and tell them to vote "NO" on House Bill 1468.
3. If you live in Indiana Email your state representative here, right now, and tell them to oppose House Bill 1468
4. Forward this email to anyone and everyone who cares about working people and Indiana's future and ask them to contact their state legislators
5. Come to the Indiana Statehouse on Monday to stand up and oppose this bill.

If you do not live in Indiana, please forward this message to your friends and family living there and ask them to oppose this bill

House Bill 1468 will be heard in Room 156 at 9:00 a.m. Be aware that parking and getting through security will take a considerable amount of time, so plan accordingly.

Join the week-long protest of this and other anti-worker bills at the Statehouse beginning Monday. We encourage you to come to Indianapolis and talk to your state lawmakers, in person.  Tell them why "right to work" and the other anti-workers bills are bad for you, your families and your communities.

Hard working Hoosiers need to come to the Statehouse all day, every day next week beginning with the following times:

Monday, February 21, 2011 beginning at 9:00 a.m.   (*Note time change due to RTW hearing)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Thursday, February 24, 2011 beginning at 10:00 a.m.

We will not allow big business and out-of-state special interests to legislate away our rights and our way of life.

The fight is on. Let's go!

For more information on this anti-worker legislation and these events contact IBEW Local Union 21 Political Director Dennis McCafferty at 708-227-0973 or email him at  dmac@ibew21.org.

The Truth on Right to Work (for less) Legislation from the AFL-CIO:

“To set the record (and the name) straight, right to work for less doesn’t guarantee any rights. In fact, by weakening unions and collective bargaining, it destroys the best job security protection that exists: the union contract. Meanwhile, it allows workers to pay nothing and get all the benefits of union membership. Right to work laws say unions must represent all eligible employees, whether they pay dues or not. This forces unions to use their time and members’ dues money to provide union benefits to free riders who are not willing to pay their fair share.
   
Right to work laws lower wages for everyone. The average worker in a right to work state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167). Weekly wages are $72 greater in free-bargaining states than in right to work states ($621 versus $549). Working families in states without right to work laws have higher wages and benefit from healthier tax bases that improve their quality of life.

Federal law already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get or keep their jobs. Supporters claim right to work laws protect employees from being forced to join unions. Don’t be fooled—federal law already does this, as well as protecting nonmembers from paying for union activities that violate their religious or political beliefs. This individual freedom argument is a sham.

Right to work endangers safety and health standards that protect workers on the job by weakening unions that help to ensure worker safety by fighting for tougher safety rules. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 51 percent higher in states with right to work, where unions can’t speak up on behalf of workers.

Right to work laws just aren’t fair to dues-paying members. If a nonunion worker is fired illegally, the union must use its time and money to defend him or her, even if that requires going through a costly legal process. Everyone benefits, so all should share in the process. Nonmembers can even sue the union if they think it has not represented them well enough.”

Read more from the AFL-CIO by clicking here.

Indiana members take action now by clicking here.