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December 10 Events Highlight Worker Rights

December 5, 2003

In an era that finds employers increasingly emboldened to harass and intimidate workers attempting to organize, IBEW members will join tens of thousands of citizens around the country on Wednesday, December 10 to fight for workers rights.

With the message that workers rights are human rights, the days activities will commemorate the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The massive nationwide mobilization will highlight the need for changes to a system that permits routine violation of workers fundamental freedoms of speech and association. The date is the 55^th anniversary of the signing of the International Declaration of Human Rights, the culmination of years of work by its American advocate, Eleanor Roosevelt, who was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Rallies and marches are planned, including one in Boston where 5,000 people are expected, said Kathleen Casavant, Massachusetts AFL-CIO treasurer. IBEW locals have played a crucial role in the preparations, she said.

In Boston and in many other cities, workers will testify about their treatment at the hands of employers during organizing campaigns at a workers rights board hearing. Thousands will gather at historic Boston Commons for a march to the citys office of the National Labor Relations Board. Boston Local 103 will loan its bagpipes band to the march and will also relay messages about the events in advance on its electronic billboard, visible from highly traveled Route 93, Casavant said. Local 103 and Local 2222 members are planning to leaflet, help guide buses and act as marshalls.

The events are not just labor-only shows. Also involved are faith-based, human rights and community groups. "There have been so many battles on workers rights," Casavant said. "It resonates with the broader community as well."

In Philadelphia, a candlelit march to Independence Hall will follow the workers rights board hearing in Philadelphia. Up to 1,000 members of the IBEW are expected from various locals, said Local 98s Jim Mink.

Participants will also press for the passage of Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow for NLRB certification on the basis of signed authorization cards, provide first contract mediation and arbitration and stronger penalties for NLRA violations during organizing or negotiating a first contract. It is sponsored in the Senate by Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and in the House by Rep. George Miller (D-California).

In Washington, D.C., a noontime rally will target the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal agency responsible for upholding the rights of workers, which under the current administration has been preoccupied with assaulting them.

For a list of D10 activities across the country, click here. Additional information about rights at work is available at the AFL-CIO web site at http://www.aflcio.com/aboutunions/voiceatwork/d10.cfm.

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