Upcoming Events 🗓
EWOC is looking for volunteers during the Labor Notes conference in Chicago, June 17–19! Volunteers will take on a wide range of tasks including tabling, social media, and helping plan the EWOC social. Sign up to volunteer here today!
Join us Wednesday, June 1, at 8 p.m. ET for an EWOC summer call! We’ll look back on the first half of 2022 and plan ahead for a summer of worker wins. As a bonus, all attendees will be entered into a raffle for some union drip. Register here to start your summer off right!
Last week, a Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public. This represents a long-feared rollback of women’s rights in America. Living in a country where women do not have the right to choose what happens to their own body is a terrifying prospect, and one that may very soon become reality.
This is a pivotal moment for the labor movement. Abortion rights is a labor issue as well as a healthcare one, and unions must choose to fight for workers rights as they would in any labor fight. The reality of this decision is that it will affect poor women the most — those who can’t afford to take time off from work to make the trip to another state (not to mention the ridiculous mandatory waiting periods of up to 72 hours in some states) will be forced to carry a child. The average cost of giving birth in this country is over $10,000. If a mother is struggling to afford this then there’s a good chance that she also lacks employer-sponsored health insurance and paid maternity leave. Abortion rights are worker’s rights, plain and simple. Many unions across the country are already mobilizing to protect their members and fight back, modeling how worker solidarity can help us to defend essential rights for women.
EWOC supports a woman’s right to choose. Nobody should have to fear for their livelihood whether they choose to have a child or to terminate a pregnancy. Benefits and protections for new parents and for those seeking abortion are human rights, and we must fight for them with the strength of the union.
World of Work 🌍
US: The approval rating for labor unions has reached its highest point in over 50 years, standing at 68 percent, and petitions for new union elections at the National Labor Relations Board increased 57 percent during the first half of fiscal year 2021.
CA: Nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals have overwhelmingly voted to end a week-long strike, their union, the Committee for the Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA), said on Monday. The strike was the first in 20 years by the union against the hospitals.
AL: Amazon fired a worker named Ezra Hudson who vocally supported the union drive in Bessemer, Ala. Ezra’s coworkers left their stations on April 30 to march to HR and hold Amazon accountable for the blatant retaliation. They’re demanding that Amazon reinstate Ezra immediately.
Week in Labor History 📚
May 16, 1938: The U.S. Supreme Court issued the Mackay decision, permitting employers to permanently replace striking workers. The court said management could not fire strikers but could “permanently replace” them, a distinction without a difference. Employers used this weapon sparingly until the 1980s, when its use increased under the influence of the Reagan administration’s anti-union policies.
May 9, 1837: The first Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women was held on this date in New York. Attendees included women of color, the wives and daughters of slaveholders and women of low economic status. Some prominent women went on to be vocal members of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, including Lucretia Mott, the Grimké sisters, and Lydia Maria Child.
Opportunities
DSA is seeking a full-time labor organizer! This position will work closely with the Democratic Socialist Labor Commission to develop labor organizing among DSA chapters. Apply today and read the full job description.
Solidarity,
Team EWOC
