Main Street

Building Community Power through Working America

David Fernandez reports from Texas.

This past fall in San Antonio, Texas truck drivers working for Oak Farms Dairy plant took the leap in fighting to form a union at their workplace. Their goal: for all workers to be able to negotiate for better wages, better hours, safety conditions, health care, and to have a democratic method of collectively bargaining with their employer. The response: months of captive audience meetings, intimidation tactics by employers, and the hiring of professional union busters to intimidate Oak Farms drivers from voting to form a union. One driver was pushed out of his position early in the organizing drive, but his dedication and passion led him to continue to take an active role in engaging his coworkers to continue fighting, even during his time of intense economic struggle.

The drivers fought long and hard for months, but when the vote finally came, intimidated employees backed down from voting for the union in fear of losing their jobs. At the end of the day, Oak Farms‘ big pockets and crackdown on workers’ rights had won…for now.

Feeling deflated after the vote, workers and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union came together to decide how to continue the drive, channeling the passion that so many of the dedicated drivers of Oak Farms still held to fight for democracy in their workplace. This was no time to quit and they knew that the workers united can truly never be defeated. They decided to come together to recruit fellow workers to become members of Working America, which will let them share a few of the benefits and some of the shared voice that union membership provides. In a joint training with Working America, they learned about the benefits of Working America membership and developed an outreach strategy to connect their co-workers with these benefits.

These dedicated drivers have come together to stay engaged in fighting for democracy in their work place, and to fight for the broader issues affecting working families including the attacks on education, health care, voting rights, and corporate accountability. By reaching out to others and welcoming them into the movement, these community leaders have joined a network of over 3 million Working America members nationwide to fight for good jobs and democracy across the country, starting with their local San Antonio community.

From Oak Farms to corporate greed, these empowered drivers will continue to build the community power to fight back against the attacks on working families at home and abroad.

Tags: Jobs, Rights At Work, Texas

Orlando Unemployed Demand Rep. Webster Vote to Extend Unemployment Insurance

By David Fernandez – Orlando, Florida

At the steps of Winter Garden City Hall, Working America member Dennis Maclaren held his 7 year-old son Aidan, choking up as he shared his struggles as a long-term unemployed graphic designer. “When I’ve applied for work over the past several years, it’s dozens of people vying for the same position,” Dennis exclaimed as he spoke the crowd of thirty community members in attendance. “I have long exhausted my unemployment insurance, but without them during these past years hunting for work, I wouldn’t have been able to afford a roof over my family’s head and food on our dinner table.” Dennis was one of many who came to Representative Dan Webster’s (R-FL) office on December 8th the national day of action to demanding Congress extend unemployment benefits for the millions without work.

The purpose of the gathering was to stand in solidarity with those who have lost their jobs during the economic recession, and to send a strong message to Rep. Webster urging him to remember all of his unemployed constituents when he votes for the extension of unemployment insurance in the coming weeks. “As a student I’ve been looking for work in my field for years now, and having to balance student loans with job hunting is an enormous burden,” said member Krist Cooper, who has been taking action with the Working America’s Unemployment Action Team. “How is unemployment extension even a debate? It’s a vital necessity for those currently without work, and first stepping into a jobless workforce.”

Outside of Rep. Webster’s office, a delegation of students, teachers, union members, religious leaders, and local city officials prayed and chanted for the passage of unemployment extension before the December 31st deadline. “If Congress does not act now, then 2 million people will lose their unemployment insurance by the month of January,” said Lorraine Tuliano, President of the Central Florida City Labor Council. “It’s time for our representatives to be accountable to their constituents and to stop playing political poker at the expense of millions of unemployed families.”

Photo of Dennis and Aden by GenuineRevolt on Flickr, via Creative Commons.

Tags: Dan Webster, Florida, Orlando, OWS, unemployment, unemployment extension