CWA Helps Coordinate as Statehouse Draws Thousands of Activists Daily
With a campaign that is flooding the Indiana statehouse with thousands of activists every day, CWA and other unions are determined to stop Republican leaders from ramming an anti-union “right-to-work” bill through the legislature.
Union members with clipboards are positioned at entries in the capitol, where long lines of activists stretch down the street. Volunteers sign in visitors and direct them to the “help desk,” a table staffed with activists armed with laptop computers. They help visitors identify their representative and suggest other lawmakers to visit who are wavering on the issue.
“We’re really focusing on educating people about the issue and how to lobby for it,” said CWA Local 4900’s Angie Schritter, Legislative-Political Action Team coordinator. “We talk to them about the facts about ‘right-to-work’ states, the fact that wages are lower in those states, that on-the-job injuries and fatalities are significantly higher, that even infant mortality rates are higher.”
As hundreds of activists visit various Indiana statehouse offices each day, “It’s driving some of the office staff crazy,” Schritter said. “We are sending a very strong message.”
Based on the fire marshal’s estimates during the first week of January, Schritter said 3,000 is the fewest number of people who came through the capitol. Typically, 5,000 to 7,000 people arrived daily, from union members and allies to people who wish they had the chance to join a union.
“I had a 73-year-old grandfather here today and he said, ‘I’m doing this for my grandkids,'” Schritter said.
The capitol was filled to the brim the night of Jan. 10, as Gov. Mitch Daniels gave his State of the State address. TVs were set up in overflow rooms, but it was almost impossible to hear with the huge crowd, many of whom angrily booed their governor and the Republicans for pushing “right-to-work.”
Many Democrats skipped the speech, and have been refusing to show up to legislative sessions, denying the Republican majority the quorum it needs to pass the bill, which has been approved by House and Senate committees. Last year, Democrats fled Indiana for five weeks to block the bill in the 2010 session.
“After the speech, the Democrats who did attend got up and left immediately to absolutely roaring applause,” Schritter said. “They came through and shook everyone’s hands. It was great. Then the Republicans got up to leave and the boos were unbelievable.”
Although she couldn’t see inside the chamber, she heard that “quite a few Republicans” didn’t stand and cheer when Daniels talked about right to work. “We are definitely having an impact,” she said. “We know there are Republicans who don’t want to support this bill, but they are afraid to go against their leadership. We are appealing to them to do the right thing.”
Among the broad support for workers, NFL players, who are union members themselves, are calling on Republicans to kill the bill. “‘Right-to-work’ is a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers’ rights. It’s not about jobs or rights, and it’s the wrong priority for Indiana,” the NFL Players Association said in a statement last week (PDF).
Daniels and Republican leaders are anxious to pass the bill so the controversy will die down before Indianapolis hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
As the CWA Newsletter was being published Jan. 12, union activists in their favorite NFL gear were preparing for a march from the statehouse to the Colts’ stadium.