Anti-worker forces are at it again. In 2011, they worked alongside right-wing governors to push through sneak attacks on our collective bargaining rights. In 2012, they passed destructive “right to work” bills. Now they’re poised to eradicate the rights of home care workers to band together for a voice on the job.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a group with a political agenda to weaken the power of working people, is challenging the right of public home care providers to collectively bargain. This extremist right-wing group with ties to the ultra-conservative Koch Brothers and ALEC has brought the case (Harris v. Quinn) all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Roberts court – which has ruled in favor of corporations time and time again – we’re hoping for the best, but we’re bracing for the worst.
The timing is urgent. The Supreme Court will issue a decision in the coming weeks – and possibly as early as this Monday! Sign our petition to stand with care workers now!
If the right wing has no shame about attacking teachers and firefighters, we shouldn’t be surprised they’re trying to strip hardworking care workers of their rights. Home care workers are truly everyday heroes. From administering medicine to preparing meals, they allow millions of seniors and people with disabilities to live independently at home with dignity and respect. If a bad ruling comes down, it will make it easier for home care workers to lose hard-won gains in hours, benefits, training opportunities and wages – and compromise their ability to provide the life-changing care that our loved ones deserve.
These frontline care providers, who are predominantly women, have been fighting to improve their insufficient job standards through years of campaigning. Hundreds of thousands of these caregivers have now earned collective bargaining rights, and nearly two million home care workers finally secured the right to earn a minimum wage and overtime just last year. Now is the moment to raise these workers up – not cut them down.
We all need the freedom to have a voice at work, to speak up for decent jobs and good services. We can’t afford to stay silent.
Join us – and show care workers you’re with them. We will deliver your petition to the workers who could be hit hardest by this ruling.
Everything is at stake. A bad decision could not only hurt care workers directly but will end up negatively impacting families and communities nationwide, compromising care standards at the moment our aging nation needs it most. And if our friends and neighbors can’t join together in strong unions, it will become harder for all workers to gain better wages and benefits, more job security and safer workplaces. This fight belongs to all of us now.
Make your voice heard: Stand with care workers – and against the right wing – today.
Thanks for fighting for what’s right,
Hilary and the entire Jobs With Justice team
Anti-worker forces are at it again. In 2011, they worked alongside right-wing governors to push through sneak attacks on our collective bargaining rights. In 2012, they passed destructive “right to work” bills. Now they’re poised to eradicate the rights of home care workers to band together for a voice on the job.
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