GARY — Massive protests and a legislative boycott in Wisconsin have placed a national spotlight on attempts to limit collective bargaining for workers across the nation. Several bills in the Indiana General Assembly aim to do the same thing.
Around 250 union members rallied at Gary’s McBride Hall Friday afternoon, and speakers warned of dire consequences if Right To Work and other efforts that limit collective bargaining. Right to Work, which is House Bill 1468, prohibits employers from requiring union membership or paying any union dues. The bill exempts members of the building trades or federal employees. Senate Bill 575 limits collective bargaining topics for teachers to wages and benefits, with no say on hours or working conditions, while House Bill 1585 and Senate Bill 273 prohibit collective bargaining for state employees.
On Monday morning, HB 1468 will get a hearing, and unions want their members out in force.
Indiana AFL-CIO secretary Joe Breedlove said that state legislators are trying to divide unions by exempting building trades from the right-to-work bill.
“There will be no splitting off,” Breedlove said. “We’re going to be there all week until we get this killed off. They’ve decided that the corporations in America don’t make enough money and you make too much. This is the last line of defense for all working families in Indiana.”
State Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, drew cheers when he praised the guts of 14 Wisconsin state senators who left the state to deny Republicans a quorum to vote on the bill.
“We usually vote with our fingers, but we can vote with our feet too,” Dobis said. “We’ve got a right to break quorum and force them to go to the negotiating table. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but they can’t pass the budget without our help.”
Dobis said the Democratic caucus hasn’t scheduled any kind of walkout since it’s still fresh in the conversation, but he said it is a possibility.
Alice Bush, division director for Service Employees International Union Local 73, fired up the crowd with her speech.
“This is an orchestrated effort on the part of the powers that be in this country targeting working people with families who deserve a better life,” she said. “This is a lowdown, dirty effort by corporate America. They have the money, the power, people working on this, but what they do not have is the numbers.”
Jim Blythe, president of United Steelworkers Local 12775, said that Right to Work legislation has driven wages down in states where it has been enacted.
“Right to Work is misleading,” Blythe said. “It does not work. Ask the citizens of Florida. How is it working out for them?”