We are in a fight for the soul of our workplaces and our democracy, Wisconsin State Senator Mark Miller told the TWU COPE Legislative Conference in a video address that began the third day of the conference on April 6.
“As we organize together side by side to take back our democracy and to take back the American dream and to allow workers to decide their own future, we need your boots on the ground to make this happen,” said Miller.
“This fight is not about unions, its about people and whether people have the right to come together and demand a better workplace, better wages, better benefits. It is about whether or not we are going to have a middle-class,” said Ed Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department AFL-CIO.
TWU members were hitting the ground during the afternoon meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and talking to politicians about the issues effecting working families. Members met with their Senators and Representatives to urge them to protect workers’ ability to organize, ensure workplace safety, protect Social Security and provide healthcare for all. TWU Local 514 sent 9 members to the 2011 COPE Conference to lobby for our local: Mike McDonald, D’Ann Johnson, Rick Allen, Terry Buck, Jose Diaz, Elaine Gibson, Dennis Hall, Teresa McMillen, and Patric Thornton.