Jobs With Justice

In the coming days, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a series of proposals to reform its own rules in an effort to prevent gridlock and ensure that our elected leaders are held accountable to actually casting votes on critical issues.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is reportedly prepared to use the constitutional option to enact reform.

Help us seize the moment by placing a quick call to your Senators to sponsor SR 4. Just click here for talking points and phone numbers.

We’ve joined a broad network of progressive and labor partners to push for real reform through the Fix the Senate coalition. Vermont Workers' Center  and Rhode Island Jobs with Justice are mobilizing their members to demonstrate community support for this critical issue.

The need for reform is long overdue. As our Executive Director Sarita Gupta  explains in a statement released yesterday:

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

For several years now, Communications Workers of America has been working with Fix the Senate Now, a broad coalition of democracy, community, women, faith-based and civil rights groups that are fed up with a Senate that functions more like Cicero's Senate of ancient Rome than a 21st century democracy. Despite being considered the world's model deliberative body, in reality it's a place where little gets done because of the abuse of the Senate rules. This isn't news.

But there is a one-day opportunity on the first day of a new Congress when senators can adopt new rules by a majority vote, as provided by the Constitution. It's called the "constitutional option."

Two years ago, our coalition hit the airwaves, spawned 40,000 supportive calls to Senate offices and gathered more than 100,000 signatures on a petition in favor of such a change. Unfortunately, the resulting "gentlemen's agreement" of reforms did nothing to curb the rampant obstructionism in the Senate.

But Fix the Senate Now hasn't stopped fighting to end the gridlock.

The current rules that govern the Senate are hurting our democracy. Obscure rules allow just a handful of Senators to railroad key legislation and hold progress for working families’ hostage. Call the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell your Senators to fix the Senate rules now.

CONTACT:
Ori Korin
(202) 822-2127 x126
okorins@americanrightsatwork.org

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law the right-to-work legislation passed by the Michigan state legislature. In response, Jobs with Justice and American Rights at Work Executive Director Sarita Gupta issued the following statement:

“It’s unfortunate that the hardworking people of Michigan are becoming the collateral damage of Republicans’ political vendetta against unions and their members. Right to work sounds like a good idea, but in reality, these laws have nothing to do with providing rights or work. At its core, this initiative is a threat to the basic right for workers to stick together on the job and collectively bargain for a better life.

“The facts speak for themselves: compared to workers living in states without right-to-work laws, employees in right-to-work states earn less per year and are more likely to be uninsured. Workplace deaths are higher in right-to-work states, and even business owners admit that right to work isn’t a factor when they’re choosing where to open up shop.