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2011 Activism home

Labor Rights

In 2011, a central target of the right-wing assault in state legislatures was labor—teachers, state government employees and nurses. This attack, fueled by the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council, aimed to strip union workers of their rights and benefits.

This was most evident in Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker pushed through a radical anti-worker bill that stripped collective bargaining rights from state workers. As the controversy erupted, 14 Democratic Senators left the state to prevent the bill’s passage and thousands of people occupied the state capitol. CREDO members were quick to express their outrage at Walker’s bill and 187,462 of them signed petitions supporting Wisconsin labor.

In California, CREDO members spoke up for the right of farm workers, who’ve been routinely exploited, exposed to toxic chemicals and forced to work in the hot sun without adequate shade or drinking water. More than 30,000 CREDO members urged Gov. Jerry Brown to sign the Fair Treatment for Farm Workers Act, which would help enforce existing safety standards by protecting farm workers who are trying to form a union. Gov. Brown, who had vetoed the bill earlier, signed it into law in October.

Also in California, CREDO members, working with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), pushed back against privatization efforts at public libraries, and 44,562 members signing a petition in support of AB 438, a bill that would protect libraries from privatization. The bill passed and was signed into law in October.

In Ohio, a Tea Party-backed measure on the November ballot, backed by Gov. John Kasich, would have weakened the rights of nurses, police officers and other public workers. CREDO members mobilized against it, volunteered to get out the vote, and helped defeat it.

2011 Activism home