Posted:
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Janus v. AFSCME is set to be heard by the Supreme Court in 19 days and public employee unions are preparing for the case. Today those unions held a press conference in Washington D.C. to discuss the case and to let the public know what they are doing to lessen the effects of the outcome.
The press conference featured leaders and members from unions like the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Educators Association (NEA), Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Workers (AFSCME), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). It began with the announcement that workers from across the country will be taking part in "A Working People's Day of Action" on February 24th, the Saturday before the Janus case is heard. Rallies will be held in Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C., Miami, St. Paul, New York, Columbus, Philadelphia and Memphis with more rallies forming every day. You can find a rally near you by clicking here. AFSCME is promising that thousands will be taking to the streets to protest the Janus case.
Throughout the press conference, the elected union leaders pointed out that this case is not about unions restricting someone's freedom of speech but rather destroying unions. "When we had a fight against privatizing public schools, it was a strong NEA that came in and fought back, we took on class size and the next useless test someone was making money on," said NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. "I know who is trying to weaken our unions and I know why. The billionaires are trying to defang and defeat us."
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