Union Involvement in Economic Recovery Discussed at Board Meeting (5/18/09)

On the third and final day of the RWDSU Executive Board Meeting Friday, May 15, RWDSU leaders continued to focus on how the labor movement and unions can help workers cope in the current economy.

Harold Meyerson

Harold Meyerson, columnist for the Washington Post, spoke about the Obama administration’s response to the economic crisis, comparing it to the Roosevelt administration's response to the Great Depression in the 1930s. He noted the role that labor held in building the middle class in the 1940’s and 1950’s because of FDR’s progressive politics, and indicated that unions today could play a similar role as America recovers from the current recession.  
 

(l to r) RWDSU President Appelbaum, Enrique Aguera, and RWDSU Representative Manuel Guerrero.

Also joining the Executive Board was Enrique Aguera, Dean of the Autonomous University of Puebla in Mexico, who spoke about social and economic conditions in Mexico and the impact they are having on workers in Mexico and the U.S. 
 
“The U.S. and Mexican economies are interrelated,” he said,”and the problems we face in Mexico are not isolated events. Poverty, unemployment, social unrest, drug violence and disease create instability that force workers to look north for their livelihoods.“
 
"We must work together to find solutions to our mutual problems.” Aguera added.

Representatives from Union Privilege, the special benefits program accessible only to union members, made a presentation about consumer-based programs provided by Union Privilege that have been established to help union members cope with these difficult economic times.  More info on the programs can be found on the RWDSU website here.

RWDSU Alabama and Mid South Council President Henry Jenkins reported on the first RWDSU contract for a group of poultry workers at Alatrade.

Board members also reported on activities in their area with reports on organizing and bargaining in the retail and poultry industries. The reports show that during the current crisis, the union is continuing to work hard to bring in new members, and working people are continuing to seek representation on the job. Board members heard reports on major organizing victories for over 500 poultry workers employed at Alatrade, a poultry processor in Alabama, and about a first contract for 160 workers employed at a chain of retail stores in New York City.
 
“The economic downturn has hit many of the industries where RWDSU members work particularly hard,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum.  “Workers are concerned about losing their jobs, maintaining their health insurance and making ends meet. It’s a difficult time for all working people and I am afraid that long after economists may tell us that the recession is officially over unemployment will continue to rise and working families will still be suffering.”

“There is however some good news,” said President Appelbaum.  “The union has continued to organize and bring the benefits of a contract to workers in the U.S and Canada. Now more than ever, working people need the protections offered by unions, and voice on the job that will be heard above the din of bad news in the business reports.”