Teamsters fight billionaires' bill of rights in California

Resistance fighters in the war on workers.

Our western brothers and sisters are battling the latest outrage from the 1% with spirit, commitment and solidarity. On Saturday, more than 800 Teamsters from Arizona, Nevada and California rallied against an attack on our wages, our benefits and working conditions. It's called Proposition 32.

In November, Californians will vote on Prop 32, which claims to take money out of politics. What it really does is take organized labor out of politics. California's billionaires and their manservants were the ones who put it on the ballot.

The Guardian calls California's Prop 32 "a bill of rights for billionaires":

This is not genuine campaign finance reform ... California voters have twice before rejected rightwing initiatives to destroy labour's political voice, in 1998 and 2005. Unable to win by honest means, conservative groups decided to come up with something more deceptive this time round.

Rome Aloise led the Joint Council 7 rally on Saturday. "Defeating Prop 32 is about protecting our ability to defend our wages, benefits and working conditions today and in the future," said Aloise, president of Joint Council 7.

It is this kind of mobilization that will defeat corporate America’s latest attempt to silence the voices of working people and, in the end, crush unions all together. Prop 32, unlike past attempts to restrict union power in California, masks itself as a reform measure impacting corporations and unions equally. However, if passed, the proposition will virtually eliminate the right of workers to have a voice in politics while, at the same time, creating special exemptions for corporate CEO’s, special interest and Super PAC’s. 

I also want to thank California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson and California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski for sharing their knowledge, experience and solidarity. 

This is the important part: Every Teamster needs to register to vote and then go out and get others to register. Said Brother Aloise, "If every Teamster gets just 20 others to register, we can defeat this attempt to destroy our union."

Keep fighting, brothers and sisters!