Minneapolis, MN – The Supreme Court agreed today, June 30, to hear Friederichs vs. California Teachers Association, which aims to gut public sector unions and would make the public sector ‘right to work’ nationwide. The court will determine whether public sector unions can continue to collect so-called ‘fair share’ or ‘agency fees’ from non-members who benefit from the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by unions, and could overturn the landmark case Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education.

The court will take up the case when they return from recess in the fall, and may rule as early as first quarter of 2016.

After decades of legislative and judicial efforts aimed at weakening private sector unions, the right wing is stepping up its attacks on public sector unions.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800 – the clerical workers union at the University of Minnesota, said, “As long as workers have joined together in unions to fight for better wages, working conditions and the ability to work and live in dignity, the bosses have pushed the courts and lawmakers to restrict our rights and find ways to weaken our power.”

Horazuk continued, “Regardless of the outcome of this case, working people and our unions will continue to organize and fight to improve our conditions. Our strength does not come from what the law grants, but from our willingness to organize, to strike and to build solidarity among all workers.”

#MinneapolisMN #AFSCMELocal3800 #rightToWork #publicSectorUnions #CherreneHorazuk

Saint Paul, MN – More than three hundred Latino immigrants and supporters rallied in the Capitol rotunda and marched to Governor Dayton’s office March 26 to press Governor Dayton and House Speaker Paul Thissen to pass HF348, the bill for drivers licenses for all. The rally was organized by Mesa Latina and supported broadly by the immigrant rights movement.

Currently undocumented immigrants cannot get drivers licenses in Minnesota, though they can in several other states. Due to extreme weather and inadequate public transportation, the thousands of immigrants that live in Minnesota are forced to drive for everyday tasks, like getting to work and taking children to school. Many of the immigrants that are deported and separated from their families first get ensnared in the criminal justice system when they are stopped for driving without a license. Once in the criminal justice system, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intervenes and starts deportation proceedings against many people who have done nothing more than drive to work.

The Minnesota Senate passed the bill last legislative session, so only the House needs to pass it and the governor would need to sign it. Governor Dayton’s lack of support has stalled the bill. Governor Dayton is a Democrat and the House is under Democratic control, but so far they are still refusing to move on this bill even though it is the highest priority at the State Capitol for the immigrant rights movement this year.

At the start of the rally a group of Aztec dancers performed along with booming drums that echoed loudly throughout the Capitol building. Speakers included several religious leaders and state legislators such as Patricia Torres Ray, Karen Clark, Sandy Pappas and Melisa Franzen who pledged to fight to pass the drivers license bill. Mesa Latina member Francisco Segovia announced that the next major mobilization in the campaign will be a march to the Capitol at 3:00 p.m. on May 1, International Workers Day, to demand drivers licenses for all and an increase in the minimum wage. Union leader Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME Local 3800 spoke to show labor movement support for drivers licenses for immigrants. She said, “Corporations are given the right to cross borders in order to exploit workers to the greatest extent. Why then shouldn’t workers have the right to travel and cross borders to be able to feed, clothe, and house their families? It is a basic right to be able to get to and from work free from fear. Criminalizing people who are just trying to get back and forth to work, or to the grocery store or to their kids school does not benefit anybody. We call upon Governor Dayton and the legislature to support licenses for all. No human being is illegal. We want licenses now!”

During her speech Rep. Karen Clark, the House sponsor of the drivers license bill, encouraged everyone to go to Governor Dayton’s office inside the Capitol to let him know he should support drivers licenses for immigrants. So when the speakers were done the crowd marched through the Capitol, pouring inside Dayton’s office and filling the hallway outside while chanting “si se puede!” and “Ole ole ole ole, drivers license!”. They then marched through the first and second floor of the Capitol.

Mesa Latina is encouraging people to sign the online petition to support the Drivers License bill, HF348. For more information on the drivers license campaign and the May 1 mobilization on International Workers Day follow MN Licencias Para Todos on facebook.

#SaintPaulMN #driversLicence #CherreneHorazuk #KarenClark #MesaLatina

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech given by Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME Local 3800, in support of raising Minnesota’s welfare grants. Horazuk delivered this speech at the Jan. 8 protest organized by the Welfare Rights Committee. Tax the rich! Defend public services and the people who provide them

We know that the United States is in year four of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; and

We know that poor and working people are sinking deeper into crisis, while banks, corporations, and the wealthy continue to get bailouts and tax breaks; and

We know that during the Great Depression, working people organized for and won the creation of social safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, that ensured survival for poor and working people; and that those benefits were expanded in the Great Society programs of the 1960’s to include welfare (or what is now called TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families); and

We know that the vast majority of welfare recipients are women, children, and families of people with disabilities. In 2008, when the current economic crisis began, 28.7% of the households headed by single women were considered poor. In 2010, the poverty rate for single-mother families was 40.7% compared to 8.8% for married-couple families; and

We know that, welfare provides income security and an economic safety net that allows women and children to leave abusive situations; and

We know that our communities are facing high unemployment, shortage of living wage jobs and the foreclosure crisis has caused rents to spike; and

We know that people are running out of unemployment insurance without a job that pays the bills to take its place; and

We know that 150 clerical workers at the U lost their jobs during this crisis. Jobs that barely paid enough to take care of their families. Now they are trying to live on unemployment and we know some have turned to public assistance.

We know that welfare creates a floor below which wages cannot fall; and

We know that public employees are on the front lines when families in our communities come in needing help and we see how inadequate the welfare grants are to meet families’ needs; and

We know that same politicians and media pundits who vilify public employees also vilify the clients we serve – the recipients of social safety net programs; and

We know that these same politicians try to turn us against each other; giving a choice between saving welfare programs or saving public sector jobs

We know, in our fight to defend our jobs; our most logical allies are the recipients of the services we provide; and

Today is the opening day of the legislative session and the state legislature and Governor Dayton have to set priorities and make choices.

They can listen to the people – the 99%, those who elected them. Or they can listen to the corporations and ruling elite – the 1%.

They can fund desperately needed services, and create public jobs with good pay and benefits, – supporting the people who really drive this economy – the working people who make things run, and the poor and unemployed who are desperately looking for a step up and the ability to care for themselves and their families.

Or they can give more handouts to the corporations and the elite who will enrich themselves.

They can rob Peter to pay Paul.

Or they can tax the rich.

We demand that they hold public institutions like the U of M accountable, and that the U stop bloating the administration while cutting frontline jobs and raising tuition.

We demand that they increase the TANF grants; which have not seen a single increase in 26 years; and

We demand that vital services are universally available and fully funded; and

We demand that they increase child care subsidies in addition to increasing TANF funds, so as to ensure a livable wage for childcare providers and full welfare benefits for recipients; and

We demand that they fund social programs that base their success on helping families achieve economic self-sufficiency through training and job placements that lead to stable jobs, living wages, good benefits and career ladders; and

We demand that they tax the rich.

#StPaulMN #WelfareRightsCommittee #TaxTheRich #AFSCME3800 #CherreneHorazuk

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech given by Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME Local 3800, in support of raising Minnesota’s welfare grants. Horazuk delivered this speech at the Jan. 8 protest organized by the Welfare Rights Committee. Tax the rich! Defend public services and the people who provide them

We know that the United States is in year four of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; and

We know that poor and working people are sinking deeper into crisis, while banks, corporations, and the wealthy continue to get bailouts and tax breaks; and

We know that during the Great Depression, working people organized for and won the creation of social safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, that ensured survival for poor and working people; and that those benefits were expanded in the Great Society programs of the 1960’s to include welfare (or what is now called TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families); and

We know that the vast majority of welfare recipients are women, children, and families of people with disabilities. In 2008, when the current economic crisis began, 28.7% of the households headed by single women were considered poor. In 2010, the poverty rate for single-mother families was 40.7% compared to 8.8% for married-couple families; and

We know that, welfare provides income security and an economic safety net that allows women and children to leave abusive situations; and

We know that our communities are facing high unemployment, shortage of living wage jobs and the foreclosure crisis has caused rents to spike; and

We know that people are running out of unemployment insurance without a job that pays the bills to take its place; and

We know that 150 clerical workers at the U lost their jobs during this crisis. Jobs that barely paid enough to take care of their families. Now they are trying to live on unemployment and we know some have turned to public assistance.

We know that welfare creates a floor below which wages cannot fall; and

We know that public employees are on the front lines when families in our communities come in needing help and we see how inadequate the welfare grants are to meet families’ needs; and

We know that same politicians and media pundits who vilify public employees also vilify the clients we serve – the recipients of social safety net programs; and

We know that these same politicians try to turn us against each other; giving a choice between saving welfare programs or saving public sector jobs

We know, in our fight to defend our jobs; our most logical allies are the recipients of the services we provide; and

Today is the opening day of the legislative session and the state legislature and Governor Dayton have to set priorities and make choices.

They can listen to the people – the 99%, those who elected them. Or they can listen to the corporations and ruling elite – the 1%.

They can fund desperately needed services, and create public jobs with good pay and benefits, – supporting the people who really drive this economy – the working people who make things run, and the poor and unemployed who are desperately looking for a step up and the ability to care for themselves and their families.

Or they can give more handouts to the corporations and the elite who will enrich themselves.

They can rob Peter to pay Paul.

Or they can tax the rich.

We demand that they hold public institutions like the U of M accountable, and that the U stop bloating the administration while cutting frontline jobs and raising tuition.

We demand that they increase the TANF grants; which have not seen a single increase in 26 years; and

We demand that vital services are universally available and fully funded; and

We demand that they increase child care subsidies in addition to increasing TANF funds, so as to ensure a livable wage for childcare providers and full welfare benefits for recipients; and

We demand that they fund social programs that base their success on helping families achieve economic self-sufficiency through training and job placements that lead to stable jobs, living wages, good benefits and career ladders; and

We demand that they tax the rich.

#StPaulMN #WelfareRightsCommittee #TaxTheRich #AFSCME3800 #CherreneHorazuk

*Fight Back!* interviewed Cherrene Horazuk, a U.S. delegate to the 16th Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) held April 7- 10 in Athens, Greece. Horazuk is prominent Minneapolis trade unionist and a spokesperson for the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

**Fight Back!:** Could you tell our readers what the congress was like?

**Cherrene Horazuk:** The congress was incredibly inspiring. There were trade unionists from around the world who were all committed to building an international labor movement that is open, democratic and unified and that challenges capitalism and builds a fighting working class. Over 800 delegates attended from more than 100 countries, and there was simultaneous translation into five different languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Greek. Speakers gave reports about the situation in their country – workers around the world are facing very similar attacks.

It was great to be part of a group of union leaders that clearly recognize that the global economic crisis isn't the fault of the working class and therefore workers shouldn't have to pay for the crisis the corporations and the rich created.

**Fight Back!:** What were the big issues the congress focused on?

**Horazuk:** The congress focused on the following points. The first is that we, the working class won't pay for the capitalists’ crisis. There was a great deal of discussion about the need to fight back against the austerity programs that are being forced on workers all over the world.

Speaker after speaker reiterated the need to go on the offensive, and not just organize defensive battles. There was also a lot of discussion about the need to involve women and younger workers in the union movement. About 30% of the participants were women and a very dynamic women's workshop happened. The other main message that people raised repeatedly was opposition to imperialist wars abroad. There was uniform condemnation of the U.S. and NATO for bombing Libya as well as strong calls for an end to military aggression in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Colombia.

**Fight Back!:** Do you have any impressions of the Greek labor movement?

**Horazuk:** PAME, the All Workers Militant Front of Greece, is one of the main forces within the WFTU, and with good reason. They are incredibly strong and energetic. They have led very successful general strikes in the past year and have built a base of members that is fired up to fight back against the economic attacks. It is clear that they are a force to be reckoned with. The opening ceremony of the WFTU Congress included a rally with at least 3000 PAME members, who were continually singing, waving flags, and chanting: “The enemy is one – imperialism! Capitalism is not our world. It's the new world, socialism! The worker's right is our law and not the capitalist's profit! Come on people, don't give up, the only way is to resist and fight!” It was incredibly motivating and inspiring.

**Fight Back!:** You raised the issue of the FBI and grand jury repressions against U.S. labor, anti-war, and international solidarity activists. What was the response?

**Horazuk:** A lot of the speeches at the Congress expressed solidarity with people's struggles around the world and people clearly recognized the need for workers around the world to act in solidarity with each other. Given that perspective, everybody I spoke to about the repression was very interested in the case. They were shocked at the attacks against the activists who have done nothing wrong and [they] were outraged that political beliefs and international solidarity are being criminalized by the U.S. government. They conveyed their solidarity with the individuals who have been subpoenaed and committed to take action to stop the repression.

#AthensGreece #AthensAT #Greece #Interviews #CherreneHorazuk #WorldFederationOfTradeUnionsWFTU #AllWorkersMilitantFrontOfGreecePAME