(JENKINS TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA) – U.S. Congressman Matt Cartwright believes Unions and the Middle Class are under attack.  So over the Summer he brought a message of solidarity to a public roundtable discussion in partnership with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Pennsylvania States Council.

Cartwright talked about the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2018, a Bill he’s sponsored and the widely-publicized Supreme Court Janus decision that’s likely to have a big impact on Unions.  That decision in Janus v. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) will affect 17.3 million Public Employees, he said.  The ruling means Public Employee Unions in 22 States, including Pennsylvania, will not be able to collect fees from Non-Members to cover the costs of Collective Bargaining.

“We have a ‘rich history’ in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Cartwright (Democrat-Moosic). “John Mitchell ‘got Ethnic Coal Mining Groups to talk with one another and strike in solidarity over the coal mining owners.’  ‘This is our heritage, that’s why we need to have our Public Sector and Private Sector Unions practice solidarity because our opponents are trying to divide and conquer us like a hundred years ago.’ 

“Unions ‘are important whether you are in one or not,’” added Peter Ouellette, 63, a Pittston resident who spoke up. “If Unions ‘weren’t important, then their enemies wouldn’t be trying so hard to break them up.’”

Cartwright drew applause from the crowd when he mentioned that the two stoutest pillars of the American Middle Class are Organized Labor and public education.  “These things ‘are always under attack,’” Cartwright said. “It ‘shows with the latest’ Janus decision.”

The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which currently has 37 co-sponsors, including one Republican, guarantees that all Public Employees have the right to join a Union and negotiate for fair working conditions.

According to Cartwright, the Bill buttresses current Labor Rights and creates minimum standards for Collective Bargaining Rights that all States have to meet.

It also allows Workers the freedom to negotiate fair pay.

If States fail to meet these thresholds, the Federal Labor Relations Authority can intervene on behalf of Public Sector Workers.

“While ‘this won’t reverse’ the Janus decision, ‘it’s a good step forward,’” Cartwright told a crowd at the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1776 Union Hall near Pittston.

Another Democrat, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, has introduced the same Bill at the Senate level.

Among the Pro-Union panelists was Richard Mondesire, who recently Unionized with Mission Foods in Mountain Top.  “Having a Union in the workplace ‘is key,’” said Mondesire. “It ‘may get tough but keep fighting the fight.’”

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