International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) General President Jimmy Williams, Jr. has penned a Labor Perspective that was recently published in Labor Notes and republished by a number of other on-line publications, including Jacobin. Williams, a fourth-generation Union Glazier, says many Members are “disconnected” from their Unions and that business as usual conducted by the U.S. Labor Movement “just won’t cut it” anymore. And with the attack on Labor that’s coming from the Trump Administration, Labor must “activate their Members” to defeat President Trump and Anti-Worker Politicians. Its salvation - Williams says, lies in a “wellspring of organized Workers.” Williams writes, in part: “We need every Member to understand what’s at stake and get in the fight. We can’t cower in fear and hope Trump’s authoritarian power grab blows over. We have to organize new Members, build independent political power in our communities and educate our fellow workers and our communities about what is at stake. We have to hold every politician who isn’t Pro-Worker accountable, regardless of party and regardless of rhetoric. I believe the Labor Movement needs our own set of policies and our own independent political movement for this country to succeed. We cannot keep riding the coattails of one party or another or hoping that this next go around, we’ll get our turn. We need an army of workers who understand the history of their Union and the Labor Movement - and who are ready to fight for a new Labor Movement, just like our Forefathers did for future generations.”

To Read Williams’ Labor Perspective, Go To: To Build a Stronger Labor Movement, Go to the Members | Labor Notes