We Are One: NOW Stands in Solidarity with
Workers' Rights and Human Dignity

March 21, 2011

By Erin Matson, NOW Action Vice President

The attempt to dismantle unions in Wisconsin by way of dubious legislative tricks was more than an assault on workers' rights: It was an attack on human dignity and women in particular. It will not stand because we as a nation will not stand for it.

Revoking collective bargaining rights from public nurses, teachers, home care providers and child care workers, of whom the majority are women -- while leaving intact those same rights for local police, firefighters and state troopers, of whom the majority are men -- is union-busting as a tactic within a broader war on women taking place in state and federal legislatures.

The National Organization for Women enthusiastically affirms the right of all workers, women and men, to organize in pursuit of fair wages and benefits for themselves and their families. We stand in solidarity and collective action with union members and supporters; civil and human rights organizations; other leaders in the women's movement; and progressive organizations advocating for immigrants, LGBT people and justice. Together we say: We Are One.

Poignantly, the We Are One national day of action will take place on Monday, April 4, 2011, which is the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the shining light of Dr. King's dream, women's rights activists will continue forward in cities around the country rallying, demonstrating, picketing, teaching-in and more.

Bargaining rights, family planning, abortion rights, nutrition programs, prenatal care, child care, education, job training, Social Security and environmental safety are basic building blocks of social justice -- and taking them away will not "balance the budget," but rather shove women into poverty, ill-health and joblessness that will come back to bite federal, state and local governments after tremendous human suffering.

It is morally unacceptable and fundamentally undemocratic to perpetuate second-class rights for some in any name, including the name of a balance sheet. In fact, the perpetrators of today's war on women show little heed for balance sheets in championing tax cuts that allow corporations and the wealthiest of the wealthy to pay less than their fair share. Children eating food, women using contraceptives, and retirees collecting benefits they themselves paid into the system did not wreck the economy -- a series of unjust wars, the spoils of massive corporate and financial deregulation and bail-outs, and singling out the wealthiest for lower tax rates did.

Women's rights advocates and supporters are not fooled: We will not allow any budget to be used as a smoke screen to further cement income inequality and revoke our human rights to determine our own destinies. It is during this time of systematic assault upon women and all people in this country that we refuse to be divided, we refuse to be silenced, and we link arms in solidarity with progressive allies to ensure the arc of history continues to bend toward justice on this 43rd anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.

All NOW chapters, members and supporters are encouraged to find, or even register, local solidarity events on the We Are One national day of action taking place Monday, April 4. For more information please go to: www.we-r-1.org.

 

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