Pennsylvanians Deserve Right to Work
Last year, leading up to Labor Day, we warned the voters about the dangers of a last-minute push for Card Check from the Reid-Pelosi Congress. Pennsylvanians for Right to Work successfully lead the fight and Card Check is now DOA in Washington, D.C.
This Labor Day, we’re taking the initiative, and momentum is on the side of Liberty in the work place.
On Tuesday, August 16th, the Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative package, House Bills 50, 51, 52, and 53, received a hearing before the House Labor Relations Committee. Activists on both sides from across the Commonwealth attended and were given a fair and thorough hearing before the Committee.
It was a long afternoon that concluded with PA Right to Work President Susan Staub and a panel of pro-liberty experts from across the state. PA Right to Work Board Members Mary Hohe and Mary Burkholder testified about how they were both victims of mandatory unionism. American Airlines Pilot and Stroudsburg Tea Party Patriots member Brad Strasser, himself a forced dues victim, told the Committee how being a union member actually severely restricts pilots’ opportunities and doesn’t allow advancement that is based on skill and hard work. Scranton Tea Party Patriots leader Laureen Cummings gave voice to a member of her group’s personal struggle against the tyranny of mandatory unionism and how that member’s husband was not only forced to join a union as a condition of employment, but also faced being fired because his wife was a member of the Tea Party. Berks County Tea Party Patriots leader, and former PA Right to Work board member Rod Miller, talked about his fight for the Right to Work cause over the years and how Right to Work has never even seen an up or down vote on the House Floor.
Mrs. Staub made certain that all House Labor Relations Committee members and those in attendance know that enactment of a Right to Work law would not in any way change collective bargaining laws.
After the hearing, it was clear that the Open Workforce Initiative will pass out of committee. Its Chairman, Ron Miller (R-93), is a cosponsor of HB 50-53. The unions are running scared. Their fear mongering, deceit, and bullying are failing. Finally, Right to Work will get a vote in Harrisburg and it will pass!
Governor Corbett has said if a Right to Work Bill comes to his desk, he will sign it. Lt. Governor Cawley said, "The time has come for Right to Work in Pennsylvania".
Our bills are moving forward in the State House and Senate.
This Labor Day we celebrate no longer just having to defend against anti-liberty proposals in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, but we celebrate seizing the moment and creating real freedom in the workplace in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvanians for Right to Work is a non-profit citizens organization dedicated to the single issue of providing freedom of choice with respect to labor union membership for all Pennsylvania’s working citizens. Their website address is www.PARightToWork.org. To schedule an interview, debate, or radio program, please contact Julian Stolz at 610-360-6465.
