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COMMENTARY: Ruling Doesn’t End Fight to Ease Wage Inequality

The U.S. Supreme Court last week delivered a decision in Janus v AFSCME that is as unjust as it was expected. The court ruled that public sector unions can no longer force public employees to pay union dues, overturning 40 years of precedent set by a conservative court that all workers who share in the benefits of a bargaining contract pay the cost of their representation.

For unions like SEIU Local 221, the decision may reduce the amount of money the union has to organize, expand our membership and fight for dignified wages, safeguard basic needs like health care coverage, retirement security. But it only strengthens our resolve to fight for a stronger economy and a voice for workers.

The case was pushed by anti-worker extremists who want to divide workers so they can slow our progress on fixing income inequality, racial injustice, and civil rights. Our message is clear: workers of SEIU Local 221 will stick together to unite more working people in unions, even when it means holding politicians accountable for creating more good jobs.

America needs unions because union jobs are good jobs that build thriving communities and help lift up all workers. When working people, like me and my co-workers at the San Diego County child welfare services, stick together in our union, we gain the power in numbers to make life better for ourselves and our families, and we lift up our entire

community. 

A new study shows collective bargaining not only raises union members’ wages but in areas where unions are strong, they help set a standard for nonunion workplaces as well. Local businesses gain when working people have dollars to spend in our community.

Being an active member of SEIU Local 221 has helped me raise my voice in the fight. So often, people just identify issues in our communities, and that’s where it stops. Our union has empowered and encouraged me to voice my concerns on platforms that can evoke change in a positive direction. It’s not just about wages and benefits.

Progress in Recent Years

Our work through the union in the Invest in San Diego Families Coalition has moved our San Diego County Board of Supervisors to change course on the county’s growing surplus of reserve funds to invest in desperately needed services for San Diego families. The board is being held accountable. We celebrate victories like this along the way, but we are ready for continued action as we push toward a greater future for all.

Through SEIU, fast food workers, airport attendants, home care workers and other hard-working women and men have united to receive a $15 an hour minimum wage and to form unions to fight back against unjust and unsafe management practices. It’s a movement that isn’t about one workplace, or one job, it’s about creating good jobs that lift up entire communities and San Diego’s economy.

According to a recent study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center, union members in Southern California earn an additional $5,500 annually in higher wages than those who work similar non-union jobs. The impact is even greater for women, Latinos, and African-American men. Research has shown that unions also lift wages for nonunion workers by setting wage standards across industries and sectors, and by advocating for policies such as raising the minimum wage.

Addressing Wage Inequality

Rich and powerful extremists think Janus v AFSCME will be the thread they can pull to unravel union members’ power and dilute their voices. They are wrong. We will not let them take more money and power for themselves by taking it away from working people. We won’t let them attack the progress we’ve made in our broad movement for economic and social justice.

We know that fighting for a better future for all families isn’t just about securing higher wages or stronger workplace benefits and protections; it also means standing up for basic freedoms. The movements for affordable health care, racial justice, clean air and water, commonsense immigration reform, quality education, gender and LGBTQI equality and other issues are strengthened when more working people are able to join together in organizations.

History shows that we are stronger together. While big corporations and billionaires rig the rules to make it difficult for workers to use our power in numbers, we pledge to stick together and show the strength of our numbers in November.

Crystal Irving is a Protective Services Worker and the Vice President of the

County Chapter of SEIU Local 221.

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