We need leadership in this country which will improve the lives of working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor. We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger – not leadership which insults Latinos, Muslims, women, African-Americans and veterans – and divides us up.
By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that – based on her ideas and her leadership – Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.
In 2016, Democrats meet in Philadelphia with the same basic belief that animated the Continental Congress when they gathered here 240 years ago: Out of many, we are one.
Under President Obama’s leadership, and thanks to the hard work and determination of the American people, we have come a long way from the Great Recession and the Republican policies that triggered it. American businesses have now added 14.8 million jobs since private sector job growth turned positive in early 2010. Twenty million people have gained health insurance coverage. The American auto industry just had its best year ever. And we are getting more of our energy from the sun and wind, and importing less oil from overseas.
But too many Americans have been left out and left behind. They are working longer hours with less security. Wages have barely budged and the racial wealth gap remains wide, while the cost of everything from childcare to a college education has continued to rise. And for too many families, the dream of homeownership is out of reach. As working people struggle, the top one percent accrues more wealth and more power. Republicans in Congress have chosen gridlock and dysfunction over trying to find solutions to the real challenges we face. It’s no wonder that so many feel like the system is rigged against them.
Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: we are stronger together.
On June 13, 2016, the Madison County Democratic Committee voted unanimously to approve the Virginia AFL-CIO‘s resolution in opposition of Virginia Republicans’ union busting “Right to Work” Amendment (2016) which are nothing more than blatant efforts to enshrine an existing law that is designed to infringe upon the rights of workers and stifle our collective voices. If passed, this amendment would continue to force hard working Virginians to accept jobs that don’t pay a living wage.
Concerned citizens are encouraged to take the following actions:
The “Right to Work” Amendment is a constitutional amendment proposed by the Virginia Legislature that will appear on the Virginia ballot on November 8, 2016.
A vote “for” the measure would add a section to the constitution that would make it illegal for workplaces to require mandatory labor union membership for employees as a condition for employment.
A vote “against” the measure would not add this section to the constitution.
Why the ballot proposition?
click to enlarge leaflet
Virginia currently has a right-to-work statute that bans employers from requiring union membership. Supporters seek to add right-to-work regulations to the Virginia Constitution to prevent future lawmakers from undoing the state’s current laws, according to media reports. Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-26) argued Attorney General Mark Herring(D) and future general assemblies could not be trusted to enforce right-to-work as a statute. Attorney general spokesman Michael Kelly responded that Herring has been consistent with the law, stating, “Everything he has done has been firmly grounded in the law, affirmed by courts and other authorities, and is in line with where Virginians are on the issues.” House Minority Leader David Toscano (D-57) argued the constitution should not be changed “willy-nilly.”[2][3]
The measure would add a Section 11-A to Article I of the Virginia Constitution. The following text would be added by the proposed measure’s approval:[1]
Section 11-A. Right to work.
Any agreement or combination between any employer and any labor union or labor organization whereby nonmembers of the union or organization are denied the right to work for the employer, or whereby such membership is made a condition of employment or continuation of employment by such employer, or whereby any such union or organization acquires an employment monopoly in any enterprise, is against public policy and constitutes an illegal combination or conspiracy and is void.[4]
This amendment is downright unnecessary. Right to work laws have been on the books in Virginia for over 70 years. It is ironic that Republicans frequently accuse Democrats of government overreach, and yet they feel it appropriate to reflect in the Constitution something that has been practice for so long.[4]
This is a political maneuver in an election year, an attempt by my Republican colleagues, backed by special corporate interests, to weaken the rights of hardworking Virginians.[4]
Passage of this constitutional amendment highlights the misplaced priorities that House Republicans have adopted and promoted. Building the New Virginia Economy requires a healthy, viable workforce that is paid a livable wage, guaranteed equal pay for equal work, and has access to affordable health care – not needlessly elevating existing law to the state Constitution that hurts Virginia’s workers.[4]
Republicans in the Virginia House are playing at pandering partisan politics with an issue that has shown to be time and again a detriment to people who put in a hard day’s work. While I have the utmost respect for the Virginia Way, to enshrine a policy like Right to Work in the Constitution, rather in the code of Virginia where it can be debated and modified, is reckless and at high cost to the taxpayers both morally and financially.[4]
In 2016, my friends in the Majority are offering up even more of the Virginia Code for constitutional status without evidence of any threat whatsoever to ‘the Virginia Way.’ Instead of making unneeded changes to the sacred Constitution of Virginia, we should be laser-focused on building the New Virginia Economy by improving and investing in education, research, and developing a better workforce.[4]
Today, a staggering one in three Americans—more than 105 million people—live in poverty or are teetering on the economic brink with incomes of less than twice the poverty line. New analysis by the Center for American Progress finds that if not for the dramatic rise in economic insecurity since 2000, nearly 13 million fewer Americans would be living on the edge today.
Policies based on failed theories such as trickle-down economics have played a central role in the nation’s unsustainable levels of income inequality and have contributed to widespread instability. It is long past time to put these policies, which favor the wealthy few at the expense of working families, in the rearview mirror where they belong. It is not the wealth of the rich but rather a stable and secure middle class that is the key to economic growth. A robust middle class provides the consumer base and economic demand that drive investment and productivity. What’s more, the middle class is strongly linked to economic mobility: Analyses from the Center for American Progress show that areas of the United States with larger middle classes have greater levels of economic mobility among working families.
The Madison County Democratic Committee is pleased to announce an Afternoon of Advocacy, focusing on two key matters of concern for Virginia voters. To be held on June 12 at 4:00 PM at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the program will feature special guests Terry Cooper and Linda Periello from OneVirginia2021, a Charlottesville-based coalition that brings together concerned citizens from all over the Commonwealth to re-energize forces for fair, non-partisan redistricting.
click to download flyer
Next, we’ll hear from Lorne Seay, Secretary Treasurer of the Virginia AFL-CIO, who will address the audience about an imminent threat to Virginia’s Constitution in the form of an amendment to enshrine an existing law designed to infringe upon the rights of workers and stifle our collective voices.
Following the presentations, We’ll discuss how we can best get involved in both of these initiatives, as well as talk about our plans to help with Jane Dittmar’s Congressional Campaign.
We’ll try to wrap everything up in plenty of time for dinner. See you Sunday!
