Workers across the commonwealth gathered in the rain and the snow this week to rally against Senate Bill 166. This bill would prohibit public employees from voluntarily having their union dues deducted from their paychecks. This legislation is not about protecting the paychecks of teachers, nurses, and hard working Pennsylvanians. SB 166 is an attempt to hurt ordinary Pennsylvanians by criminalizing workers’ rights.
Check out the coverage from this week’s rallies:
Beaver County Times: Beaver County Democrats, labor leaders rally to oppose right-to-work proposal
The law would prohibit unions from allowing payroll deductions for union dues that are used for political activities, and it’s a step toward stopping union members “from being able to donate to causes that are dear to your heart,” Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker said. Walker is the son of a union worker and said his father appreciated that union dues were deducted from his paycheck. Otherwise, with other bills to pay, the dues might not get paid, Walker said. “These are matters of the heart,” Walker said. “I stand for workers’ rights. You must resist.” All of the speakers at the rally urged people to call their state legislators to voice opposition to the law.
WBRE/WYOU: Rally Against PA Senate Bill 166
Scranton Times-Tribune: Union members rally to oppose Senate bill
The rally brought out people like 30-year-old Scranton native Billy Osborne, a member of the Ironworkers Local Union, and 55-year-old Hanover Twp. native federal union member Iris Rakowski. “Anything that happens to all of labor eventually happens to us,” she said. “So, we’re here to support everybody.” In a fiery speech on a chilly March day, Pashinski called on the group to use their collective voice the same way liberal activists have recently to show their displeasure with Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
WFMJ: Mercer County workers rally against Right to Work possibility
