Say No to Right to Work for Less

The right of teachers to organize collectively into a labor organization provides for democratic input to defend working conditions for teachers as workers and professional opinions on education matters. With teachers being the focal point for conservative attacks on public education, organized labor, and budget problems resulting from the poor economy, defending the rights of teachers to provide such input is important for all workers, union and non-union alike.

Wall Street drove our economy off a cliff in 2008, and yet budget cuts continually target public sector workers. Private sector workers face similar attacks as corporations trim workforces and push more production on fewer people. Even profitable companies are not hiring, instead pushing more production. Labor unions historically provide the only means for workers to gain and maintain middle class lifestyles, which provides a sustainable future for our economy. The current shrinking middle class, with stark polarization between rich and poor, will further cause decline in living standards for future generations of working class Rhode Islanders and Americans.