CLEVELAND, February 17 — BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce took a conservative Republican Senator from South Carolina to task earlier this week for his public anti-worker positions.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R–SC) is lead sponsor of S. 504, the “National Right-to-Work Act,” which would, among other things, remove federal legal protection for union shop and union security agreements in the railroad and aviation industries. The legislation would weaken the ability of the BLET and other unions to bargain collectively on behalf of their members and encourage “free riders” to enjoy the fruits of union efforts without having to bear any of the cost for those efforts.
The text of President Pierce’s February 13 letter to Senator Graham follows:
“Dear Senator Graham,
“My name is Dennis Pierce. I grew up in a conservative home in the Midwest and have been a hard working, taxpaying, patriotic American Union member for almost 35 years. You often attack unions, yet I am not sure that you even know what a union really is. A union is not like the corporate benefactors that you represent. Quite to the contrary, unions are not there to make a profit; unions exist to advance the cause of the hard working Americans that they represent. Our shareholders are our members, who unlike their corporate counterparts, work together to ensure that each and every union member gets a shot at the American Dream. That dream is to be paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work. That dream is to have affordable access to reliable health care when our families are ill. That dream is to provide an opportunity for our children to have a better life than we do, and we Union members make sacrifices daily to try and accomplish that.
“You should also know that as union members, we represent a cross section of America. We are proud Veterans; we are Boy Scout Leaders; we are active in our Churches; and we are community activists for good causes all across this great country. We are the educators that teach America’s children in their classrooms, we are the neighbors that Americans trust and depend on. We are also the police officers and the fire fighters that America relies on day in and day out. We are the bikers who do toy runs every Christmas for America’s most needy. We are the dock workers that load and unload goods for the American people. We provide the labor to build and maintain the nation’s railroads so those goods can get to market. And we are the engineers, trainmen and truck drivers who keep our economy strong by skillfully delivering those goods to the American people. Our children babysit America’s children, and because of the fair wages our Unions secure, our children are the students at any number of strong American universities. We are the proverbial guy or gal next door; we are the patriots who send their sons and daughters off to defend this great country whenever there is a need. You can count on one thing for sure: our united fight as union members for our piece of the American Dream is what makes us the patriots that we are. Our willingness to engage in struggles to advance the economic security of our members also appears to be why you fear unions and why you attack unions with misguided comments so regularly.
“When you attack unions — as you do on a regular basis — you are attacking each and every one of the American citizens noted above. You are attacking our right to participate in the American Dream; you are attacking the very middle class that made America the great nation that it is. Contrary to your union-bashing rhetoric, that middle class cannot survive and the American Dream cannot be achieved on minimum wage. That dream cannot be accomplished when working men and women are deprived of a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work and are deprived of affordable health care. That dream cannot be accomplished under your party’s imaginary solution called “Right to Work” either. This legislative scam against all working Americans is really “Right to Work for Less,” as countless economic studies have proved. Along with corporate America’s out-sourcing of middle class jobs, “Right to Work for Less” is in large part why our economy still flounders. Fewer working Americans — all the while distributing more wealth to the corporate benefactors that control your party’s agenda — will not restore the middle class. Nor will it repair our consumer-driven economy.
“It is past time for the tone of our debate about the future of this country and its middle class to change. You may be comfortable attacking unions, and in doing so demonizing the hard working Americans that belong to Unions. I, for one, intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the American people that you claim to represent know the truth about who Union America is and what our goals are. There is too much at stake for America, and most importantly for the backbone of America — the middle class — to allow this one-sided anti-union narrative to continue uncorrected.
“Sincerely,
“Dennis R. Pierce
“President, Teamsters Rail Conference
“National President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen”
The following Senators also have co-sponsored S. 504: John Barrasso (WY); Richard Burr (NC); Saxby Chambliss (GA); Tom Coburn (OK); John Cornyn (TX); Jim DeMint (SC); Chuck Grassley (IA); Orrin G. Hatch (UT); Dean Heller (NV); James M. Inhofe (OK); Jon Kyl (AZ); Mike Lee (UT); John McCain (AZ); Jerry Moran (KS); Rand Paul (KY); James E. Risch (ID); Marco Rubio (FL); Jeff Sessions (AL); Pat Toomey (PA); David Vitter (LA); and Roger F. Wicker (MS).
A PDF of this letter is available on the BLET website at:
www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Graham_Union_Pride.pdf