Intl. Human Rights Day in Brewer

In Brewer, on December 10th join us to stand up for Freedom!

Do you think it’s wrong that management have full power to hire and fire workers, at any time and for any reason, or for no reason at all? Should workers have the freedom to voice concerns at the workplace without fear of reprisal?

If you believe the answer to the first two questions is yes, and you want to do something about it, come to the Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council on December 10th. (Please see ad on the back page for more details).

Unions together with various allies will be coming together on December 10th around some very basic principles. 1) Workers should have the right to unionize (or not) without management bribing, threatening, or firing workers. 2) Democracy and the rule of law make for the best political system possible and also make for the best economic system. In other words, it’s not good for workers to lose all their democratic rights when entering the workplace.

We get rights on paper but rights in reality are another matter. Today’s reality for working people is that we get precious few rights- unless we stand together. Today whether you work at McDonald’s or at Eastern Maine Medical Center, the company policy is “at will employment”- meaning you can be fired at the will of your boss.

This is wrong, and by standing together, we can change that reality.

All of us have a stake in our economic system running better. It matters to all of us that we have jobs with basic legal protections. It matters to all of us that our businesses – both large and small, for profit and not-for-profit, operate for our community’s interest and not for power or personal benefit.

All of us- from housekeepers to doctors, from lawyers to plumbers- play a role in our society. We are all experts in our particular roles. A healthy democracy needs to hear our voices.

December 10th is a day to celebrate all of us- all our roles and all our contributions to society. It is a day to come together to make the adjustments and corrections that need to be done to make our society better.

On December 10th, there will be food, music, speakers and actions. We hope you can make it.

Events will begin at 2:30 with a rally (meet at the GBA-CLC in Brewer); next we will have a worker rights forum beginning at 4:00, followed by dinner and live entertainment featuring Jeezum Crowe at 5:30 p.m.

The GBA-CLC together with Food AND Medicine has a tradition of raising money for laid off workers. Together, we have raised well over $50,000 to materially support workers through the Solidarity Harvest, the Food AND Medicine Food Bank, the heating oil discount program, and other programs.

All proceeds from December 10th will go to the GBA-CLC Organizing Insurance Fund, which will be used to support workers who are fired or financially harmed due to organizing a union. Last May we raised $7,600 for the illegally terminated DHL workers. We have a goal of raising $10,00 for our Organizing Insurance Fund.

Together we can re-build a society where workers are respected and recognized to make our democracy is real.

For more information, please contact 989-4141 or see www.gbaclc.org