Busting the union busters in Texas
Submitted by Sal Herrera, a Union Summer intern in Houston, TX.
Being in Houston and having to deal with the heat and the mosquitos is half the battle. The other half is the reason why I became an AFL-CIO Union Summer intern. The mishaps and misunderstandings have made me (and my team) better organizers. They have made us even more committed to fighting for the rights of working people.
After an intense training in Jackson, Mississippi, I arrived eager and ready to get to work. My team and I were thrown into the proverbial deep end of the pool as we worked tirelessly to transfer the way union membership dues are paid. Right now, union dues are deducted automatically from members’ paychecks. However, the sneaky Texas Legislature has a bill in the works that would make this type of deduction illegal. So members have to authorize a monthly bank draft — similar to how you pay Netflix or a gym membership — in order to continue being union members.
It is union-busting 101. If the union can’t collect dues, then there is no union. See the problem?
The most rewarding part of being a Summerista is being in the field. Having the opportunity to speak with union members in their homes and hear their stories is a humbling experience.
One day, I was paired up with a volunteer. It had been a longer-than-usual day, and we weren’t having much luck. Then our luck changed. We reached the home of an elementary school teacher. She opened the door and greeted us like old friends. She had heard about our efforts and was enthusiastic to see us at her door.
The conversation about her job flowed, and I could see the passion in her eyes when she spoke about her students. I was overwhelmed that she trusted us enough to talk about her experiences (not all good ones).
We spoke to other teachers who expressed fear in losing retirement benefits or having their health benefits cut even further. Many felt they would be replaced by younger staff or dismissed for trivial reasons.
It wasn’t until this campaign that I realized the issues teachers in Texas and across the country face.
But not all the conversations I had were dark. On one occasion I spoke with a teacher who was grateful the AFT helped her in her home life as well. And another member who was grateful the AFT helped her after her home flooded in a terrible storm.
Speaking to AFT members and seeing their passion for teaching — along with their wiliness to unite and unionize — shows the importance of the AFL-CIO Union Summer program, especially this summer where the emphasis was on organizing in the South. Seeing unions struggle to thrive in a union-busting state shows why we need to continue to fight these oppressive policies that hinder unions. Members of AFT and other union members are so proud to be a part of their unions that we have to fight with them for progress to fully be able to give workers the full compensation they deserve for the work they perform on a daily basis.
