Public Employee Press


DC 37/AFSCME STRONG: ENGAGE & EDUCATE
Garrido calls for community alliances

BY MIKE LEE

DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido joined other union leaders and activists at a lively panel discussion regarding the American labor movement at the 25th annual National Action Network convention in midtown Manhattan on April 15.

The panel, "The State of American Labor Unions Today," was moderated by J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and joined by Garrido, the Rev. Shane Harris, president of NAN's San Diego chapter, Dawn Jones, a member of the National Action Network board of directors and a SSEU Local 371 member, as well as Jill Furillo, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association and Brianne Gorod, chief counsel of the Constitutional Accountability Center.

In his remarks, Cox, who worked as a nurse at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs before becoming president of the AFGE, spoke of the commitment to the labor struggle. "Sometimes we forget we are busy, and [think] that somebody else is going to do it. That somebody else is us," he said. "If we don't do it-no one else will."

Dawn Jones, who is involved in DC 37's Labor, Faith and Community Outreach Program, discussed her history of activism in protesting against police brutality, including the protests after the killing of Amadou Diallo in 1999 and Local 1549 member Alberta Spruill in 2003. In addition to her work with the DC 37 Labor, Faith and Community Program, she also served as a delegate for two decades as a member of SSEU Local 371.

Jones talked about the frustrations workers face, particularly about the need for cost of living adjustments. "We have a lot of workers coming in for one-shot deals (a city program providing emergency rent assistance to avoid eviction), because our rents are going up."

Garrido spoke forcefully about the challenges ahead for the labor movement and the need to develop community alliances in order to push forward a working family agenda. "I am a firm believer in calling things as they are, and what is happening in this nation is an open war on labor," he said.

After discussing the racist origins behind the original push for so-called right-to-work laws, Garrido spoke of today's war on labor, which continues after the recent U.S. Supreme Court deadlock on the anti-labor Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case. "The reality is that this has not stopped. They may be delayed, but they are coming back. It is up to us to get ready for the fight ahead," he said.

Garrido added, "Labor must return to our roots. A good union fights for all workers and the community."