Thanks to the advocacy by AFT Pennsylvania members and the entire labor movement in Pennsylvania, last night the House defeated an anti-union bill that would have prohibited public employers from negotiating to deduct voluntary PAC contributions from public employees’ paychecks.
Senate Bill 166 -- backed by the conservative, corporate-funded Commonwealth Foundation -- would have barred public employers from making automatic payroll deductions for voluntary political contributions by union members and restricted collective bargaining between public employees and their employers. AFTPA opposed this legislation, and our members worked hard to stop this bill. I appreciate all the phone calls and emails to you sent to your legislators that made the 102-90 vote against SB 166 possible. (Click here to see how your state representative voted.)
"The defeat of SB 166 shows bipartisan recognition that the balance of power has tipped too far in the direction of big corporations and wealthy donors. In rejecting SB 166, elected leaders helped protect the voices of working people in electoral campaigns and on legislative issues," said AFTPA President Ted Kirsch.
"Since the U.S. Supreme Court granted unprecedented rights to corporations in its Citizens United ruling, and with the threat to unions posed by an unfavorable ruling in the Janus v AFSCME case before the court now, strong unions are even more crucial to ensuring that working people have a voice in politics, legislation and public policy. Our unions allow us to stand together to fight for higher wages, high-quality public schools, colleges and universities, safe work environments, affordable healthcare and retirement security -- for union and non-union workers alike," Kirsch said.
"I am grateful to our members, who visited, called and wrote their state representatives, imploring them to uphold collective bargaining rights. I also appreciate the courageous representatives on both sides of the aisle who chose to stand with working men and women," he added.
The defeat of SB 166 is not the end of this issue. There will be other legislative and judicial attempts to silence our voices and undermine strong, vibrant unions in this country. I am confident we will remain strong and continue to fight this fight together.
