...K P F T news

The Harris County chapter of the AFL-CIO organized a justice bus tour last week to highlight workers rights to organize into unions.

This tour coincides with AFL-CIO national month of awareness called "Voice at work," designed to educate and organize workers about the problems they face and how unions can help.

One of the groups particularly active in the afl-cio's campaign are the former Enron employees.

Debbie Parata, spoke on the steps of the KPFT studios about the AFL-CIO's involvement in helping to increase severance packages:

"The AFL-CIO completely came in and took over and supported us 100 percent. Here we are non-union employees, and here they came to our aid immediately. Before that, we had fighting for months to get our severance package. It has been temporarily approved right now for our severance package about $29 million more. This is something that is very historic because never has there ever been in the bankruptcy court of America that the unsecured creditors were paid before the secured creditors."

Because Texas is a right to work state, employees are not required to join or pay dues or fees to a union.

For employers, this means that most workers are not under the protective wing of union legal services.

This has particular weight when considering the massive amount of immigrant laborers that make up the industrial and service sectors in Houston.

Employers resist unions because of their bargaining power over issues such as pay and benefits, which are usually more favorable for union members.

In about a third of the union organizing campaigns, employers illegally fire workers just because they want to form a union.

Despite this fact, workers showed solidarity at one stop of the justice bus tour by coming out on their lunch break to stand with the bus riders.

Richard Shaw, secretary of the Harris County chapter of the AFL-CIO:

"...The workers actually rallied...they would come out on their lunch time and rally in front of the plant, right there, right outside of the gate...it's almost unheard of in the union movement cause generally workers try to organize a union in secret, because they're scared. These workers kind of said, you know, in your face. And so far, Baker Concrete has not fired any of the workers. But they could. You know, the union movement has got to reach out and organize a new base."

As trade barriers continue to erode between countries, the traditional base of union membership has continued to dwindle as well.

The manufacturing sector loses hundreds of jobs every month to corporate exportation of labor to less regulated countries. And, with the Enron scandal looming, the justice bus tour in Houston found allies in corporate and immigrant workers.

This is Jackson Allers, KPFT news, Houston.

E-mail Jackson Allers at jacksona@earthlink.net .