LETTER: Snyder’s union support hits a nerve
State Rep. Pam Snyder’s support for labor unions (July 22) appears to have struck a nerve that ran all the way to Harrisburg, as it prompted a reply (July 31) from none other than the president/CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Gene Barr, who primarily represents the interests of big-time CEOs, including himself.
Barr keeps sticking up for the bigwigs, who see the erosion of workers rights as a stepping stone in advancement of their own anti-worker agenda. But don’t criticize Snyder for having the gumption to stand up for the rights of working men and women.
Snyder isn’t the only one in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties who sees the recent U.S. Supreme Courts Janus decision as the brazen judicial weakening of organized labor. Many of us non-CEO types see it for what it will do: weaken public sector unions’ ability to affect meaningful workplace change for those working or who have worked in the public sector. To add insult to injury, what is most egregious is those choosing not to pay their “fair share,” by law, under Act 195, the unions are required to represent the freeloaders at the bargaining table, and representation through our grievance procedures – all while enjoying their free ride on the backs and the expense of our dues-paying members. It’s the same as trying to kill a tree by either removing its limbs one at a time or strangling the roots, reducing its ability to live.
Thanks, Rep. Snyder, for your commitment to labor unions and advancing legislation to make it easier for unions to organize in Pennsylvania. Barr and his fellow CEOs might think that means the sky is falling. But we folks who actually work for a living need true champions like Snyder.
Barry L. Andrews
Andrews is vice president of the Washington-Greene Counties Central Labor Council, Washington.