Union Protests and Rallies make their way into Kansas

More than a thousand people rallied at the Kansas Statehouse on Saturday for a "Save the American Dream" rally on the south steps of the Statehouse. The rally was attended by Labor, and Advocacy, and Community organizations from around the State, all joining in solidarity to express support for organized labor.

This followed a demonstration inside the Capital last Thursday as the House passed HB2130. If it clears the Senate, the bill will eliminate a paycheck checkoff that allows workers to voluntarily have donations to their union's political action committee deducted directly from their wages. That protest drew nearly a hundred union workers to the Capital and gallery.

The Kansas State Conference of the NAACP stands in full support of the efforts of Organized Labor to maintain collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and elsewhere. We believe that the right of workers to organize, to bargain as a group for fair wages and better working conditions, is in line with our best democratic traditions and should not be compromised. The organized Labor movement has afforded ordinary working class men and women the opportunity to fairly negotiate the true value of their goods and services. And at a time of pronounced fiscal uncertainties, now it not the time to start stripping away the rights or silencing the voices of everyday working people so as to protect and safeguard the interests of the wealthy and powerful.

In the late 90's, when the Wichita Branch of the NAACP was faced with serious financial challenges, it was organized labor that came forward and offered us meeting space and access to copies and fax machines so that we could rebuild our organization and continue to serve our community. Now, it is our turn to stand with you... And we do so Proudly.