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A Statement on the Texas Organizing Campaign by
Leo Gerard, USW International President

In Texas, a movement is taking shape among public employees that shows they are no longer willing to quietly accept whatever is left over in city and county budgets.

State laws used to limit the rights of workers to organize for self-improvement are no longer intimidating public workers.

In an 18-month period, workers in Dallas, Laredo, Corpus Christi and Smith County (Tyler) have formed local chapters of the Texas Association of Public Employees. With more than 2,200 dues paying members, the union is working on issues that affect thousands of Texas public employees.

In Dallas, the USW has helped city workers organize large-scale demonstrations against proposed pay cuts and layoffs from the ranks of the people who the purify the drinking water, clean the streets, remove the garbage and the many other services necessary for a modern city. Important budget discussions are taking place, and this time the city workers are there as an organized group.

In Laredo, the public workers are organizing to draw attention to important public health, safety and cleanliness issues that are directly tied to the jobs they perform day in and day out. In Corpus Christi, an organization of city workers is taking hold, seeking to correct shortcomings in the cities pay structure for civilian employees. Smith County workers are organizing in response to wage freezes in the 2002-2003 county budget.

The USW, which has had the honor to represent workers in Texas for more than half a century, stands firmly behind these public employees as they seek to organize. Our union is prepared to put its full weight into this effort.

Many of the problems faced by public workers in Texas can be traced to the laws designed by the wealthy and powerful to restrict the power of ordinary working people. But laws can be changed as quickly as they were enacted. And laws that inhibit the democratic rights of working people must be changed.

The Texas Association of Public Employees is on the move! Don't miss out on this chance to strengthen your voice on the job and in the community.

Leo W. Gerard is International President of the United Steelworkers

For More Information on the Texas Association of Public Employees, Call Toll Free at 1-877-511-8792