Advertisement

PLATFORM : We Must Organize

Share
<i> JESUS GOMEZ of Perris is among the Southern California drywallers seeking to form a new union. Many are out on strike, seeking better wages and medical benefits. Gomez told The Times:</i>

The working conditions for the drywallers are the worst they’ve ever been. We tried to form a union in 1987, which forced the owners to give us a raise, but the improved working conditions and raises we received were only temporary. After a couple of months, things reverted back to the way they were. In time, wages actually dropped lower than what we were receiving before we threatened to organize. As for the conditions, it’s tragic.

Organizing is the only means we have to protect ourselves and ensure fair wages and benefits. We can’t believe in fairy tales while our families don’t have enough to eat, or we can’t afford new clothes for them to wear.

Only by unifying and demanding fair and just wages and benefits to protect our families can we hope to accomplish the things we dream about every day. We have support. Our Canadian brothers have donated money for our families in this fight. There is no other way. We must rely on each other, and those who are fighting for us to make things right. We must organize.

Advertisement
Advertisement