Campaign Update: Paul Drake

(Check, check... Is this thing on?)

GREETINGS. My name is Paul Drake, and I'm stoked to be back in Chi-town for some solid labor this summer. I'm nearing the end of my seminary education, which has been animated by the vision of economic justice, something that has proved so elusive throughout history, even in this "land of opportunity."

Or at least that's our self-image. Scratch beneath the surface, and it is clear that opportunity favors those strong enough to secure its blessings, often at the expense of the weak.

The past few days I have been able to learn about this first-hand from AFSCME organizers as I rode with them on their visits to workers of a local troubled youth facility. Some workers reached out to AFSCME when they became fed up with management's refusal to correct dangerous and unfair policies. Policies largely in place because they save the company money.

Of course, the company claims economic hardship, but open up their books (which anyone can do since it's a non-profit), and you will see that it is not rough for everyone: the same execs who claim the company is barely staying afloat have seen their already sizable salaries multiply over the past several years, meanwhile, employees' wages have fallen. You see, when the facility takes on more troubled (read: dangerous) youth, the facility gets more money from the government. But the execs neither have to work with these youth, nor do they spend the funds on proper training of staffing or on pay increases for the staff who actually do work with the youth. (Wait, didn't someone say this was a non-profit?) Needless to say, the turnover rate for frontline workers is very high.

This gross disparity in wages, job security, and safety, along with the lies, and the ability to enforce them are a common story of the power imbalance that exists between workers and managers. And as I have learned from my time with the AFSCME organizers, labor laws afford often workers little recourse since they lack serious punitive teeth, meaning that employers often find it more worthwhile to break the law and take the slap on the wrist (ESPECIALLY when it comes to respecting workers' right to organize to secure a meaningful voice!).

The organizers I've ridden with both became union organizers because they experienced similar scenarios, with management taking away their livelihood simply because they could. Now they're all in, helping others take it to the man. It this dynamic that has called me to invest in the labor movement.

I'm very much looking forward to learning how to amplify workers' voice, in the workplace, in society, and with lawmakers. I've got a great team here in Chicago, and I'm plan on making some waves with them.