Labor stands for equal voting rights

In the midst of good news coming out of the Supreme Court this week, many of us have also been recalling that yesterday was the two year anniversary of Shelby v. Holder, when this same Court decided the need to protect the rights of African Americans to vote was no longer needed in the South.  

As it stands for equal rights for all Americans, the labor movement and working people in this country everywhere now understand more than ever how wrong those justices were in that case in 2013. We know that the days of discriminatory practices in voting are not a vestige of the past, but rather have worsened and grown in the last several years.

{mosads}Hundreds of us from dozens of different organizations, including labor, joined friends and allies in Roanoke, Virginia on June 25 to commemorate the ruling, and declare our collective outrage that the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), has refused to even hold a hearing on the challenges to voting rights.  Indeed Goodlatte has unilaterally declared even a discussion of the topic “unnecessary,” denying that there is a need for protections against discrimination in today’s voting system.

The Communications Workers of America in particular has dedicated itself to fighting for an equal voice for all.  At CWA’s annual convention earlier this month, the union passed this resolution: “CWA will continue to work with partner organizations to mobilize to protect every citizen’s right to vote and to push for the demands of the civil rights community to restore the promise and protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.”

As a product of our resolve, our union, along with AFSCME and many others in labor, have joined with dozens of civil rights, environmental, and other allied organizations to form the Democracy Initiative. This network of 55 groups is collectively dedicated to building a movement of millions to create a democracy where all Americans have an equal say and participate fully and freely in the democratic process.

This partnership exists because the groups share the goals of a democracy that works for all. These organizations also understand that the issues we fight for everyday are inextricably linked and dependent on equality in democracy. As just one example, CEOs and corporate executives continue to make millions, even billions, while Americans continue to struggle to get a fair wage. Our current political system helps create the environment for this by gaming the political system in favor of the wealthy, by denying voting rights to millions by dumping huge amounts of money into the political process, and drowning out the voices of working Americans and citizens of color.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil and voting rights movement have historically worked hand in hand with unions. The March on Washington in 1963 was organized in large part by labor and was, after all, called “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” Both movements are predicated on communities working and fighting together, and taking collective action for equality and fairness for our families and our futures.

If voting rights advocates, labor, and others who believe deeply in the potential greatness of our democracy join together, we can create a voting system in which every American has access to the ballot box. We can build a democracy where dollars don’t determine candidates and public policy – the people do. We must create a society where working families have a voice on the economic issues that affect all of us.

We will need to fight for our vision of a system of, by, and for the people at the state level, in Congress, and in the courts. This begins with protecting our fundamental right to vote by demanding Congress address the gaping holes in our voting rights protections created by the Supreme Court in the 2013 Shelby decision. We need to further expand opportunities to participate by making it easier to register to vote for all Americans and taking measures that ensure all Americans have access to the ballot box and have their votes count equally.

We can do this through such policies already enacted in some states such as automatic registration, Same Day Registration, and allowing for early voting. We will need to do it by continuing to beat back restrictive measures like voter ID laws and the enactment of needless obstacles to registration in state legislatures and in the courts. We must create a politics where people understand and truly feel the power of their vote and are inspired to participate in our democracy.

The idea of American democracy still stirs the admiration and the imagination of people around the world, but there is a small contingent in power trying, and very nearly succeeding, in diminishing the American ideals of democracy and opportunity for all.

This August 6th marks the 50th Anniversary of the seminal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Labor is standing together more strongly than ever with civil rights organizations and democracy advocates everywhere to use this moment in our nation’s history to preserve and strengthen our democracy and restore the founding principle that all Americans have an equal voice.

Wang is the director of Democracy Programs for CWA, and has been a voting and elections expert for 15 years.