Workers showed out for the Workers Fight Back March! We collaborated with various ally organizations to organize this initial action from Lafayette Square to Jackson Square on April 6. The coalition consisted of NOCWOC, as well as New Orleans chapters of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, New Orleans Worker's Center for Racial Justice, National Nurses United, Starbucks Workers United, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Democratic Socialist of America, Fair Trade Music, Local 100 ULU, and more.
Various organizations gave speeches ahead of and following the march to Jackson Square. Footage of speeches can be found on NOCWOC's brand new Youtube Channel!
Overall, there was a great energy to this march and we feel it is a fantastic starting point to continue coalition building. Many worker speeches emphasized a need for a working class movement. Speakers noted that to move past being on the defensive, we must involve our friends, families, and neighbors.
Let's keep this energy as we move into next steps!
To protest these anti-worker bills, Labor Lobby Day will be held by the AFL-CIO on Thursday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. on the west side of the Louisiana State Capital Building. Let's show out strong so these legislators know we won't go down without a fight!
Several anti-union bills were introduced on March 1, 2024 for the Regular Session of the Louisiana State Legislature that begins on March 11 and goes through June. The bills include attacks on public employees rights to organize and collectively bargain, changes to worker compensation rates, and use of employee resources to fund organizing. We see these as direct attacks on NOCWOC and our organizing wins for city employees, specifically the Right to Organize Ordinance that NOCWOC drafted and helped pass at the New Orleans City Council. The Ordinance codifies city employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain and sets forth the procedures for workers to select their union; it further obligates the city to negotiate with workers’ through their democratically selected labor organization. These bills should be seen as direct attacks on the working class of Louisiana as they hope to halt the advance of the labor movement that is catching fire throughout the country; this is also a direct attack on women and Black Louisianians who are more likely to be public employees and union members.
The LA Leg bills seek to arrest the momentum of the current unionization wave before city and state government workers become more deeply unionized, given the victories in Baton Rouge, Monroe, and New Orleans. Given the already debilitated state of the Louisiana Democratic Party and its miserable showing in the 2023 gubernatorial election, Landry and his allies are more than likely thinking this will be the kill shot to a potential Democratic Party victory in future elections. Our goal is not to rescue the Louisiana Democratic Party, but to build a labor movement that fights back.
Join the Coalition
Mass Meeting: March 23, 1 p.m. at Louis Armstrong Park