Working Hard for Progressive Change

Anna Burger Speaks at Progressivism on Tap Event

SOURCE: Campus Progress

Ruy Teixeira, Anna Burger, and John Halpin at the Progressivism on Tap event.

November 4, 2009

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Secretary Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union Anna Burger spoke to a standing room only crowd on Monday night at the third installment of the Center for American Progress’s Progressivism on Tap series. She spoke about her past as an activist, the importance of organizing workers worldwide, and the close bond that progressives share with the labor movement.

She addressed the role of unions today saying that organizers should not focus solely on increasing their membership or providing a decent working environment in their individual firms. Unions must rather work for a more just society as a whole if they are to remain relevant in the dynamic and relentless global economy. That is why the SEIU has strongly supported current initiatives such as health care improvements, environmental sustainability, and financial reform.

Burger described how the union movement has taken a blow in recent years as employers have begun to crack down on anyone who would move to form or join a union. Burger noted that the obstacles, which range from firing individual employees to disbanding entire workforces, “are not just unfair—they’re brutal.” This is why she and the SEIU have come out solidly in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would prevent employers from threatening to fire workers who seek to organize. Burger also affirmed the SEIU’s strong support for financial regulatory reform, stating outright that, “if banks are too big to fail, they’re too big, period.”

There is a bright future ahead for the labor movement. The Internet is making it easier to connect to a broad network of organizers worldwide. The election of a progressive president and Congress has opened the door to changes that some wouldn’t have thought possible just a few years ago. And the final ingredient, according to Burger, is us. We must all become activists and work hard for progressive change if we are to lay the foundation for a better society for future generations.

Event information

More on the Progresivism on Tap series