Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott

STATEMENT: President Guyott on the defeat of "Right to Work"

For Immediate Release
Contact - Jeff Harris, 317-632-9147
Mike Uehlein, 317-610-6634

Statement by Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott

February 24, 2011

Working families in Indiana are thrilled to hear that Governor Daniels, Speaker Bosma, and Senate Leader Long have abandoned the falsely-labeled “right to work” bill. We agree with Governor Daniels’ position that the members of the Indiana General Assembly did not campaign on these issues and so bringing it up during this General Assembly was indeed “a mistake,” as Senator Long termed it.

After rallying all week at the Statehouse, these developments show that when Hoosiers join together and raise our voices in pursuit of fairness and an economy that works for everyone, working families can make a difference. Working people agree with Governor Daniels – now is not the time to be having this conversation – our leaders need to focus on creating middle class jobs.

Indiana’s middle class is still under attack, and while we celebrate the solidarity and progress we’ve achieved on this issue, we continue to build momentum and mobilize to stop the numerous anti-worker legislative bills that threaten Hoosier working families. Without the ability of workers to join together, these attacks on the middle class will go unanswered.

Strengthening Indiana’s middle class and creating good jobs should be the highest priority in the General Assembly. While we have won this battle, the fight continues and our cause will endure.