Tx Democratic Party Backs Janitor Strike

I may have misjudged the new chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. I had thought he would continue the same old moderate to conservative policies of the last leadership. In the past, the state party leadership avoided any issue that might seem progressive and cost them conservative votes (votes they weren't going to get anyway). A good example of that would be the union janitor strike in Houston (where the janitors are trying to get a livable wage).

But the new party chairman, Gilberto Hinojosa, has come down squarely on the side of the striking janitors, and he has done so publicly. This is a progressive stand, and one that I wholeheartedly support. I hope this is indicative of future actions Mr. Hinojosa will take. If so, the Texas Democratic Party might once again give Texas voters a real choice (instead of a parade of Republican-lite conservatives that have marked candidates in the recent past).

Here is the press release sent out by the Texas Democratic Party:

The Texas Democratic Party will not stand idle while our fellow Americans of the Service Employee International Union are shamed into working for wages at half the poverty level.   In this country, a hard day’s work should mean a fair wage, yet Houston janitors are being to ask to work for sub-poverty earnings. 

Houston janitors of the SEIU went on strike earlier this month.  These working men and women clean the offices of some of the largest corporations in America yet are paid less than $9,000 a year. Political and religious leaders are standing on the side of the janitors in their quest for a rightful piece of the American dream. The Texas Democratic Party joins them in supporting the Houston SEIU janitors who are striking for a living wage. 

“If corporations want to be considered people, then they need to accept the belief that we are our brother’s keepers,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, the newly elected chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.  “Hard working people in America should not be shamed.  Honest work should receive honest pay, but Republicans want to repeal the minimum wage to make people work for $2 an hour.  Then Republicans want to whine about paying for heath care for children of American parents who have jobs.  It is shameful.” 

“Grotesquely overpaid CEOs and upper management expect the men and women who work hard and play by the rules to be forced to beg for public assistance just to support themselves, much less a family.  That is a disgrace not only to the America we love, but also to God,” Hinojosa stressed.  “These striking workers are seeking a living wage for their work in cleaning the offices of Texas millionaires and one percenters, who not only refuse to pay a decent wage for honest work but are also enlisting Republican support to protect them from paying their fair share of taxes.” 

“Democrats, along with labor unions, have been cleaning up corporate messes, both literally and figuratively, for far too long.   Corporations are attempting to maximize profits at the expense of the taxpayers who must provide medical care and food assistance for workers’ families, even though the breadwinners are working full time.  That is not the America we love,” Hinojosa continued, “and the workers and taxpayers in this country should be enraged about it.” 

Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa and The Texas Democratic Party calls upon Texas Democrats and all Texans who support the right to a living wage to make a meaningful stand by helping on the picket line, signing the petition athttp://1.seiu.org/page/s/houston-needs-a-raise.