Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership in galvanizing all of us, and I thank my colleagues for very…”

“I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership in galvanizing all of us, and I thank my colleagues for very eloquent messages on the floor of the House regarding Janus v. AFSCME Council 31. Let me acknowledge Lee Saunders and the AFSCME family, who have been champions in fighting for the rights of all labor, and that is why we are on the floor of the House today, because we wanted to, in our way as legislators, join in this magnificent fight for constitutional rights of the First Amendment. And let me take issue with the 1977 Supreme Court case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education and turn the Fourth Amendment back to supporting those workers who, in fact, want to associate and participate in unions. Let me also thank my colleague Chairman Richmond of the Congressional Black Caucus for galvanizing us as well in this effort. We offered a resolution to honor Echol Cole and Robert Walker. On February 1, 1968, it will be 50 years that these two sanitation workers in Memphis were killed in a horrific accident when the compactor on their sanitation truck malfunctioned. The key is that these individuals had no rights, no benefits. They had no death benefits. They had no protection for their families. They had nothing.…”