Dozens are shown at a union rally in front of the Capitol and Legislature in Carson City, Thursday, March 12, 2015.
Thursday, March 12, 2015 | 5 p.m.
About 150 pro-union protesters gathered in front of the Capitol and Legislature Thursday afternoon to denounce Republican-backed legislation they say aims at their paychecks.
The protest, organized by the AFL-CIO, is one of many pro-union rallies that's popped up in the first six weeks of the legislative session and is in response to a litany of legislation that would affect the wages, bargaining power and influence of organized labor in government and the private sector. For the AFL-CIO, the afternoon demonstration was the second of the day.
The protest reflects the hyper-partisan tone in a session where Democrats have no control in any chamber for the first time since 1985. Protesters called out Gov. Brian Sandoval for signing a bill, SB119, that forbids construction workers from making a prevailing wage if they’re building public schools.
Reforming the state’s public education system is the hot-button topic during the Republican-controlled legislative session. But Democrats and unions say that’s been overshadowed by a “War on the middle class.”
Republican legislation has called to eliminate prevailing wage pay from some state jobs, lower the minimum wage and diminish collective bargaining agreements, said Danny Thompson, executive vice treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO.
“If you name an issue for the middle class, they have a bill to screw it up,” he said.
Democrats, who have expressed frustration with how Republicans are introducing and passing bills, shouted into megaphones to rally the crowd. Despite the party’s bump from majority to minority party, lawmakers have vowed to not stand on the sidelines.
Every day there is a new bill that takes away from middle-class earning power, said Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas.
Democrats will vote for the waitresses, laborers and other middle class workers this session, said Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno.
“If you wake up in the morning and put on a pair of steel-toed boots and a Carhartt, the fight this session is for you,” she said.
The rally foreshadows what Republicans can expect to face in the 2016 election cycle from organized labor.
With U.S. Sen. Harry Reid up for re-election and a clear desire to see a Democratic majority in the Nevada Legislature, unions are flexing their muscle early. During the protest an 18-wheeler with a Teamsters logo drove by honking its horn while protesters chanted “stand up, fight back." Organized labor admittedly cut back on its campaign support for Democrats in the 2014 midterms, which led to the power shift that’s given rise to the legislation criticized in the protest.
“With the next election, we are going to take out our fury on these people,” Thompson said.
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