By The PA. AFL-CIO

The Labor Movement in Northeast Pennsylvania turned up the heat on Dick Yuengling, the billionaire owner of Pottsville based D.G. Yuengling and son Inc., for supporting union busting right-to-work (for less) bills in Pennsylvania. Dick Yuengling recently said that “Pennsylvania would be better off as a right-to-work state” and that “Governor Corbett is a great man.”

His remarks are already costing his company lost sales and business, not only among union workers who heard the news, but also among other working families who don’t want to see more downward pressure on their wages by bad public policies that give more to the rich.

The right-to-work (for less) remark drew immediate condemnation from labor unions across Pennsylvania. On Saturday, November 9th, over 400 union members held a march and rallied on the steps of the Schuylkill County Courthouse in Pottsville, publicly rebuking Dick Yuengling for supporting union busting and economic policies that cut the wages and living standards of all workers.

News of the rally spread as far and wide as California. A news brief appeared in the LA Times. Liz Bettinger, a Schuylkill County native and staff representative for the United Steelworkers, said that the Pottsville area, with its very strong labor heritage, is a very good place to bring the argument. “We won’t let Dick Yuengling turn the clock back over 100 years to the days of the Molly Maguires,” she said.

The rally was sponsored by The Lehigh Valley Labor Council, The Northeastern Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, The Schuylkill County Building and Construction Trades Council, and The Schuylkill County Labor Council.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=3090