The Fight for Our Voice: Southeast Council, RWDSU Members Join the Renewed Battle for Southern Voting Rights
More than sixty years after the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, a new generation of voting rights advocates is retracing those seminal steps, not just to commemorate history, but to stop it from repeating itself.
Following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana in a 6-3 ruling, states across the South have moved to redraw U.S. House districts. Critics argue these redrawn lines dilute the political power of Black voters, making it significantly harder for working-class communities to elect lawmakers who truly represent their interests.
For the members of the RWDSU Southeast Council , this is not an abstract legal debate; it is a direct assault on the democratic principles that protect working families. From manufacturing plants in South Carolina to food processing facilities in Georgia, RWDSU Southeast Council members are standing up to declare that labor rights and voting rights are inextricably linked.
The Echoes of 1965
As reported by the Associated Press, the current atmosphere in the South mirrors the high-stakes political battles of 1965, when Black Americans faced severe violence to secure the landmark Voting Rights Act. Today, activists, students, and union members are organizing bus trips to state capitals like Montgomery to protest modern gerrymandering and to advocate for federal legislation, such as the proposed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, that would restore federal protections and outlaw discriminatory redistricting.
For union members, gerrymandering has a direct impact on the workplace. When legislative maps are manipulated to suppress the political power of diverse, working-class communities, it becomes significantly harder to elect representatives who support fair wages, workplace safety standards, and the right to organize.
Standing Together from Aiken to Camilla
The pushback within the RWDSU is a multi-state effort, drawing strength from essential workers across different industries who understand the power of collective action.
In Aiken, South Carolina, members at the Autoneum automotive components plant, represented by the RWDSU Southeast Council, are highly tuned into how localized political decisions impact their families. South Carolina’s political boundaries have faced intense scrutiny, and Autoneum workers are emphasizing that the determination they bring to the shop floor must also be brought to the ballot box.
“They want to take away that legacy when we’re still living with Strom's?” questioned Keith Odom a RWDSU Southeast Council member at the Aiken, South Carolina Autoneum facility on the hypocrisy of the Supreme Court's ruling and redistricting efforts. “I’m not trying to live a life that’s going backwards. I want to go forward, for my grandchildren to be able to go forward,” he continued later during the ride.
Meanwhile, in Camilla, Georgia, members at the Tyson Foods facility are facing a similar battle. The buses that traveled to Montgomery in the recent AP report launched from Georgia, a state that has been ground zero for voting rights battles over the last decade. Tyson workers in Camilla know firsthand that corporate accountability and political accountability go hand in hand.
“A lot of people who saw us at the rally in our union shirts were glad to see the union was out there representing this issue. I don’t want to live what my ancestors lived. It hurt me for people to say my vote didn’t count. If it [my vote] didn’t count people wouldn’t be trying to stop it back then or now. This weekend was an education, and I learned a whole lot more, but most importantly; our rights, our voice, our vote – it does matter,” said Bridgette Bonaparte, QA Processing for 31 years at Tyson Foods in Camilla, Georgia and a Union Steward.
A Shared Fight for the Future
The cross-border solidarity between automotive workers in South Carolina and poultry workers in Georgia underscores the core message of the RWDSU: an injury to one is an injury to all. Whether fighting a major corporation for a fair contract or challenging state lawmakers for equal representation, the weapon of choice for working people remains the same – solidarity.
As the legal battles over the Southern district maps continue to head through the courts, RWDSU members will continue to organize, mobilize, and vote. The road to Montgomery may be long, but the working people of the RWDSU Southeast Council and the wider labor movement are committed to marching it together until every voice is fairly heard.