NEWSFEED: US union struggles

Walmart - Women workers' rights?


At Walmart’s Annual Shareholders' Meeting, women will call on the CEO and Walton family to treat women workers right.


Stand with women who work at Walmart in their fight for equal pay, reliable hours, and paid family leave.

SIGN THE PETITION


Chris,

Next week, women workers who have borne the brunt of Walmart’s sexist policies will have the chance to confront CEO Doug McMillon and the Walton family.

At Walmart’s Annual Shareholders' Meeting, McMillon and the Walton’s will have to answer for years of workplace mistreatment of women. From pay discrimination to inconsistent work hours, it’s high time Walmart commit to policy changes that bring economic stability to working women.

As the largest corporate employer of women, Walmart has the power to shape industry standards for equal pay, opportunity, and family leave. That’s why it’s so crucial we stand with the brave women taking on Walmart executives at its Annual Shareholders' Meeting.

Stand with women demanding Walmart adopt policies for equal pay, reliable hours, and paid family leave.

Women like Janie Price are representative of the workplace concerns of countless women working at Walmart. Janie has struggled to support her family because Walmart refuses to give her full-time work, all while issuing last minute schedule changes that make it difficult to find childcare.

And it’s not just Janie -- Walmart is no stranger to allegations of worker mistreatment. This year, workers filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Walmart had refused to accommodate the work schedules of pregnant women. And just last month, Walmart settled a multimillion dollar lawsuit for denying spousal benefits to same-sex couples.

There’s nothing more powerful than when workers organize to improve their work conditions -- especially when they’re backed by a loving community of concerned consumers. That’s why we need to support the brave women who will confront Walmart executives next week over the company’s egregious record of mistreating women workers. Let’s show Walmart there’s power in numbers, and that the concerns of working women won’t be ignored.

Support women who work at Walmart in their fight for equal pay, reliable hours, and paid family leave.

Thanks for all that you do,

Maggie, Reem, Emma, Fatah, Angus, and the team at SumOfUs



More information:

What Walmart and the Trumps Get Wrong About #WomenWhoWork, Medium, May 2, 2017.




SumOfUs is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations. We want to buy from, work for and invest in companies that respect the environment, treat their workers well and respect democracy. And we’re not afraid to stand up to them when they don’t.

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"Time off is fine, but it doesn't pay the bills"


Dear Chris,

You don’t need me to tell you that Republicans are scheming everyday to screw workers and bust unions.

But if that wasn’t bad enough, House Republicans just passed a bill to kill overtime pay for America’s low-wage workers. It’s a brazen attempt to legalize wage theft and force workers to put in longer hours for less pay.

Now the bill is on its way to the Senate, and we need to kill it there. That's why we're partnering with our allies at Interfaith Worker Justice to fight back. Click here to email your Senators: tell them to protect overtime pay.

As the law stands now, people who work over 40 hours a week get extra pay for overtime. That might not seem like a big deal, but for low-wage workers like Mercedes Rodriguez, overtime pay is critical.

Mercedes, a Good Jobs Nation member, serves meals to generals at the Pentagon but only earns $12 an hour. WIthout the extra money she makes from working overtime, Mercedes wouldn’t be able to make ends meet and help her son pay for college.

But Republicans want to pull the rug out from under Mercedes’ feet. They want to allow bosses to withhold workers’ overtime pay and make them take unpaid time off instead.

Mercedes said it best: “Time off is fine, but it doesn’t pay the bills.”

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Workers like Mercedes depend on overtime to pay their bills, but Republicans are trying to strip it away. Email your Senators, and tell them to vote NO on attacks on our overtime pay.

If this bill passes, low-wage workers will see their pay slashed, and bosses will have another excuse to work their employees to the bone. We need to stop the GOP war on workers -- act now!

Thank you for fighting for workers,

Mikey Franklin
Digital Director, Good Jobs Nation

P.S. By taking this action, you'll be signed up to receive emails from our friends at Interfaith Worker Justice. But don't worry, you can unsubscribe at any time!


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Tell Congress to Oppose the Attack on Federal Workers

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES June 1, 2017


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Tell Congress to Oppose the Attack on Federal Workers

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Federal Workers, including IAM government employees and National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) members need your help now.

Tell your Representative to Vote “NO” on H.R. 1461. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121

The IAM and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) are calling on all members to contact their Representatives to demand that they vote “NO” on the VET Protection Act of 2017 (H.R. 1461). Introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and further amended by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), the bill breaks the independent voice of unions and employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, under the guise of improving accountability.

The bill as amended will cap official time and representation at 25% for all employees, and prohibit all employees who provide direct care or make more than $100,000 in base salary from serving in official time capacities. In addition, it extends probationary periods for new employees to two years, discourages direct communication with Congress, and allows union members to drop their dues at any time.

H.R. 1461 intends to break unions and cut their influence at the VA, and it aims to weaken the rights of federal employees first at the VA, then everywhere.

This bill could go to the House Floor the week of June 5th so NOW is the time to contact your Representative to tell them to say “NO” to H.R. 1461.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121

The IAM and NFFE-IAM represent more than 100,000 federal workers. Tell your representative to vote no on these attacks on federal workers.

Winning Contracts: Chicago’s Unionized Charter Schools


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Winning Contracts: Chicago’s Unionized Charter Schools

A documentary on the contract successes in the 2016-17 school year for Chicago ACTS Local 4343/AFT, the charter school union. Key moments in the campaigns and subsequent victories for contracts at UNO, ASPIRA, and then Passages, whose teachers authorized strikes with 96%, then 99%, then 100% approval respectively — convincing administrators to settle at the last minute. Is Chicago now the charter unionizing capital of the U.S.? Length - 29:15

Video url:
​https://youtu.be/6Gc50fApZFo

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Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat.

For info: [email protected], www.laborbeat.org, 312-226-3330; Labor Beat, 37 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat". Labor Beat is on as a cable-tv series in six U.S. cities: Chicago, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; Cambridge, MA. Chicago schedule: CAN TV 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm, Frdays 4:30 pm.

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#RealSuperHeroesWearVests


Dear Chris,

It really seems like our economy is set up to be against people like me and my co-workers who work hard every day and expect a fair day’s pay. That’s why I hand delivered a letter to the Los Angeles and Long Beach Mayors insisting that they need to make companies at the ports (like the California Cartage warehouse where I work) follow the law. If you feel the deck is stacked against regular people, join our League of Working Class Heroes. Please sign up so we can fix this unjust system together.

Can you join our League of Working Class Heroes today?

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Join our League of Working Class Hereos

My letter to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia described how my co-workers and I have faced wage theft and harassment daily from a company leasing government property.

“I have worked at this warehouse for three years, but the company still tells me that I’m a temporary worker. Before I was a tire chocker, every morning, California Cartage would make me stand in line with hundreds of my fellow temp workers to see if one of the supervisors would pick me. Sometimes I would be standing around half an hour before being picked to work or sent home and it was time that I wouldn’t get paid for. It’s degrading and reminds me that we still have a long way to go in this country before all workers, regardless of skin color, are treated with dignity and respect.”

The politicians we elect should make sure that working families get a fair shake, especially when it involves government property or our tax dollars. For example, the Mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach have the power to end this demeaning treatment at our country’s largest ports. Until something changes, my co-workers and I are ready to continue striking and taking action.

Please, join our League of Working Class Heroes so we can win this fight against wage theft together.

I believe that we will win!

Bruce Jefferson
Warehouse Workers
California Cartage

Action Network

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We did it!


Chris -

What a week!

We're just back from Bentonville, AR where we spoke to a crowd of 15,000 executives, associates and shareholders gathered at Walmart’s Annual Meeting, delivered a petition signed by over 85,000 people calling for quality Paid Family Leave, and took those same concerns directly to Walmart heir and richest woman in the U.S., Alice Walton.

The Walmart PR machine was on steroids telling the world about how much they "invest in associates" but we were able to disrupt their narrative by bringing the truth and speaking out about the issues that matter most to us and our 1.5 million coworkers. Please read the entire story here.

You can see from the press below, we were heard and we're fired up for what's next. Thank you for your support!

Love and strength,

Janie, Carolyn, Liz and Betsy & the OUR Walmart Team

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Select Press:

Washington Post: Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, and calls for better pay: Inside Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting

"....shareholders and Walmart workers presented proposals at the meeting, calling on the company to treat its workers better by offering higher wages, improved benefits and more predictable schedules.

“An unfair leave policy, reduced hours and low pay make it difficult for most of us to pay our bills and take care of our families,” said Carolyn Davis, who works at a Walmart store in Outer Banks, N.C., and was representing the activist group Organization United for Respect Walmart. “Walmart can, and should, live up to the promises it makes: letting us take care of our children when they are sick, and accepting our doctor’s notes.”

Janie Grice, an employee from Marion, S.C., asked the company to offer more information on gender and racial information on the company’s part- and full-time workers. “Too many of us are still part-time,” she said. “Too many of us have schedules and hours that change so frequently, we can’t plan our lives or line up a second job. Too many of us still can’t pay our bills.”

Buzzfeed: Walmart Workers Want A Racial Breakdown Of Who Gets Full-Time Hours

"Labor advocates and workers say that women, especially Hispanic [Latina] and black women like Grice, are disproportionately concentrated in the less secure, lower-paying part-time work, and they want Walmart to open its books to find out."

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[In Open Letter to Walmart, racial justice and labor leaders and academics wrote]..."We are very concerned that one major explanation for this disparity in representation might be that people of color are disproportionately concentrated in these 50 percent part-time jobs," they wrote, since part-time positions offer fewer ladders for career advancement. "Voluntarily releasing this information is clearly consistent with Walmart’s commitment to diversity... and transparency, and using metrics to measure progress toward your inclusion goals."

Also, A Better Balance published a powerful report accusing Walmart of having violated the ADA and FMLA with their sick time policy. The NYT did an amazing, deep story: Walmart Is Accused of Punishing Workers for Sick Days

"A report released Thursday by a workers’ advocacy group says Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, routinely refuses to accept doctors’ notes, penalizes workers who need to take care of a sick family member and otherwise punishes employees for lawful absences."

And following up on PL+US's powerful report on unequal access to corporate leave policies and amazing Walmart Employees Deliver Petition with 70,000 Signatures for Expanded Family Leave

"The problem is that for most hourly associates, Walmart has no paid family leave, and for the rest of us, we don't get enough pay to stay home and care for our newborns. I'm due this November, and I'll need to be right back to work because I can't afford to stay home under Walmart's policy," said [Liz] Loudermilk.

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USAToday: Paid Leave is an Elite Benefit in the US

"Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, has no full paid leave policy for its 1.2 million hourly employees, PL+US reports. Full-time birth moms are eligible for 6-8 weeks of disability leave at 50% pay.


Liz telling Alice Walton about the need for quality Paid Family Leave.

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P.S. We can't do it without your support. OUR Walmart depends on small donations to make sure we have a big impact. Please chip in $7 so we can keep up the pressure!








Organization United for Respect (OUR) is a non-profit organization, organized under the laws of the District of Columbia. OUR brings together low-income workers, their families and communities to improve working conditions in the retail industry throughout the United States, promote human and civil rights secured by law, build strong and healthy communities, and end all forms of discrimination. OUR Walmart is a project of OUR. OUR does not intend or seek to represent retail employees over terms and conditions of employment, or to bargain with retail employers, including Walmart.



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Stop Union Busting at StoryCorps


Activist Alert


Chris,

You have probably heard StoryCorps' work on the radio. They record, archive and share people’s heartfelt personal stories with the goal of a more connected, just, and compassionate world.

But a week ago, the workers at StoryCorps in New York City filed for a union election to join the Communications Workers of America, and instead of embracing their values and listening to the voices of their workers, management has gone full anti-union. Workers have been forced to attend captive audience meetings and listen to anti-union lectures aimed at preventing them from exercising their right to organize and demand a voice on the job.

SEND A MESSAGE ►

We expect more from a progressive organization with a mission like StoryCorps. Support the working people who are trying to join our union. Email the CEO and founder of StoryCorps and tell them to stop the union busting and allow workers to exercise their right to organize.

StoryCorps workers want a voice on the job and a say in their working conditions. Anti-union captive audience meetings should not be something any worker has to endure to exercise their rights on the job - especially not at an organization that claims to have a work environment "where respect and dignity are paramount."

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Please take a stand with working people fighting for a voice on the job. Click here to send a letter.

Thank you,
Dennis Trainor
CWA District 1 Vice President



CWA District 1
80 Pine Street, 37th Floor
New York NY, 10005
cwad1.org

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Text CWAD1 to 69866 to Join Our Text List.

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Twin River Casino workers vote to strike

By staff

Lincoln, RI - Nearly 400 food and beverage workers at Rhode Island’s Twin River Casino announced Wednesday afternoon, June 7, that they have voted to authorize a strike. The vote followed a rally in the Rhode Island state house last week, where Twin River workers announced their readiness to strike. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 26. The union’s bargaining committee announced that the results of the vote were 327 voting to authorize a strike to just 5 ballots cast in opposition.

Julie Procaccini, a banquet captain at Twin River and a bargaining committee member, said that the union is giving the company until 3:59 a.m. on Friday to meet the workers’ demands. If an agreement is not reached by this deadline, the Twin River workers will be on strike beginning at 4 a.m.

One of the primary demands being made by the workers is affordable health care coverage. The casino made a unilateral change to health insurance benefits earlier this year, which resulted in significant increases in costs for workers. Beverage server Alexis Maciel commented on the unaffordable health insurance by saying, “If I were to put me and my daughter on Twin River’s health care, it would cost up to $1200 a month – as much as rent or a mortgage. I’d have to move my family to afford Twin River’s health care.”

If the Twin River workers strike, it will be the first strike of UNITE HERE members in Rhode Island since 1980.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

U of MN unions hold their own hearing on budget after regents cancel public testimony

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By staff

Minneapolis, MN – A row of chairs reserved for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents sat empty while university unions held their own public hearing on university budget, June 8. Each June, the University of Minnesota budget proposal is presented to the board of regents at a public hearing. It is the one time each year when faculty, staff and students testify to advocate for their needs and the importance of investing a portion of the budget to benefit their campus community. This year the regents canceled the hearing. The administration presented a budget that short-changed university workers, by allocating a mere 2% for compensation increases.

Cherrene Horazuk of AFSCME Local 3800 said, “This year, the one opportunity for university stakeholders to testify and speak directly to the regents was eliminated. The current administration has been embroiled in scandal after scandal, spending university resources to clean up their mess. Now they’re shutting down an opportunity to hold them accountable.”

Horazuk continued, “Union workers at the U are currently in contract negotiations. The administration presented the regents a budget that does not include adequate cost of living increases for our members, at the same time they raise student tuition and increase debt to astronomical levels. We are not interested in the tired story that there is no money for the core institution while they find cash to pay high administrator salaries, lawsuit settlements and legal fees.”

Nicole Masika, a member of the executive board of AFSCME Local 3937, told the crowd, “Working at the U has brought me to the edge of bankruptcy.” Masika also pointed out that the university has made money, $29 million since 2002, off the employee medical and dental insurance plans.

Mick Kelly, a member of the Teamster 320 negotiating committee said that the university was “awash with money” and that now is the time to press for a major pay increase.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

Did you hear what ICE's Director said today?


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Take Action!

Farm workers are scared. We’re hearing stories of people being afraid to leave their houses except to go to and from work. And their fear was confirmed today by ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan. In testimony before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee today, Homan defended the Trump Administration’s targeting of formerly ‘low priority,’ non-criminal undocumented immigrants using the justification, “We shouldn't wait for them to become a criminal.”

What happened to America’s innocent until proven guilty philosophy? Homan’s insulting and inaccurate statement assumes that all undocumented laborers are dormant criminals who are going to commit a crime. In fact the truth is the exact opposite. Undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

A solution to this fear is critically important to the UFW and the community we serve. According to researchers at University of California, Davis, approximately 70% of all the farm workers here who put food on America’s tables are undocumented. And these hard-working people who are a vital part of our economy are scared.

One of the ways you can help is to e-mail your US Senators and Congressional Representative today and ask them to support the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 (AWPA), the UFW’s new immigration bill for farm workers.

As we wrote to you last week, on May 3rd Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) introduced the AWPA alongside 4 original co-sponsors. On May 25 Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez introduced this bill into Congress with 30 original co-sponsors.

The AWPA takes care of a real need in the farm worker community. It will protect farm workers from deportation and put them on a pathway to legalization and citizenship -- if they have worked 100 days or more in agriculture the past two years and continue to work in agriculture for at least 100 days/year for 5 years or 150 days/year for 3 years and meet other conditions. The AWPA would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture to the benefit of farm workers, employers and consumers.

This bill is critically important in the current atmosphere of Trump’s America and statements like today's. Please help.

http://action.ufw.org/immig617Take Action!


After you sign the petition, please ask your friends and family to sign too. You can send them an e-mail, post this campaign on your Facebook and/or Twitter page by clicking here or by going to https://secure.ufw.org/page/share/immig617


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United Farm Workers, P.O. Box 62, Keene, CA 93531 •http://www.ufw.org • Privacy Policy

Outrageous


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Did you hear what ICE’s Director said yesterday?

Thank you for e-mailing your US Senators and Congressional Representative and asking them to support the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 (AWPA), the UFW’s new immigration bill for farm workers.

We need to ask you for more help. We're hearing stories of farm workers being afraid to leave their houses except to go to and from work.

And their fear was confirmed yesterday by ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan. In testimony before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, Homan defended the Trump Administration’s targeting of formerly ‘low priority,’ non-criminal undocumented immigrants using the justification, “We shouldn't wait for them to become a criminal.”

What happened to America’s innocent until proven guilty philosophy? Homan’s insulting and inaccurate statement assumes that all undocumented laborers are dormant criminals who are going to commit a crime. In fact the truth is the exact opposite. Undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

A solution to this fear is critically important to the UFW and the community we serve. According to researchers at University of California, Davis, approximately 70% of all the farm workers here who put food on America’s tables are undocumented. And these hard-working people who are a vital part of our economy are scared.

The AWPA takes care of a real need in the farm worker community. It will protect farm workers from deportation and put them on a pathway to legalization and citizenship -- if they have worked 100 days or more in agriculture the past two years and continue to work in agriculture for at least 100 days/year for 5 years or 150 days/year for 3 years and meet other conditions. The AWPA would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture to the benefit of farm workers, employers and consumers.

Can you please forward this email to friends and family and ask them to e-mail their US Senators and Congressional Representative as well and request their elected officials support the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 (AWPA)?

This bill is critically important in the current atmosphere of Trump’s America and statements like yesterday's. Please take this extra step for farm workers. Thank you.

E-mail your U.S. Congressmembers in support of new immigration bill for farm workers
It is critical that we find a solution to the immigration problem in agriculture. Our nation’s food supply relies on the hard working men and women who labor to put food on our tables. Click here to e-mail your Congressmember today!

The first steps towards a solution began last month. On May 3th Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) introduced the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 (AWPA) alongside 4 original co-sponsors. On May 25 Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez introduced this bill into Congress with 30 original co-sponsors. This bill is critically important in the current atmosphere of Trump’s America.

According to researchers at University of California, Davis, approximately 70% of all the farm workers here who put food on America’s table are undocumented. And these hard working people who are a vital part of our economy are scared. The threat of deportations has caused disruptions to agricultural production.

The AWPA of 2017 takes care of a real need in the farm worker community. It will protect farm workers from deportation and put them on a pathway to legalization and citizenship -- if they show consistent employment in US agriculture and meet other criteria.

This bill sends a clear signal that there are leaders in Congress ready to work constructively on immigration. The AWPA would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture to the benefit of farm workers, employers, and consumers.

Please join this important effort to protect those who put food on our tables. E-mail your US Senators and Congressional Representative today and ask them to support the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017.

Take Action
http://action.ufw.org/immig617

Huffington Post Politics (6/13/17): ICE Director To All Undocumented Immigrants: ‘You Need To Be Worried’

Non-criminals won’t be spared from deportation, Thomas Homan said.
By Elise Foley

WASHINGTON ― The Trump administration will continue arresting undocumented immigrants who haven’t been convicted of crimes and won’t apologize for it, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.

“If you’re in this country illegally and you committed a crime by entering this country, you should be uncomfortable,” Acting Director Thomas Homan told the House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee. “You should look over your shoulder, and you need to be worried.”

Following up on Trump’s campaign promise to drive out more undocumented immigrants, ICE arrests rose significantly during the president’s first 100 days in office, compared with the same period the year before. About one-quarter of those arrested ― more than 10,800 people ― were non-criminals, meaning they did not have authorization to be in the U.S., but had not been convicted of a crime. (Being in the U.S. without legal status is a civil offense, although it is a crime to cross the border illegally.)

The Trump administration has come under fire from activists and Democratic lawmakers for its deportation practices. Homan, testifying before the subcommittee to explain the agency’s request for additional funding, devoted much of his prepared remarks to arguing those criticisms are unfair. He echoed Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who has said ICE is enforcing laws passed by Congress.

ICE requested a $1.2 billion increase in funding for next fiscal year. Nearly $4.9 billion would expand immigrant detention to more than 51,000 beds from about 34,000 beds ― the number Congress requires ICE to maintain. The budget request also would allow the agency to hire an additional 1,000 enforcement officers and about 600 support staff to increase the rate of removing people.

"If we wait for [non-criminal undocumented immigrants] to violate yet another law against a citizen of this country, then it’s too late. We shouldn’t wait for them to become a criminal." ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan

Even with additional funding, officials have said there is a need to prioritize enforcement, since ICE doesn’t have the funds to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Click to read full article



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Noble: No Neutrality Agreement on Union Organizing


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Noble: No Neutrality Agreement on Union Organizing

At the June 2017 board meeting of Noble charter schools in Chicago, the board refused to negotiate a neutrality agreement during a union organizing campaign. Teachers (represented by ChiACTS Local 4343 / AFT) said that such an agreement would assure a "fair, neutral process by which educators could have conversations about a union without intimidation or interference.” Joining with the teachers were parents who were upset by Noble’s draconian discipline measures, excessive expulsions of students, and teacher turnover; a strong union would give teachers a voice against such policies. Length - 12:30

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Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat.

For info: [email protected], www.laborbeat.org, 312-226-3330; Labor Beat, 37 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat". Labor Beat is on as a cable-tv series in six U.S. cities: Chicago, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; Cambridge, MA. Chicago schedule: CAN TV 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm, Frdays 4:30 pm.

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Tell Congress to Support Fair Work Schedules


Help working families succeed. Take action now!


Dear Chris,

Unpredictable work schedules make it hard to plan your life. When you only get a few days—or a few hours—of notice before you have to work, it can be impossible to make child care arrangements, schedule doctor’s visits to get the health care you need, go to school, or hold down another job to make ends meet.

Millions of working women—particularly those working in low-wage industries like retail and restaurants—face this reality every day. But now we have a chance to make sure that their schedules actually work for their lives—and we need your help.

Working People Need Schedules That Work

Urge your lawmakers to co-sponsor the Schedules that Work Act today.

Take Action


Unstable and unpredictable work schedules mean unstable and unpredictable paychecks, which hurts women’s economic security. They can also lead to negative health outcomes if women can’t find time to go to the doctor or take their kids to the doctor—and the stress these scheduling practices create for families can undermine children’s well-being.

The Schedules That Work Act would:

• Give employees the right to request a change in their work schedules without risking retaliation.

• Give working people who need a schedule change because of critical obligations, like caregiving, a right to receive that change if there’s no good business reason not to grant the request.

• Require employers in certain low-wage industries to provide two weeks’ notice of work schedules—and to provide extra pay to hourly employees who have shifts changed or added at the last minute, or are sent home without working their scheduled shifts.


This bill hasn’t been formally introduced in Congress yet—and it might not be if Congress doesn’t hear from you. We need your help to make sure your members of Congress know it’s time for schedules that work and sign on in support. Ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Schedules That Work Act today.

Thank you for taking action.

Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin
General Counsel and Vice President for Workplace Justice
National Women's Law Center

We the Resistance is our fight to protect our rights and freedoms and to defend the most vulnerable among us through powerful collective action. Every conversation you have with a loved one about the issues important to you, every call you make to Congress, every rally you attend is a part of that resistance. Join us — sign on to the We The Resistance manifesto.

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Indentured Servitude in LA. In 2017.


Dear Chris,

"Indentured Servitude." That’s what USA Today calls what's happening to truck drivers at the Port of LA. [1]

But the workers are getting ready to fight back against poverty pay and wage theft. On Monday, they are going on strike -- and we need to show our solidarity.

Click here to add your support for striking truck drivers at the Port of LA.

Many of these drivers haul military cargo for corporations like XPO, which got almost $2 billion in taxpayers dollars, but has a long track record of stealing wages. By pretending their workers aren't really employees, they get to evade basic labor and tax laws to boost corporate profits.

In one repulsive example, a court recently found that an XPO contract driver actually worked 4300 hours without getting paid. That's 537 days of work without earning a dime.

Click here: Stop Wage Theft at the Port of LA.

But there’s one man who has the power to change all of this: LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. As the man in charge of the Port of LA, he can fix this problem and stop the wage theft.

Add your name: demand that Mayor Garcetti use his power to help striking truck drivers.

Thank you for fighting for a Good Jobs Nation,
Joseph

P.S. We'll be livestreaming from the Port of LA on Monday as these brave workers share their stories. Click here to RSVP.

[1] This article about truck drivers and wage theft was on the front page of today's USA Today. It's a pretty shocking read.


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[...]


By rescinding the persuader rule, Trump is once again siding with corporate interests over working people

Last week, the Department of Labor announced it will rescind its “persuader rule,” which would have helped level the playing field for workers by letting them know who is behind the anti-union messages they see during union drives. EPI’s Marni von Wilpert writes that unions help both union and nonunion workers in countless ways—including raising wages, creating safer workplaces, and closing gender pay gaps. Ultimately, rescinding the persuader rule will make it more difficult for workers to join unions and negotiate for better treatment on the job. Once again, the Trump administration has sided with corporations and their lobbyists over working people.


[...]


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URGENT: Call today - Defend Democracy at Work & Elimination of Payroll Deduction for Unions in NC


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URGENT, TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Defend Democracy At Work!
Stop the Power Grab by Right Wing Legislators!

Legislators Push Bill to Eliminate Union Payroll Deduction

Call-in Day of Action, Mon., June 19
Call in ALL WEEK LONG!

Rep. David Lewis, Chair House Rules Committee - 910-897-8100
Speaker of the House, Rep. Tim Moore - 704-739-1221
(Leave a message if they don't answer)

All North Carolina public workers' right to organize is under severe attack. A bill, SB 375, to eliminate voluntary union payroll dues deduction for all public sector organizations has passed the NC Senate, it is now scheduled to be in the House Rules committee on Tuesday, June 20.

Without payroll deduction to fund employee organization, workers are left without their best defense to address the quality of public services and working conditions-- the right to organize and speak-out. NC, like many states across country, has seen a steady erosion of funds for public education, health care, food and nutritional supplemental support and all public services. Workers organizing to address their working conditions, is the first line of defense for quality services and quality jobs.

The NC State Legislature has also been steadily working to take power away from local governments by preempting their ability to defend residents and workers. House Bill 2 was the most publicized effort when the state took away local governments' ability to pass protections for transgendered people, and use it to divide and attack all workers. They also eliminated ability of local governments to pass resolutions to raise wages for companies in their jurisdictions. Efforts have also been made to take away authority of the City of Charlotte for their airport, the City of Asheville of their water system, as just a few examples. Now they want to eliminate union payroll deduction and take power from local governments to hear from their own employees' organizations.

This is a further attack on workers' human rights!

Public sector workers in NC are already denied the right to collectively bargain, which the United Nations International Labor Organization ruled is a violation of workers' fundamental human rights. Organizations directly impacted by SB 375 include UE local 150-NC Public Service Workers Union, NC Association of Educators, International Association of Firefighters, Teamsters local 391, State Employees Association of NC and others.

NOTE: Senator Ralph Hise, who introduced this bill, is currently under investigation for illegally taking money from his campaign account and violating laws requiring full disclosure of campaign contributions.

Make the call to the NC House of Representatives today to tell them to oppose SB 375!


CALL TODAY!
Rep. David Lewis, Chair House Rules Committee
910-897-8100
[email protected]

Speaker of the House, Rep. Tim Moore
704-739-1221
[email protected]

Call script:

Hello, my name is ______________________ . I am calling on Rep. Lewis and Rep. Moore to oppose Senate Bill 375 to eliminate union payroll deduction. The state has taken enough power away from workers and local governments. This is another attack on our democracy! Workers organizing is our best defense for quality public services. Vote no to SB 375!

(Leave a message if they don't answer)

Let us know you made a call by posting a note on our Facebook event page here

Copyright © 2017 Southern Workers Assembly, All rights reserved.
You either attended an event hosted by the Southern Workers Assembly or have signed one of our online petitions.

Our mailing address is:
Southern Workers Assembly
PO Box 934
Rocky Mount, NC 27802

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2 Ways to Support Farmworker Organizing this Summer


Every four years, FLOC members gather to vote for the union’s leadership, goals, and overall direction for the next four years. This September we will celebrate our 13th Quadrennial Constitutional Convention: "50 Years of Constant Struggle" in Toledo, Ohio where the union was founded in 1967.

FLOC held its first constitutional convention as a labor union in 1979, and the members voted to boycott Campbell Soup in their call for negotiations. Since then, FLOC has won significant collective bargaining agreements for farmworkers in Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Today, the fight continues for all tobacco farmworkers and related agricultural workers to have freedom of association and collective bargaining rights!

Members in both the Midwest and South have already begun forming committees and discussing resolutions to present at this year's convention including a possible boycott of a Reynolds American tobacco product. Our members are depending on this convention to strategize their self-defense and organizing work for the next four years, and we depend on you to make this convention a success! We are looking for sponsors as well as volunteers in both Ohio and North Carolina. Click here for more information on the convention, and how to get involved! And please consider making a donation to support the convention.

Hasta La Victoria,

The FLOC Team
To find out more about the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.floc.com.

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via wsws.org

Autoworkers describe the impact of job cuts on struggling families and indict the United Auto Workers for facilitating layoffs.

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via wsws.org

Local Democratic administrations have been using what amounts to a scam to fleece homeowners in the Detroit metropolitan area in order to increase tax revenues.

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via iuf.org

The mayor of New York has signed a package of bills benefitting some 65,000 fast food workers, the key component of which is a requirement that fast food restaurants schedule their workers at least two weeks in advance or pay extra for shift changes. The legislation, strongly supported by the IUF-affiliated SIEU and leaders of the FightFor15 campaign, also ensures that fast food workers have breaks of at least 11 hours between shifts and are given the option of working additional hours before their employers hire extra workers.
With several states and municipalities having increased their minimum wages to as high as USD 15 an hour in recent years, scheduling in the often unstable fast-food sector has now become the key issue for unions and advocates for the rights of low-wage workers.





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