JwJ News
NOVEMBER 2005
- Tell McDonalds to Support Improved Working Conditions & Fair Wages for Farm Workers!
- Shop the JwJ Store for the Holiday
- JwJ Fights for Justice at Blue Diamond
- WA State JwJ Holds Honoree Dinner
- Eugene-Springfield WRB Hears Testimony from DHL Temps
- SE Michigan WRB Holds Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage
- Capital District Workers' Rights Board Hears Family Childcare Provider Testimony
- Philly Supports Transit Workers' Strike!
- "Maid in America" Documentary to Premiere on PBS
Shop the Jobs with Justice Store for the Holidays!
Shop at the JwJ Store this holiday season and support workers' rights three ways: all JwJ merchandise is union made in the US, so you'll be supporting worker-friendly companies; any proceeds from merchandise purchased goes towards supporting JwJ; and by wearing our merchandise, your friends and family members will help get the word out about workers' rights -- our clothes are quite the conversation starters! We have tons of new merchandise for sale, including hoodies, knit hats, scarves, polo shirts, baseball hats, long-sleeved tees, women's tees, frisbees, yo-yos, and more! Plus, be sure to shop our specials: buy a hoodie & get $5 off a long-sleeved tee, save when you buy a hat & scarf together, or buy more than $50 of merchandise and get a free tee! SHOP NOW!
JwJ Fights for Justice at Blue Diamond
JwJ's national network provided crucial support for a group of mostly Latino, Asian and African American workers organizing with ILWU Local 17. Blue Diamond Growers operates the world's largest almond processing plant, with over 600 workers employed at a facility in Sacramento. With stagnating wages and skyrocketing health care costs, the workers are actually worse off than they were in 15 years ago. To fight back against stagnant wages and skyrocketing health care costs, the workers began organizing with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) in September 2004.
Suddenly, management had money to hand out raises ranging from 50¢ on up to $3.00 per hour. Even with these raises, pay rates remained behind inflation for the largest group of workers. At the same time, Blue Diamond put on what they called "an aggressive union avoidance campaign." They fired four ILWU supporters on flimsy pretexts. Through an avalanche of leaflets, captive audience meetings and one-on-one pressure sessions, management threatened that workers would lose their pensions if they joined the union, or that the plant would have to close. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against Blue Diamond alleging 28 separate violations of labor law involving 14 bosses.
Locally, the workers have won support from seven of the eight Sacramento City Council members and local State legislators for a "pledge to restore workers' freedom to form unions." But they need national - even international - solidarity. The ILWU turned to JwJ for that solidarity. On October 31st the ILWU had a "Halloween Howl for Justice for Blue Diamond Workers." Since the ILWU is a West Coast union, they needed help in other key areas - and JwJ came through.
In New York, JwJ activists dressed as Hershey's Kisses (with strips that read "Justice for Workers" coming out of their little foil hats) leafleted a Hershey's Chocolate shop near Times Square, letting customers know the real cost of the almonds in their candy. In Chicago, WRB members visited another major Blue Diamond customer, World's Finest Chocolate. In Denver, it was a leading lender to agricultural coops, CoBank, that drew the JwJ delegation. In all three cities - as well as West Coast locations covered by the ILWU - the message was the same: tell Blue Diamond to respect workers' rights.
The ILWU is planning future actions that will take on Blue Diamond internationally. The battle isn't over, but JwJ has helped to make sure that the fight is on!
WA State JwJ Holds Honoree Dinner
On October 29th, Washington State Jobs with Justice held its most successful honoree dinner ever. 500 activists and leaders from throughout the Seattle-Tacoma area joined together to support the work of Jobs with Justice and to honor some of those who lead the movement for social justice. Thanks to strong support from both labor and community allies (and despite significant cost increases from previous years), the dinner resulted in almost $30,000 net income for WA JwJ from an ad book, a collection at the event, and a silent auction.
Washington State continued to build their program to expose the war's impact on worker organizing by honoring both a peace activist and Department of Defense employees. Honoree Father Bill Bichsel is a leader in the South Sound ( Tacoma) peace and justice movement, and is an inspirational activist in the Catholic Worker movement. WA State JwJ also honored Federal workers and their unions, particularly the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Bremerton Metal Trades Council, for their fight against efforts to use the war and "national security" as an excuse for union-busting. WA JwJ's work on the impact of war on workers has included faith-based peace activists joining an informational picket by defense workers at the gates of a military base and defense industry workers attending a major peace rally to educate the community about the challenges that they're facing from the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
The third set of honorees were the 25 union members in the Washington State Legislature who have formed a labor caucus to fight for the interests of working people. The labor caucus was instrumental in reversing business-inspired cuts to unemployment compensation.
Eugene-Springfield WRB Hears Testimony from DHL Temps
Over 60 people gathered Tuesday November 1, 2005 at the Eugene Public Library for the first hearing of the newly established Lane County Workers' Rights Board. The 5-member panel convened to hear the case of workers employed by subcontractors for DHL, an international package delivery company competing with UPS and FedEx. These workers are employed by a temporary agency contracted by a transportation company that is in turn contracted to DHL.
These "temps" have been working as subcontractors to DHL for many years. They wear DHL uniforms, drive DHL trucks, and comply with DHL work rules, but are considered temporary employees. They do not earn overtime, sick pay, or holiday pay or receive any health insurance benefits. In addition, they earn significantly less per hour then their Teamster counterparts doing the exact same work in at DHL in larger metro areas such as Portland.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rulings have made it hard for workers in this situation to organize a union. The NLRB has ruled that the temporary agency is the only employer in these circumstances. This means DHL has no obligation to stay with a temporary agency once a contract has been negotiated with the workers. In Eugene this has resulted in one temp agency dissolving after beginning negotiations, only to have the same managers reappear having formed a new temp agency. The same workers continue to be employed with no new hiring process, just a different temp agency name on the paycheck.
The members of the Workers' Rights Board panel, which included a state representative, a city councilor and a local business owner, were astonished at the disparity between how DHL conducted business in Portland versus Eugene. The questions they raised revealed the vulnerability of these temporary workers. When asked if he was afraid to testify at the hearing, the DHL Teamster employee who appeared before the panel said "No, I have a contract, job security." When the temp workers were asked the same question they said "Yes, of course, they could let me go tomorrow for no reason." The panel agreed called on DHL to explain how it justified employing Teamsters in one community and subcontracting to temp agencies in another. They were also concerned by the burden placed on the local community to make up for the gap in wages and benefits being denied these workers, as well as the denial of their basic right to form a union.
SE Michigan WRB Holds Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage
On November 17th at Plymouth United Church of Christ, the Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board convened a hearing to address the need to raise the minimum wage in Michigan.
The federal minimum wage has been $5.15 / hours since 1997. Since that time, inflation has eaten away 90% of the value of that increase, meaning that today, the power of that $5.15 is only $4.82. Work should be a bridge out of poverty, but for many minimum wage earners it is not. A person working full-time at a minimum wage job earns only $10,712 per year, well below the $16,090 federal poverty threshold for a family of three.
Members of the Workers' Rights Board panel hearing testimony included State Representative Alma Wheeler-Smith, Reverend Nicholas Hood of the Plymouth United Church of Christ; JoAnn Watson of the Detroit City Council, and Father Norman Thomas, Sacred Heart Church. The panel heard testimony from minimum wage workers as well as community members about the impact that a minimum wage increase would have on their lives.
SE MI JwJ is working with ACORN, the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO, and the NAACP to fight for an increase in the state's minimum wage. Michigan State Senators and Representatives have introduced a six Bill legislative package that would raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation. In addition, support is building for a November 2006 ballot initiative that would let voters decide whether to raise the minimum wage. If legislation is passed, Michigan would join fourteen other states that have enacted similar legislation.
Jobs with Justice coalitions in Cleveland, Toledo, and Columbus are also working with allies to pass legislation to increase Ohio's minimum wage. Cleveland JwJ did phone banking to pull people out to get signatures on Primary Day and on Election Day. Cleveland JwJ plans to remain involved in this campaign throughout the coming year, working closely with ACORN to push a ballot initiative.
Capital District Workers' Rights Board Hears Family Childcare Provider Testimony
The Workers' Rights Board of Albany, NY, a project of the Labor Religion Coalition/JwJ, convened a Family Childcare Panel on October 22, 2005 to hear testimony from Family Childcare Providers from across New York State concerning the problems, issues and challenges providers face in their efforts to deliver high quality daycare to children. Child care providers and a parent testified about the need for adequate funding and justice for NYS childcare providers. The WRB panel consisted of Paul Tonko, New York State Assemblyman; David Soares, District Attorney of Albany County; Lynn S. Morris, Early Childhood Educator; Reverend Alexandra Lusak of the First United Presbyterian Church in Troy, NY; and James Tedisco, New York State Assemblyman. Each panelist personally committed before the Board adjourned that they will work with providers on issues in every way possible. This event was co-sponsored by VOICE/CSEA Local 100a, the family childcare division of CSEA, the Civil Service Employees Association, the Labor Religion Coalition/JwJ and the Capital District Worker Center.
Philly JwJ Supports Transit Workers' Strike!
Philadelphia JwJ mobilized to support the 5,000 members of TWU Local 234 at SEPTA, who went on strike to defend their health care on October 31st. The strike lasted 7 days and workers won gains in wages and held the line on health care. JwJ mobilized to support picket-lines and other strike activities. JwJ also organized a Workers' Rights Board sign-on letter to SEPTA before the strike began. The letter was signed by over 30 community leaders, including Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Congressman Bob Brady, State Representative Mark Cohen, and former US Representative Joe Hoeffel.
"Maid in America" Documentary to air on PBS
There are nearly 100,000 domestic workers in the city of Los Angeles today, many of them women who leave their families behind in Central America and Mexico to take care of other people's children and homes. Maid in America offers an intimate look into the lives of three such Latinas, providing a complex portrait of this increasingly common immigrant experience. This moving doc has been an audience favorite at film festivals from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta. The movie is set to premiere November 29th at 10pm on PBS' Independent Lens Series; check your local listings for other showings here.
MEDIA LINKS
Wal-Mart
Protest at Wal-Mart
NY Newsday - New York, NY
...Protesters from a coalition of labor and community groups raised a ruckus at Wal-Mart's Westbury store yesterday...
Area Activists Take Stab At Wal-Mart
Long Islander - Huntington, NY
...Organizations such as Jobs With Justice are hoping the Cinema Arts Centre screening - which marks the beginning of Higher Expectations Week...
Activist groups band together to protest against Wal-Mart
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, MA - Nov 20, 2005
... who have been fighting Wal-Mart's plans to expand into a SuperCenter, along with conservationists, workers union groups including Jobs for Justice and the ...
Area coalition slates showing of film critical of Wal-Mart
Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA
... concerns about our largest retailer," said Karen Krause, the social justice chairman of the local chapter of the national Jobs With Justice worker's rights ...
What's going on tonight
Bellingham Herald - Bellingham,WA,USA
... The showing is sponsored by the Northwest Washington Central Labor Council and Washington State Jobs with Justice. Donations are appreciated. ...
Faith-based groups take aim at Wal-Mart
Miami Herald - FL,USA
... Israel of Greater Miami, in cooperation with Coral Gables Congregational Church, Miami Worker Center, Florida CHAIN, South Florida Jobs with Justice and Human ...
Study says Wal-Mart Supercenter jobs would lower Central Oregon ...
Bend.com, OR - Nov 20, 2005
... they get a job and go to work every day, they will move up the economic ladder," says Michael Funke, chairperson of Central Oregon Jobs with Justice, a labor ...
Documentary highlights criticisms of Wal-Mart business practices
The Good Five-Cent Cigar (subscription), RI - Nov 17, 2005
... Prior to the screening, organizers encouraged attendants to get involved with the Rhode Island branch of Jobs with Justice, a national worker's rights ...
Rally at Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Site
Bend.com - Bend,OR,USA
The Bend rally is sponsored by Our Community First and Central Oregon Jobs with Justice, and is part of Higher Expectations Week, November 13-19, which has ...
Five Questions for Robert Greenwald
Yahoo! News - USA
... they can take, and we provide links to the groups that are working on this issue, such as Wake Up Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Watch, ACORN, Jobs with Justice and Good ...
Organized labor plans film festival
philly.com - Philadelphia,PA,USA
... The Wal-Mart film, presented by the Philadelphia chapter of Jobs With Justice, will be screened at 6 pm Sunday at the University of the Arts Gershman Y ...
"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price"
Bend.com - Bend,OR,USA
... supercenter in Bend. The event is co-sponsored by Central Oregon Jobs with Justice, Wal-Mart Watch and Brave New Films. Our Community ...
Big Promises
Chicago Defender - IL, United States
... The South Austin Coalition, along with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, Jobs with Justice and several citywide groups, pressed the Chicago City ...
Workers' Rights Issues
Koch Food employees fight for fairness
Knoxville News Sentinel (subscription) - Knoxville,TN,USA
... charges before the National Labor Relations Board after Koch fired some workers who complained about safety issues, according to Jobs with Justice of East ...
What makes strikes work?
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia,PA,USA
... Union Local 234 and United Transportation Union Local 1594 can call for help from the local labor community and allied groups, such as Jobs for Justice and the ...
Interrupted dreams
Providence Journal (subscription) - Providence,RI,USA
... The fast, organized by the SEIU, the Jobs for Justice organization and other groups, is part of a national Justice for Janitors campaign waged in cities such ...
MY TURN: What Colchester teachers strike teaches us
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT - Nov 2, 2005
... James Haslam is the director of the Vermont Workers' Center - Jobs With Justice, he can be contacted at james@workerscenter.org or 802-229-0009.
