September 2012

Reposted from The POWER Campaign

The U.S. Census Bureau once again confirmed that the middle class is shrinking and poverty is on the rise.  In today’s environment where it is not only viable, but economically rational for employers to exploit and retaliate against workers, it is easy to understand how we have ended up on a road headed toward increasing inequality.

Thankfully more than 20 leading expert labor and economic policy organizations have collaborated on a new report laying out a road map of common sense policies that have the potential to change the course of current U.S. economic trends.  The POWER Act, a legislative component of the POWER Campaign, is one of the common sense policies included in the road map.

Big news: Just yesterday, CWA and IBEW members successfully reached a tentative agreement with Verizon!

Verizon’s 45,000 workers still have to vote, but the proposed contract is strong and will preserve good, middle class jobs. In short, this victory would not have been possible without your incredible support.

Despite billions of dollars in profits, Verizon attempted to exploit the current economic climate to slash health benefits, eliminate pensions, outsource jobs, and undermine collective bargaining for its workers. But Verizon’s workers didn’t back down and neither did you. By coming together as workers and allies, we collectively stopped Verizon’s assault and defended good jobs.

You can help us keep winning victories for workers. Click here to contribute to Jobs with Justice so we can continue defending family-supporting jobs from corporate greed.

In true Jobs with Justice tradition, we were standing with Verizon workers from day one, and we refused to let up over the course of the 15-month struggle:

Striking warehouse workers in Southern California and outside of Chicago in Elwood, Illinois went to the offices and/or home of Walmart’s senior executives and board members calling on them to take responsibility for the poor working conditions and unfair labor practices the workers endure in warehouses dedicated to moving and transporting Walmart goods and merchandise.

“Walmart claims it holds its contractors and suppliers to the highest standards and expects them to comply with the law, but when we speak out about it, we get retaliated against and Walmart ignores us,” said David Garcia, a striking warehouse worker and father of two, who although has worked for six years at the same warehouse is still only considered a “temporary” worker because of how the industry outsources and operates with temp agencies. 

This supports what appears to be a growing trend of large corporations to increase the numbers of contingent workers, both direct and throughout their supply/distribution chains. 

Walmart refuses to meet with contracted warehouse workers to discuss safer working conditions

Today, while thousands of teachers are on strike in Chicago, another strike has been announced on the Walmart supply chain in California.

Following months of extreme tension, high temperatures, and intense pressure in a major Walmart-contracted warehouse, courageous workers – without having a recognized union – went on strike this morning to protest retaliation by their warehouse employers. They are calling for safe working conditions and that Walmart take responsibility for working conditions in the warehouse.

The workers unload metal containers in temperatures that can reach 120 degrees, without air conditioning or access to clean drinking water. Wages are low and injuries are common. "When we spoke out to change these things, some of us were suspended, some of us were demoted and some of us were fired. They spied on us and bullied us, all because we are fighting for dignity,” said Limber Herrera, a warehouse worker in Riverside.