Jobs With Justice

Photo: Lisa Lopez with Jobs with Justice and American Rights at Work Executive Director Sarita Gupta in Washington, DC

Lisa Lopez is a deli associate for Walmart in Central Florida. Last November, as Walmart associates across the country walked off the job on Black Friday to protest Walmart’s unfair labor practices, Lopez was the only worker to walk out at her store. But she was joined by community allies - many mobilized by Central Florida Jobs with Justice - including Congressman Alan Grayson.

Walmart was quick to retaliate. Two weeks later on December 5th, her floor manager called her in for a “coaching”—Walmart’s term for a disciplinary meeting with a supervisor.

“Once I realized it was a coaching, I asked to have another associate come in to sit with me,” said Lopez. Company policy permits for one associate to have another join them during a coaching. “He said no. Then he asked me to sign a document saying I’d been coached.”

Cross-posted from the United Workers Congress

The United Workers Congress is encouraged that the Senate’s announcement and President Obama’s statement on immigration this week mark the long-awaited beginning of the country's immigration reform. Our members have fought for decades to protect the rights of low wage, undocumented workers who were intentionally excluded by labor laws and denied basic human rights to work, receive fair compensation and have a safe and healthy work environment. We represent millions of domestic workers, farm workers, day laborers, taxi drivers, workfare, restaurant, guest workers and formerly incarcerated who are ready to be fully included and striving for workers’ rights and political equality.

In the coming days, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a series of proposals to reform its own rules in an effort to prevent gridlock and ensure that our elected leaders are held accountable to actually casting votes on critical issues.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is reportedly prepared to use the constitutional option to enact reform.

Help us seize the moment by placing a quick call to your Senators to sponsor SR 4. Just click here for talking points and phone numbers.

We’ve joined a broad network of progressive and labor partners to push for real reform through the Fix the Senate coalition. Vermont Workers' Center  and Rhode Island Jobs with Justice are mobilizing their members to demonstrate community support for this critical issue.

The need for reform is long overdue. As our Executive Director Sarita Gupta  explains in a statement released yesterday:

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

For several years now, Communications Workers of America has been working with Fix the Senate Now, a broad coalition of democracy, community, women, faith-based and civil rights groups that are fed up with a Senate that functions more like Cicero's Senate of ancient Rome than a 21st century democracy. Despite being considered the world's model deliberative body, in reality it's a place where little gets done because of the abuse of the Senate rules. This isn't news.

But there is a one-day opportunity on the first day of a new Congress when senators can adopt new rules by a majority vote, as provided by the Constitution. It's called the "constitutional option."

Two years ago, our coalition hit the airwaves, spawned 40,000 supportive calls to Senate offices and gathered more than 100,000 signatures on a petition in favor of such a change. Unfortunately, the resulting "gentlemen's agreement" of reforms did nothing to curb the rampant obstructionism in the Senate.

But Fix the Senate Now hasn't stopped fighting to end the gridlock.