JwJ News

Imagine a world where everyone who chooses to is able to go to college; a world where workers on our campuses and in our communities have a voice about the conditions in which they work every day; a world where the fruits and vegetables we eat are picked by workers who earn a living wage; a world where we can proudly wear our university apparel, knowing the workers that made our clothing were paid fairly and afforded the basic rights of breaks, safe working conditions and an 8 hour work day. Cesar havez and Martin Luther King, Jr. both imagined a world like this.

From March 27-April 4, 2007, students and workers join together to celebrate the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to continue their work to build a better future. Join us as we demand:

The struggles for equality, access to higher education and for fair and safe working conditions throughout our campuses, fields, and factories have a long and proud history in the US. Organizing by students and workers have brought about much needed changes such as labor laws for farm workers in California, the desegregation of our universities, and the 40-hour work week. It has been only through coming together and demanding change that we have achieved social progress.

Dr. King once said, “Change does roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for freedom. A man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.”

It is in this tradition that we announce the 8 th annual National Student Labor Week of Action. Encompassing both Cesar Chavez Day and the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the National Student Labor Week of Action is a time for students across the country to demonstrate our strength as we demand respect and dignity for working people and affordable, accessible education for everyone.

On February 6, 2007, the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House with 231 cosponsors! The legislation, which has bipartisan support, would give workers greater freedom to make their own decisions about joining a union and would create stiffer penalties for companies who break labor laws.

America ’s working people are struggling to make ends meet and our middle class is disappearing. So it’s important to remember that the best opportunity working men and women have to get ahead economically is by uniting with co-workers to bargain with their employers for better wages and benefits.

More than half of U.S. workers—58 million—say they would join a union right now if they could.

But the current system for forming unions and bargaining is broken. Every day, corporations deny employees the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life. They routinely intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire people who try to organize unions. T oday, the NLRB and federal labor law have been weakened and are inadequate. Often, workers must wait months if not years for a decision from the court that handles worker cases, and companies spend millions of dollars each year to appealing unfavorable rulings.

Corporations give CEOs contracts that protect their pay and benefits—but they deny employees the same opportunity. As a result, good jobs are vanishing and health care coverage and retirement security are slipping out of reach. Only 38 percent of the public says their families are getting ahead financially and less than a quarter believes the next generation will be better off.

The system has to be changed to give all working people the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union and bargain for better wages and benefits. If the law is changed to allow more workers to make their own decision—without management coercion—more of America’s workers will be able to ensure fair treatment on the job and improve their standards of living.

A number of responsible major companies such as Cingular Wireless have agreed to recognize a union when a majority of employees signs up. They see that this is a free and fair way to assess workers’ choice—and it results in less conflict between employers and employees.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which has bipartisan support in Congress, would level the playing field for employees and employers. It would restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain by strengthening penalties for companies that coerce or intimidate employees, establishing mediation and binding arbitration when the employer and workers cannot agree on a first contract, and enabling employees to form unions when a majority express their decision to join the union by signing authorization cards.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months to learn how you can continue to support this important legislation!

Workers that keep our shopping malls clean will get raises, health benefits and dignity and respect on the job, due to a national agreement with the Simon Malls, one of the nation's largest shopping mall owners. Long Island, NY and Central Indiana JWJ coalitions played a leading role in pressuring the company, headquartered in Indianapolis, to agree that all its cleaning contractors must agree to card check neutrality. In addition to low wages and benefits, workers in some malls had previously been prohibited from having their lunch in the mall food court, the only employees experiencing that prohibition. Local unions are finalizing details with the contractors.

The Long Island Workers' Rights Board held its first hearing on December 9th in support of the janitors who are fighting for dignity and respect. More than 100 people and a diverse WRB panel heard moving testimony from workers at the hearing.

Verizon Business (formerly MCI) technicians in the Northeast are taking a stand to form a union! On January 25^th, hundreds of CWA and IBEW members in New York and Boston rallied outside Verizon Business locations to support the technicians and welcome them into the union. The two unions released a solidarity statement, signed by over 3,000 shop stewards, expressing support for the efforts of VZB workers. JwJ coalitions in New York and Boston supported these exciting events. In New York, over 500 CWA members and JwJ supporters rallied in the bitter cold to show their support for VZB technicians, who took a brave stand and wore red to work, expressing their support for a union.

The fight for a union at Verizon Business is critical, not just for the hundreds of technicians, but also for the tens of thousands of CWA and IBEW members at Verizon Core. JwJ coalitions are gearing up to support this exciting campaign, and to change Verizon’s anti-union behavior. Stay tuned for opportunities to support both Verizon Business and Verizon Wireless workers!

DC Jobs with Justice reclaimed City Hall for working people as more than 70 people gathered at the home of the DC Council and Mayor for a Workers’ Rights Board hearing on how the city can better address unemployment and underemployment in DC.

“I don’t think we’ve done enough,” said Councilmember Kwame Brown, chair of the DC Council’s Committee on Economic Development, who stopped by to listen to testimony and a give a statement himself. “We need to look closely at what we’ve been doing, at whether or not its working, and expand what we’re doing right,” he added.

Twelve witnesses spoke to issues of job training and placement, career and technical education, youth employment, first source hiring, and the need for better wages and benefits to sustain workers. The Workers’ Rights Board is chaired by Terry Lynch, Director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, and other participants included Rev. Raymond Bell, Bishop Carlos Harvin, Prof. Laurie Morin from the David A. Clarke School of Law, Marcel Reid of DC ACORN, and Rabbi Bob Saks. Closing the hearing, the board members pledged to examine the testimony and compile a report and recommendations to share with the community and with elected officials.

75 elected officials, community leaders and people of faith joined RI Jobs with Justice at an event honoring Martin Luther King, Jr by calling for the passage of the Providence Living Wage Ordinance at Providence City Hall. The Living Wage Ordinance includes all direct city employees as well as benficiaries of tax breaks and grants over $100,000. The wage is set at $10.19/hr. Councilman Luis Aponte said, "We are only as strong as the people in our neighborhoods," going on to say that investing in development of buildings has limited value unless we are also pursuing real economic development policies for city residents.

To guide our action in honor of MLK, Jr.'s living memory we referred to King's speech referring the need to create an economic bill of rights where he referred to the need to focus on domestic priorities and by doing so shift our country's global priorities, "We are spending all this money for death and destruction, and not nearly enough money for life and constructive development." JwJ leaders were reminded that King's words are so powerful today because of the thousands of people who took action together for civil rights and for an end to economic racism.

Janitors in St. Louis Win Groundbreaking Contract

Significant wage increases and, for the first time, health insurance are part of an agreement. More thaqn 3,000 St. Louis janitors, members of SEIU Local 1, have negotiated an agreement with the Contract Cleaners Association in St. Louis. Highlights of the agreement include a 23% wage increase over the life of the contract, the opportunity for health insurance for full-time janitors, and improvements in health and welfare and pension for all janitors, both part-time and full-time.

This is an important victory to savor, but the work is far from over. This contract includes a provision that increases the wages and benefits even higher if 85% of the office space in downtown and Clayton is being cleaned by union janitors. SEIU, JwJ and its Workers' Rights Board will be working with allies throughout the metro area to ensure we organize the handful of office buildings that still need to be organized will be brought under union contract.

Throughout the bargaining campaign the janitors reached out to engage clergy, community leaders and even artists in their Justice for Janitors campaign. In June 2006 national leaders from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, led by local UU leaders Rev. Suzanne Meyer, met with national executives at Enterprise Leasing to encourage them to respect their janitors' wishes to have a union.

Downtown rallies during the last few months to draw attention to the janitors' call for living wages, access to health care and an opportunity for full-time work included support from Rev. Tommie Pierson, Rev. James Morris, Rev. Beverly Stith, Pastor Teresa Mithen and many others... The Jobs with Justice Faith Committee worked hard to organize these efforts. Downtown rallies also enjoyed the support of other downtown union members, including CWA members from AT&T and the Wainwright state office building, CWA-Newspaper Guild members from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, APWU members from the US Postal Service and AFGE members from downtown federal buildings.

Over the last few years of JwJ's Bread & Roses program, artists Elizabeth Vega, Tilnise Scott, Chinyere Oteh, Jackie Masei, Fannie Lebby and Debra Morrowloving all worked with janitors to create visual art and theater that took their stories to the public in new ways. Banners by janitors Sammie Rives and Irene Rivas were featured in last year's Venus Envy exhibition, and hung proudly at the janitors' vote this Saturday. These collaborations were supported by the Regional Arts Commission and Missouri Arts Council.

The Workers' Rights Board continues to focus on supporting the organization of the few remaining buildings in Clayton and Downtown that don't work with union contractors. In buildings where janitors have said they want a union, and don't have one, members of the WRB Steering Committee are reaching out to building tenants to support their janitors' organizing efforts.

CEJ / JwJ Continues Fight for Increase to and Enforcement of Buffalo's Living Wage Law

CEJ has had a very successful year working in collaboration with the all volunteer city Living Wage Commission to advance the implementation of the city's living wage ordinance.

Last week, the City Council unanimously passed an amendment to the Living Wage Law to raise the wage rates for 2007 up to $9.59/hour or $10.15 without benefits. The Administration and City Control Board had attempted to carve city employees out of the amendment, but this attempt was blocked by the city council (after having been lobbyed rather extensively by CEJ and the Living Wage Commission). A control board imposed wage freeze has been in effect in Buffalo for the last 3 years. We recently pointed out to the city council that city seasonal workers are not making a living wage but are covered employees. The fight to at least raise the wages of seasonal employees up to the 2004 living wage rate continues.

Also recently, Security Guards working for Morris Security (a subcontractor covered by the living wage), saw a pay increase, going from $7.25/hour to $10.15. CEJ became aware that the security company was a subcontractor covered by the law while visiting with covered parking attendents.

In addition, CEJ has collected well over 100 surveys from food service and transportation workers employed by the Buffalo Board of Education and will be meeting with workers at the end of January to discuss a Board of Ed living wage campaign.

Vermont Workers' Center / JwJ Mobilizes Support of Homeless Shelter Workers' Right to Join a Union

The Vermont Workers’ Center/JwJ mobilized the VT congressional delegation (which includes Senator Bernie Sanders, Vermont's WRB chair) to issue a joint statement urging a fair resolution of the union organizing at the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS). COTS is a non-profit homeless shelter, but its corporate-banker-type board is fighting the union hard and trying to use the Kentucky River decision to exclude many union leaders. Eighty percent of COTS’ workers have signed authorization cards with the UE, and in December, they voted 31-2 in favor of a union in a community election held by the VWC/JwJ. The VWC/JwJ has also helped organize community vigils, public meetings, community delegations, letters to the editor and an email campaign to the board of COTS in support of workers.

JwJ Coalitions Honor Dr. King

Thousands of people, including Atlanta JwJ, marched through Atlanta, ending the march at Ebenezer Baptist where MLK Jr. presided as Pastor. The theme of the march was Peace and Justice, and against the backdrop of an escalating war in Iraq and increasing economic disparity in the United States, many who spoke during the ceremony used Dr. King’s pulpit to call for a return to the principles of social justice and nonviolence that defined the civil rights leader’s life. “Millions can’t find jobs, have no health insurance and struggle to make ends meet, working minimum-wage jobs,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta. “What’s going on?” she asked, invoking the title of the Marvin Gaye song.

Middle Tennessee JwJ participated in a march honoring MLK Jr. at Vanderbilt University on Monday Jan. 15. The March lifted up MLK Jr.'s fight against poverty, tying MLK's dream to the campaign for a Living Wage for all workers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

Columbus Jobs with Justice honored the memory of MLK with a community forum on discriminatory practices of cleaning services against workers from Somalia. Columbus OH has one of the nation's largest Somali communities, and many experience discrimination. Two Somalis spoke of being told that Metro Area Cleaning Contractors had no job openings, only to learn that white applicatants were being accepted. Several Somalis also spoke about being fired for complaining about working conditions and unequal treatment.

St. Joseph Valley Project / JwJ Hold Hearing on NLRB's "Kentucky River" Decision

Calling the NLRB "Kentucky River" decisions "dangerous" and "another nail in the coffin of the intent of the Labor Relations Act," the St. Joe Valley (IN) JWJ Worker Rights Board has called on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The Worker Rights Board held a hearing at Notre Dame University, on Oct 27, taking testimony from registered nurses, economics professors and labor leaders. The hearing prompted new Congressman Joe Donnelly to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act.

JwJ Holds "Fun with Financials" Training

Nineteen local coalition staff and leaders came together February 1-4 to put the “fun” back in “fundraising and financial management”! Through sessions on reading financial reports, budgeting and fundraising planning, and grassroots fundraising, the participants learned how to more effectively manage their local coalitions’ finances and how to build a more sustainable income base for their coalitions.

National JwJ has been working with financial consultant Carol Cantwell to design the Fun with Financials training, and to train JwJ staff and leaders to do the training for other JwJ staff and leaders. Past Fun with Financials training participants Fabricio Rodriguez, director of Philly JwJ, and Nicole McGee, volunteer treasurer of Cleveland JwJ were among the trainers this year. Portland JwJ organizer Eliana Machuca joined them and national staff on the training team.

Staff Changes at National Jobs with Justice

After over 14 years of serving as the Executive Director of Jobs with Justice, Fred Azcarate is leaving his position. As many of you know, Fred has been leading and guiding Jobs with Justice from its early inception until today. Because of his leadership, Jobs with Justice has become a dynamic instrument for change, bringing labor and community together to fight for workers’ rights.

Fred will be sorely missed by all of us in the national office, within the network, and by members of the National JwJ Board of Directors. Fred has touched many of us with his leadership, commitment, hard work, sense of humor, and friendship. He has been a mentor and created endless growth opportunities for many within this network. We will forever be grateful for all that he has done to build Jobs with Justice over the years.

Fred will be taking on new challenges. He has been appointed the Director of the Voice@Work program of the AFL-CIO. He will help to lead and coordinate the Federation’s campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Please join us in wishing Fred the very best in this new position.

The Board of Directors has established a search committee to seek a new Executive Director. Sarita Gupta, National Field Director, has been named interim director.

If you would like to send Fred a message wishing him well, please e-mail jwjnational@jwj.org.