From huge victories in the anti-sweatshop movement to the continued struggle for funding in public education, students and workers are coming together to challenge the existing power structure and fight for a just society.
We first want to congratulate our friends at United Students Against Sweatshops for their victory against Russell Athletics! Russell Athletics which closed their factory in Honduras after workers there tried to for a union nearly one year ago. Students at 96 universities persuaded their schools to suspend or sever ties with Russell Athletic, a major supplier of college logo t-shirts and sweatshirts. This week, Russell announced that they plan to re-open the factory and re-hire all 1200 workers. More details about the campaign here.
In California, the struggle continues. Across California students and workers have come together to fight against fee increases and the privatization of education. Thousands of students and workers met at the UCLA campus to demand the Regents from the UC system to stop the proposed increases and support funding of public higher education. Several buildings were occupied by students while others marched around the area where
An estimated three thousand people rallied for health care reform in Austin, TX on November 14.
The Texas AFL-CIO formed a very progressive coalition for health care reform under the slogan, “Health Care Can’t Wait!” A great many organizations, including North Texas Jobs with Justice, joined in. JwJ’s role was to organize transportation to the rally at the Capitol. We were extremely fortunate to be able to partner with the Texas Progressive Center, Organizing for America, and especially with Jacqueline Ban of MoveOn. By combining our efforts we transported 39 people in a chartered bus, and helped fill the buses from the Tarrant County AFL-CIO and another bus from the Dallas AFL-CIO and UAW. Dr. David Brockman did the research on other forms of transportation, which added to the crowd in Austin.
Our publicity efforts resulted in pre-action ink in the Ft Worth and Houston newspapers. Univision covered our bus launch from Oak Cliff. Our statewide publicity may have helped get major coverage in the state’s news agencies.
The featured speaker at the rally was Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Austin. He reviewed the fight
Our friends at CREDO mobile phone company have figured out a way to put all those crazy things the right-wing nuts say to work for progressive causes like us. They put together a quiz to test you on the latest conservative nonsense – it’s called OMG GOP WTF?!
Every time you answer a question correctly, Jobs with Justice gets 10 cents. There are five questions, so that means that if we get 1,000 people to take the quiz and you score okay… we get $500 dollars.
But, you’ll want to act fast. The quiz only benefits Jobs with Justice from November 16 to November 22. Next week, it will be a new quiz and a new organization, so please don’t wait!
If you’re one of the 57 million workers in the U.S. without paid sick days, chances are the answer is “yes”. Thirty-nine percent of us have a difficult choice to make when we’re sick: go to work and risk infecting our co-workers (and risk making our illness worse), or stay home and put our finances and our jobs in jeopardy.
Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are leading the charge to pass the Healthy Families Act first introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy last spring. The Healthy Families Act would provide 7 paid sick days to all workers at companies with at least 15 employees, and would prevent employers from retaliating against workers who get sick. The bill has 113 sponsors in the House and 21 sponsors in the Senate, and has been endorsed by the Obama administration.
Passing this bill is an important step in fighting the spread of seasonal and H1N1 flu. Three quarters of workers without paid sick days work in food and service industries where they come into contact with both co-workers and the public.
We knew it was coming. That’s why JwJ coalitions have been mobilizing for an economic recovery and working with partners to develop a national jobs plan. While the big banks took their bailouts and spend millions lobbying against a recovery for the rest of us, unemployment has officially topped 10%.
The intense struggle over health insurance reform is coming to a head (call your Rep. at 202-224-3121), and legislation to reform the big banks has been introduced. Extending unemployment for people that have already been out of work for many months is a necessary step, but we need good jobs – both public and private sector.
Despite what the big banks might say, there is no such thing as a ‘jobless recovery.’ Tell Congress the next big agenda item has to be creating millions of good jobs — and to get started now.
Senator Sanders of Vermont is following the lead of the people in introducing a bill to break up the banks that would be “too big to fail.”
The bill would give the Treasury Department 90 days to identify any financial institution that might be ‘too big to fail,’ and then a year to break up all those institutions.
“Trust Buster” Teddy Roosevelt broke up about 40 mega-institutions (his successor President Taft more than doubled that number), understanding that they were a threat to both democracy and the economy.
Let’s hope our leaders follow the people. Now THAT would be change we can believe in.
STLtoday.com has a great piece on Missouri JwJ director Lara Granich. She’s a community organizer – and proud of it!
The article looks at:
* An economy “that has stripped away 130,000 jobs locally and 15 million nationwide”
* The role of JwJ in Missouri in building a local movement to support worker’s rights
* The opportunities amidst the crisis for working people as “they are a lot clearer that if they don’t stand up for themselves, no one else will.”
On November 3rd, members of the Mid-Willamette Valley Jobs with Justice came out to denounce the anti-union practices of BrucePAC, a private company that packages cooked meats in Silverton, OR. Over 40 community supporters showed at the main BrucePAC facility in Siverton to hand out information about the working condition and demanded an end to the intimidation and harrassment of the 350 workers. Workers there are trying to form a union with LIUNA Local 296.
The horror stories from workers sparked the community into action and is another example of why we need real labor law reform like the Employee Free Choice Act. More than 40 workers say they were fired for supporting the union organizing effort, female workers report being sexually harassed, and injured workers say they have been sent home and denied workers comp. BrucePac is also spending big money on union busting consultants to intimidate workers.
Workers that have been with the company several years still only make minimum wage! With current estimates showing BrucePAC having revenues close to $99 million in 2008, workers know Larry Bruce, President of BrucePAC, can do better.
Tennesseans, like others around the country, have watched in horror as the effective enforcement of labor standards dramatically declined. Many employers in the state have been quick to take advantage of a climate that has privileged business interests over workers and their unions. Meanwhile, many agencies charged with upholding workplace standards have lacked the resources, or in some cases the political will, to firmly and consistently enforce the law. And it’s workers and their families that have paid the price!
This fall, Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee (based in Knoxville), Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice (based in Nashville), and the Worker Interfaith Network of Memphis joined forces in a statewide effort to bring to light some of the worst cases of abuse, such as wage theft and violations of workplace health and safety.
Targeting primarily the Tennessee Department of Labor and the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), the 3 groups are gearing up for a statewide series of workers’ rights board hearings to receive testimony from immigrant workers who have had their pay withheld for no reason, sheet-metal workers who have had to work in unsafe conditions, and a number of other worker stories.
Under pressure from the community, Jobs with Justice, and other groups, Wells Fargo has agreed to terms that will allow Belva Davis to stay in her home.
Homeowner Belva Davis of Detroit’s East English Village fell behind on her mortgage while unemployed. Last December, Wells Fargo started to foreclose on Belva’s home.
Belva got a new job, and wanted to renegotiate terms and pay the mortgage. For months Wells Fargo refused to modify Belva’s loan, but they weren’t counting on the outpouring of support Belva got from her neighbors and allies throughout Detroit and across the country.
Belva’s struggle to stay in her home turned a corner after SE Michigan Jobs with Justice brought labor into the fight. On September 29, more than 50 people picketed the Wachovia/Wells Fargo branch office in Grosse Point Woods, MI to demand that Wells Fargo not evict Belva Davis and the thousands of homeowners like her who have fallen behind on their mortgages.
Immediately following the rally, the bank called Belva’s attorney, Jerry Goldberg, to begin negotiations to modify her loan, and Belva finally got a payment plan she can
In California, the struggle continues. Across California students and workers have come together to fight against fee increases and the privatization of education. Thousands of students and workers met at the UCLA campus to demand the Regents from the UC system to stop the proposed increases and support funding of public higher education. Several buildings were occupied by students while others marched around the area where
