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By Erica Smiley, on October 11th, 2011 
 There are still over 15 million unemployed Americans, nearly 6 job-seekers for each opening, and about 100,000 workers entering the job market each month. Public services and education are being wiped out. Corporate greed and Wall Street recklessness put the squeeze on working people and have created the worst economic crisis in a generation. Big corporations shipped jobs overseas and Wall Street speculators took more and more of our wealth, getting rich quickly at the expense of workers and families.
But this is not news.
What has developed is the upsurge of workers, youth, and the communities we all live in to Occupy Wall Street, and to be in solidarity with these actions around the country. This momentum came just in time, as workers around the country have begun to fight back in bigger and more coordinated ways—understanding that the fight is over who has control over what happens in our workplaces and our communities — working people or Wall Street corporations.
Last winter in Wisconsin and in nearly every state, we saw a breathtaking show of militant resistance to attacks on
Continue reading Building a United Movement to Make Wall Street Pay
By Erica Smiley, on August 8th, 2011
Struggling for the rights of workers at swollen multinational companies like Walmart or within the individual homes in which domestic workers toil is hard enough. But add onto this the additional hardship of being discriminated against based on a workers’ gender and you really have a fight.
On Sunday, August 7th at the National Conference of Jobs with Justice, the members of the National Domestic Workers Alliance teamed up with the women of OUR Walmart to discuss the challenges and opportunities of organizing from the perspective of women. Domestic workers spoke about being discouraged from identifying as workers when employers called them “a part of the family”, while Walmart Associates discussed making significantly lower wages than men doing the same job. Both were hopeful moving forward in campaigns to develop and strengthen a framework for collective bargaining for domestic workers and in outlining an enforceable anti-discrimination policy for Walmart to adopt.
The testimony was so moving, that Barbara Ehrenreich–author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America–remarked on Democracy Now surrounding the book’s ten year anniversary:
“But I was very excited yesterday. I went to the Jobs with Justice conference in Washington, D.C. That’s an organization
Continue reading Organizing Workers and Women: Domestic Workers and OUR Walmart Organize Exchange
By Erica Smiley, on June 16th, 2011 
Bentonville, AR (June 16, 2011)—Today, Sarita Gupta of Jobs with Justice and other allies from around the country joined together in support of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart’s (OUR Walmart) successful public debut. OUR Walmart is a national organization of, by and for hourly Walmart Associates who are devoted to making Walmart a better and more respectful employer.
As part of the organization’s public debut, nearly 100 Walmart Associates traveled to Bentonville, AR to take their message of respect directly to Walmart’s headquarters. Karen Casey, the head of Human Resources and Labor Relations for Walmart responded to fears Associates had of being fired for participating in OUR Walmart by saying, “You have my word that none of the Associates will be retaliated against.”
Joining them were community, faith and student allies mobilized by Jobs with Justice–including Victor Sanchez from the US Student Association, Priscilla Gonzalez of the Domestic Workers United and National Domestic Workers Alliance, Rev Grayland Hagler of Plymouth United Church of Christ and Rev Noemi Mena of National City Christian Church.
“This is only the beginning“, said Gupta. “Jobs with Justice pledges to be there for OUR Walmart until they win dignity and justice at
Continue reading Jobs with Justice joins OUR Walmart at Home Office in Arkansas
By Erica Smiley, on June 9th, 2011
On June 7th, associates at Walmart stores nationwide launched the Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OUR Walmart. OUR Walmart was founded with a mission to ensure that every Associate, regardless of his or her title, age, race, or sex, is respected at Walmart. We join together to offer strength and support in addressing the challenges that arise in our stores and our company everyday. The launch kicked off a week of conversations engaging Walmart associates to share their stories—often for the first time.
Said one associate from Texas, “I joined OUR Walmart because it provides a voice for the Associates at Walmart. As an individual at Walmart, if you speak up to managers, you’ll likely get fired at some point. But with OUR Walmart we speak up as a group, as opposed to an individual. And it provides safety for the associates to voice their opinions without fear of being fired or terminated, because they got somebody to support them as a group. You stand out more, in the public, with a group behind you as opposed to going up against management by yourself.”
Show your support for Walmart Associates by going to www.makingchangeatwalmart.org to sign the
Continue reading Walmart Associates Organize for Respect
By Erica Smiley, on April 8th, 2011
 From March 29 through April 4, garment workers from the Bangladesh Worker Solidarity Center toured the US in an effort to hold WalMart and other multinational corporations that buy garments from Bangladeshi suppliers accountable for the treatment and conditions of workers. Making stops in Chicago, Boston, Rhode Island, New York, Philadelphia and DC, workers demonstrated that as the world’s biggest company, WalMart impacts communities around the globe. The tour instilled the importance of building unity between workers representing multiple points in the WalMart supply chain including WalMart associates, warehouse workers, and Bangladeshi garment workers among other suppliers.
The speaking tour was launched after 21 workers in a Bangladeshi garment factory were trapped and killed in a fire with no chance of getting out on December 10, 2010. Many of the workers jumped to their deaths, a haunting parallel to Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York that claimed the lives of 146 workers 100 years ago. The International Labor Rights Forum and Sweatfree Communities led the tour with support from Jobs with Justice, the UFCW, and local community groups and unions
Continue reading Workers in Bangladesh, US Unite to Hold WalMart Accountable
By Erica Smiley, on February 25th, 2011
Members of the Excluded Workers Congress had their first exchange with the Department of Labor on February 9, 2011 where, in addition to each of the sector updates, the Congress’ priorities were shared—including the fight to pass the Power Act, a bill that would give protections to guestworkers trying to organize in the United States, the fight to increase the minimum wage and a pledge for on-going discussions with the DoL on where/how to protect excluded workers.
The Excluded Workers Congress also used this discussion as an opportunity to request the DoL take the historic action of debarring Vanderbilt LLC from the H-2B guestworker program after their gross mistreatment and prevention of workers from organizing in Nashville, TN last year. This was lifted up as a benchmark case that, if done, could expand the right of guestworkers trying to organize around the country.
Excluded workers, covering sectors from farm-workers to restaurant workers, represent workers living in the shadows of some of the only industries that are growing in the US. As Ai-jen Poo put it, “the future of the country is represented in these sectors.”
In response, the Department of Labor gave updates of their own—including updates on their new
Continue reading Excluded Workers Congress meets with the Department of Labor
By Erica Smiley, on February 25th, 2011
A collection of active unions and community organizations in Atlanta, Georgia have come to a critical conclusion: It is time to re-build Atlanta Jobs with Justice!
Atlanta has a rich history of struggle, not the least of which boasts the inspiring leadership of the late Reverend James Orange. It also boasts a vibrant labor movement, which says a lot given their location in the trenches of the right-to-work-for-less southern region.
In light of the severe attacks on workers and their communities around the country, a consensus quickly emerged that unions and community activists needed to build on that tradition and begin the formation of a coalition.
In its early phases of coming together, the Atlanta JwJ organizing committee has already mobilized in solidarity with workers at Rite Aid, TSA and just recently workers in Wisconsin.
All of this is gearing them up for a town hall on the plight of the unemployed in April.
For more information on how to get involved in building Atlanta Jobs with Justice, contact Kwame Ingram at 404-525-3559 or AtlantaJwJ@gmail.com.
VIDEO:
Georgians Rally in Solidarity with Wisconsin\’s workers
By Erica Smiley, on February 16th, 2011
Representative Barbara Lee has re-introduced legislation to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed, or “99ers”. If passed, over 1.4 million unemployed workers in all 50 states will receive an additional 14 weeks of coverage.
This legislation (H.R.589) comes at a time when Republicans are doing all they can to cut needed aid and services in the worst economic downturn since the depression.
But the fact remains, this country need jobs! And if Congress cannot create quality, new jobs they must provide the income to sustain the unemployed until the economy recovers.
The bill has already generated 62 co-sponsors in House.
By Erica Smiley, on February 16th, 2011
Nearly a year after Jobs with Justice coalitions joined in solidarity actions in airports around the country, employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) won the right to organize and collectively bargain from the Federal Labor Relations Authority. From March 9 to April 19, 2011, workers will vote on if to join the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The elections will include Transportation Security Officers, Lead Transportation Security Officers, Master Transportation Security Officers, Expert Transportation Security Officers, Behavior Detection Officers, Security Training Instructors and Equipment Maintenance Technicians.
A victory in their election would mean union representation for an estimated 40,000 workers, and would be a huge gain against the right-wing attack on public sector workers! It is important to keep up the solidarity and even ramp it up a bit to give airport workers a proper welcome into the union movement.
By Erica Smiley, on December 21st, 2010
Since mid-August, Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee has been in solidarity with workers at ARC Automotive and CASCO PRODUCTS CORP who are in contract negotiations with Workers United.
The company’s proposals included freezing employees’ wages for 3 years, eliminating future pension benefits, drastically increasing employee contributions for health insurance while cutting benefits at the same time, using low wage “temporary” workers in place of regular employees, and eliminating basic employee rights on the job.
Most outrageous were their heavy-handed threats to move the plant elsewhere if the workers did not agree to their demands.
CASCO and their president, Ali El-Haj, are another example of corporate America’s “race to the bottom”, where jobs are moved to where workers are paid the least and have the fewest rights.
The hardworking men and women employed by ARC deserve fair pay and benefits for their labor. They have a basic right to fair, even handed treatment. They are entitled to work free from threats to their jobs for simply standing up for themselves and their families.
After rallying on Saturday, the membership rejected the Company’s proposal by a vote of 69 to 1. They were very resolved to stand up to the Company’s
Continue reading TN Workers Reject CASCO Attempt to Cut Benefits, Move Plant
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