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By Ricardo Valadez, on September 11th, 2009 Yesterday, hundreds of community, faith, student leaders came to Washington to tell their elected officials why they support the Employee Free Choice Act. Jobs with Justice activists from Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maine and Indiana joined others in a jam-packed 36 hours of training and lobbying.
 Participants were welcomed Wednesday night by outgoing AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. On Thursday morning, Senator Harkin addressed the crowd with heart-felt remarks about his family’s life-long commitment to unions and workers’ issues. Harkin, who was just named Chairman of the House Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, brought a bittersweet message to the activists. “We will win strong labor law reform,” Harkin said, “but it may not happen this year.” Senator Harkin explained that health care would likely dominate the legislative calendar for the remainder of the year, but assured folks that the Employee Free Choice Act would immediately follow.
With the appointment of Harkin to lead the HELP Committee and President Obama’s Labor Day address reconfirming his support for the Bill, activists were energized to go out and meet with their Senators and Congressional Representatives. You can see
Continue reading Lobby Day for the Employee Free Choice Act
By Allison Fletcher Acosta, on September 9th, 2009 A sampling of what Jobs with Justice coalitions worked on from August 22-September 7.
 Security Guards at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, after repeated requests for a meeting, welcomed new director Timothy Rub with a rally on the steps of the museum. On September 3rd, the guards filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to allow them to unionize as members of the Philadelphia Security Officers Union, an independent union.
Jobs with Justice was one of 521 organizations that signed an open letter to Obama criticizing the Presidents inactivity on immigration reform. The letter demands the “immediate termination” of the 287(g) program which allows local law enforcement agencies to essentially act as proxies for federal agents who investigate, apprehend, transport, and detain people who are suspected of being undocumented.
The national debate on health care continues to be front-and-center, and JwJ coalitions remain engaged on the ground.
Missouri JwJ is part of a coalition pushing for reform.
St. Joseph Valley Project/JwJ in South Bend, Indiana went out to show their support for health reform when the so-called “Patients First National Bus Tour” came to town.
JwJ was part of
Continue reading Quick Hits: Labor Day Edition
By Ricardo Valadez, on August 10th, 2009  Yet another example of why working people need the Employee Free Choice Act. In 2006, warehouse workers in Lancaster, CA decided they wanted to form a union. Despite the company’s attacks, a majority the of the workers voted to join ILWU Local 26 in March 2008. But more than a year later, the workers have not been able to negotiate a first contract.
Today, as these workers continue fighting for a contract, Jobs with Justice is releasing a report to tell their story. Rite Aid, Oliver J. Bell & Associates, and the Case for the Employee Free Choice Act documents how management employed union-busters and violated labor laws. Last year, the National Labor Relations Board was prepared to charge Rite Aid with 49 unfair labor practice charges before the cases were settled out of court.
Unfortunately, the problems faced by workers when they formed a union at Rite Aid are all-too-common. Profitable and unaccountable anti-union firms, like Oliver Bell and Associates, show companies how to manipulate and flout labor laws with little or no consequences.
The Employee Free Choice Act could make a huge difference in cases like
Continue reading Activists Hit Rite Aid Today in Support of Warehouse Workers, Employee Free Choice Act
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