Following Huge Protest in Missouri, Senators drop Right to Work Bill

By , on March 17th, 2011

Missouri Rallies against Right to Work & Corporate GreedOn Friday, March 11, a crowd of almost 5,000 people packed St. Louis’ Kiener Plaza to stand up against bills in the Missouri Legislature that would hurt working families, including Right-to-Work-for-Less legislation (SB 1), Minimum Wage Repeal (HB 61 and SB 110), and the Child Labor Repeal (SB 222). Carpenters, laborers, pipefitters, boilermakers, teachers, autoworkers, teamsters, janitors, nurses, policemen, glaziers, machinists, electricians, insulators- just about every local in the St. Louis metropolitan area was represented at this rally.

“We-Are-One” chants recurred throughout the event- before, after and during almost every speaker. Speakers voiced their opposition to the attacks on the middle class, tax breaks for the wealthy, tax incentives for corporations and legislators who are overturning the will of the voters.

Chant leaders JwJ St. Louis Organizer Aaron Burnett And SEIU Local 1 Union Representative Kevin Oliver kicked off the event.  Speakers at the event included: St. Louis Labor Council President Bob Soutier, Pastor Teresea Danieley, Father Richard Creason, Coalition of Black Trade

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March 17th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Unions | Comments are closed

Sweep of Ithaca Restaurants Finds Labor Law Violations at Most

By , on January 5th, 2010

Press ConferenceOn December 10th, the New York State Department of Labor’s (DOL) Commissioner Patricia Smith, announced in a joint press conference [video here] with the Tompkins County Workers’ Center and Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson, the findings of a targeted DOL investigation of 22 Tompkins County restaurants.  In May 2009, investigators from the DOL’s Division of Labor Standards and Unemployment Insurance found that five of the restaurants – 23 percent – were in full compliance with labor laws.  However, the other 17 restaurants – 77 percent of those visited – were found to have violated New York State Labor Laws.  Specifically, the DOL found that $87,925 is owed to 93 employees at 6 restaurants for violations such as failure to pay minimum wage and illegal deductions from workers’ paychecks.  Commissioner Smith said:

I’m encouraged by the fact that almost one-quarter of the restaurants we checked were in full compliance with labor laws.  To them I say thank you – thank you for treating your workers fairly and thank you for playing by the rules.  Ultimately, a level playing field helps all New Yorkers – workers and

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January 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns | One comment - (Comments are closed)

Activists in 15 Countries Launch Historic Global Collective Bargaining Campaign

By , on October 7th, 2009

Delhi, India— On October 7th, the ITUC-declared World Day of Decent Work, Asian workers’ organizations and representatives along with allies in the US, UK and throughout Europe are coming together to demand a Minimum Living Wage called the Asia Floor Wage.

As the protestors at G-20 recently urged the global platform of governments to realize the fallacy of the neoliberal “free trade” model of development, labor activists in Asia, US, UK and Europe have joined hands to pro-actively propose a new model for growth.

The Asia Floor Wage (AFW) Campaign is based on the premise that we need a new framework for the growth of the global economy; one that is based on labor rights and prioritizes the demand for a living wage.

Garment worker Mirza takes a nap, while her eldest son gives lessons to his younger siblings. He is a school-drop out himself and an unemployed leather worker. Delhi, India, September 2009. cc Ankur Ahuja/CleanClothesCampaign

Garment worker Mirza takes a nap, while her eldest son gives lessons to his younger siblings. He is a school-drop out himself and an unemployed leather worker. Delhi, India, September 2009.

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October 7th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Alliances | One comment - (Comments are closed)