On November 7, 2009, the Westin Providence fired three housemen, Alfred Palumbo, Mike Crone, and Jose Minaya, in retaliation for their legally protected union protest. The Westin refused appeals from the Union and community leaders to reinstate them. The workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 217, filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which investigated the case for four months.
On Wednesday, February 24, the NLRB Regional Director in Boston gave notice that the Federal Government has authorized a civil prosecution of the Westin Providence for the firings.
In order to avoid further prosecution, the Westin Providence suddenly offered all three workers reinstatement at the hotel to their previous jobs, pay and benefits. Once the NLRB authorizes a complaint, the Westin will be required to make all three workers whole for lost back pay and benefits, and post an official Federal notice throughout the Hotel in order to avoid a trial before a federal labor judge.
Mike Crone was a houseman at the Westin for 12 years before he was terminated by the hotel on November
Union members and their children are eligible for $500 – $4,000 scholarships for college graduate and undergraduate programs. Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $2.4 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. You can learn more and download the application here.
The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund provides grants to students actively working for peace and justice. These need-based scholarships are awarded to those able to do academic work at the university level and who are part of the progressive movement on the campus and in the community. Early recipients worked for civil rights, against McCarthyism, and for peace in Vietnam. Recent grantees have been active in the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression; building the movement for economic justice; and creating peace through international anti-imperialist solidarity. Learn more and download an application here.
National Workers’ Rights Board hearing exposes wage theft, safety violations; highlights need for collective bargaining for car wash workers in Los Angeles, Nation.
Yesterday at Los Angeles City Hall, members of the Jobs with Justice National Workers’ Rights Board (WRB) were joined by other distinguished guests to hear gripping testimony about the hazards facing car wash workers. Over 250 union and community members packed the room to overflowing to hear from workers, consumer, health and safety advocates, and United Steel Workers President Leo Gerard.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa addressed the panel and the audience, thanking the WRBs’ leadership for protecting workers, and praising the courage of the workers who are speaking out. The Mayor pledged to remain engaged in this fight. “We look forward to reviewing the recommendations from this board for addressing abuses in this industry,” said the Mayor. “It’s important the public understand what’s going on at car washes in Los Angeles.”
Car wash workers reported being paid less than half of California’s $8 an hour minimum wage and some reported they are
So we didn’t win the Public Option. It has been replaced with a vaguely defined government-regulated insurance exchange.
Additionally, labor leaders were not able to completely remove the tax on working people to generate money for that program. As of now, they were able to:
delay the tax for those of us who are state/local government employees or who have collectively bargained agreements,
to increase the thresholds for premiums taxed for women, seniors and those with high risk occupations—whose health insurance premiums tend to be higher, and
to exclude dental and vision from the calculations for the tax (starting in 2015).
Nevertheless, the inclusion of any tax on working people instead of taxing the corporate interests that got us in this situation in the first place is a qualitative loss from what we started with.
This is not the bill we fought for.
Single-payer advocates and many others might argue that we did not demand enough in the first place. And there is definitely validity in the notion that organized labor should have done more to support the single-payer movement outside of the beltway, even if they were pushing the public option on Capitol Hill.
In light of the recent negotiations, corporate interests will blame the Obama Administration
After two years of struggle at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Jobs with Justice (JwJ) and the security guards at the museum filed for union recognition this past September and won their election on October 10, 2009, forming the Philadelphia Security Officers Union (PSOU). This historic victory is a testament to hundreds of hours of volunteer work, the strategic campaign run by JwJ, the support of Philadelphians, and the dedication and fearlessness of the security guards who stood up for their rights on the job.
AlliedBarton, the security company that employs the guards, contested the election, and guards spent December awaiting a decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
On January 5th, the NLRB announced their decision in favor of the PSOU! Guards are currently working on their contract with AlliedBarton, and anticipate more obstacles to come. Will AlliedBarton slow down progress further by filing another frivolous appeal?
Check out this great segment on GRITtv about the workers’ struggle
Looking to buy gifts for the holidays AND support workers? We’ve got some ideas for you!
Naturally, we recommend starting off at the Jobs with Justice store, where you can find union-made t-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, buttons, stickers, and even yo-yos with a pro-worker message.
For union made apparel, UNITE HERE keeps a list of companies with the union label, as does the UFCW.
Sweatfree Communities and the International Labor Rights Forum have put together the “2010 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide” with clothing sourced from sweat-free factories throughout the world.
Over 1,700 Long Island bus workers won union representation last Friday after the workers launched a strong organizing drive with Teamsters Local 1205. The victory is the result of a hard fight by the workers, the union, and their allies. The employer, Baumann Bus, was in strong opposition to the union.
The workers—drivers, driver assistants, and mechanics—began organizing in the spring of 2009 and formed organizing committees in their nine different yards. The workers’ reasons for wanting a union were strong: they were not paid for the hours worked, were spending a large portion of their personal paychecks on health care, and experienced degrading workplace conditions. When the employers got word that the workers were organizing, they started attaching anti-union letters to their paychecks, boldly stating, “Don’t sign up with the Teamsters—tell them we don’t want them around here!”
The workers filed ten unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board before November 1st, 2009. The charges include: spying on workers who are speaking to one another about the union; telling Latino and Haitian workers that they must be U.S. citizens to vote in the union; and scaring the workers into believing that if a union is voted in, the company 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.
Lakeside worker Lana Wegner-Harden, joined by SEIU Organizer Baschki Leo, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, and Tompkins County Workers' Center/JwJ Organizer, Linda Holzbaur Speaking at Tuesday Press Conference (Photo: Marty Luster, Photo News Service)
One hundred thirty workers at Lakeside Nursing Home in Ithaca announced Tuesday (supported by their union SEIU1199, Assemblyperson Barbara Lifton; Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson; Pastor Rich Rose of the First Baptist Church in Ithaca, the Workers’ Center, families of residents, and various community organizations) their intention to fight requirements by the new owners of Lakeside, the Peregrine Health Management Company. Health care workers at Lakeside have been told they must reapply for jobs, will have their wages lowered, and lose retirement pensions when Peregrine, take over as owners on November 1st.
The workers at Lakeside (to be renamed Cayuga Ridge LLC) demand that Peregrine guarantee the jobs and pensions of the healthcare-givers they have employed for the past nine years. Lana Wegner-Harden, an LPN at Lakeside for the past 16 years,
The two year effort to form an independent labor union for the AlliedBarton security guards at the world famous Philadelphia Museum of Art finally resulted in a victory for the union this weekend. The formerly unionized guards lost their union in 1992 when the jobs were privatized by then Mayor Ed Rendell.
“It is hard for any group of workers to join a union,” says Cecelia Lynch, museum guard and union activist. “But we knew that it was the only hope that we had to fix the problems that we faced on the job.”
It is rare and difficult for a group of workers to form their own independent union.
The newly formed Philadelphia Security Officers Union (PSOU) was created by guards from around the city and by the Philadelphia Jobs with Justice over a two year period.
“We hope that AlliedBarton will now work with us to agree on a fair contract in a reasonable amount of time,” says Fabricio Rodriguez, Executive Director of Jobs with Justice.
The union provides some hope to a growing segment of Philadelphia’s workforce, private security guards. Guards currently lack union representation and have few opportunities to
On November 7, 2009, the Westin Providence fired three housemen, Alfred Palumbo, Mike Crone, and Jose Minaya, in retaliation for their legally protected union protest. The Westin refused appeals from the Union and community leaders to reinstate them. The workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 217, filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which investigated the case for four months.
