Jobs with Justice Blog » union

Opinion: Why I’m Protesting the Keystone Pipeline With Bill McKibben

Joe Uehlein — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:23:15 +0000

This article originally appeared at Labor4sustainability.org

Sometimes a decision forces you to think deeply about what you believe in and how you act on those beliefs. It happened to me when climate protection leader Bill McKibben asked me to sign a letter calling for civil disobedience to block the building of a pipeline designed to carry tar-sands oil from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. Opposing the pipeline might strain ties with unions that I’ve worked with and been part of for my whole adult life. And yet the pipeline might be a tipping point that could hurtle us into a desperate acceleration of climate change. Amid these conflicting pulls, what should I do? Having lived at the confluence of trade unionism and environmentalism, I struggled with the right course of action. What has my life’s work meant?

I was born into a union family. My dad worked in the steel mills in Lorain, Ohio and was a founder of the Steelworkers Union. My mom had been an organizer in the Clothing Workers Union in Cincinnati. I grew up near Cleveland and I

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Hyatt workers on strike — Take action now!

jwjnational — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:13:41 +0000

This week, thousands of Hyatt hotel workers in four cities nationwide–Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu—are on strike. They are on strike not only to win a fair contract at their own hotels, but to take a stand against Hyatt’s abuse of hotel workers in cities across the country.

Tell Hyatt to stop abusing workers!

Join a picket line in the cities where workers are on strike

Send a message of solidarity to Hyatt workers

Boycott these Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt has abused its housekeepers, replacing career housekeepers with minimum wage temporary workers and imposing dangerous workloads on those housekeepers who remain. Take for example Boston, where Hyatt fired its entire housekeeping staff at three non-union hotels, replacing women who had worked at Hyatt for decades with temporary workers earning minimum wage. Hyatt even turned heat lamps on striking workers in Chicago during a brutal heat wave this July.

The people who clean, staff and help make Hyatt

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CRJ Construction Workers at UW Organize to Hold Bosses Accountable

jwjnational — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:55:55 +0000

Struggling construction workers at the UW became a local face for Labor’s revived fight for human rights in the workplace, ignited in Wisconsin. Organizing to form a union with the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) and the Cement Masons (OPMCIA) at the CRJ contractor, the workers linked arms with campus unions and allies to call on UW Administrators to declare “No Wisconsins in the UW community.” Renewed worker solidarity is emboldening an escalating campaign for justice from CRJ bosses and UW Administrators.

Washington State JwJ played a central role in hosting and organizing the coalition that launched 2 rallies at UW campuses, amassing 500 total activists, 2 marches on bosses, and scores of unions and community groups represented during the April 4 national day of action. The events also featured the ferry worker fight for collective bargaining (IBU), the public worker defense of essential services (SEIU & UAW & AFSCME), and retail and hospitality worker Downtown Tacoma campaigns for the right-to-organize (UFCW & UNITE-HERE) placed by Tacoma NAACP President Christopher
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Tompkins Workers’ Center Wins Major Workers Rights Case Against World’s Largest Hair Salon Chain

Pete Meyers — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:12:44 +0000
The world’s largest hair salon corporation, Regis/Cost Cutters, agrees to remove “Yellow Dog Contracts” it forced workers to sign and to provide Notices and a DVD recording informing employees of their rights
(Ithaca, NY) The National Labor Relations Board has settled unfair labor practice charges against Minneapolis-based Regis Corporation which operates some 10,000 hair salons with over 57,000 workers nationwide, including three Regis Corporation salons in the Ithaca area. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center/JwJ, representing two Cost Cutters’ (one of Regis’ 34 ‘brands’) workers, filed the charges in 2010.

The settlement requires Regis to remove all the “Yellow Dog Agreements” it forced workers to sign from its files. These agreements, called by Regis “Protection of Secret Vote Agreements” and signed by workers during 2009-10, were written promises by workers that any union authorization cards they might sign in the future were null and void. This was deemed illegal by the NLRB.

The settlement also requires Regis to post a NLRB notice at all of its store locations nationwide describing for workers their rights to union representation and
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New NLRB Rules ‘Modest Step to Election Fairness’

Mike Hall AFL-CIO — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:08:18 +0000

Cross posted from the AFL-CIO blog.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this morning released proposed changes in the way union representation elections are conducted that the NLRB says will “reduce unnecessary barriers to the fair and expeditious resolution of questions concerning representation.”

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the proposed changes are a “modest step to remove roadblocks and reduce unnecessary and costly litigation—and that’s good news for employers as well as employees. But he adds:

The proposed rule does not address many of the fundamental problems with our labor laws, but it will help bring critically needed fairness and balance to this part of the process.

Trumka says the rules “appear to be a common sense approach to clean up an outdated system and help ensure that working women and men can make their own choice about whether to form a union.”

When workers want to vote on a union, they should get a fair chance to vote. That’s a basic right. But our current system has become a broken, bureaucratic maze that stalls and stymies workers’ choices. And that diminishes
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Independent Philadelphia Security Officers Union Wins First Union Contract at the Museum of Art

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:43:07 +0000

After four years of organizing, officers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art employed by AlliedBarton Security Services have a union contract! The agreement, ratified by a majority of guards on April 18th, will increase wages by 14.5% over the life of the 3-year contract and will institute a grievance procedure and a seniority system.

“We are proud that our 4 year struggle has resulted in a better quality of life for our coworkers and families,” says Donald Lindsey, President of the union.

The union mounted a public pressure campaign which engaged supportive city council members, the Philadelphia labor movement, student activists, Jobs with Justice, and dozens of local faith leaders to win their victory against the nation’s second-largest security company.

Security guards are prevented from joining most labor unions due to the Section 9 (B) 3 of the National Labor Relations Act. This clause of the National Labor Relations Act states that
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Demand fair elections for airline & rail workers – House vote tomorrow

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:14:15 +0000

Imagine an election where all non-voters are counted as “NO” voters. It’s undemocratic, and it would make it extremely difficult to get enough “YES” votes to pass anything.

That’s exactly what House Transportation Chairman John Mica has in mind for airline and railway workers who are voting in union elections. Mica, who has taken more than $620,000 in campaign contributions from the airline industry, has put a provision into the FAA reauthorization bill that would make it much more difficult for railway and airline employees to form unions.

Under this rule, even if more people voted “yes” than voted “no”, the “yeses” could still lose. Can you think of ANY election that works this way? We would never tolerate this kind of voting in our political elections; why would we allow it in union elections?

Congress is expected to vote on the provision TOMORROW. Please send an email TODAY to let Congress know we will not tolerate this undemocratic process. The only votes that should count are the votes that are actually cast!

April 4 Call to Action: We are One

jwjnational — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:21:20 +0000

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. The workers were trying to form a union with AFSCME.

On April 4, 2011, join union members, community activists, people of faith, students, youth, LGBTQ, civil rights, and immigrant rights allies to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for: the freedom to bargain, to vote, to afford a college education and justice for all workers, immigrant and native-born. It’s a day to show movement with actions, teach-ins, worksite discussions, vigils, faith events – a day to be creative, but clear: We are one.

Visit www.we-r-1.org to find a local event, or add your own event to the growing list of activities. Some ideas for action:

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Wisconsin Judge Temporarily Blocks Union-Busting Bill

Allison Fletcher Acosta — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:42:25 +0000

This morning, Dane County judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order blocking Wisconsin’s new law that limits collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The Dane County District Attorney brought a lawsuit to block the bill on the grounds that a vote to pass the law was invalid. Fourteen Wisconsin Democrats stayed away from the state capitol for weeks in order to prevent a vote on the law as part of a state budget bill. On March 9, Walker switched tactics, bringing the law instead for a vote before a legislative committee in the middle of the night.

It appears that this scheme violated the 24 hour notice required by the state’s Open Meetings Law.

The State is expected to appeal the ruling, and the order does not prevent the legislature from taking another vote on the law, with 24-hours notice. But for now, the bill cannot be published nor take effect.

Stay tuned for more developments in Wisconsin and in states across the country.

Rally at WGBH: Shame on You, Channel 2. We Expect More from You!

Natalie Honsinger — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:55:59 +0000

On March 15, AEEF/CWA Local 1300 and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice staged a rally at WGBH’s Brighton headquarters. About 100 union members and community supporters chanted slogans like “Shame on you, Channel 2, we expect more from you!” and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that’s what a fair contract means to me!” Many angry and frustrated union members gave speeches about the contract WGBH plans to enforce upon their workers.

At WGBH, the public television station known for producing shows such as Curious George, Antiques Roadshow, and This Old House among others, union workers have been trying to reach an agreement with management since August.

WGBH recently presented a “final offer” to the union which includes proposals for outsourcing and for allowing T.V. and radio personalities to be terminated without cause. On March 12, the union voted not to accept the agreement by an overwhelming 93%.

The goal of the March 15 rally was to get management to postpone imposing its final offer and instead return to
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