Jobs with Justice Blog » washington

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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Register now for the JwJ Conference! Early bird rates end FRIDAY

jwjnational — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:54:39 +0000

Last chance for early bird registration! Register by FRIDAY, JUNE 24th TO SAVE

The Jobs with Justice National Conference will be held in Washington, DC August 5-7, with a Student-Labor Pre-Conference on August 4th.

The conference draws a diverse cross-section of labor and community activists who are working on some of the most innovative campaigns in the labor movement. Some of the campaigns you can expect to learn more about include:

Caring Across Generations campaign to organize and transform the direct care industry through public policy and an organizing strategy

Campaign to win Change at Walmart

Defending the public sector

Organizing & contract fights in these times

POWER Act campaign to expand the right to organize & ensure protections when guest workers report employer abuses

Vermont’s successful campaign to win single payer health care

The Excluded Worker Congress & strategies to win justice for workers in sectors unprotected by current US labor laws

Defending attacks against collective bargaining rights in the states

Stopping Wage Theft

Organizing

Continue reading Register now for the JwJ Conference! Early bird rates end FRIDAY

Building Working Class Power!

jwjnational — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:00:19 +0000

Were you inspired by the pro-democracy movements in the Middle East this winter? Were you moved by the outpouring of support for workers’ rights in the Midwest? Are you wondering what’s next in building a people’s movement to take back our democracy?

Join us August 5-7 at the Jobs with Justice National Conference!Click here to register by June 24th and save on the registration cost.

Come to the Jobs with Justice National Conference to learn from and strategize with labor leaders, rank & file workers, students, religious leaders, community activists, workers excluded from labor law protection, and many, many more about how to build a powerful movement of working people to defeat the corporate agenda.

Establishing a new framework for collective bargaining rights in the 21st century

Building a new economy that supports full & fair employment

From the Middle East to the Midwest, building a culture of resistance – what’s next?

Defending, promoting, & expanding collective bargaining rights

Defeating attacks that divide workers by turning the tide on immigration criminalization & enforcement

Forging successful coalitions to

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Build Power. Fight Back. Win!

jwjnational — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:59:43 +0000

JOBS WITH JUSTICE NATIONAL CONFERENCE AUGUST 5-7, 2011 IN WASHINGTON, DC

Corporations want to use the failing economy as an excuse to reverse every worker protection put in place over the last century, but we are standing together and fighting back!

Come to the Jobs with Justice conference to learn from and strategize with labor leaders, rank & file workers, students, religious leaders, community activists, workers excluded from labor law protection, and many, many more about how to build a powerful movement of working people to defeat the corporate agenda! Join us as we explore:

Establishing a new framework for collective bargaining rights in the 21st century

Building a new economy that supports full & fair employment

From the Middle East to the Midwest, building a culture of resistance – what’s next?

Defending, promoting, & expanding collective bargaining rights

Defeating attacks that divide workers by turning the tide on immigration criminalization & enforcement

Forging successful coalitions to defeat the corporate attack on working people

Kickoff to the Jobs with Justice 25th Anniversary Celebration

REGISTER NOW! Early

Continue reading Build Power. Fight Back. Win!

Uniting to Win Respect for Rite Aid Workers and Our Communities!

Amy Willis — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:24:01 +0000

Highlights from the Dec. 15 National Day of Action…

Over the past several years, Rite Aid executives have made a number of serious missteps that have hurt the company’s business. The nation’s third-largest retail drug store chain has not made a profit in more than three years, causing investors to suffer heavy losses. Instead of working with employees to help turn the company around, Rite Aid executives are trying to make workers pay for management’s mistakes. At Rite Aid locations across the country, the trend is same: the company is demanding concessions from hardworking employees, while increasing executive compensation.

For example, while CEO John Standley recently doubled his own compensation, Rite Aid is:

Proposing onerous health insurance hikes for workers in Northern Ohio, which may force them to strike;

Seeking huge increases in employees’ share of health insurance costs in Lancaster, CA where, for 2 ½ years, workers have been trying to get a fair labor agreement; and

Closing a unionized distribution center in Rome, NY and going non-union, leaving 400 employees

Continue reading Uniting to Win Respect for Rite Aid Workers and Our Communities!

Tacoma Council Challenges Marriott-Hollander to Benefit the Community

Washington State JwJ — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:16:44 +0000

In a big policy shift, the Tacoma, WA City Council questioned subsidies for a Hollander-Marriott luxury project that may not benefit the community, bucking developer lobbyists and the City Manager. For weeks, City Council-members led by Connie Ladenburg held off indemnifying Hollander and sticking taxpayers with toxic liability at the privately owned site. The hotel is sited for the Thea Foss Waterway next to the bankrupted and nearly empty luxury Esplanade condos, also government subsidized and built on the backs of low-wage workers.

The shift occurred while Urban Grace Church organized for a recent candidate forum on Responsible Development and amidst a now three-year JwJ free speech campaign to press the City Council to embrace justice values linked to the City’s luxury subsidy policy. Now six candidates are referring to “sustainable development” in two Tacoma Weekly articles although not all seemed to include economic justice in the term. Some candidates prefer Bush trickle-down welfare that doesn’t address poverty-wage jobs, a root cause of environmental unsustainability. In their minds, low-wage downtown hotel workers should just commute to homes in affordable places

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