Last week members of the Communication Workers Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers called attention to two Verizon board members whose business practices reflect disdain for people whose work has made them rich and a sense of privilege that justifies taking handouts from the government while ignoring their own social responsibilities. The two unions, […]
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Archive | June, 2012
Southern 32 seek immigration justice
June 27, 2012 
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The New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice on May Day launched a campaign called Stand Up 2012 that calls on the Obama Administration and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to grant amnesty to immigrants facing deportation because they stood up for labor and/or civil rights. In June, six members of the New Orleans Congress […]
Read moreAmerican Crystal Sugar’s locked out workers reject contract for third time
June 26, 2012 0 Comments
Locked out American Crystal Sugar (ACS) workers on Sunday rejected for the third time the company’s final contract offer by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. The company locked out 1,300 members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco, and Grain Millers Union (BCTGM) in August after they rejected the company’s first final best offer, which called for steep […]
Read moreJudges rules post-Katrina firings of New Orleans school employees illegal
June 25, 2012 1 Comment
When Hurricane Katrina crashed into New Orleans, it did more than wash away homes, levees, and roads. Its aftermath was used as a pretext for destroying the livelihoods of 7,500 New Orleans Public School employees. Three months after the hurricane closed New Orleans’ schools, the Louisiana Department of Education seized control of the Orleans Parish School District […]
Read moreNurses rally for Robin Hood tax and Medicare for all
June 22, 2012 1 Comment
Earlier this week, nurses belonging to the National Nurses Union (NNU) and other activist groups kicked off a national campaign for a financial transaction tax, also know as the Robin Hood tax, with a flurry of activity in 15 cities across the US. In San Diego, nurses and other activists combined their Robin Hood event with a […]
Read moreOpponents demand that TPP come out of the shadows
June 20, 2012 1 Comment
Calling for an end to secret negotiations, opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), announced that they would be holding demonstrations and other events when representatives of 11 Pacific Rim nations meet July 2 through July 10 in San Diego to negotiate the new trade partnership that its opponents describe as “NAFTA on steroids.” Countries sending representatives to […]
Read moreAlabama poultry workers vote to unionize
June 19, 2012 0 Comments
Despite intense anti-union pressure from their employer, 1,200 poultry processing workers in Russellville, Alabama voted overwhelmingly to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The workers, employed by Pilgrim’s Pride, voted 706-292 in favor of the union. Control over their work lives was the main issue that motivated workers to unionize. “We had […]
Read moreJanitors’ peaceful rally for justice attacked by Houston police
June 18, 2012 1 Comment
Police on horseback charged into public space occupied by Houston janitors and their supporters on Thursday trampling their banner, knocking down people, and arresting one woman who came to the aid of an injured man on the ground. The janitors, who belong to SEIU Local 1, were demonstrating in downtown Houston for a fair wage increase as part […]
Read moreIndiana workers deliver message to Austin private equity firm: stop stalling, provide decent wages and benefits
June 15, 2012 2 Comments
US Rep. Paul Ryan recently addressed the Texas Republican party state convention in Fort Worth. He told the crowd that the American free enterprise system had done more to help the poor than government assistance programs and that these programs have become more of a hammock than a safety net allowing able-bodied people to relax instead of working hard. The […]
Read moreReport criticizes Walmart for undermining good jobs in its supply chain
June 13, 2012 0 Comments
A new report released by the National Employment Law Project describes how Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom corporate culture is driving down wages and working conditions for workers in the retail giant’s supply chain. These mostly Latino workers, many of whom are immigrants, work in warehouses loading and unloading merchandise destined for the shelves at Walmart stores. They are […]
Read moreClosing pension plan enrollment not likely to reduce costs as promised in recent San Diego election
June 12, 2012 2 Comments
San Diego voters last week voted overwhelmingly to reduce pension benefits for the city’s workers. The pension reduction referendum among other things eliminated public pensions for newly hired city employees. Future San Diego municipal employees will no longer be able to enroll in the defined benefit pension plan that covers current employees and provides a modest […]
Read moreSpanish miners fight austerity cuts while banks get government subsidies
June 11, 2012 3 Comments
The Spanish government recently announced that it had secured from its eurozone partners a 100 billion euro loan that it will use to subsidize its failing banks, whose risky loans and speculation caused a double-dip recession that has left 25 percent of the nation’s workforce without a job. While the government was seeking loans to subsidize bankers, it was telling […]
Read moreUnprecedented number vote for change at Walmart
June 8, 2012 0 Comments
At Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting on June 1, the retail giant’s leadership was put on notice that it’s time for a change when an unprecedented number of shareholders voted ”no” on the re-election of four leading board members and “yes” for a worker-shareholder sponsored proposal to make executive compensation more transparent. Members of Organization United for Respect […]
Read moreChicago bridal store worker demands “redress” for unpaid minimum wage and overtime
June 6, 2012 0 Comments
Reposted from Dignity at Work , blog of Arise Chicago By: Shelly Ruzicka On Saturday, June 2nd, Noemi Hernández led a group of over 30 community supporters to confront her former employer at Gislex Bridal, located in the Little Village Discount Mall. Noemi is a member of the Arise Chicago Worker Center who first came […]
Read moreChicago charter school workers organize union, stop proposed closure
June 5, 2012 0 Comments
Teachers, staff, students, and parents last week successfully stopped the closure of the Youth Connections Leadership Academy, a charter school that serves high-risk and dropout students in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The closure was announced just two days after the academy’s teachers and staff notified their employer, Youth Connection Charter School (YCCS), that they had unanimously agreed to join […]
Read moreSotheby’s workers claim victory, head back to work
June 4, 2012 0 Comments
Art handlers in New York City who had been locked out by Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest art auction houses, announced on May 31 that after a 10-month lock out, they had reached a deal with the company and would be returning to work. The new contract provides for a series of 1 percent […]
Read moreWorkers to demand respect and accountability at Walmart at shareholders meeting
June 1, 2012 1 Comment
As Walmart prepares to hold its shareholder meeting on June 1 in Bentonville, Arkansas, a group of the company’s workers intensified their campaign for respect and corporate accountability. During the last two weeks, the workers and their supporters have confronted Walmart senior executives and board members demanding answers about the poor treatment of Walmart workers and serious ethical lapses […]
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