[Educationforall] spam con huevos labor news, views and concerns, 2.24.12-I
Carlos Pelayo
cgpelayo at hotmail.com
Mon Feb 27 23:48:16 UTC 2012
CWA Newsletter: CWAers, Atlanta Activists Pull Off Stealth Action at AT&T Labor Notes Conference: Sign up now and save!Immigrant Steel Workers March Against Unjust Firings LCLAA supports FLOC Action Alert- Last day to send faxes to Kangaroo Domestic Workers' Rights Are Human RightsChicago Day Laborers Represent at Historic Assembly in Los Angeles Mine Superintendent Charged in 2010 Disaster Seeking a better settlement agreement for the Elem Colony VICTORY AT LAST: JUDGE RECOMMENDS TRAFFICKED DOMESTIC WORKER IS OWED $1.5 MILLION!Deja Vu in Chicago as Occupying Workers Secure Victory
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February 23, 2012CWAers, Atlanta Activists Pull Off Stealth Action at AT&TVer.di, T-Mobile USA Workers Document Campaign of FearAgents Ask Court to Bar Changes in Working ConditionsNew Investment Saves TNG-CWA Jobs at Portland, Maine NewspaperCWA Sues Piedmont Airlines for Retaliation Against Union SupportersNew Mexico CWA Coalition Wins Fair Tax Bill, Now on Governor's DeskCWA/NETT is Training Laid Off Paper Company WorkersCWAers, Atlanta Activists Pull Off Stealth Action at AT&TCWA Local 3204 activists, Occupy Atlanta and Jobs with Justice held a stealth action at AT&T headquarters in Atlanta, telling the company to stop layoffs and create good jobs.CWA Local 3204 activists, Occupy Atlanta and Jobs with Justice doubled up on the message that AT&T must stop layoffs and create good jobs in our communities.A Valentine's Day rally to defend good jobs at AT&T was on everyone's radar screen, but activists had more plans in the works for the day before, Feb. 13. After months of planning, groups of protesters -- CWA retirees and JwJ and Occupy Atlanta activists -- were ready for a stealth action at AT&T's Atlanta headquarters.CWA local 3204 President Walter Andrews said "the events were great, and gave everyone a lot of hope and inspiration that we're fighting back."CWA Local 3204 Steward Ernest Talley reported:"The first group entered the building one by one... and then proceeded to deliver our written demand, which was to immediately rescind the proposed 740 layoffs. They locked arms, sat down and refused to leave. This caught the company completely off guard. Management actually said, 'We weren't expecting you until the 14th.' While inside, activists notified local news stations and sang R&B love songs modified to focus attention on AT&T's corporate greed. This group did intend to be arrested."Meanwhile the second group gathered at a nearby homeless shelter, where they started a march carrying letters spelling out the message 'Expect Us.' About 70 people were walking down the middle of Peachtree St., with mid-day traffic honking horns behind them. When they finally arrived at AT&T's corporate offices, they marched straight to the doors. Just outside the building, they formed more messages, and a broken heart."While all this was happening, several vans pulled up with tents that had already been put together. We unloaded them, and in one clean swoop, the Occupation had begun. In a matter of minutes we had approximately 16 tents up, and about 50 more people from Occupy Atlanta joined the protest."It was perfectly executed by all parties involved. The next day, hundreds of workers came for our rally, in a show of solidarity and appreciation."Ver.di, T-Mobile USA Workers Document Campaign of FearKlaus Barthel, an SDP member of the German Parliament, joined the delegation of German workers and ver.di leaders in meetings with T-Mobile USA workers in Washington, D.C., and other locations.German and US workers came together for a week of discussion and action to help T-Mobile USA workers gain CWA representation.Read blogs and highlights of the trip by T-Mobile workers at http://weworkbettertogether.org/.A delegation of 12 leaders from ver.di, the union that represents T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom workers in Germany, plus Klaus Barthel, a Social Democratic Party member of Germany's Parliament, met with T-Mobile workers actively working for a union voice.T-Mobile USA customer service reps from Oakland, Maine and Frisco, Tex., joined techs from Connecticut and Long Island, N.Y., in telling their stories about T-Mobile USA management's campaign of fear and harassment wherever workers want a union. Ado Wilhelm, ver.di's T-Mobile expert, said the German group was there to get firsthand experience about the situation at T-Mobile USA, to talk to American employees and to document DT's double standard.German Ver.di leaders demonstrate outside a T-Mobile store in Nashville, Tenn.Barthel, who also traveled with the group to Tennessee said, "when we hear that T-Mobile USA workers who take a union leaflet are kept under surveillance by security guards and reported to management, or that management holds meetings and excludes union supporters to personally attack them, or that workers must talk about the benefits of a union in secret, it is unbelievable that a German company is permitting this treatment."In Nashville, Tenn. and Frisco, Texas, the group leafletted outside a T-Mobile store and call center, held a public news conference and met with T-Mobile USA and AT&T Mobility workers. Workers at AT&T Mobility can freely choose union representation; management has committed to remaining neutral in union representation campaigns.Back in Washington, D.C., the German activists will meet with representatives at the German Embassy. Earlier in the week, a briefing for Capitol Hill staff also was held.Agents Ask Court to Bar Changes in Working ConditionsThe Ad-Hoc Committee of Passenger Service Agents, representing agents at American Airlines, has asked a federal bankruptcy court to prohibit American's parent company, AMR Corporation, from making unilateral changes in wages, benefits and working conditions during the union election campaign, certification and contract bargaining process.CWA helped airport, cargo, and reservations agents create the Ad Hoc Committee so they would have legal standing as the airline goes through bankruptcy reorganization. There is strong support among the 9,300 passenger service and reservations agents for CWA representation; CWA filed for a National Mediation Board election on Dec. 7, 2011.AMR Corp. said it would make changes to compensation and other employment terms of non-management workers who do not have a union, and also presented specific proposals for changes it wanted in the collective bargaining agreements of the union groups and currently is bargaining with them. For non-represented workers, including the passenger service agents, AMR has said it wants to terminate their pension plan, eliminate their subsidy for retiree health care, dramatically increase active employees' health care costs, and cut jobs.The agents' committee said such changes violate the Railway Labor Act, which requires that "laboratory conditions" be maintained for workers while the NMB is processing their election petition. The passenger service agents already have been hit with big wage and benefit cuts, beginning in 2003.The workers' committee also told the court that AMR should be prohibited from making any unilateral changes during the period between CWA's certification as the agents' bargaining representative and the approval of an initial collective bargaining agreement."The company can't do whatever it wants to with the union groups," said Sacramento-based agent Bryan Wall. "It has to negotiate. With our upcoming union election, already in the works, I think the company should agree to wait to make changes until after our election."New Investment Saves TNG-CWA Jobs at Portland, Maine NewspaperIn a major victory for Guild members at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, a new investor has agreed to pump much-needed money into the company, saving jobs and the union contract.Just last month, TNG-CWA Local 31128 members were fending off demands from a different investor who wanted to shred the union's contract and strip the union of its seats on the MaineToday Media board.The new investment from billionaire Donald Sussman will preserve the seats and the employee stock ownership program that the union negotiated in 2009, when the family-owned newspaper was sold. Since then, the Guild has made numerous concessions as it tried to help the newspaper weather one financial crisis after another.Faced with even more concessions and their company's threat of bankruptcy, the TNG-CWA local took matters into its own hands, getting a message to Sussman that their paper was in trouble. Sussman has deep roots in Maine and is married to Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Intrigued, he met with Guild leaders and then pursued a deal with the company."It was the longest of long shots," said Local Vice President Greg Kesich, who holds one of the Guild's two seats on the company board. Now, "not only will we still have our ownership stake in a reorganized company, we will be working with a much more union-friendly investor group. We expect to have a voice in important strategic decisions in the company's future."TNG-CWA President Bernie Lunzer had high praise for the local's leaders and members, saying they have always strived for a responsible balance between their needs and the newspaper's."This is a local that has always stayed extremely active, even to the point of getting involved in the business model," Lunzer said. "They are in a position to help control the destiny of the newspaper, and that didn't just happen by accident."CWA Sues Piedmont Airlines for Retaliation Against Union SupportersCWA has filed a lawsuit against Piedmont Airlines for illegally suspending pay raises for 3,000 passenger service agents who voted to join CWA last year.The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Feb. 14, charges that the company's action illegally discriminates against the agents by cancelling an annual merit and bonus pay program, a violation of the Railway Labor Act.CWA says the company's action is in retaliation for workers voting to join CWA last year, especially since the company has maintained merit and bonus pay for non-union employees.CWA is asking the court to order the reinstatement of the pay program to union represented workers, and to pay lost wages and damages to all employees who lost wages.Negotiations for a first contract have been underway since February 2011.New Mexico CWA Coalition Wins Fair Tax Bill, Now on Governor's DeskCWA activists in New Mexico, working with legislators, unions, and other progressive allies, won passage of a fair share corporate tax bill in both the state house and senate.CWA activists in New Mexico, working with legislators, unions, MoveOn and other progressive allies, won passage of a fair share corporate tax bill in both the state house and senate.Now, the coalition is calling on Governor Susana Martinez to sign the legislation that requires out of state corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.Miles Conway, who heads CWA's New Mexico Legislative-Political Action Team, said it was an historic moment that brought Senate Bill 9, a bill to lower taxes for New Mexico businesses and close the longtime tax loophole allowing out of-state corporations to pay zero taxes to the Governor's desk for signature.The final bi-partisan bill requires "big box" stores to pay their fair share of taxes, and still lowers taxes for homegrown businesses, Conway said.The governor has until March 7 to sign the legislation and has indicated that she may veto the measure. Activists are mobilizing support throughout the state, with thousands of letter and calls going to the governor's office.CWA/NETT is Training Laid Off Paper Company WorkersCWA instructor Dave Cash assists laid-off USW members in Ohio.CWA/NETT, nationally recognized for providing technical and skill manufacturing training, is offering a new training program for United Steelworkers members laid off at two paper companies near Cincinnati.Workforce One, the workforce board in Butler County, Ohio, requested that CWA conduct training for the county, based on its expertise in providing similar training to IUE-CWA members. The USW, which partners with CWA in joint health and safety training, donated a local union hall where training is held.About a third of the nearly 600 workers who were laid off from Mohawk Paper and Smart Paper will participate in the training program; more than 135 have completed the course.Watch local news coverage about the Butler Workforce One Transition Center, where CWA is conducting the training here.You have received this message through your subscription to a Communications Workers of America e-mail list. If you did not subscribe or would like to unsubscribe click here.Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC. All Rights Reserved.
501 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
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Labor Notes ConferenceChicago * May 4-6 * Solidarity for the 99% Join more than a thousand union members, officers, and grassroots laboractivists who are on the front lines in our workplaces, our unions, and our communities. Meet troublemakers from around the country and around the world. Hear voices from the Wisconsin uprising, Occupy Wall Street, the Egyptian labor movement,union reformers, and today's picket lines. Plus we'll hand out awards to world-class working-class troublemakers. Register here: www.labornotes.org/conference Big discount if you register by March 2. The Labor Notes conference is the biggest gathering of troublemakers out there, from carwasheros in Los Angeles to health care activists in Vermont. More than 100 meetings and workshops build skills, sharpen analysis, and prepare us to expand the fight. They include contract campaigns, creative organizing tactics, beating apathy, running for local union office, bargaining over technology, understanding the economy, reviving the strike, and many more. Organize with others in your union, industry, or campaign. Face-to-face meetings to share tactics and swap notes are the heart of the Labor Notes Conference. Make connections in union, sector, or caucus meetings. Special meetings include: Telecom Workers * Teamsters * Immigrant Workers * Labor in China * Railroad Workers * Teachers * Blue-Green Alliances * Health Care Workers * Graduate Employees* Transit Workers * Food Chain Workers Participate in in-depth discussions: Occupy and Labor. Unions and Occupiers have been working together in an exciting and complicated relationship, with predictable bumps in the road. Can the two reinforce each other? Union Democracy. Meet union reformers who are changing their locals from the bottom up: nurses, telecom workers, university workers, teachers. Learn from those who ran for office and won. Labor and Politics. There's no way we can keep up with the Super PACs of the corporate class. Hear from unionists who know that TV ads aren't political action, and who are working to gain local offices, build independent infrastructure, and go for more than the lesser evil. Chicago is an action epicenter. Protesters will target the G8 summit in mid-May, but local campaigns are already in full swing to defend the public sector, target the banks, support immigrant rights, and save the city's schools from Mayor 1%. Come early on Friday to learn about past struggles on our Chicago labor history tour, then hear from those in the trenches making history now. Conference Details: http://www.labornotes.org/conference Schedule: Workshops and meetings begin Friday, May 4, at 1 p.m. and end at Sunday, May 6, at 3 p.m. Registration: $130. Includes Saturday banquet. Get $35 off if registered by March 2. Some scholarships are available. Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Near Rosemont CTA train station (blue line). Hotel Booking: Single/Double/Triple/Quad: $115 per night. Book at labornotes.org/conference/hotel or by calling the hotel at 847-671-6350. Mention "Labor Notes Conference" to get our room rate, until April 12. Air Travel: Fly in to Chicago O'Hare (ORD). There is a free shuttle to the hotel. Train Travel: Amtrak is offering Labor Notes Conference attendees a 10 percent discount. Call 800-872-7245and use discount code X59J-949. Childcare: Available for a donation for children over 1 year. Request by April 2. Register today at http://www.labornotes.org/conference For more info, visit the conference website, email us at conference at labornotes.org, or call 313-842-6262.
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Immigrant Steel Workers March Against Unjust FiringsDavid Bacon, Truthout: "Two hundred immigrant workers, their wives, husbands, children and hundreds of supporters marched through downtown Berkeley February 17, protesting their firing from Pacific Steel Castings, one of the city's largest employers. Starting at City Hall, they walked for an hour past stores and homes, as bystanders often applauded. Teachers and students at a Montessori school along the route even came out to the sidewalk to urge them on." Read the Article
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LCLAA supports FLOC Action Alert- Last day to send faxes to KangarooAs you know LCLAA has been supporting FLOC on the Reynolds Campaign. We wanted to share with all of you some updates in the Reynolds Campaign and an upcoming action alert. In December, LCLAA signed on to a letter (attached) to Ed Holman, to the CEO of the Pantry, Inc., which is a customer of McLane, Reynolds American's largest distributor. McLane distributes Reynolds products to Kangaroo convenience stores, which are owned by the Pantry. The letter requested that Holman meet with the organizations that signed about their concern for farmworkers' human rights, and to discuss ways that Pantry could help push McLane to arrange a meeting between Reynolds and FLOC.
Beloved Community Center (BCC) has been leading this coalition and has called Mr. Holman several times over the past two months to follow up on the letter. First, Holman's office denied receiving the letter. Later, they were told that Mr. Holman was very busy but would respond when he had time. After two months, BCC has received no response to the letter.
All the organizations are ready to move on a public action that will let Holman know we are serious about our request for a meeting and that we expect him to respond. We launched an e-fax action, asking supporters and Kangaroo customers to send an e-fax to Holman telling him to respond to the letter and meet with the signing organizations. During the week of February 15-22, we are hoping to send over 300 faxes to Holman's office.
We are asking for your help in circulating this fax action to your supporters. It would be great if you could send it over your listserve, post the action info and link on your website, and help us share it via Facebook, twitter, and other social media outlets. If you and your supporters are on Facebook and Twitter, you can look up Kangaroo (search Kangaroo Express on Facebook, and @KrooExpress on Twitter) and send them a message on their page. Below are a couple of sample message you can pass on to supporters, or feel free to write your own.
Facebook wall message: I am a Kangaroo customer, and I care about NC tobacco farmworkers' human rights! Farmworkers are suffering from some of the most exploitative working and living conditions in the country. Kangaroo can make a difference. Why hasn't Chairman Holman responded to our letter?http://www.belovedcommunitycenter.org/black-brown-work.html
Tweet to Kangaroo : @KrooExpress We are Kangaroo customers and are concerned about farmworkers in NC. CEO Holman, do the right thing, respond to our letter! Thanks again for your continued support of this campaign. Guadalupe “Lupita” HernandezPrograms AssociateLabor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)Direct: (202)508-6917 Main: (202)508-6919 Fax: (202)508-6922Email: ghernandez at lclaa.orgwww.lclaa.org @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Feb. 23, 2012
Tell Apple to ensure that workers who make iPhones, iPads and iPods are treated fairly. Sign the petition now.At a rally in Sacramento yesterday, domestic workers who clean homes and take care of children, the sick and the elderly described the abuse and discrimination they face because they are not covered by basic labor law protections. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka urged California lawmakers to pass legislation that would extend “the rights that almost all other workers have to domestic workers.”
Got comments? Post them at blog.aflcio.org. Sign Petition Telling Apple to Ensure Workers Are Treated Fairly Feds Charge Upper Big Branch Superintendent with Conspiracy Take Action Today for Mexican Labor Rights As Gas Prices Rise, GOP Wants Even More Handouts to Big Oil Harvest America or Invest in America Arizona Tea Party Legislature Proposes Budget So Bad Even Jan Brewer Objects Time for High Court’s Thomas to Recuse Himself from Health Care Reform Cases New N.Y. Pension Plan Puts Workers Between Rock and Hard Place New Hampshire Labor Committee Passes Slew of Union-Busting Bills Not Time Yet to Lift International Sanctions on BurmaRead more important news of the day on the issues working families care about.Follow the AFL-CIO:
Take the next step. Become a mobile activist
by joining the AFL-CIO Rapid Action Text Team.
Text NEWS to AFLCIO (235246) to receive action alerts and more.
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To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.
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Contact: Elisa Ringholm, Latino Union, (214) 794-6796, development at latinounion.org B. Loewe, NDLON, 773.791.4668, bloewe at ndlon.orgChicago Day Laborers Represent at Historic Assemblyin Los AngelesLocal leaders for migrant worker rights will convene with hundreds to raise working conditions, challenge unjust immigration policies.On February 20th, day laborers from across the country kicked off a historic gathering convened by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) in Los Angeles. The network will celebrate its 10th year anniversary at a time when immigrant and worker rights hang in a precarious balance. And despite an unprecedented assault on their rights, day laborers will celebrate their extraordinary achievements as leaders within the movement for migrant worker rights.Workers from Latino Union, a local non-profit that collaborates with low-wage immigrant workers to develop the tools necessary to collectively improve social and economic conditions, will attend the gathering, titled "ON THE ROAD TO JUSTICE, NI UN PASO ATRAS," to participate in exchanges, to create economic opportunity strategies for day laborers, and to turn the tide on policies that criminalize migrant workers by promoting affirmative agenda for legalization.The gathering will include a screening of the Oscar-nominated film, A Better Life, with its director, Chris Weitz, and keynote addresses from the president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka and talk show host, Tavis Smiley. While there, participants will stage a major rally and demonstration in downtown Los Angeles to protest the use of police to enforce immigration laws.Upon setting the direction for the national network, the Chicago participants will return to improve job promotion efforts at the Albany Park Workers’ Center and improve conditions at Chicagoland’s dozen major corner hiring sites.“Too often people talk about day laborers. This is an opportunity for us to talk among ourselves,” explained Armando Galvez, a day laborer and President of Latino Union. “We look forward to representing Chicago in the national movement for good jobs, smart policies, and dignity and respect for all.”More information on the assembly is available at http://ndlon.org/asamblea/welcome.html. More information on Latino Union is available at www.latinounion.org.###Latino Union of Chicago3416 W Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago, IL 60659Tel. (312) 491-9044 Fax. (312) 491-9046. www.latinounion.org@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Mine Superintendent Charged in 2010 DisasterBy SABRINA TAVERNISEGary May is the most senior worker charged and industry observers say that action is an indication that prosecutors are looking up the corporate ladder.
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Seeking a better settlement agreement for the Elem Colony
Brown: Seeking a better federal settlement agreement for the Elem ColonyAs a part of the 30-day public comment period on a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Elem Colony and Bradley Mining Co., on behalf of the Elem families residing on the Elem Reservation, I will formally submit testimony to the Department of Justice and formally notify the federal government agencies and U.S. citizens that the true living Elem Reservation residents and community members formally reject and totally disagree with the current Department of Justice settlement agreement as prescribed, for the following reasons.If the current settlement agreement is approved it will be a travesty of the federal justice system, violation of Indian Civil Rights Act and Indian Self-determination while undermining the protection of natural resources and tribal sovereignty and is a setback of environmental justice, a denial of fair and equal compensation to the living surviving Elem members and families for their lifelong pain and suffering and loss of tribal lifeways (gathering of healthy foods and fish).The 380 acres the tribe gained in the settlement is only a small fraction of the tribe�s total aboriginal lands that were directly lost due to the mining operations.Further, the $50,000 for the tribe is a financial insult, and should be viewed as bribe money, so the tribe will not file another lawsuit for EPA�s 106 violations in 2006, with the cleanup resulting in damage that has been estimated at $10 million.The settlement agreement will cover up and deny the direct trusteeship of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the environmental responsibilities of our own so-called premier agency, the U.S. EPA.Click the link below to read the rest of the article, use your back button to return to this page:<http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23786:brown-seeking-a-better-federal-settlement-agreement-for-the-elem-colony&catid=29:opinion>
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UE Occupies Chicago Window Plant Again, and Wins Reprieve
Jane Slaughter
February 24, 2012
http://labornotes.org/2012/02/ue-occupies-chicago-window-plant-again-and-wins-reprieve
Members of the United Electrical Workers won another
reprieve for a Chicago window factory, re-occupying the
plant they famously held in 2008.
UE Local 1110 members took over the Serious Materials
plant yesterday after being told by local management
that the factory would close immediately.
When they were confronted with the same news in 2008,
workers voted unanimously to occupy their workplace,
guarding the machines at the former Republic Windows
and Doors for six days until the major creditor, Bank
of America, released $1.75 million in wages and
benefits owed the workers.
Republic sold the plant to Serious and workers
celebrated as the first sit-down strike in years won a
favorable settlement in the teeth of the great
recession.
This week's plant closing came with no warning. The
union got a call from the boss that he wanted a
meeting, but he wouldn't say why. Officers and UE staff
were summoned to the offices of the notorious
union-busting law firm Seyfarth and Shaw at 9 a.m.
yesterday.
There executives said they would close the plant,
effective immediately. Workers would be put on leave
while management dismantled the window-making machinery
and shipped it to the company's other plants in
Pennsylvania and Colorado.
Workers would be paid what they were owed under the
WARN Act, which requires employers to provide notice 60
days ahead of plant closings and mass layoffs. (The
penalty for violations is up to two months of pay and
benefits.)
But the provisions typically only apply to businesses
that would lay off 50 or more.
Illinois has a stronger law, which requires notice when
25 or more full-time employees will lose their jobs,
and gives the director of the state labor department
the right to investigate the company's books.
Management provided nothing in writing to back up its
promises.
Union officers--Armando Robles, Ricky Maclin, and
Vicente Rangel--and staffers spent three hours arguing
with management that the closure was unacceptable.
Serious had a legal and moral obligation to do more to
try to save the jobs, they said.
"We wanted to find a buyer," said UE rep Leah Fried,
"but they were not interested. They said it was not an
option."
Meanwhile, the Serious workers were building windows
inside the plant.
February is not a big time for demand for windows, and
their numbers were down to 38 after a recent layoff.
Only 75 of the original 240 workers had ever been
called back after Serious bought the plant from
Republic. All Out
President Robles and Fried left the meeting with
management Thursday and began calling laid-off workers,
asking them to come to the plant. At 2 p.m., the end of
the shift, 50 workers met to discuss their options.
Robles presented them soberly: Do nothing, or
fight--stay and occupy the plant again. Without much
hullabaloo, matter-of-factly, the members voted
unanimously to occupy.
They had no food, no sleeping bags. Workers and leaders
immediately started to phone fellow workers, allies,
and the media. They called the local alderman and asked
others to alert the mayor's office. Occupy Chicago came
with tacos. Stand Up Chicago arrived.
Workers from other UE locals, including recently
organized railroad van drivers, were there. Republic
workers who'd never been called back to Serious but who
still came to union meetings were there. The crowd
inside grew to 65 and outside to 100.
UE regional president Carl Rosen called Serious's CEO
Kevin Surace at headquarters in California and asked,
"Do you really want to go this route? If it comes to
it, we'll be dragged out and arrested."
Fried wondered if Serious understood who they were
dealing with. "These are people who won't take this
lightly," she said. "They take this personally. They
need jobs. And the political climate has changed. Now
there's a whole Occupy movement that was inspired by
us. We're sort of ground zero of Occupy."
Meanwhile, local management called the police. A half
dozen cops informed the workers that they had five
minutes to decide whether to leave peacefully or get
arrested.
They didn't make good on the threat, but they refused
to let the pizzas provided by Stand Up Chicago inside
until a local pastor intervened, as local TV news
cameras whirred. "Let the workers eat!" chanted the
crowd.
The cops backed off but wouldn't let anyone leave and
then go back inside.
By 5 p.m. a crowd had gathered outside. Occupy Chicago
started to raise tents, showing how a culture to
prepare and stick it out has developed since the last
occupation, Fried said. The cold rain started to
freeze.
Inside, workers played dominoes and tried to watch the
coverage on an old, snowy TV. They had plenty of
donated food--enough to share with their supporters
outside.
Negotiations shifted when corporate decision makers got
on the phone. Management in California took over,
apparently deciding they didn't want a big showdown.
At 1 a.m., a tentative agreement was reached that met
all of the workers' concerns. The plant will remain
open, making windows, for 90 days. That's in writing.
Serious is committed to finding new ownership. Local
union leaders are also interested in the possibility of
a worker-run enterprise and are talking with
consultants who specialize in converting factories to
co-ops.
Serious said it had never been able to get a foothold
in Chicago and Midwest markets. Workers for years had
offered help and suggestions, to no avail.
"We started the morning with the plant closing and
ended the day with work and a chance to save our jobs,"
said Robles. "We are committed to finding a new buyer
for the plant or if we can, buy the place ourselves and
run it. Either way, we are hopeful."
____________________________________________
PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to
people on the left that will help them to interpret the
world and to change it.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Luna Ranjit, 917.656.7442, luna at adhikaar.org
VICTORY AT LAST: JUDGE RECOMMENDS TRAFFICKED DOMESTIC WORKER IS OWED $1.5 MILLION!
Woodside, NY – On February 22, 2012, Magistrate Judge Frank Maas ruled that Adhikaar member Shanti Gurung was owed close to $1.5 million by her former employers Neena and Jogesh Malhotra who trafficked her from India to New York.
Shanti Gurung was 17 years old in 2006 when the Malhotras brought her to New York with the promise of paying 5,000 Indian rupees (approx. $100) per month to do light cooking and few chores. Instead, she regularly worked 16 hours each day, and worked longer when there were parties. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry and grocery shopping, and gave massages. At the end of her long day’s work, she had to sleep on the living room floor, even though there were empty bedrooms in the apartment. For more than three years of work, Shanti received only a one-time payment of 5,500 rupees (less than $120), and small tips from the Malhotra’s guests during parties. The Malhotras confiscated her passport and told her that if she tried to go anywhere by herself, the police would beat her, rape her and send her back to India.
In 2009, Shanti finally gained courage to leave, and eventually came to Adhikaar. With support from Adhikaar, Shanti met her lawyers at the Urban Justice Center and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and also slowly put her life back together. Shanti wants to go to school and become a human rights activist so that no one else has to suffer like her.
Although Judge Maas’ recommendations are subject to approval by Judge Marrero, who is overseeing the case, we believe it is a big victory for domestic workers everywhere. As Adhikaar’s Senior Community Organizer Narbada Chhetri put it, “I am very happy because this is a validation of Shanti’s story and her struggle – and that of many more sisters who are trafficked and face inhumane forms of labor exploitation. We have proven that if we speak up about our rights, we can get justice!”
Unfortunately, Shanti’s case is not unique – this modern day slavery continues in our midst. Trafficked workers, particularly women domestic workers, are forced to toil for slave wages with extremely long hours, no days off, fraudulent and false promises, and coercion, including passport theft and threats of deportation. The lack of fair labor standards and regulations, society’s low regard for women’s work, and the isolation of these women workers in the privacy of employers’ homes all contribute to the extreme exploitation of trafficked domestic workers. “There are 2.5 million domestic workers caring for families in this country, thousands of them, like Shanti, have survived trafficking.” said Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, “This is a victory for the entire workforce, and Shanti is a courageous example of a worker who asserted her dignity and won.”
Established in 2005, Adhikaar organizes Nepali-speaking immigrants, and partners with domestic worker organizations and other social justice groups to end exploitation and ensure rights, respect, and dignity of all workers. In particular, Adhikaar has been working with DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association to protect workers trafficked by diplomats and consular officers, and hold traffickers accountable. Together, we have called on Secretary Hilary Clinton to waive immunity in case of trafficking, and enforce Section 203 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. We hope Shanti’s story will serve as a reminder to Secretary Clinton about how pervasive labor trafficking is and inspire her to enforce the existing provisions to protect the trafficked workers. ### --
Luna Ranjit
Executive Director
Adhikaar
71-07 Woodside Avenue | Woodside, NY 11377
718.937.1117 | www.adhikaar.org
Are you on Facebook? "Like" Adhikaar's page: www.facebook.com/adhikaar
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Deja Vu in Chicago as Occupying Workers Secure VictoryAllison Kilkenny, In These Times: "More than three years ago, a group of about 200 workers from Republic Windows & Doors organized a six-day sit-in demanding vacation and severance pay after suddenly being laid off near the holidays. A new group of about 65 workers locked themselves inside the same factory this week in a desperate move to save their jobs once again." Read the Article
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