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APRIL 2009
Excerpt from an interview with Howard Zinn about the history of May Day : "May Day originated in the United States in 1886 as a day to celebrate the struggle for the eight-hour day," Zinn reflected, with the day itself becoming "an international symbol of workers' solidarity all over the world (and of) worker's rights. Think back to 1886… when corporations were growing more and more powerful … And workers were working ten, twelve, fourteen hours a day in factories, and mills, and mines... Workers decided they would have to win the eight-hour day by their own efforts, by direct action, by going on strike. And they did, they went on strike all over the country. And the result was, they did win the eight-hour day in many places at that time... it's very important to understand that May Day is a symbol of protest against terrible working conditions, and of workers' solidarity to change that." An excerpt from a speech the AFL-CIO's Stewart Acuff gave to a crowd of JwJ activists in Massachusetts last night: "So we are bound by our common destiny, but we are bound even more tightly by our common values.
You see, my brothers and sisters, we believers in justice and progress are bound by the fundamental thread of humanity - as old as the human species and the human spirit... And so in this historic moment, those values inform our work and our work together.
We know that those values are not incompatible but totally consistent. Happy May Day, everyone! Stay tuned for reports from JwJ actions happening today later this month. Community Leaders Deliver Message to Senators: We Support the Employee Free Choice Act!
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed and This Land is Their Land, moderated a press event and roundtable discussion on low-wage workers and the effects of the economic crisis on Capitol Hill. Other speakers included Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio), AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, President of the of Institute for Women's Policy Research Heidi Hartmann, President of the National Organization for Women Kim Gandy, Ai-Jen Poo of Domestic Workers United, and Joanna Moon, a dealer at Trump Plaza casino who has been trying to win a first union contract with the UAW for two years. Read more about the panelists and see photos from the event here. Following up on the discussion, community leaders from Jobs with Justice in six states gathered to lobby their Senators for the Employee Free Choice Act. Leaders from Maine, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, and Missouri delivered the message to their own Senators and other Senators that the community cares about workers' rights and wants to pass the Employee Free Choice Act! Week of Action Keeps the Pressure on for Workers' Rights Momentum is growing to create an economy that works for everyone, and the Employee Free Choice Act is an important part of building that better future for ALL workers. In that spirit, Jobs with Justice organized a "Resistance and Recovery" Week of Action March 27 to April 4 in conjunction with the 10th Annual Student-Labor Week of Action to "Resist and Reclaim our Future". Hundreds of actions took place across the country in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, local workers' struggles, University codes of conduct that support workers’ rights both on campus and overseas, development of green jobs that support workers in our communities and promote a healthy environment, access to higher education for all and the passage of the DREAM Act, and fair wages & working conditions for the people who grow our food and harvest our crops. A few highlights: Students Lobby for DREAM Act & Employee Free Choice Act during US Student Association's Legislative Conference
Central Florida JwJ Catches Union-Busters Red-Handed
Rite Aid Actions Across the Country!
On Friday April 3rd in NYC, JwJ and the Student Labor Action Project took action for the Employee Free Choice Act and in support of two groups of workers fighting for a first contract. About 100 activists gathered in the rain to rally with Research Assistants from SUNY Stony Brook who organized last December with CWA Local 1104. They took to the streets outside the offices of a SUNY Research Foundation Board Member to demand that the Research Foundation bargain in good faith. Next, about 20 activists marched into a nearby Rite Aid store to deliver a message of solidarity with warehouse workers in California.
Members of Chicago JwJ gathered for a rally at the Chamber of Commerce to demand that they end their campaign of lies against the Employee Free Choice Act. A week later, Richmond JwJers picketed a Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Omni Hotel. More than 65 people picketed for an hour in the pouring rain chanting things like, "People's Needs Not Corporate Greed" and "No Jobs, No Peace". They called attention to the Chamber's general attack on workers across the state, lifting up issues like unemployment insurance, layoffs, forclosures, and the attack on workers' rights to organize through this pro-business "Pep Rally". There was a mixture of allies with participation from the Virginia AFL-CIO, IBEW 666, several Teamsters Locals, UFCW Local 400, and CWA Local 2201 and a wide array of community groups including the Virginia People's Assembly, Richmond Food Not Bombs, Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, the Virginia Interfaith Center, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Virginia State Conference NAACP. Several news outlets turned out to cover the event.
JwJ and SEIU organized actions at several locations across Massachusetts to demand that Bank of America stop their fight against the Employee Free Choice Act, stop the mortgage foreclosures and tenant evictions, and start living up to their slogan of being the "Bank of Opportunity". On April 29, a partial victory in this campaigns was won when CEO Ken Lewis was ousted as Chair of the Board. North Texas JwJ Celebrates Cesar Chavez
Massachusetts JwJ Protests at Home Depot
Be sure to check out press clips and photos from the National Student Labor Week of Action and Resistance & Recovery Week of Action. South Florida JwJ Wins Requirements on $1.2 Billion Stadium 2.5 Years of Residents, Workers and Minority Contractors Fighting for S FL JwJ secured union participation and local hiring on the demolition phase of the new Marlin's stadium project Commissioned research on public contracting and local economy, such as two Florida International University [Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy] reports on the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the UM Stadium Renovation and the Marlins Stadium project, which proved dollar for dollar that investment in local business, local hiring and quality jobs is the wya to build a strong economy.
Tuesday night the County Commission approved a series of requirements that benefit workers, residents and local small businesses including:
Home Depot Agent Forced to Compensate $400K to Evicted Mobile Home Community Residents Beyond the individual payouts which ranged up to nearly $38K, Home Depot's agent, Verus, also reluctantly accommodated residents with transitional hotel stays, new home repair, stacker washer & dryer to fit in new home, movers, and storage pods. Meanwhile, local state legislators have pledged to enact statewide protections against evicting mobile home community residents from affordable housing targeted by Big Box anti-union companies like Home Depot. Unfortunately, Pierce County council-member Terry Lee broke his solemn promise and cast the decisive vote to deny addressing this issue at the local level with a moratorium. Country Aire Manor residents recognized JwJ members for catapulting this struggle for justice at a recent Organizing Committee meeting. Without JwJ's on-the-ground organizing, there would be little pressure on elected officials to address this crisis, little attention by the media stretched to investigate injustices, little resources by web blogs to broadcast this story. In fact, JwJ's activities were so effective that Home Depot's agent proposed a financial settlement that prohibited residents from taking "part in any demonstrations, public hearings, or other activities intended to inhibit Verus' ability to develop the property." Home Depot’s credibility was shattered by the recent expose that it was named on the 2008 permit application that would evict seniors. The next time Verus and Home Depot (or any other developer) considers evicting seniors to create "300 jobs" that pay poverty wages, they know the cost will be much steeper. Home Depot is contributing millions of dollars to the anti-union smear campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act. Home Depot's CEO, Bernie Marcus, has been recorded calling the Employee Free Choice Act "the demise of a civilization" and insisting that corporate honchos who didn’t donate big sums to anti-worker incumbent senators "should be shot, should be thrown out of their [expletive] jobs." Laid-off Colibri Workers in RI Continue the Fight Colibri Workers for Rights and Justice, Fuerza Laboral, and Rhode Island JwJ are winning victories for laid-off workers in RI! In April, they won a Health Insurance Relief Bill that will use Federal stimulus money to cover 65% of health insurance premiums for workers who are laid off due to a plant closing like Colibri. They are also fighting for a Rhode Island WARN Act, which would protect workers in plant closings by putting them at the front of the line as secured creditors to be paid 60 days pay and benefits. Colibri workers also continue to fight their former employer for the pay, benefits, and severance they deserve. After their plant closed suddenly in mid-January, workers from the Colibri Factory in Providence, RI began to organize and fight for the 60-days pay and benefits they should have received. With the support of RI JwJ and Fuerza Laboral, they have formed Colibri Workers for Rights and Justice to continue the struggle. Tompkins County Legislature supports the Employee Free Choice Act! The Tompkins County Legislature, by a bi-partisan vote of 12 to 3, has approved a resolution urging Congressional support for the Employee Free Choice Act. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center/JwJ and the Midstate Central Labor Council organized a press conference and rally ahead of the vote that drew 125 labor activists and supporters on a chilly day in front of the Tompkins County Courthouse. Speaking in support of the resolution and EFCA were Tom Sieling, President, MCLC, Dave Marsh, President, Building Trades Council, Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Pete Meyers Director of the Tompkins County Workers’ Rights Center, Marty Luster of Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America as well as a number of Tompkins County legislators. JwJ coalitions have helped pass City and Country Resolutions supporting the Employee Free Choice Act in several places, including Cleveland and Lakewood, OH, Ithaca, NY, and Urbana, IL. Barbara Ehrenreich Speaks out for Employee Free Choice Act in Maine The Coalition for Economic Justice/JwJ scored a major victory impacting 1,000 low-income workers when the Buffalo Board of Education unanimously passed a Living Wage Policy for all School District employees! Using the City of Buffalo's Living Wage Law as a model, the Board committed to coming into full compliance by Fiscal Year 2011-2012. CEJ/JwJ, school District workers and their unions, faith, labor, and community allies have been mobilizing against the Board of Education for months to demand a living wage. The Transportation Aides (members of NYSUT) and the Food Service Workers (members of CSEA/AFSCME) will be the first groups of workers impacted. Prior to the implementation of this policy earn on average $8.40 with no benefits. CEJ/JwJ has led a decade-long effort in Buffalo to win, implement, and enforce a living wage ordinance. The victory with the Board of Education represents a major step forward in the ongoing campaign for a living wage in Western NY. Republic Windows and Doors Workers Visit Nation's Capital There were cheers all around as Armando Robles, UE Local 1110 President, made his way to podium at an April community forum hosted by DC JwJ, "The next wave for the labor movement? The Republic Windows and Doors Sit in." A crowd of 75 labor, community and student activists gathered at First Rising Mt Zion Baptist Church to hear about and celebrate the victory of the Republic Windows workers. The forum was also a call to action for labor and community activists fighting for workers rights in the DC. Hotel workers from the Sheraton Crystal City, who recently launched a public campaign for card-check talked about the impact of the economic crisis on the hotel industry and the discrimination and intimidation they face on the job. Day laborers from the Union de Trabajadores de Washington DC talked about their current Wage-Theft campaign and a school counselor from the Washington Teachers Union spoke about their struggle to fight back the privatization of the public sector. It was an invigorating event, with standing ovations and Joslyn Williams, President of the Metroplitan Washington AFL-CIO leading the crowd in a chant, "Si se puede, si se puede." Obama Selects JwJers for Posts at Department of Labor, NLRB
Prior to American Rights at Work, where she did much to advance workers' issues and the Employee Free Choice Act, Mary Beth Maxwell served as National Field Director for Jobs with Justice. During her tenure, JwJ quadrupled the number of local coalitions across the country, with similar growth in its national and local staff. As a result, the organization engaged new allies, mobilized support, and built relationships with stakeholders to broaden and strengthen the causes of worker and economic justice. She is known for her thoughtful way of building broad, sustainable coalitions among diverse sectors in support of policy reforms by directly involving those most affected by the decisions.
We are certain that both of them will be brilliant additions to Obama's team!
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MEDIA LINKS Lots of clips! Resistance & Recovery Week of Action Lots of clips! Student Labor Week of Action Happy May Day! Markowitz Monkeys Around with Coney Island Op-Ed: May Day: Of loyalty and labor Health care as right goes wrong Brown unveils anti-poverty ‘road map' for Buffalo School Board election vital yet neglected South Bend sings for labor today Forum to focus on problems brought on by recession Minimum-wage bill caps pay for waiters “Slavery” Case Prompts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Missouri might cap minimum wage for tipped employees May Day, Two Ways Meet (most of) the Buffalo School Board Candidates Protecting Vermont's Wetlands Immigration rally and march taking place Friday in Orlando Hoosier workers need more protections on the job Labor rally scheduled today at Monroe courthouse Labor, allies resolve to line up 60 pro-EFCA votes in the Senate IMF Protests Start Small With 75-Person Rally 'Card-check' advocate joining Obama's team IU support staff continues to push for livable wages Health care is a right The May 1 rally Well, you do what the Vermont Workers Center does. You organize people all over a state and you educate them and get them engaged. ...
UVM students' occupation against the cuts No Letup in Card Check Lobbying New Labor Leaders Take a Page From History Low-Wage Workers Need Employee Free Choice to Join Middle Class Sen. Sherrod Brown predicts card check bill rewrite ... of the bill in its original form," Brown told The Plain Dealer after addressing a forum on the issue organized by the pro-union "Jobs with Justice. ... Vermont Labor Leaders Welcome Introduction of Single-Payer ... Labor Limbo Eduardo Soriano-Castillo, an organizer with Philly Jobs with Justice and the Philadelphia Officers and Workers Rising (POWR) campaign, says that guards need ... Striking Illinois workers fight racist, anti-union harassment Williams' fate hinges on election The Coalition for Economic Justice will hold a candidate's forum at 6:30 pm Tuesday in True Bethel Baptist Church, 907 E. Ferry St. The Forest District ...
STATE OF THE UNION: Rally, for a change! Rally boosts Employee Free Choice, family values, healthy communities The rally was called by the Tuscarawas County Labor Council, the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council and Jobs with Justice. “The Employee Free Choice Act is ...
Behind the "Tax Day Tea Parties" Monthly Review - Apr 15, 2009 ... pro-Employee Free Choice Act demonstration held April 14 in downtown Richmond, a protest called by the Virginia AFL-CIO and Richmond Jobs with Justice. ... Labor Events Promote EFCA ... Harris Freeman, a professor at the Labor Center; and Jon Weissman, the coordinator of the non-profit group Western Mass Jobs with Justice. ... County sidesteps union card issue From the Field: Employee Free Choice Actions Everywhere Health care week rallies UVM for demonstration A crucial bill that helps protect workers' rights Kansas City Star - Apr 11, 2009 Student Labor Week of Action Hits the Streets IDA reform bill passes in state Senate |
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It's International Workers Day, and workers in countries across the globe are taking part in celebrations and protests. Here in the United States, nearly 100 
On April 22, 2009, delegations of Jobs with Justice leaders from Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia visited Washington, DC to 
The panel discussed the Employee Free Choice Act and how its passage would directly impact workers lives, particularly the lives of low-wage and womens workers. Participant Steve Husson interviewed over 100 former mill workers in Eastern Maine. He spoke about the changes they have experienced as they struggle to adjust from a unionized industry to a non-union, low wage service sector as well as his own experiences as a worker trying to organize a union at DHL. 
Students from across the country gathered in Washington, DC for the US Student Association's 40th Annual Grassroots Legislative Conference in March. Students went through trainings and meetings for two days before a final day of rallying and lobbying on Capitol Hill. Students were greeted at the Capitol by Rep. Howard Berman, co-author of the DREAM Act, and Rep. George Miller, co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, and others. Following the speeches, students met with their respective Representatives and Senators to urge support of these two bills.
More than 30 people from different unions, community organizations and the University of Central Florida (UCF) came out to show support for the Employee Free Choice Act and catch Anti-Union Employers red handed. UCF 
JwJ coalitions in 10 states nationwide took action to support workers at the Rite Aid distribution center in Lancaster, CA who have been fighting for a first union contract since organizing with the ILWU more than a year ago. Food AND Medicine/JwJ and Wildcat Student Labor Action Project members and supporters picketed Union St., Bangor Rite Aid in solidarity with workers, and to highlight the need for the Employee Free Choice Act. Illegal union-busting tactics like Rite Aid is now using, refusing to sit down and bargain a year after workers won the union election, show why the Employee Free Choice Act is badly needed. A third of workers who vote to join a union never see a first contract because of employer delays. The Employee Free Choice Act would create ways for workers to appeal for mediation and arbitration of their first contract.
On April 2, more than 20 community and faith leaders joined with students and labor in Richmond, VA to bring attention to Rite Aid's anti-union campaign. The group rallied outside of a store located on West Broad Street in Downtown Richmond near Virginia Commonwealth University with signs and posters and then took a delegation of 6 faith, labor, and student leaders into the store to talk to the store manager. He was provided with a copy of a flyer about the ILWU campaign with Employee Free Choice Act information about what happens during an organizing campaign on the backside. Customers and pedestrians were all provided with copies of the same flyer as well and many also signed calls in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Flyers were handed out to over 50 customers and there was a good response from people driving past as well.
Rallies at the Chamber of Commerce
Protests at Bank of America
Jobs with Justice and the Labor Committee for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) organized a celebration of Cesar Chavez’ birthday at UAW 848 union hall in Grand Prairie, Texas, on the afternoon of March 28. Speakers explained that they were also committing themselves to fight for the Employee Free Choice “Right to Organize” Act because it was exactly what Chavez would have done if he were alive today. Speakers included State Representative Roberto Alonzo, head of the Dallas Democratic Delegation to Austin and Elida Perez, Bilingual program coordinator for the Tarrant County Elections Administration.
Massachusetts JwJ held dozens of events (!) during the Week of Aciton, including a demostration at a Boston Home Depot. Home Depot is contributing millions of dollars to the anti-union smear campaign against the
Employee Free Choice Act. Home Depot's CEO, Bernie Marcus, has been taped calling the Employee Free Choice Act “the demise of a civilization” and insisting that corporate honchos who didn’t donate big sums to anti-worker incumbent senators “should be shot, should be thrown out of their [expletive] jobs.”
In the first enforcement of Miami's Living Wage law, workers won a class action suit at the Orange Bowl stadium in which 200 workers received over $100,000 in unpaid back wages.
Led negotiations with the Marlins franchise and Major League Baseball resulting in a draft Cooperation Agreement with the goal of securing good paying jobs, the hiring of local minority contractors and the inclusion of residents' feedback in the planning phase of the project.
Three community-based outreach sites, provided by the City and run by coalition partners, located in Little Havan, Allapattah and Overtown;
Converting Pierce County’s affordable housing into Big Box anti-union malls is now costing much more to companies like Home Depot and Kohls. In a precedent-setting campaign, WA state JwJ partnered with residents of manufactured home communities to end this predatory pattern conducted in the name of job creation, but resulting in displacement of residents, poverty wage jobs, and union-busting. 
Mary Beth Maxwell, Executive Director of American Rights at Work, has 
Obama has 