Month: August 2018

Protesters in cities across Tennessee wore “Red for Fed” on Wednesday [July 25] to rally against the Trump’s administration’s move to restrict the amount of time federal employees on the job can spend on union activity.

The demonstrations joined a movement of planned rallies across the nation, led by the largest federal employee union. The protests coincided with a hearing in Washington D.C. District Court for a lawsuit that the American Federation of Government Employees led against the White House over the matter.

“What do we do when they attack us? Fight back!” a group of nearly 40 people outside the Nashville VA chanted in the peak of the afternoon. Trump signed a trio of executive orders in May that prohibit federal employees from spending more than a quarter of their total paid “official time” conducting union business. Demonstrations took place in Nashville, Fort Campbell, Clarksville, Knoxville and Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoon. In Nashville, many worked during the time of the rally to serve veterans inside the hospital.

They only came out to join in during their personal time when they took lunch breaks. “AFGE standing up for you and me,” the group chanted. “Trump’s orders impede on our collective bargaining rights and fair and balance merit principals,” said Lisa Hartman, vice president of AFGE Local 2400 in Nashville.

Excerpted from an article by Yihyun Jeong in the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle

The thoroughly-undemocratic U.S. Supreme Court has struck a vicious blow against labor. In the recent case, Janus v. American Federation State, County, and Municipal Employees, the court ruled 5-4 to impose a so-called “right to work” framework on public sector unions across the country. The ruling says that government workers who are not union members cannot be required to pay union dues, union fees, etc., at their unionized workplace. Anti-worker right wingers claim that this is about free choice and that it will save non-union members some money. The truth is that a strong union helps non-union workers by giving all workers more leverage against the capitalist bosses. Whether a worker is in a union or not, they benefit in the long run as the union wins pay raises, benefits, and more for union and non-union workers alike. The Janus decision is not just anti-union, but anti-worker. This is part of the relentless class war waged by the capitalist class against the working class. In the face of Janus and other assaults, the working class cannot go along with business as usual. What is needed is organization, militant struggle, and a revolutionary world outlook. We should, of course, not forget that the teachers strike that spread across multiple, supposedly-conservative states this past spring was actually illegal in most of these states (state lawmakers had attempted to prevent public sector workers, like teachers, from striking). These teachers set an example of militant defiance in the face of legal hurdles, and the entire impetus came from the grassroots efforts of the school workers themselves. They have shown that, despite setbacks, we must push ahead.

Workers in construction, sanitation, farm workers and others have dangerous jobs where they sustain injuries or worse. Every year dozens of workers die and thousands more become sick working in the heat. Under Federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) law, employers are responsible for providing workplaces that are free of known safety hazards, including protecting employees from extreme heat.

But the bosses usually ignore this law, and without union protection more workers will die. Thousands of Orleans Parish and Louisiana workers face this issue every year. The fact that it’s always hot here in the summer is no excuse and with global warming it’s getting worse every year. Young workers face this problem, and for old workers it’s more severe.

We need to organize to protect ourselves and other workers. Orleans Parish and the state of Louisiana should pass laws like other states that follow OSHA guidelines and protect workers against retaliation for standing up for our rights. But this won’t happen without a struggle because the bosses control their puppet politicians that they have paid to put in office.

Here are the OSHA guidelines. Print them out, give to your co-workers. If the New Orleans Workers Group can help contact us.

OSHA GUIDELINES:

• Provide workers with water, rest, and shade;

• Train workers to recognize symptoms in themselves and others;

• Allow new or returning workers to acclimatize by gradually increasing their workloads or allowing more frequent breaks;

• Reduce the physical demands of the job. If heavy job tasks cannot be avoided, change work/rest cycles to increase the amount of rest time;

• Monitor workers for signs and symptoms; and

• Implement an emergency response procedure.

Hotel workers of Chicago have won an important victory in the fight against the sexual harassment and assault of women in the workplace. Starting July 1, every licensed hotel in Chicago must provide ‘panic buttons’ to hotel housekeepers who work alone, according to an ordinance that was championed by UNITE HERE Local 1 and the Chicago Federation of Labor. These buttons enable workers to signal for help and to hold offending guests accountable in the event of sexual harassment or assault.

Women working in hotels deal with a hostile work environment in which they are preyed upon by men who take advantage of their immigration status or the lack of support they get from the bosses. According to a survey of nearly 500 hotel workers in Chicago, 58% reported having been sexually harassed by a guest. The same survey found that 96% of hotel housekeepers said they would feel safer if they had a panic button.

UNITE HERE has successfully pushed to pass similar legislation in Seattle and Miami. Every worker in every city deserves this basic protection against violence. By organizing, workers can win control over their workplaces and their bodies. And by organizing, they can strike a blow against the oppression of women everywhere. As Roushanda, a hotel worker in Chicago, put it: “Today’s the day we say no more… Today’s the day we claim our space.”

Prime Day is the retail and logistics giant, Amazon’s, biggest PR scheme; last year, the sale brought in $2.4 billion. But this year, things did not go according to plan.

Amazon workers have seized the opportunity to deal a major blow to the corporation. On May 16, Spanish Amazon workers called for an international strike on the website, amazonenlucha.wordpress.com. Major unions organized across Europe, with workers in Spain, Poland, Italy, and Germany participating in the strike. Consumers (who are mostly fellow workers) showed solidarity with a boycott, intensifying the blow.

The action is a forceful example of international coordination, demonstrating the power of the global working class; this is a power that is only beginning to be tested in our era. By any measure, the strike significantly affected Amazon’s ability to fulfill shipments because strike participation was so high. For example, an estimated 96% of the workers at the San Fernando warehouse outside Madrid participated.

The strike also comes at a time when Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, has entered into a new wealth bracket. He now has $150 billion. This wealth is generated by the thousands of Amazon workers throughout the world, who are increasingly raising their voices about the harsh working conditions they face. They report exhaustion, heavy workplace surveillance, isolation, inability to take bathroom breaks, frequent workplace injuries, and more. Despite these hardships, they are setting an example of struggle for the entire world proletariat!

In June, the Teamsters union negotiated a tentative contract for UPS workers. The contract— which covers 250,000 workers— boosts starting pay for both part-time and full-time employees. Beginning in August, 2018, starting pay for part-time package handlers will go from $10.35 an hour to $13 an hour, and is set to rise to $15.50 over four years. Drivers currently making $19 an hour will get bumped up to $20.50 later in the summer. They are set to make $34.79 an hour by 2022.

Nevertheless, workers have expressed dissatisfaction with at least one aspect of the contract as it exists now; the agreement creates a new driving position called Full-Time Combination Drivers (Combo Driver). Unlike regular drivers, Combo Drivers would work inside the building and on the road at the company’s discretion. They would work weekends, receive approximately $6 less than regular drivers, and lack certain protections.

The concessions from UPS bosses came after the workers voted to go on strike earlier in June. The strike would have been the rst for UPS since 1997, and one of the most far-reaching for the U.S. economy in decades. Although the strike did not occur, the threat indicates the growing confidence of labor in the country. The unevenness of the concessions, however, suggests that the struggle is far from over, and should dispel any illusions about the bosses’ good will.