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Nurses Demand Safety Protections, Relief: “We Aren’t Hospital Propery”

On August 5, members of National Nurses United (NNU) held more than 200 actions inside and outside hospital facilities across the country. They are demanding emergency production of PPE and cash payments, extended unemployment benefits, and daycare subsidies through the end of 2020 to support families in crisis.

“Nurses know that this country’s rampant social, economic, and racial injustice has been killing our patients all along. COVID-19 is just forcing us as a society to face these problems,” said Bonnie Castillo, RN and NNU executive director. “These recent COVID surges and uncontrolled infections and deaths, the failure of employers to protect our nurses and other workers, the outrageously high rates of unemployment and hunger, the totalitarian crackdown on protesters — every crisis we are seeing now can be traced back to our failure to value human lives over profit.”

“Nurses are still at risk,” said Mary C. Turner, an intensive care unit RN and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, whose members are participating in the actions. “We still reuse PPE that was meant to be discarded. We still care for COVID-19 patients and non-COVID patients at the same time. And we still struggle to protect ourselves so we can protect our patients.“

“COVID has exposed everything that has been wrong with our system,” said Zenei Cortez, RN and a president of NNU. “The old way was a huge failure. Now is the time to reenvision a world based on nurses’ values of caring, compassion, and community.”

Source: National Nurses United

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45,000 California Child Care Providers Win A Union to End Poverty Wages, Expand Service

Louisiana Child Care Workers Need a Union Too!

With a 97% yes vote for the union, childcare workers will be able to negotiate with the state for living wages, health care, and support services.

Nancy Harvey, childcare worker, said “We need a livable wage. It’s unfair and unjust for us to be caring for families and yet no one is caring for us.”

The union, Child Care Providers United, was supported by two unions, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Preschool childcare workers carry out one of the most important jobs yet they are grossly underpaid. Preschool teachers are six times more likely to live in poverty than K-12 teachers.

In California these workers receive payments from the state when they care for children from low-income families. Their union is fighting to get more funding for families. As of now, only 1 in 9 low income families receive subsidized care.

“For far too long, the needs of parents have been pitted against the needs of providers,” said Mary Ignatius, statewide organizer for Parent Voices California, a parent-led organization that advocates for more childcare subsidies. “Our providers are always sacrificing for families. I know that as they are getting to the table to improve their wages and livelihoods, I know at the same time they’ll be doing everything they can to improve access, because that’s who they want to serve, the most vulnerable children.” (Source: edsource.org)

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Workers Give Walmart Heiress a Wake-up Call

Feb. 18: The labor rights group United for Respect led Walmart workers in a demonstration outside Walmart heiress Alice Walton's New York apartment, demanding a living wage and reliable working hours for all of the company's employees.

On February 18, Walmart workers protested outside the penthouse of Alice Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune. She and her family have amassed obscene wealth ($191 billion) by exploiting millions of workers around the world. The company itself has a revenue of $523.96 billion.

The action was organized by United for Respect, a labor rights group founded in 2011. They have helped Walmart workers organize to demand better pay, more predictable scheduling and consistent hours, among other rights. The crowd chanted “People over profit!” and “Hey hey! Ho ho! Corporate greed has got to go!” The workers demanded a living wage and reliable working hours for all Walmart workers. “It’s time for the Waltons and Walmart CEO [Doug] McMillon to stop hoarding company profits to enrich themselves through share buybacks,” said Melissa Love, a Walmart worker at the protest.

The action comes at a time when the company is planning to restructure its workforce as part of a plan that the bosses are cruelly calling the “Great Workplace” initiative. The plan aims to cut costs by ditching full-time staff and relying on even more part-time workers. This would be an intensification of the company’s existing strategy. Walmart cut its full-time staff by 30% between 2005 and 2018. 50% of Walmart’s U.S. workforce is part-time.

More people work at Walmart (1.5 million people) than for any other private company in the United States. The wages and labor practices established by Walmart set the standard for the retail industry as a whole. Collectively, Walmart workers have the potential to lead the fight for higher wages and better jobs for all retail workers. Organized against the bosses, their power would be unstoppable.

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Chicago Education Workers’ Strike Wins Gains for Community, Students

Striking teachers, school staff, and supporters march through downtown Chicago on the ninth day of the Chicago Teachers Union strike on October 25, 2019. (Photo by Max Herman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

By Gregory William

On November 1, over 30,000 teachers and school workers returned to work after an 11-day strike that won them important concessions from the City of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools. This strike was carried out by the 25,000 member Chicago Teachers Union and 7,500 education workers from the Service Employees Union (SEIU) Local 73. The solidarity between the two unions shows the way forward for the working class: when we unite, we are stronger. Though SEIU Local 73 settled three days before CTU (winning up to 40% wage increases among other gains), they didn’t leave the teachers’ picket lines until CTU settled.

The unions put forward big, political demands that go beyond education. For example, these unions have taken a leading role in the fight for affordable housing in the city of Chicago. Commentators have noted that it is unconventional for unions to fight for this kind of policy change during contract negotiations, but union members around the country may be taking note. These Chicago union workers understand that the issues affecting the working class cannot be separated from one another. We cannot address problems in education if we do not solve the affordable housing crisis. Chicago unions are keeping the pressure on the city to respect the basic rights of its residents to housing, health, and dignity.

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376 Workers in LaPlace Laid Off

On September 30, 376 workers at Bayou Steel in LaPlace found out that they were out of a job. The company, which produces structural steel, gave no warning, in violation of the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act. The law requires that larger employers to give 60 days notice before a mass layoff. The plant is set to close by November 30. It is one of the biggest employers in St. John the Baptist Parish.

Bayou Steel has filed for bankruptcy after being acquired by Black Diamond Capital Management, an investment firm out based in Connecticut. It is common for these types of firms to buy up companies, run them into the ground, make off with the assets, and screw the workers over in the process. The New Orleans Workers Group is willing to stand with these workers in whatever fight they choose to undertake.

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Unite Here Local 23 Protests Private Prisons

Members of Unite Here Local 23, representing workers at the Convention Center, protest the proposed Omni hotel project because the “project manager” is involved in the private prison industry.

Members of Unite Here Local 23, a union representing 1,700 hospitality workers in New Orleans protest the Omni hotel project which is proposed to be built south of the main hall of the Convention Center. The proposed project would be managed by the Baton Rouge-based Provident Resources Group, a company with a record of ownership in private prisons.

Gabby Bolden-Shaw, vice president of the Unite Here Local 23 explained union members’ opposition to the project: “It feels like a slap in the face to know this board might work with an organization that has a history of acquiring, financing, owning, leasing and contracting for the operation of correctional facilities,” said Bolden-Shaw. “New Orleans has long had one of the highest incarceration rates per capita among U.S. cities (and) this disproportionately impacts communities of color and working class families.”

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Charter School Workers Strike, Get New Contract

In December, teachers and other employees in Chicago’s Acero charter school network went on strike for five days. Acero encompasses 15 campuses across the city. The workers are members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).
Over the five days, hundreds of teachers and other Acero workers took to the streets along with parents, students, and other allies. The strikers demanded a contract that would guarantee better conditions for teachers and students.

On December 14, the union vote for the new contract took place across all 15 schools. Union members voted overwhelmingly for the new contract (98%).
The contract provides for smaller class sizes, a reduced school year and equal pay with district [non-charter] teachers.

Significantly, the new contract also includes sanctuary school language, which bans Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from school property, denies ICE access to student records without a legal mandate, and more.

The wave of teacher strikes that spread through many states (and Puerto Rico) earlier in 2018 affected mainly public schools. The strike in Chicago, however, is the first example of a charter school worker strike in the country. This should send a message not just to charter school executives in Chicago, but to charter school employees all over the U.S. that they can organize just like public school employees, and with the support of students, parents, and other community members, they can win.

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Domestic Workers Push to Pass Bill of Rights

The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) has introduced new legislation at the federal level that could be game-changing for domestic workers across the country. This National Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, if passed, would dramatically increase legal protection for domestic workers, as well as increase potential earnings.

The U.S. has some 2 million domestic workers, including caregivers for children and the elderly, as well as house-cleaners. Although domestic workers greatly contribute to the economy, they are currently excluded from most protections that have been won by other sectors of workers. Conditions for domestic workers are currently dismal. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean hourly wage for housekeepers is only $11.84 per hour. A major 2013 study from the Economic Policy Institute found that 23.4% of domestic workers live below the poverty line, and 93.1% are women. Domestic workers are also disproportionately immigrants.

The new bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Kamala Harris, but the momentum has come from the grassroots. The legislation is based upon recommendations from domestic worker organizers, and is similar to bills that have already been passed in eight states and in Seattle.

If passed, the Bill of Rights would include domestic workers in Civil Rights and Occupational Health and Safety Act protections. It would also create requirements for fair scheduling, meal and rest breaks, written contracts and protection from employer retaliation. It would also increase access to retirement benefits, paid sick leave, healthcare, and occupational training programs. The bill would make live-in domestic workers eligible for overtime pay. Importantly, domestic workers would also be given increased collective bargaining rights, making unionization easier.

It should be noted that the potential power of domestic workers is tremendous and growing. For example, by 2030–because of an aging population—caregiving is predicted to represent the largest segment of the U.S. workforce.

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Proposed Bill Good for Workers

A new bill introduced in both the House and the Senate could bring an end to employers forcing workers to sign non-arbitration clauses. Many workers do not even know what these clauses are, but about 60 million U.S. workers have already signed them as part of the hiring process.

Major companies like Walmart, Starbucks, Macy’s, Uber, Google, and McDonalds require all or some of their workers to sign them. Basically, what these clauses do is to prevent workers from suing a company that breaks the law, whether it has to do with wage theft, discrimination, or some other illegal practice. This forces workers to take their claims to private arbitration, where they are less likely to win and they generally get less money when they do win.

If it passes, the bill would bring an end to the practice. It has support among some Democrats in both houses of Congress, but, since the Democrats are the other party of capital, our best bet as workers is still organizing and causing a ruckus in the streets. Nevertheless, the new bill could help workers get some edge over the bosses, who currently are dominating the playing field.