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JANUARY-MARCH 2008
Remembering Reverend James Orange, Civil Rights Leader & Union Activist Rev. Orange was one of the first full-time organizers for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was hired by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to mobilize young people for the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. In 1965, during a voter registration drive in Alabama, Rev. Orange was arrested and jailed, charged with disorderly conduct and inciting students to participate in voting rights drives as well as contributing to the delinquency of minors. Amid rumors that Rev. Orange was going to be lynched in jail, residents in Marion, AL, gathered for a march and prayer vigil at the jail. During that protest Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot and killed by an Alabama state trooper. His death became a rallying point for civil rights activists and led to the organization of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches which were a catalyst to the signing of the Voting Rights Act. In 1977, Rev. Orange joined the AFL-CIO, leading pickets and rallies, marches and protests, and organizing social justice efforts from the ground up. Workers in poultry plants, sewing factories and shipyards all marched with him toward justice. In fact, he was a fixture on organizing efforts in the South, playing a role in nearly every major effort by Southern working men and women to form a union or stand up for justice over the past several decades. National Student Labor Week of Action: March 28-April 4 From March 27-April 4, 2008, students and workers join together to celebrate the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to continue their work to build a better future. Join us as we demand:
Visit our website to learn more about actions you can take & to sign up! DC Passes Historic Paid Sick Leave Legislation On Tuesday, March 4th in front of a packed and tense audience of over 100 people, the DC Council voted unanimously to pass the Accrued Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007. The vote makes DC only the second city in the country to have a paid sick days law, and the first to provide paid time off to victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Under the new law, full-time workers at businesses with over 100 employees will earn 7 days a year to take care of their own health, the health of family members, or address a domestic violence situation. Workers at businesses with 25-99 employees will earn 5 days, and workers at businesses of 24 or fewer will earn 3 days. Part-time workers will earn paid time on a pro-rated basis. Those present at the vote represented the diversity of the organizations supporting the bill: janitors and security officers with SEIU Local 32BJ alongside members of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Co-op America Worker Members next to Working America staff, Georgetown and American University students and Jews United for Justice members, hotel workers from UNITE HERE Local 25 with homeless advocates from So Others Might Eat, Bread for the City, and Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. The coalition to win paid sick and safe days was led by the DC Employment Justice Center, with strong support from DC JwJ. While winning this groundbreaking bill over huge opposition was a big victory, there were also some losses. The Council was able to push through amendments that weakened the bill, including exempting tipped restaurant workers and changing the law so that workers have to be at a job for a full year or work 1,000 hours before earning paid sick time. But the coalition was able to fight back other amendments that would have exempted small businesses altogether and decreased the total numbers of days workers could earn. Just as medical professionals learn from each case, supporters preparing to fend off further attempts to water down the bill before the March vote are drawing on important lessons learned: Build your base. With plenty of money and political capital, local employers through the Chamber of Commerce came uncomfortably close to wiping out years of work backed by solid research, well-articulated moral arguments and plain old common sense (do you really want your waiter or childcare worker coming to work sick?). "Our strength has always been our base and this rings even more true when were engaged in a legislative battle", says Mackenzie Baris of DC Jobs with Justice. Political leaders need to know that they will have backing from city voters, or be held accountable if they ignore popular will. The Paid Sick and Safe Days Coalition built a strong and effective team of unions, community groups, service providers and think tanks including the Metro Washington AFL-CIO, UNITE-HERE, SEIU, DC Jobs with Justice, the DC Employment Justice Center, DC ACORN, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and Wider Opportunities for Women. Organize and mobilize the base. Supporters surveyed workers in retail stores, coffee and sandwich shops, and organized workers to appear at the initial hearing and tell their personal stories. One worker who works for Whole Foods talked about how she is penalized for taking sick days, even though she is theoretically eligible for them. In addition to helping workers organize and present their testimony, supporters hosted a movie screening of The Motherhood Manifesto to educate parents and collected signatures from residents through a petition and postcards. Paid sick leave advocates also reached out to the business community and developed a network of small business supporters of the bill. When it seemed like Committee Chair Carol Schwartz might not submit the bill for a vote, advocates organized a rally in front of the City Council. While walking the halls of City Council and talking to Councilmember’s staff is part and parcel of pushing for legislation, advocates never lost sight of the need to keep that fight visible to the public and to engage the very residents who will be most affected. Use individual strengths to build collective power. As a broad-based team, each organization played a specific and important role in the Paid Sick and Safe Days Coalition. The unions brought their political capital and organizing experience; community groups were instrumental in doing outreach to parents, workers and business in the community; service providers were able to organize particularly vulnerable sectors which might have otherwise been overlooked; and when the Chamber of Commerce came out with alarmist warnings that this bill would destroy DCs economy, think tanks like the DC Fiscal Policy Institute provided sober analysis to rebuff such claims. No one organization could have single-handedly fought this battle on so many fronts, and the coalitions willingness to trust and acknowledge each others strengths allowed them to build collective power. JwJ is be proud of the work and victories of this campaign. DC JwJ will keep up the fight for better pay and benefits for working people, and to hold our elected official accountable to the people rather than to business interests. Philly JwJ Helps Secure Victories for AlliedBarton Guards at U. Penn & Temple! Philly JwJ and security guards at two Philadelphia colleges celebrated two major victories in January. First, AlliedBarton announced that their Penn Walk bike guards/rovers would get a $5 an hour raise to $15/hour! Then, Temple announced that AlliedBarton security guards who work full time will be eligible to receive up to three paid sick days per year. Beginning Feb. 1, 2008, guards will be eligible to receive one paid sick day for each year that they work on a Temple campus, up to a maximum of three days per year. The sick-day program that is being implemented at Temple is similar to one adopted by the University of Pennsylvania last year for AlliedBarton security guards who work on its campus.
The struggle continues! ESSN/JwJ Supports Grocery Workers Fighting for a Fair Contract On Thursday, Jan. 17th, UFCW Local 555 members in Lane County voted overwhelmingly to ratify contracts with Albertsons, Fred Meyer, and Safeway stores in Lane County. The Meat and Grocery departments’ contracts passed with a 90% 'yes' vote, and Central Check-Out departments passed with a 100% 'yes' vote. Kevin Billman, Local 555 Union Rep. said, “On behalf of the Lane County members of UFCW Local 555 I want to say Thank You for all of your help throughout our campaign. We could not have made this achievement without your help. We appreciate the sacrifices you have made to be there for us.” Throughout the contract campaign, which began in April '07, ESSN/JwJ members participated in at least 9 rallies, actions, and Informational Pickets to support UFCW members. We turned out more than 100 ESSN/JwJ members and activists to participate. As a result of our efforts to support UFCW Local 555, the union rep. has joined our Steering Committee, and will be encouraging UFCW Local 555 membership to join ESSN/JwJ and get involved! Low-Wage Security Workers at Maersk Terminal Win Raises, Continue On When $10/hour security workers at the Port of Tacoma Maersk terminal started to organize with the Longshore Union (ILWU), managers slipped them two 50 cent raises to try to quiet the waters while retaliating against organizers. But these workers called for a living wage and a respected voice in the workplace. They threw out the company union that managers imposed to block a real organizing drive and told their story to JwJ and community allies. Managers have yet to recognize the workers’ right to living wages and an independent voice at work. Community impatience is once again brewing with Maersk, which professes to have a pro-union workplace policy. Tucson JwJ Convinces Local Restaurant Owner to Stop Using Union-Busting Laundry Workers at Milum Textile Services, a medical and hospitality laundry based in the Southwest, are fighting for a safe workplace and for the chance to organize with UNITE HERE without management interference or intimidation. The leadership of the union and the dedicated volunteers of Tucson Jobs with Justice went out on a regular basis to pressure the five restaurants that are owned by Sam Fox (Blanco's, Norte, Sauce and Montana, and Wildflower) to take responsibility for laundry workers’ health and safety. Last month Sam Fox quit his contract with Milum Textile Services and now gets linens for his restaurants from Mission Laundry, a union shop in Tucson! Toledo Jobs with Justice Rallies Allies to save CareNet Toledo Jobs with Justice members helped save Toldeo's CareNet program, which provides health care services to low income persons who are uninsured. CareNet is a network of hospitals & health care providers who agree to provide free or reduced cost care to persons who are ineligible for public plans, are uninsurable, or simply cannot afford the cost of private health insurance. 44% of CareNet members work at least part time in low paying jobs without access to health insurance. The plan has been described as a free clinic without walls. Last month more than 50 JwJ members and allies turned out for a City Council meeting to call for the city to keep the program alive by funding its share. After the Mayor threatened to veto the CareNet funding, JwJ and allies mobilized letters and emails to city council members and had meetings with them to urge them to stand against the veto threat. As a result of this effort, the CareNet funding proposal passed the City Council unanimously. Paid Sick Days Bill gets Push in Ohio JwJ members and other supporters won a commitment for a hearing on their proposal to guarantee paid sick days to more than 2 million Ohio workers. Miami Valley JwJ leaders and the Healthy Families Coalition secured the commitment at a February meeting with Speaker of the House, Rep Jon Husted (R-Dayton). The bill, which would require employers of more than 25 workers to provide a minimum of 7 paid sick days per year, was initiated in the Ohio general assembly by collecting more than 130,000 valid petitions. Despite broad support for the measure, the House leaders had failed thus far to even give the bill a number or asign it to committee. By state constitution, the legislature has 120 days to act on an initiated statute. That period ends on May 7, 2008. If the legislature fails to act on the bill within that time, organizers have 90 days to collect another 130,000 signatures and put the question to the Ohio voters in a referendum on November 4. JwJ chapters in Toledo, Columbus and Cleveland have endorsed this campaign, helped collect petitions and participated in lobby days. Mobile Home Council Secures Action from Dade County Commissioners SFJwJ's community program, Vecinos Unidos and the Mobile Home Council defied the development trend yet again, keeping low income resident's needs on the commission agenda for the long term. More than 300 residents from 21 mobile home parks filled the Dade County Commission chambers and the main lobby of the Stephen P. Clark building in January to ensure passage of the Department of Planning and Zoning recommendations.
January 26 Global Day of Action: Another World is Possible This past summer in Atlanta, GA, 15,000 people convened at the first United States Social Forum (USSF). The USSF reflects a growing national movement for change. Sarita Gupta, National Director of Jobs with Justice and member of the National Planning Committee stated, "Coming out the US Social Forum, we are clearer about needing to build a national movement connected to an international movement. In that spirit, JwJ believes it is critical to engage in January 26 Days of Action in order to continue linking workers' struggle here in the US and the Global South." Southeast Michigan JwJ Supports RNs Organizing a Union Southeast MI Jobs with Justice is actively supporting nearly 2,000 Registered Nurses organizing with the Michigan Nurses Association at Detroit Medical Center’s (DMC) main campus hospital, one of Detroit’s largest employers. JwJ activated hundreds of supporters in early October for a candlelight vigil to support the RNs. On November 30 th, JwJ mobilized members to attend a public hearing held by the Labor Committee of the State legislature to support House Bill 4443. If passed, the Bill would prohibit employers who receive public funds to use those funds to wage an anti-union campaign. RN’s from DMC gave testimony about the onslaught of mailings of anti-union literature, long meetings, one-on-ones, and the hiring of an anti-union consultant by the hospital which have taken away resources from patient care. On December 10 th, Detroit JwJ supported a rally in front of the DMC to celebrate International Human Rights Day and call on DMC to sign a Fair Election Agreement. Michigan Nurses Association worked with JwJ coalition members from the Metropolitan Detroit Interfaith Committee to achieve clergy participation in the campaign. An Open Letter to the DMC CEO was signed by more than 30 leading clergy in the Metro Detroit Area and delivered by a delegation in early February. The collaborative work of the nurses and the community has pushed the discussions closer to reaching a Fair Election Agreement. With continued solidarity from JwJ coalition members, the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO, the Metropolitan Detroit Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, and expanding community awareness, the RNs will achieve their goals. Home Care Workers Testify Before the Long Island WRB Home health aides from Able Health Care Agency testified to the LI Workers’ Rights Board that they are struggling against unfair working conditions, poverty wages, and intimidation and harassment while trying to organize a union with SEIU 1199. More than 100 community activists and a WRB panel made up of elected officials, clergy, and community leaders listed to Able workers testify about working long hours for less than $10 per hour and no health care benefits, and about their effort to organize a union. One Able worker, a breast cancer survivor, testified that she had not had a mammogram in 7 years because she couldn’t afford the health care coverage offered by the agency. The LI WRB issued a serious of recommendations to Able Health Care Agency and to Nassau and Suffolk counties, urging elected officials to investigate workers’ rights violations at the company, and pledged to continue to monitor violations of workers’ rights at Able and contact Able management about these violations. Take Back America Conference | March 17 - 19 When progressive leaders, bloggers, advocates and citizens convene in Washington on March 17-19, their collective voices will offer a compelling vision for America: ending the occupation, providing health care for all, generating clean energy, fueling an economy that works for everyone. To help mobilize the nation to take a new foreign policy course, you ’ll hear from activists like MoveOn.org’s Eli Pariser. To strengthen our economy with green-collar jobs, you ’ll hear from leaders like Van Jones. To bring about universal health care, you ’ll hear from thinkers like Jacob Hacker. And to diagnose how the global economy has been ravaged, you ’ll hear from experts like Naomi Klein, Leo Gerard, and Andrea Batista-Schlesinger. And at this year’s Gala Awards Dinner, the America's Future Lifetime Leadership Award will be given to one of our greatest advocates for social justice, Norman Lear. That’s just the beginning. The agenda and list of featured speakers continues to grow at their brand new website. US Human Rights Network Conference| April 17-20 Come and take full advantage of all that the Human Rights Conference 2008 has to offer, including:
Check out their website at www.ushrnetwork.org/conference_2008. |
MEDIA LINKS Protesting groups must shift focus State comptroller says IDAs need more oversight Industrial-strength lack of information cited Guest Column Spanier stance is Penn State's 'act of shame' MISSOURI: Diocese opposes so-called Civil Rights initiative Comptroller faults job-creation data Sweatshop protesters still demanding Old Main's support Comptroller to IDAs: Provide complete data or lose power War of words and numbers over IDAs City-wide contract to lift thousands of Indy janitors out of poverty Sweatshop issue ignites PSU activists Groups reply to Spanier's letter Students continue livable wage efforts Jill Ginsberg, MD, and the North by Northeast Community Health Center Let's give IDAs a break -- at least for right now The Sound Of Democrats' Silence On Civil Liberties Economic development group disputes report critical of IDAs Groups leery of initiative Club 'talks trash' to Old Main "Gathering Of The Minds" At UVM Activists' ways cause much-needed stir Protest du Jour: NAFTA commissioner at Seattle U. Student protesters play ball Union holds rally week before vote New study finds IDAs do benefit localities IDAs surpass their job goals, says study IDA jobs boom or bust? Study: IDAs created 309500 jobs in 2005, but 45% of projects fell ... Remembering the Rev. James Orange Healthcare Activists Call on Lazard-Affiliated Atria Senior Living ... Group delivers cards to Spanier Rights coalition heads to Geneva to discuss US record on race Columbia County having trouble keeping, attracting jobs Paying good wages shields taxpayers from waste Union Group Tells Verizon To Get On The High-Speed Bus Utahns press progressive agenda Film on Iraq gives insurgents' views News briefs Progressive conference will focus on Iraq, global warming, health care Students investigate worker rights violations Students fight for security guard rights City Council Overrides Veto of Public Housing Oversight A history of excellence: The rise and fall of UW protests University opposes act for sick leave Reform bill aims to raise IDAs' accountability Union wins one, loses one IDA tax breaks expire UTA's bonuses to top managers attacked IDA law expires: No more tax breaks for not-for-profits Groups call for investigation of UTA executive bonuses New benefits for local AlliedBarton guards Ronnie Polaneczky: Temple guards, at last, win a few paid sick days Group demands PSU halt baseball cap orders Labor interests speak out for the environment at South Bend UAW hall Biking to work, green buildings on upswing in Chicago Employee discontent at 13 Coins restaurant 13 Coins employees take insurance plea to ex-coach Two groups rally during MLK holiday A Push to Organize No need to hate Students march for change City of Buffalo Sued over Living Wage Ordinance City Workers Sue for Pay Raise Healthcare Activists Call on Lazard-Affiliated Atria Senior Living ... Cleveland workers protest ‘toxic imports’ Toxic Imports Rally Access Of Evil Community Foundation grants worth $866K Library leak leads to health concerns Affirmative action ballot battle intensifies as coalition fights Connerly USCIS contract workers lay out their complaints |
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The Rev. James E. Orange, who played a crucial role in the civil rights movement and who spent more than 30 years fighting for workers’ rights as an AFL-CIO organizer, died Feb. 16 in Atlanta at age 65. 
Rev. Orange was a long-time supporter and ally to Jobs with Justice. He was one of the founders of Atlanta JwJ and traveled across the country to numerous JwJ coalitions to speak in support of local struggles and about the importance of engaging faith leaders and young people in our work. Many of us were touched by Rev. Orange – whether it was through his incredible singing voice at our national conferences, his taking part in civil disobedience at actions, or his constant words of encouragement. All of us at Jobs with Justice feel very fortunate to have spent time with Rev. Orange. He encouraged us always to dream big and to see potential obstacles as opportunities. We will miss him greatly and know that he will be sorely missed within our movement.
It could have been an episode of ER or House: a popular patient battles against all the odds, survives a near-death experience, triumphs in the end but still faces challenges in the next episode. In this case, the patient is the District of Columbia’s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, which would provide DC workers with a limited amount of paid sick time, and protect workers who need time off to address a domestic violence situation. Over a year in the making, the paid sick leave Bill had already been operated on extensively, as supporters made concessions to win political and business support.
On January 26, 2008, millions of people marched, spoke, celebrated, and dialogued throughout the world, joining in a Global Day of Mobilization and Action. This momentous event happened in place of the World Social Forum (WSF) where tens of thousands of global justice activists have convened every year since 2001 under the banner "Another World Is Possible!" The WSF is an alternative movement to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. 
