Workers

How Workers Would Spend Corporate Tax Cut

February 1, 2018 Thomas Kochan, Theconversation.com Educate! Tax cuts for the rich, Taxes, Workers

Over 200 CEOs have said they will raise wages or give bonuses as a result of the large corporate income tax cut passed late last year by Congress. Some view their plans as simply a public relations move, others as a response to tighter labor markets or worker pressures. Pretty much everyone hopes that it might signal a new era in which corporate leaders share earnings with workers in ways they have not done in the past. I’m among those who hold such a hope. Only if such profit sharing becomes the norm will the long-term trends in widening income inequality and wage stagnation be reversed. But why should this decision be left to CEOs? Don’t workers have a legitimate claim and stake in what is done with the profits they help produce? New research I’ve been leading at MIT finally gives workers a voice on these issues and many others.

Biggest Gains In Union Membership In 2017 Were For Younger Workers

January 29, 2018 By John Schmitt, Epi.org Create! Labor, Unions, Workers, Workers Rights and Jobs

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on changes in union membership from 2016 to 2017. It was good news for workers, as the total number of union members grew by 262,000 in 2017. Three-fourths of these gains (198,000) were among workers aged 34 and under, who account for less than 40 percent of total employment. Historically, younger workers have been less likely than older workers to be a member of union. In 2017 about 7.7 percent of workers 16–34 were members of a union, compared with 12.6 percent of workers age 35 and older. But last year, of the 858,000 net new jobs for workers under age 35, almost one in four (23 percent) was a union job.

Tip Stealing Rule Would Cost Workers $5.8 Billion

January 20, 2018 By Heidi Shierholz, David Cooper, Julia Wolfe, and Ben Zipperer, Epi.org Educate! Class Struggle, Labor, New Economy, Workers

The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule that would make it legal for employers to pocket their workers’ tips, as long as they pay those workers at least the minimum wage. The proposed rule rescinds portions of longstanding DOL regulations that prohibit employers from taking tips.1 We estimate that if the rule is finalized, every year workers will lose $5.8 billion in tips, as tips are shifted from workers to employers.2Of the $5.8 billion, nearly 80 percent—$4.6 billion—would be taken from women who are working in tipped jobs.3 DOL has masked the fact that this rule would be a windfall to restaurant owners and other employers—out of the pockets of tipped workers—by making it sound as if this rule is about tip pooling. Of course, once employers have full control of tips, one of the things they could do with those tips is distribute them to “back of the house” workers like dishwashers and cooks.

N. Carolina Municipal Workers Kick Off Bill Of Rights Campaign

January 20, 2018 Sarah Miles, Portside.org Organize! Class Struggle, North Carolina, Workers

A cold snap the first week of this year took a toll on North Carolina’s cities. In Greensboro alone, 38 water mains broke—and despite near-zero temperatures, municipal workers like Charles French were responsible for fixing them. “We had workers out in frigid weather,” said French, a solid waste equipment operator. “We are the backbone of the city. Without us the city does not run.” Yet North Carolina’s municipal workers say their work and their safety are undervalued by state and local governments. Fifty years after Martin Luther King, Jr., stood with striking Memphis sanitation workers who were fed up with low pay and dangerous conditions, United Electrical Workers (UE) Local 150 is launching a campaign in the same spirit. The campaign kicks off on Martin Luther King Day with press conferences and rallies across the state.

More Power To The Workers

January 3, 2018 By Jon Rynn, Economicreconstruction.org Strategize! New Economy, Workers

Melman always had a two-track intellectual focus, writing about both the military and the economy. The two concepts were intertwined in his books about the deleterious economic effects of military production, for instance, in ‘Pentagon Capitalism’, ‘The Permanent War Economy’, and ‘Profits without Production’. He sought to decrease military spending, not just because American wars after World War II were unjust, but also because that spending constituted missed opportunities to improve the public sphere of life, and even more fundamentally, because military spending destroyed the core competence in manufacturing that Melman saw as the basis of economic life. This integration of peace activism and economics crystallized after the 1950s.

How New Orleans Hospitality Workers Organize Their Industry

December 14, 2017 Kat Stromquist, bestofneworleans.com Organize! Class Struggle, Labor, Workers, Workers Rights and Jobs

On a chilly evening just before Thanksgiving, about a dozen New Orleans Hospitality Workers Committee (NOHWC) members were gathered around a long table in a well-worn Claiborne Avenue meeting room papered with signs from other activist projects ("Reproductive Rights Are Not for Sale," "Homes for People, Not for Profits"). One by one, members took turns speaking up: not to give thanks, but to say what they hoped to change at their job or in the hospitality industry. Stopping the manager who skims tips from employees, someone said. Waitstaff not paying for kitchen mistakes out of their paychecks. Getting a guaranteed 40-hour work week and a chance to earn overtime.

UPS Workers Claim Holiday Disaster Looms As They Threaten To Strike

November 25, 2017 Hayley Peterson, businessinsider.com Resist! Strikes, UPS, Workers

By Hayley Peterson for Business Insider - UPS aircraft mechanics and related employees who maintain the company's air cargo fleet are taking out ads in USA Today and the Seattle Times that state: "What every American should know before they ship with UPS during the holidays: UPS wants to make deep cuts to its aircraft mechanics’ health care benefits. That’s why the 1,300 aircraft mechanics who keep UPS planes running during the holiday season are ready to strike." The workers, represented by the Teamsters Local 2727 union, say UPS wants to make massive cuts to their health care benefits. "The holiday shipping season is UPS’ busiest and most critical time, and before our customers ship with UPS, we want them to know about the instability in our already distressed workforce," Tim Boyle, president of Teamsters Local 2727, said in a statement. "The aircraft maintenance workforce is united and won’t let UPS executives gamble with our families’ health care." UPS and the union have been in mediated contract negotiations over the changes. The union, which has voted to authorize a strike, recently filed a request with the Federal National Mediation Board asking to be released from the negotiations. The request was denied. The workers cannot go on strike unless the board releases them from negotiations.

NAFTA Renegotiation More Important Now Than Ever

November 22, 2017 Celeste Drake, aflcio.org Resist! Assassination, Mexico, NAFTA, Trade, Workers

By Celeste Drake for AFL-CIO - The need to fundamentally improve the labor provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement took on a new urgency over the weekend, as a group of armed civilians, calling themselves the “Tonalapa Community Police,” (Policía Comunitaria de Tonalapa) attacked striking workers, killing two, at the Media Luna mine in Guerrero, Mexico. The murders occurred just five hours south of Mexico City, where representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico are in the midst of their fifth round of talks about rewriting NAFTA. The aggressors, meanwhile, were released after being briefly detained by an army squadron. The striking workers, who want to be represented by the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Related Workers of the Mexican Republic (Los Mineros) and are demanding the removal of the employer-dominated "labor" federation CTM (Confederación de Trabajadores de México), identified local CTM leaders as among those responsible for the attack. The practice of false unions siding with the employer over workers is a common feature of Mexico’s failed labor relations model. Employer-dominated "labor" federations are antithetical to the idea of democratic worker-led unions whose goal is to help workers build better lives.

The Russian Revolution Is Still Relevant Today

November 9, 2017 Brinda Karat, mayday.leftword.com Educate! Class Struggle, History, Soviet Union, Workers

By Brinda Karat for Left World - On this most historic occasion of the centenary of the epoch-making Russian revolution, I extend my warm greetings to you and on behalf of my party the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For the last one year the one million plus members of the CPI(M) and through them the masses of working people, have observed in different ways the centenary of the Russian revolution, at factory gates, in village meetings, in university campuses, in seminars and public meetings. Much of what I speak today is what we collectively believe is the legacy of the Russian revolution under the revolutionary leadership of its most brilliant strategist and theorist V. I. Lenin. At a time when the world is facing the challenge of an offensive of imperialism, of right-wing forces, of xenophobia, of racism, of bigotry, of increased violence against women and marginalized social groups, the need for an alternative vision of human development cannot be overemphasised, In India we have the rule of an extreme right-wing Government wedded to neo-liberal policies and a framework of politics which is based on sectarian majoritarian ideologies termed Hindutva. They work to destroy the unity of the people on religious lines. They aim to replace the secular framework of India by a theocratic Hindu State.

Unpaid Labourers Are ‘Slipping Pleas For Help Into Zara Clothes’

November 9, 2017 Staff, independent.co.uk Resist! Clothing, Exploitation, Labor, Workers

By Sarah Young for Independent - Shoppers at fashion retailer Zara have found unusual notes in their clothes from workers claiming they have not been paid for making the merchandise. Worth an estimated £8.6 billion and with more than 2,200 stores worldwide, Zara might be one of the world’s most successful fashion brands, but, once again, the retailer finds itself embroiled in controversy. According to customers in Istanbul, cries for help in the form of handwritten notes from Turkish workers have been found in the pockets of in-store garments asking shoppers to back their campaign for better labour standards and pressure Zara into paying them the wages they say they are owed, the Associated Press reports. The notes state the workers in question were employed by third-party manufacturer Bravo Tekstil, which reportedly closed down overnight, leaving workers owed several months wages. Bravo Tekstil also manufacturers garments for Mango and Next. “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it,” the notes reportedly read. But, this isn’t the first time the fast-fashion retailer has come under fire. The Spanish chain has previously been taken to task for causing environmental damage, ripping off young designers, and overlooking poor factory conditions. It was even sued for dismal working conditions and accused of both slave and child labour, as well as exploiting Syrian refugees as young as 15.

Weinsteins In The Workplace

November 6, 2017 Steve Early, counterpunch.org Educate! Sexism, Unions, Workers

By Steve Early for Counter Punch - The exploding national debate about workplace harassment of women by powerful bosses or male co-workers is a great opening for unions to demonstrate their importance as one form of protection against such abuse. Unfortunately, when unions are not pro-active on this front in their dealings with management or, worse yet, allow bullying or sexual harassment among staff or members, their credibility and appeal as a sword and shield for women (or anybody else) is greatly reduced. Unions don’t exist in a vacuum. They reflect the workplace or occupational cultures of their members, and the latter are a product of social conditioning often unsupportive of solidarity on the job, collective activity, or sensitivity toward women and minorities. So the task of forging a united front, for purposes of mutual aid and protection in the workplace, is easily hindered by union dysfunction and internal divisions based on race, gender, ethnicity, age, and other membership differences. It takes continuous organizational effort—in the form of training and recruitment, new leadership development, and structural change–to insure that the bullying, harassing, divide-and-conquer behavior of bosses, big and small, doesn’t infect and weaken the “house of labor” too.

U.S. Military Is The Largest Employer In The World

November 4, 2017 Sue Chang, marketwatch.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Labor, US Imperialism, US military, Workers

By Sue Chang for Market Watch - Travel on Uncle Sam’s dime and have taxpayers pay for your education—these are some of the perks offered by the U.S. military, and it appears its recruiting strategy is effective. The U.S. Department of Defense has been named the largest employer in the world with 3.2 million employees on its payroll, according to the World Economic Forum. The second largest is China’s People’s Liberation Army with 2.3 million on its staff roster and third biggest is Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, +0.99% with 2.1 million employees. McDonald’s Corp. MCD, +0.33% came in fourth with 1.9 million workers but the World Economic Forum noted the fast-food chain would be eliminated from the list if employees at its franchise restaurants weren't counted. “As the majority of its restaurants are franchises, this figure falls to 420,000 when they are excluded,” said the WEF.

Displaced Coal Miners Turn To Beekeeping

October 27, 2017 Marlene Cimons, www.nexusmedianews.com Create! Bees, Coal Mining, Displacement, Workers

By Marlene Cimons for Nexus Media - Mark Lilly, 59, grew up and still lives in West Virginia. He spent three decades as an insurance adjuster, often talking to people struggling through the decline of coal. At the end of some very long days, he would escape to his bee hives. "It was therapeutic," he said. Life in coal country may no longer be what it once was, but "the bees haven't changed," he said. Lilly has since retired from the insurance business, but he still tends to his honeybees. He now is using what he learned from these insects to help out-of-work miners and others hurt by coal's demise. He's turning them into beekeepers. Lilly sees beekeeping as a way for longtime Appalachians to preserve their connection to the land and to earn extra money during lean times. Some might even be able to support themselves and their families on income from bees. "Most of the people in these coal towns are very open to anything that involves the outdoors and nature," Lilly said. "Many of those who lost jobs in the mines are now working lower paid jobs because they don't want to leave. They are tied to the land. We have an opportunity to go back to those communities and provide them with a new skill and some additional income, so they can stay where they want."

NAFTA’s Neoliberal Foundations Need To Be Dismantled From The Left

October 25, 2017 Jeff Schuhrke, www.inthesetimes.com Strategize! NAFTA, Neoliberalism, Workers

By Jeff Schuhrke for In These Times - Rejecting both economic nationalism and free-market fundamentalism, workers across North America are building transnational solidarity and demanding labor rights for all. Last week, nearly 60 representatives of unions and civil society organizations from Mexico, Canada and the United States gathered in Chicago for a two-day meeting to discuss strategies for collaboration as their governments renegotiate the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The meeting was coordinated by the United Electrical Workers (UE), UCLA Labor Center and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, an international civic education institution affiliated with Germany’s Left Party. While many Mexican unions are dominated by the government, only the country’s more independent and democratically run labor organizations attended. “We’re discussing what kinds of relationships can be built, either bi-nationally or tri-nationally,” Benedicto Martínez, a national co-coordinator of Mexico’s Frente Auténtico del Trabajo, or Authentic Labor Front (FAT), told In These Times. “At the forefront of our vision would be the rights of people, including better wages, better education, better healthcare and immigration rights.” Critics argue that NAFTA has accelerated the global “race to the bottom,” where governments dismantle workplace and environmental protections in order to attract capital investment.

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