WASHINGTON, DC– Workers across the country have stood up in the past month to fight for better wages and working conditions.
LA City Council Approves Wage Win: The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure this week that would raise the citywide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, a raise from the current $9 minimum wage. Once implemented, LA will join cities such as Seattle and San Francisco in raising the minimum wage to $15.
DoubleTree Workers Outsmart Harvard Union Opposition: Thanks to a major organizing win last month, approximately 130 workers at the Hilton DoubleTree Suites Hotel in Cambridge, MA will become members of UNITE HERE! Local 26. The hard-fought, two-year campaign was opposed by Hilton and Harvard University. The workers, many of them immigrant housekeepers, cited unfair hours and unsafe conditions as reasons for voting to form a union.
Union Brothers and Sisters Win in ‘City of Brotherly Love’: Workers for the Philadelphia-based manufacturing company Chemson voted to join ICWUC/UFCW after uniting over issues with poor pay and unfair hours. Workers also pointed to lack of respect on the job and unsafe working conditions as reasons to form a union.
Facebook ‘Shares’ Wealth, Workers Give Move a ‘Like’: Facebook announced earlier this month that it will require U.S. contractors and vendors to pay their employees at least $15 an hour and offer paid-time-off for sick days and vacation. The tech giant will also mandate that contractors take steps to ensure paid parental leave.
Workers Reach Out to Help Aspiring Americans Apply for Citizenship: Earlier this month, members of the Pennsylvania-based UFCW Local 1776 held an immigration workshop where trained members assisted aspiring Americans in filling out their applications to apply for citizenship. The workshop, part of UFCW’s Union Citizenship Action Network program, helped workers at local JBS and Cargill plants, and is part of a nationwide effort to help those seeking citizenship.
Big Easy Teachers Work Hard to Form Union: Last month, teachers belonging to the United Teachers of New Orleans, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, secured its first collective-bargaining contract in the past decade at Benjamin Franklin High School. The teachers began to organize in 2014, citing issues with pay inequality.
NYC Mayor de Blasio to Launch ‘Day-of-Action’ for Workers Following Report: NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that his office will launch a ‘day-of-action’ to address reports that workers in the nail salon industry are facing ‘deplorable conditions’ including unsafe workspaces and pay less than minimum wage.
Contact: Anthony DeAngelo (202) 637-5018