Labor Unites at Rally for Social & Economic Justice and Equality
January 1, 2017
(This article first appeared in the January-February 2017 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Hundreds of labor union members gathered outside of the U.S. Capitol building on Nov. 17 for the Rally for Social and Economic Justice and Equality.
outside of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 17.
The rally was originally called to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but it evolved into a rally promoting workers’ rights and the fight for social and economic justice for all after Congressional leaders announced there would be no vote on the TPP.
“We are proud to be in the struggle,” said Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell to the hundreds gathered. “As long as we collectively work together, stand together and fight together, we can do any doggone thing we want to do!”
“There is a lot of pain in America. Capitol Hill doesn’t understand it, but we do. And we are going to reach out to those brothers and sisters and work with them until they do,” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said at the rally. “When we stand together and keep our eyes on the prize, when we focus on social, economic, racial and environmental justice… nobody can stop us. Let’s go forward together!”
For more information on the status of the TPP, visit apwu.org and stay tuned for more stories in the next edition of The American Postal Worker.
Photo courtesy of UFCW
Jim Beam Workers Win Contract After Strike
After a nearly week-long strike, Jim Beam workers in Clermont and Boston, KY, ratified a new contract on Oct. 21.
The workers, represented by the United Federation of Culinary Workers (UFCW) Local 111D, went on strike to protect seniority, jobs, and to create a better work-life balance. Some workers were forced to work 60-80 hour weeks on a regular basis.
“Money is not what [we were] unhappy about,” said Local Union 111D President Janelle Mudd. “All through negotiations, we tried to make the point that what we were trying to change is the atmosphere.”
“We [were] trying to get our life back,” Jim Tucker, another UFCW member agreed. “You [would] go to work, and never know when you [would] get to go home.”
The contract included a cap on temporary workers and an official commitment to hire 27-30 additional full-time workers by the summer of 2017. The new workers will limit the amount of overtime required by the current workforce.
In the end, the company “really addressed everything that we asked them to do,” Mudd said.
After Week-Long Strike, Philly Transit Workers Win Big
The City of Brotherly Love slowed down for a week in November as transit workers went on strike, but their efforts paid off in a big way.
Members of Transit Workers Union (TWU) Local Union 234 “made gains in pensions and wages,” according to Local President Willie Brown. “[We] minimized out-of-pocket healthcare expenses at a time when health care costs are soaring, while maintaining excellent medical coverage for our members and their families.”
Chicago Teachers Avert Strike, Win Contract
April 2016 to pressure the school board.
This and other actions led to the recent agreement.
Photo courtesy of Joe Brusky, Creative Commons
After a series of job actions and just before a strike deadline, members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) approved a four-year contract with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration. The agreement will be retroactive to the 2015-2016 school year.
CTU members worked for almost 500 days without a contract before the agreement on Oct. 10. The Board of Education (BOE) stalled negotiations and rejected all contract proposals made by the union.
The CTU announced the agreement was ratified on Nov. 1 with over 70% of the membership voting in favor of it. The contract secured a 4.5% pay increase over the life of the agreement, maintained class sizes, and provided layoff protections, among many other things. For more information, go to ctunet.com.
“This is not a perfect agreement,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “But it is good for the kids. And good for the clinicians. And good for the teachers, and paraprofessionals.”