Here are several things you -- individually, your organization, your congregation -- can do to participate in IWJ's National Day of Action Against Wage Theft:
• Highlight national anti-wage ...
1. Lead a delegation of workers and faith leaders to your Representative 2. Hold a press conference with your elected leaders
• Highlight local ordinance or state law campaigns or victories:
1. Organize press events with legislation sponsors 2. Lead educational forums
• Actions against Wage Theft perpetrators:
1. Conduct a bus tour of unethical businesses that steal wages 2. Organize a group to confront an employer to pay his workers; flyer the business'customers 3. Hold a prayer vigil 4. Plan an action at a non-union contractor or employer that is stealing wages and undercutting union companies
• Host a "Know Your Rights" educational workshop with workers
• Announce a new initiative against wage theft
1. Attorneys can file a new lawsuit 2. Politicians can announce new initiatives 3. Academics can report on new wage theft survey results
There might be an event already planned in your area -- you can find out by going here.
And contact IWJ Public Policy Director Ted Smukler (tsmukler@iwj.org) to coordinate or to find out more about IWJ's National Day of Action Against Wage Theft. Together we can put an end to this national disgrace.
Some of you may know (though some of you may not know) that the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) has has called for a boycott of and divestment from JPMorgan Chase. As FLOC explains the campaign:
JP ...
Some of you may know (though some of you may not know) that the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) has has called for a boycott of and divestment from JPMorgan Chase. As FLOC explains the campaign:
JP Morgan Chase is one of the lead banks in a consortium of lenders that provides $498 million dollars in credit to Reynolds American, one of the largest tobacco companies in the US. While Reynolds American and JP Morgan Chase make billions, tobacco farmworkers continue to suffer serious human rights abuses in the fields. Although Reynolds does not directly employ these farmworkers, they determine the terms for contract growers which directly affects the living and working conditions of farmworkers.
Reynolds American and JP Morgan Chase have the ultimate responsibility and financial resources to ensure safe and humane working conditions for tobacco farmworkers.
As a major lender to Reynolds, Chase has the stature and resources to convince Reynolds to improve conditions for tobacco farmworkers. Since May 12, 2010 FLOC has been asking Chase to use their influence to push Reynolds to address farmworker exploitation. To date Chase has refused to take any action.
Heeding FLOC's call, IWJ has sent the following letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO James Dimon:
October 20, 2010
Mr. James Dimon Chairman and CEO JPMorgan Chase & Co. 270 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017-2070
Dear Mr. Dimon,
Interfaith Worker Justice is currently a business credit card holder with JP Morgan Chase. The organization charges approximately $150,000 a year on its account.
Generally, the organization has been happy with its services from your bank. But recently we were informed by our allies at the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) that JP Morgan Chase is a major lender to Reynolds American, one of the largest tobacco corporations in the country.
Farmworkers endure some of the worst conditions of any workers in our country. The human rights abuses they suffer, especially for such low pay, is a deplorable reality. Reynolds American has the ability to help improve these conditions by requiring contract growers to set standards for safe working conditions in the fields.
As one of the largest banks in the country, you can also help improve conditions for these workers. You have the financial resources to pressure Reynolds American into doing the right thing - working with FLOC to set a new and just standard for farmworkers.
Interfaith Worker Justice is an organization that strives to promote justice in the workplace. Without a responsible response from your bank, we will be forced to consider closing our Chase credit card and looking for a bank that is more aligned with our mission.
Thank you for your consideration of this request from a loyal customer.
Sincerely,
Kim Bobo Executive Director
Stay tuned to find out if IWJ gets a response from Chase. And consider support FLOC's divestment campaign by closing your Chase bank account or by pledging not to bank with Chase.
This past Wednesday, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. The bill retains several elements ...
This past Wednesday, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. The bill retains several elements of former immigration reform bills, including the DREAM Act and AgJOBS in their entirety, increased worker protections, and a pathway to legalization.
On September 15th, hundreds of faith and community leaders gathered in Washington D.C. for a national interfaith forum and lobby day on immigration reform. IWJ network leaders and friends from Florida, Arizona, California, and Kansas City took part in the day’s actions, including sharing testimonies at the forum about how our broken immigration system has separated families and affected working people across the country. Many thanks to those who participated!
Save the Date! IWJ will again be joining with the national New Sanctuary Movement and other faith-based organizations and congregations during the December holiday season to host a National Week of Interfaith Prayer and Action in support of just and humane immigration reform. We invite local congregations and organizations to start thinking about hosting prayer vigils, posadas, or other public events during that time. For more information or resources, or to be involved in any part of IWJ’s immigration campaign, contact Kristin Kumpf, Associate Organizing Director, at kkumpf@iwj.org.
IWJ's presence in the national policy arena is about to see dramatic growth. As of October, IWJ now has a new DC office headed up by two veterans of religion and justice work. The Rev. Paul Sherry is ...
IWJ's presence in the national policy arena is about to see dramatic growth. As of October, IWJ now has a new DC office headed up by two veterans of religion and justice work. The Rev. Paul Sherry is Director of IWJ's DC Public Policy Office and Thom Shellabarger is IWJ's Public Policy Associate.
A longtime advocate for economic justice and civil rights, Rev. Sherry is a former President of the United Church of Christ and former Executive Director of the Community Renewal Society. He came out of retirement to be the Campaign Coordinator for the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, the national anti-poverty mobilization effort sponsored by the National Council of Churches and many other faith-based and community-based organizations. He is co-author of A Just Minimum Wage: Good for Workers, Business and Our Future and the editor of The Riverside Preachers. He holds a doctorate in theology from Union Theological Seminary.
"I'm very eager to begin this new role and help IWJ strengthen its presence in Washington, DC," says Rev. Sherry. "With the unemployment crisis growing ever more severe, it's critical that IWJ's message be heard on Capitol Hill and that the struggles of the unemployed and of low-wage workers in these precarious times not be ignored in the corridors of power."
"No one in the country is more qualified to lead a faith and jobs initiative than Paul," says IWJ executive director Kim Bobo. "He has the right mix of history, relationships, and passion to drive this program." Ted Smukler, IWJ's public policy director, concurs. "Paul is a marvelous leader, a keen strategist with complete integrity. Just as important, Paul makes everybody feel like they're the most important person in the room, and it's genuine."
Thom Shellabarger is the former Policy Advisor for Urban and Economic Issues in the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the public policy and social action agency of the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States. This work entailed assisting the U.S. bishops in formulating policy on housing, community development, employment and low-wage workers, civil rights, and federal budget issues consistent with the social teachings of the Church, and advocating on these issues with the Congress and the Administration.
"I am pleased to be joining the creative and dedicated staff of Interfaith Worker Justice as we work with people of faith to engage our communities in the struggle for worker rights," says Shellabarger. "I look forward to renewing and strengthening IWJ's presence in Washington, D.C."
"Thom brings 20 years of experience representing the faith community on Capitol Hill," says Bobo. "Like Paul, Thom was a founding board member of IWJ, and like Paul, he brings enormous wisdom and passion to the fight for economic justice." "Thom has been a leader and a soldier for economic justice for decades in his work for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops," says Smukler. "He's a man of deep faith and conviction. Thom's also an organizer and advocate who can move an agenda. He can get an economist to laugh, a politician to vote right, a bureaucrat to act, and a Bishop to issue a statement - tall tasks for anyone."
Rev. Sherry can be reached at psherry@iwj.org. Thom Shellabarger can be reached at tshellabarger@iwj.org.
Interfaith Worker Justice is organizing another Wage Theft National Day of Action in more than 50 cities across the nation to highlight the ongoing crisis and the need for vigorous local, county, state, ...
Interfaith Worker Justice is organizing another Wage Theft National Day of Action in more than 50 cities across the nation to highlight the ongoing crisis and the need for vigorous local, county, state, and federal initiatives to stop it.
November 18 is one week before Thanksgiving, a time when we celebrate our plenty at feasts throughout the nation. But workers who have had their legal wages stolen will struggle to put turkey on their tables this year.
We're urging worker centers, labor unions and worker advocates throughout the country to organize an event on November 18 and to coordinate with IWJ. To do so, please contact IWJ Public Policy Director Ted Smukler at tsmukler@iwj.org or 773-728-8400 x39.
With the wave of anti-Muslim vitriol currently permeating the airwaves and Internet, it is imperative that people of conscience take a stand. As people of faith, we reject this hate. Please join us in ...
With the wave of anti-Muslim vitriol currently permeating the airwaves and Internet, it is imperative that people of conscience take a stand. As people of faith, we reject this hate. Please join us in showing solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers.
You can do so by downloading this sign and spreading the word!
How? Print it out and post it in your window, your car, or your office. Take a photo of you holding the sign and post it on Facebook (and on IWJ's Facebook page) and share it with your friends. Encourage your friends to download the sign and spread the message of tolerance and peace.
This is your chance to be creative. Please e-mail us to let us know what you decided to do.
It's critical that we dispel the myths and oppose the prejudices and outright bigotry we've seen in recent weeks. Remember, all religions believe in justice.
The US Department of Labor has a blog called "Keeping Faith in Labor."
Rev. Phil Tom has a nice post just in time for Labor Day. He writes, "As a clergy member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), ...
Rev. Phil Tom has a nice post just in time for Labor Day. He writes, "As a clergy member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), we believe that work is a Godly endeavor and as such, should be performed with integrity and contribute to the well-being and transformation of society. As part of our religious teachings regarding work, we are also directed to ensure that all workers are treated with justice."
The post has some good quotes and then he writes that members of faith communities are responding to their religious calling by working ...to address injustices such as hazardous working conditions and workers whose wages have been stolen because of underpayment by their employers.
For the faith community, such service is intended to help uphold our country's labor laws and statutes, but it also appeals to a higher calling to support and to protect the life, dignity, and respect of each worker.
I read an article a couple of weeks ago in The New York Times, which showed that companies are seeing surges in profits through shrinking their workforces. Harley Davidson's profits are triple what they ...
I read an article a couple of weeks ago in The New York Times, which showed that companies are seeing surges in profits through shrinking their workforces. Harley Davidson's profits are triple what they were a year ago, while sales are still declining and new rounds of mass layoffs are planned. It seems like the recession is indeed over for large corporations, even though the rest of us are in the midst of the greatest economic catastrophy of our lifetimes.
In fact, the Great Recession offered a way for corporate America to get leaner and meaner on the backs of their workers. Focusing on cost cutting, they have squeezed profits out by forcing workers to accept pay and benefit cuts while operating with fewer and fewer workers. For Harley Davidson, that meant a $71 million profit in the second quarter of 2010, more than triple the previous year, after cutting 2,000 jobs, with the cost savings going to shareholders and upper management. At the same time, the Milwaukee-based motorcyle maker is planning additional layoffs and threatening to close its plant and relocate in a cheaper labor market if its unionized workers don't accept even more draconian contract givebacks. Many other large corporations are also doing quite well on smaller sales and massive layoffs-the article mentions companies such as General Electric and JP Morgan Chase.
We need 11 million new jobs in the next three years just to get back to the 5 percent unemployment level that preceded the Great Recession. The statistics alone don't tell the full story of devastation, as foreclosures continue to mount, young people and long term unemployed workers lose hope, tax revenues decline and states and cities are forced to lay off essential workers such as teachers and police officers, and hunger, mental illness, and violence rises in battered communities. With official unemployment continuing to hover near 10 percent, companies use their workers' legitimate fear of losing their jobs to slash salaries and benefits. Demand for goods and services remains stagnant, and the private sector has neither the will nor the capacity to bring down unemployment.
If corporations are happy about the new equilibrium and demand remains low, the only way to generate jobs is for the federal government to make this a major priority. It takes roughly $100 million in federal spending to create 1 million jobs. We need a second bold stimulus plan, including creating government jobs. With the scale of this crisis, the federal government must create vital and sustainable jobs: jobs that rebuild infrastructure; green jobs; mass transit; jobs to fill needs that the private sector cannot create, such as expanded child care and cleanup of toxic dumps.
This won't be easy. Deficit hawks will say this is mortgaging our children's future. What is certainly mortgaging our kids' futures right now is that their parents are out of work and that young people can't find summer jobs or get stable employment even after graduating college. Long term reduction of the deficit depends on getting people back to work, which would bring tax reveues back while lowering the public costs of unemployment compensation, food stamps, and other services needed for an increasingly impoverished America.
Cities, states, and the federal government also need to stop tax giveaways to corporations in a competitive race to the bottom, giveaways that are usually justified because the companies say they need them to create jobs. If the private sector is eliminating jobs and tax giveaways lack any accountability measures to show that good jobs were indeed created that would not have existed without tax incentives, the only good they do is raise private profits while robbing the public coffers. We can find the money to invest in jobs in this country if we stop giving it away.
Exciting news as the anti-wage theft movement continues to gain momentum. The law is one of the strongest in the nation and will go in effect on January 1, 2011. It allows the Illinois state DOL the power ...
Exciting news as the anti-wage theft movement continues to gain momentum. The law is one of the strongest in the nation and will go in effect on January 1, 2011. It allows the Illinois state DOL the power to adjudicate small claims without going to court.
Congratulations to the Working Hands Legal Clinic,Chicago Workers Collaborative, Latino Union and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos for all of their work on this excellent piece of legislation.
IWJ has new 2010 resources for Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar ready to be downloaded:
A Prayer for All Workers Bulletin Insert
Labor in the BimahBy Rabbi Brant Rosen, spiritual ...
IWJ has new 2010 resources for Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar ready to be downloaded:
A Common Prayer for the Unemployed Bulletin Insert
Psalm 1 Responsive Reading for Labor Day 2010 Click here for a text version (for easy copying and pasting)
Labor Day Hymns Created in 2008, but online now for the first time
There are two more texts coming soon! Check here for them in the coming days.
Is your congregation holding a Labor Day service or hosting a Labor Day Breakfast this year? If so, click here to let us know about it. To find out if there's already something planned in your area, click here.
If you don't have one planned yet, please consider celebrating the sacred link between faith, work, and justice by inviting a union member or labor leader to be a guest speaker on Labor Day weekend, or focus your Labor Day weekend service on worker justice issues.
For more information, contact Cynthia Brooke at cbrooke@iwj.org or 773-728-8400, ext. 40.
Dan Moore of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (an IWJ affiliate) marching in Phoenix on July 29, the day SB 1070 was scheduled to go into effect, during IWJ's National Weekend of Prayer & ...
Wonderful news from the Workers Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral in Austin, Texas (an affiliate of IWJ's national network of worker centers):Immediately as of July 29th, construction employers ...
Immediately as of July 29th, construction employers are no longer allowed to deny their workers rest breaks in Austin! Workers who are pushed to work for hours in the sun without a break are no longer left without recourse; they are no longer totally unprotected. We filled City Hall with people from all different backgrounds, standing in solidarity with Austin's construction workers. City Council could not say no.
The new ordinance requires at least a ten minute break per four hours of work on a construction site, and the ordinance must be posted at places of employment. Congratulations, and thank you. Without your support, we could never have won this historic victory!
Great post from The Plum Line- Mike Huckabee was asked whether he supports the anti-immigrant law in Arizona. He dodged the question and then gave a wimpy reference to Disney World.
He said "It's not ...
Great post from The Plum Line- Mike Huckabee was asked whether he supports the anti-immigrant law in Arizona. He dodged the question and then gave a wimpy reference to Disney World.
He said "It's not my place to agree or disagree." He also said: "What does concerns me is that if it's not carried out and applied carefully, you could end up in the situation where people are indiscriminately stopped who are absolute citizens... America is a lot like Disney World in that once you get a ticket, you're in. You don't have to keep showing your ticket to keep riding the rides. That's the whole point of liberty."
Save the Date for IWJ's Organizing for Worker Justice Training!Dates: October 3-7, 2010
Are you a...• board member, leader, or volunteer of an interfaith organization?• organizer with a faith-based ...
Save the Date for IWJ's Organizing for Worker Justice Training! Dates: October 3-7, 2010
Are you a... • board member, leader, or volunteer of an interfaith organization? • organizer with a faith-based organization or workers center? • religious or community outreach staff of a union?
Do you want to... • understand religious and labor structures? • learn how to strengthen partnerships between religious and labor leaders? • understand the fundamentals of Direct Action Organizing? • design creative interfaith actions? • develop strategies for building your organization? • develop effective fundraising strategies? • frame the message about religious values and workers' rights to the media?
If you answered YES to any of these statements, THIS TRAINING IS FOR YOU! Registration information coming soon...
Last week the Chicago Tribune published an editorial bearing the polemical title "Say 'yes' to jobs: Chicago's City Council must brave union backlash and approve Wal-Mart deal". IWJ board member Rev. ...
Do the editors of the Tribune have any idea how hard it is to live on $8.75 an hour? How would the author of the paper's editorial "Say yes to jobs: Chicago's City Council must brave union backlash and approve Wal-Mart deal" like to try living on those wages and see what life is like? That's what the editors are asking residents of Chicago's south side to do by going to work for the world's largest retailer. Wal-Mart is a tremendously profitable company, yet it takes a low-road approach to its workers. $8.75 an hour is not a living wage. With its vast treasures, Wal-Mart is in a position to take the high road, paying its workers a living wage that would allow them to live with dignity rather than hand-to-mouth. Instead, its low prices involve steep costs. When a new Wal-Mart opens, small businesses in the community close, destroying jobs. And taxpayers end up footing the bill for Wal-Mart's low-road approach when workers, making unlivable wages, turn to social services (food stamps, state health care and other forms of public aid). Wal-Mart costs taxpayers. It cost communities. And it costs workers -- those laid off when small businesses close and those who have to scrape by on the multi-billion dollar company's low-road wages.
Jobs are critically important, and especially so in these difficult economic times, but as always they need to provide more than hand-to-mouth existence.
The Rev. Bennie E. Whiten, Jr. United Church of Christ (Retired) Board Member of Interfaith Worker Justice
On Thursday, the City Council Zoning Committee voted to give Wal-Mart the green light to build a new store in Chicago's Pullman Park.
When I worked at a state university a few years ago I saw the raw deal that adjunct professors had. A majority of them didn't hold full-time jobs elsewhere. They weren't hired to teach a single course ...
When I worked at a state university a few years ago I saw the raw deal that adjunct professors had. A majority of them didn't hold full-time jobs elsewhere. They weren't hired to teach a single course for one term. They had been at the university for years, performing the same duties as full professors without the same pay. At the university I was at, full professors often did no research. So the main difference between the adjunt and full professors was in pay and benefits.
Adjunct professors often aren't entitled to benefits such as health care and retirement plans, and they are usually not given offices. At the university I was at they had to share office space. I know of once case where five adjunct professors shared an office the size of my walk-in closet. On top of that, they often had to teach at several universities to cobble together a living.
So, this union busting strategy of East-West University is no surprise.
According to Higher Ed, a few days after the Illinois branch of the National Education Association filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election to represent adjuncts at East-West University, they all received a letter. It said that all of the adjuncts were no longer employed, and would not be employed for the summer, and that full-timers would teach classes to be offered.
That will be difficult, since the university has 1,200 students and only about 18 full-time faculty members. It is only able to function with the teaching of more than 50 adjuncts.
The university claims that this action has nothing to do with the union drive going on. It's all just a coincidence.
Every year for the past twelve years, Interfaith Worker Justice has joined with thousands of congregations across the country for the "Labor in the Pulpits" , a program that focuses on the plights of ...
Every year for the past twelve years, Interfaith Worker Justice has joined with thousands of congregations across the country for the "Labor in the Pulpits" , a program that focuses on the plights of workers on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We use this as an opportunity to lift up the voices of those who struggle and toil everyday to make our country work. This year we are using the program to lift up the voices and struggles of those who want to work, who used to work and are victims of this terrible unemployment crisis. I will be blogging a lot of over the next few weeks about what we are doing and how you can be involved. I look forward to your comments!
The Chicago Tribune religion reporter yesterday blogged that "Clergy condemn anti-immigration law, demand reform."
Yet, the religious response isn't enough to overcome the racist, fearful reaction from ...
The Chicago Tribune religion reporter yesterday blogged that "Clergy condemn anti-immigration law, demand reform."
Yet, the religious response isn't enough to overcome the racist, fearful reaction from people in Arizona and across our country. While we need to tackle this within our faith communities we need to do more.
What is needed is a wide-spread push back on the anti-immigrant misinformation from recent months. Boycotts are a start. So are the online campaigns. We don't need to hear from the usual suspects. Fox, Drudge, Michelle Malkin, etc. don't add anything to the discussion.
We must hold our political leaders accountable- politicians like a former "Maverick" who has now flip-flopped on immigration to win a primary.
But, even more importantly, our friends, families, coworkers, and Facebook pals all need to hear from us. A movement starts with our voices.
It is easy to sit back and let our religious leaders to condemn the Arizona law. But, it is better to join the discussion.
Yesterday, policy and denominational staff from faith communities including the United Methodist Church , the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Religious Action Center of ...
Yesterday, policy and denominational staff from faith communities including the United Methodist Church , the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Religious Action Center of Reformed Judaism attended a "Dialogue with Labor". The first part of the event focused on a dialogue with AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. Ms. Holt Baker reiterated the need for collaboration with the faith community and reflected on how her own faith background has sustained her career as a worker justice advocate. Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the United Methodist Church Board of Church and Society spoke on how the tradition of the United Methodist Church has been conflicted but stands on the 1908 Social Creed that honors workers.
After lunch, Dr.Edie Rassell, Minister of Economic Justice for the United Church of Christ, led a discussion around the economic crisis and how the faith community should respond. There were other speakers and presenters but the bottom line is this..... The faith community must respond to this.. the implications of this crisis have an impact that is beyond statistics.... there are lives being affected by these events and our action (or lack thereof) will be a lasting witness to our committment to the "least of these".
There will be more to come, including a conference call on June 2, where we will present a "Covenant " around Jobs!
I had a distressing conversation today with the director of our affiliated group in Phoenix, the Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice. Trina (Rev. Trina Zelle, the group's lead organizer) shared ...
I had a distressing conversation today with the director of our affiliated group in Phoenix, the Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice. Trina (Rev. Trina Zelle, the group's lead organizer) shared with me how a friend, who is a Latino U.S. citizen, was pulled over recently in Phoenix. When he pulled out his driver's license, the cop demanded to see his birth certificate. Expressing his surprise over why he would even be asked for it (who travels with their birth certificate?), the cop stated, "Well, you look like an illegal."
This is just one of hundreds of stories emerging from the fallout after Arizona passed one of the most harmful laws in our country's history. Along with criminalizing all undocumented immigrants in Arizona, it requires that state and municipal employees check the documentation status of those they have "reasonable suspicion" to believe are undocumented.
We are gravely concerned that more people will continue to experience such racial profiling and violation of human rights. Now more than ever we need to not only call for a repeal of this horrific law in Arizona, but work harder for the passage of full Comprehensive Immigration Reform. With 10 or 11 other states currently on the verge of introducing legislation similar to Arizona's, it is only with a complete overhaul of our broken immigration system that we will be able to prevent future harm to our country's immigrant population and the erosion of our civil liberties and human rights.
As you can imagine, we have been talking a lot about the racist and draconian new immigration law in California. We knew this was coming... Ten other states are considering Arizona-style immigration ...
As you can imagine, we have been talking a lot about the racist and draconian new immigration law in California. We knew this was coming... Ten other states are considering Arizona-style immigration laws. Who? OK, MS, SC, CO, GA, MD, SC, TX, UT, NC.
I just heard from Kristin that PA and OH are also on the list. Please let me know if you hear any updates on what's going on.
The Illinois House of Representatives has passed a measure aimed at strengthening the state's ability to fight wage theft. A recent University of Illinois-Chicago study brought new attention to the prevalence ...
The Illinois House of Representatives has passed a measure aimed at strengthening the state's ability to fight wage theft.
A recent University of Illinois-Chicago study brought new attention to the prevalence of companies short-changing workers. Ted Smukler is the policy director for Interfaith Worker Justice. He says organizations like his have been more successful at recovering lost wages than the state.
SMUKLER: You know these scrappy little organizations can do things government offices can't. They can take a group of workers to directly confront the boss or talk to the boss's customers. They can get them in touch with private attorneys. Government process on this is slow and redundant. And Smukler says that's why this bill is important.
Adam Kader of Arise Chicago says the law would streamline the state's process of helping workers receive money they deserve.
The state Senate needs to approve a House amendment before the bill could go to the governor.
Interfaith Worker Justice has a question for you: How has the current economic climate impacted your faith community? We have developed a congregational survey to answer that question. Please take five ...
Interfaith Worker Justice has a question for you: How has the current economic climate impacted your faith community? We have developed a congregational survey to answer that question.
Please take five minutes to complete the brief survey. Help IWJ get a snapshot of activities around the country that congregations and faith communities are doing to support neighbors and friends who have been affected by job loss. IWJ will compile the survey results and send them out over the next few weeks.
Left to right: Fr. Brendan Curran, Pastor of St. Pius V, a Catholic parish in Chicago; Rev. C.J. Hawking, Executive Director of Arise Chicago; U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; and IWJ Executive Director ...
Left to right: Fr. Brendan Curran, Pastor of St. Pius V, a Catholic parish in Chicago; Rev. C.J. Hawking, Executive Director of Arise Chicago; U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; and IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo
Mother Jones is often quoted as saying, "Pray for the Dead, Fight like hell for the Living." The 25 miners who lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster call us to both prayer and activism.
We ...
Mother Jones is often quoted as saying, "Pray for the Dead, Fight like hell for the Living." The 25 miners who lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster call us to both prayer and activism.
We must pray for the miners still missing, the miners who have lost their colleagues and the families of those killed. Let us pray for them individually and through our congregations. April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, a time to remember those who have lost their lives in the workplace. Consider using IWJ's Litany for Workers Memorial Day (download the PDF here) in one of your congregation's services later this month.
We must also fight to protect those who work in dangerous workplaces like mines. The Upper Big Branch mine is operated by the Performance Coal Company, a non-union company operated by Massey Energy. In the last 22 years, the company has committed over 1,000 health and safety violations. Since the beginning of March 2010, the company has had 12 serious ventilation violations, including 8 for failing to follow the ventilation plan. This company had a pattern of violating health and safety guidelines. Such patterns of violations kill and maim workers.
There are two ways we can fight for other miners and workers.
1) Support the rights of workers to organize unions. Union mines are safer than non-union mines because the union plays a role in enforcing the safety guidelines. Unfortunately, like many other workers, miners often fear losing their jobs or retaliation for joining a union. Miners and other workers need labor law reform, like the Employee Free Choice Act. Send a letter today and urge your senator to support efforts to reform the nation's labor laws so workers can join labor unions without fear and harassment. Click here.
2) Support budget requests for more mine inspectors. The Department of Labor needs additional funds for mine inspectors as well as other enforcement staff for the Wage and Hour Division and OSHA. Interfaith Worker Justice supports the expansion of these important enforcement agencies. Send a letter to your congressional representative urging him or her to fully fund the Department of Labor's budget requests for additional enforcement staff. Click here.
Bob Herbert's recent New York Times column "The Source of Obama's Trouble" pointedly addresses the Obama administration's response -- or lack thereof -- to the problem of unemployment and job loss in ...
Bob Herbert's recent New York Times column "The Source of Obama's Trouble" pointedly addresses the Obama administration's response -- or lack thereof -- to the problem of unemployment and job loss in America.
Mr. Herbert is right about one thing. Folks all across America are frustrated and angry about the economy. I don't personally hear people blaming President Obama or the Democratic Party. Communities are experiencing a volume of pain and despair that is hard to articulate. Workers are increasing discouraged and desperate for solutions that will enable them to feed their families, keep a roof over their heads and maintain their dignity.
There are no easy solutions to the problems of long-term unemployment and the systemic contraction of the job market. However, in every challenge there is an opportunity. IWJ will be convening a series of dialogues with key leaders in the faith community to hear how they are responding to the jobs crisis for their congregations and communities. We hope that you will stay tuned for more information as we move forward and work to develop resources to assist workers in this economic climate.
Yesterday, after the Super Bowl, CBS previewed a new program "Undercover Boss." The premise of the program, for those who did not get to see it, is that corporate executives will go "undercover" as regular ...
Yesterday, after the Super Bowl, CBS previewed a new program "Undercover Boss." The premise of the program, for those who did not get to see it, is that corporate executives will go "undercover" as regular employees of their company, enabling them to see what the average frontline employee experiences day to day on the job. Our friends at America Rights at Work encouraged us to watch. Intriguing? Well, the first boss to step into this territory is Larry O'Donnell, COO of Waste Management. He went to a recycling center, on a garbage truck, to a landfill and to a weigh station, where he encountered workers doing their jobs, despite the stress of illness, extra work loads, inadequate pay and lack of respect. He met folks who do what they have to do to put bread on the tables and pay the rent!
There were two things that bothered me a lot! First, a female driver went to the bathroom in a can so she doesn't get in trouble for taking too long on her route. The other was an employee who had to clock in at exactly 30 minutes for her lunch period , or she would be docked two minutes for every minute she clocked in late (what!). Of course, at the end of this program, Mr. COO was so grateful for his experience in the field and what he learned. He attempted to address some of the more immediate concerns (like peeing in a can) right away. But can the average American worker wait for their corporate honcho to have an epiphany like this? Even if CBS did a show every week, that would only be 52 shows, leaving millions of folks waiting for their boss to get a chance to see what "real workers" do every day. What workers really need is for their CEOs and COOs to embrace rules of fundamental fairness that will even the playing field. ARAW has launched their site, Fixourjobs.org to provide an opportunity for workers whose boss hasn't been profiled on TV to talk about what they hate and love about their jobs. ARAW and IWJ agree that there needs to be fundamental, systematic changes that give workers more rights on the job, and protects the rights they have now, including the right to organize a union. What do you think?
Renaye Manley National Organizer Interfaith Worker Justice (773) 728-8400 x15
If you were to ask any worker in the U.S. what the IRS does, chances are most folks would have a good idea and would also know that the IRS goes after people who fail to honestly report their income. ...
If you were to ask any worker in the U.S. what the IRS does, chances are most folks would have a good idea and would also know that the IRS goes after people who fail to honestly report their income. But most workers don't have a clue what the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) can do to protect their rights and to crack down employers who steal their wages.
When former Congresswoman Hilda Solis was confirmed as the new Secretary of Labor last winter, she said, "There's a new sheriff in town," promising to step up enforcement of wage and hour and health and safety laws, and to transform the DOL culture and procedures so that it could return to its core mission of defending workers. In a statement timed to coincide with IWJ's National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft, Secretary Solis issued a press release on November 19 underscoring that the agency has hired hundreds of new wage and hour investigators and launched aggressive efforts to combat wage theft.
IWJ has been leading a nationwide campaign against wage theft, spearheaded by its network of worker centers and religion-labor groups. One of the campaign's major goals is to engage the DOL in collaborations with workers and worker advocates in cities and regions across the country. With almost no assistance from the DOL, worker centers have been fighting to help workers organize and recover stolen wages. Worker center organizers know the employers and industries most guilty of stealing workers' wages in their communities (among the worst industries are construction, restaurants, retail, and meat processing).
After the November 19 Day of Action, DOL leaders asked IWJ to help them reach out to low-wage workers to learn more about their experiences and communicate how the agency can do a better job of helping them. IWJ-affiliated worker centers in Memphis, Houston, Cincinnati, and Chicago brought workers together in January for focus groups with key federal and regional DOL leaders to exchange ideas.
At the meeting in Chicago, 10 DOL officials, led by Michael Kravitz from the WHD, met for four hours with 10 workers and staff members of Arise Chicago and IWJ (pictured above). Alicia, a restaurant kitchen worker who does not receive tips, reported that she worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, and when she computed her wages she and her co-workers were being paid less than $4.00 per hour, well below the federal and state minimum wage, without any additional overtime pay. But it was hard for her to document this, since she was often paid in cash and never received any pay stubs or paperwork from the restaurant. The DOL representatives responded that she should file a complaint, that they would accept a worker's own documentation of his or her hours and wages.
The DOL asked for and received feedback on public service announcements and other communications strategies to reach out to vulnerable workers, which the agency has called its "We Can Help" campaign. DOL staff members wanted to learn what it needed to do to get workers to call the agency and file complaints. They also acknowledged a need that IWJ and other worker advocates have long raised: the need for more targeted investigations of employers and industries that are known to be flagrant wage thieves, rather than just waiting behind their desks for the phone to ring. The DOL staff members told the workers that they currently estimate only 25 percent of their investigations are pro-active, targeted efforts. While an improvement over the last few years of the Bush Administration, this simply isn't good enough. The DOL staff members said they were interested in partnering with community-based organizations to plan targeted education campaigns. (It can be done. For example, the DOL has done excellent work in New York City targeting the garment industry to recover stolen wages.)
Worker leaders of Arise Chicago were encouraged by the DOL's outreach effort, but remained wary. The main fear is that if workers and their advocates are encouraged to call the DOL and report abuses, what difference will it make if the DOL doesn't follow through? Jorge Garcia, a worker leader at Arise Chicago, said "We asked them, ‘Why should we bother to call?' In the past, the DOL has done nothing with complaints we've given them. We told them we were really encouraged that they were reaching out to us, but that we want to meet with them again in a few months to find out what the results have been and to hold them accountable."
In Memphis, the Workers Interfaith Network (WIN) organized a focus group that met with DOL officials in January. Rev. Rebekah Jordan Gienapp, the group's executive director, thought the meeting was a great first step. "We've tried to meet with the regional staff of the DOL for years, but this is the first time that a real live person ever picked up the phone. Now we've met with the Regional DOL Administrator as well as top staff in Washington, D.C. Let's move on from here and work together to get some justice for workers."
It may be cold outside in southern Florida, but South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ) is turning up the heat with its momentous work on immigrant rights and wage theft.
Yesterday SFIWJ and ...
Yesterday SFIWJ and members of the South Florida Wage Theft Task Force won a major victory in its efforts to pass an anti-wage-theft ordinance in Miami-Dade County. Members of the task force, including Fred Frost, President of the South Florida AFL-CIO, spoke at a public hearing of the Board of County Commissioners Government Operations Committee, where the ordinance passed by a vote of 4 to 1, which means that it advances "with a favorable recommendation" from the committee to a full County Commission meeting scheduled for February 18. Two of the commissioners who voted in favor asked to be added to the ordinance as co-sponsors.
SFIWJ has also been supporting immigrant rights activists who are entering their 13th day of a fast, hoping to reach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano with their pleas to stop deportations that tear families apart. Jenny Aguilar (pictured here) and the other participants are surviving on water, Pedialyte, and Gatorade, while they issue a desperate plea to DHS to review their current, inhumane policy of deporting undocumented immigrants who have children or spouses who are U.S. citizens. Read more about it and take action by clicking here.
A group of over two dozen Nebraskan clergy and faith leaders have come together as signatories on a letter to Senator Nelson, asking him to support Senator Casey's proposed alternative language on abortion ...
A group of over two dozen Nebraskan clergy and faith leaders have come together as signatories on a letter to Senator Nelson, asking him to support Senator Casey's proposed alternative language on abortion to the Senate health care bill. Many faith leaders in Nebraska have been passionately working to make sure health care reform happens as they feel it is a moral imperative to have affordable accessible health care for our communities. The text of the letter follows:
Dear Senator Nelson,
We are Nebraskan religious leaders, guided by the core of our faith traditions that teach the principles of justice, human dignity, and the common good. We appeal to you today to support the compromise on abortion coverage and funding, proposed in the manager's amendment to the Senate bill. We believe such a compromise is necessary to avoid an impasse that could threaten the future of one of our nation's most important legislative and moral priorities.
As Nebraskan religious leaders, we support this compromise. We support its strong conscience protections, like those contained in the current House bill; removal of the "assured availability" provision that requires one plan that covers abortion and one plan that does not; provisions requiring that insurance companies in the health care exchange segregate funds and allow individuals to opt out of abortion coverage in any plan that may cover it to ensure that no federal funds pay for abortions or subsidize plans that include abortion coverage; and finally, we strongly support funding for programs that support pregnant women, adoption, children's health, and pre-natal care.
Given the complicated set of concerns surrounding abortion funding and coverage in health care reform, the compromise that is offered in the manager's amendment to the Senate bill is the best way forward. This amendment will extend health care to all and strengthen our ability to gather religious support for those members who take tough votes in favor of reform, even in the face of opposition from both sides of the debate.
Thank you again for all your efforts. Our prayers are with you as you move our nation forward with the important business of health care reform.
Sincerely,
Fr. Bert Thelen, S. J. St. John Catholic Church, Omaha
Fr. Neal Wilkinson, S. J. St. Therese of the Child Jesus Catholic Church
Sr. Kathleen, RSM Sisters of Mercy
Dr. Roger Bergman Creighton Peace and Justice Department
Fr. Jack McCaslin Omaha Archdiocese
Rev. Chuck Bentjen Justice and Advocacy Ministries (ELCA)
Rev. Jane Florence First United Methodist Church of Omaha
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Moore Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Melody Brindel American Lutheran Church, ELCA
Paul Olson, Ph.D., Chair Justice and Strategic Action Committee Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska
Rabbi Aryeh Azriel Congregation Temple Israel
Rev. Portia Cavitt Claire Memorial United Methodist Church
Fr. Chuck Lintz St. Columbans Nebraska
Rev. Damon Laaker Grace Lutheran Church
Fr. Al Utzig Holy Cross Catholic Church
Rev. McCullough St. John African Methodist Episcopal
Rev. Brian Maas First Lutheran Church of Lincoln
Rev. Richard Skyler Johnson St. Paul Lutheran Church, ELCA
Rev. Timothy J. Wiggins, ELCA
Sisters of Mercy West Mid-West Leadership Team and Justice Team
Rev. Roddy Dunkerson Nebraska Conference, United Church of Christ
Senator Ben Nelson440 North 8th Street Suite 120Lincoln, NE 68508Fax: (402) 476-8753
Dear Honorable Senator Nelson:
We represent diverse communities of faith from across the state of Nebraska. ...
Senator Ben Nelson 440 North 8th Street Suite 120 Lincoln, NE 68508 Fax: (402) 476-8753
Dear Honorable Senator Nelson:
We represent diverse communities of faith from across the state of Nebraska. As clergy and leaders within our faith traditions, we believe that every person has been created to live with dignity and wholeness. In today's world, this requires access to health care. Providing universal access to health care is a moral and spiritual imperative.
Our nation's health care system is in crisis. More than 46 million Americans have no insurance and little access to care; however, these people are more than just numbers to us. We see the impact this broken system has on the individuals and families of our faith communities every day. Like the mother and father whose two daughters both have Multiple Sclerosis; however, now the daughters are too old to be on their parents' health insurance, making coverage very difficult if not impossible due to restrictions on preexisting conditions. These struggles that we witness each day are real to us and motivate us to stand together to support making quality healthcare a reality for all people.
The suffering that results from inadequate health care permeates all aspects of life for many members of our communities. An illness or injury can often spell financial ruin even for members of Nebraska's middle class. If Nebraskan constituents do not have reliable, affordable access to an effective health care system, the stability of our communities is at stake.
Interfaith Worker Justice of Nebraska calls for systemic change that is guided by the following principles based on our religious values. We support universal access to quality health care that:
• Provides comprehensive and affordable coverage for all
• Allows choice of providers and is independent of work status
• Eliminates health care disparities because everyone is entitled to high quality care
• Includes effective cost containment
• Simplifies and streamlines administration
• Eliminates current pre-existing condition exclusions from coverage
We turn to you, knowing you also share a deep faith tradition, to stand with us. As Governor, you left a lasting and important legacy of strong public insurance programs such as Kids Connections and CHIP, which provides insurance to thousands of Nebraskans who would otherwise join the uninsured. Now we turn to you again to leave another legacy, health care for all Nebraskans. We can fix the broken health care system, we can ensure your legacy in Nebraska is continued with your vote this year to pass health reform.
Thank you for your continued work to make health care a priority for the benefit of all Nebraskans and thank you for leaving a legacy of healthy Nebraskans.
Sincerely,
Rev. Jane Florence First United Methodist Church of Omaha
Rev. Debra McKnight First United Methodist Church of Omaha
Muhammed Sackor, Imam Islamic Center of Omaha
Fr. Jack McCaslin, SJ Omaha Archdiocese
Fr. Al Utzig Holy Cross Catholic Church
Pastor Janet Goodman-Banks Reachout Christian Center
Dr. Roger Bergman Creighton Peace and Justice Department
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community Leadership Team
Fr. Ken Vavrina St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church
Rev. Kate Rhode First Unitarian Church
Fr. Paul Coelho, SJ Creighton University
Melanie Naughton First Central Congregational Church
Rev. Dr. Damon D. Laaker Grace Lutheran
Rev. Larry Moffet First United Methodist Church, Lincoln
Fr. Bert Thelen, SJ St. John Catholic Church
Rev. Fredrick McCullough St. John African Episcopal Methodist
Rev. Portia A. Cavitt Clair Memorial United Methodist Church
Rev. Brian Maas First Lutheran Church of Lincoln
Rev. Chuck Bentjen Justice and Advocacy Ministries (ELCA)
Rev. Donald Bredthauer First United Methodist Church of Omaha
On November 19, workers, allies, faith leaders and public officials in communities from coast to coast mobilized for IWJ's National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft! In Houston, 40 people rode a Justice ...
On November 19, workers, allies, faith leaders and public officials in communities from coast to coast mobilized for IWJ's National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft! In Houston, 40 people rode a Justice Bus, stopping at employers that have stolen wages. In Ohio and Florida, elected officials announced new legislation to combat wage theft; at a contractor's work site in Chicago, religious leaders and workers announced a lawsuit for back wages; rallies were held in El Paso and at the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison (pictured above); a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington brought Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic leaders together with workers and a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Other actions were held in Detroit, Arkansas, Maine, and elsewhere. "A great deal of work remains to be done to stop wage theft, but Thursday's National Day of Action was a watershed moment in this campaign," said IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo, Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid-And What We Can Do About It.
On August 20, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, along with top DHS and White House officials, held a meeting at the White House with 100 faith, labor, business, legal, ...
On August 20, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, along with top DHS and White House officials, held a meeting at the White House with 100 faith, labor, business, legal, law enforcement, and community leaders to discuss prospects for changing our broken immigration system. I was honored to attend representing Interfaith Worker Justice, and humbled to include our network's concerns for low-wage immigrant workers among the many aspects of immigration reform being discussed.
The meeting opened with Secretary Napolitano briefing us on the Administration's commitment to see immigration reform happen in the coming year. She assured us that they are not simply continuing President Bush's policies and that they are indeed taking into account the concerns they are hearing from us in the field. She went on to outline eight principles for a truly "comprehensive" approach to immigration, most of which were heavily focused on enforcement. Much of her language was troubling, including the need to "remove those who have been ordered to leave the country," but she also stated that we need to "bring people out of the shadows." The overall theme was that we "need to create policies that are fair, strong and workable for the long haul."
After the Secretary's opening remarks, we met in small groups with DHS and White House officials to more directly strategize on government-community partnerships as the immigration debate moves forward. Melody Barnes, from the White House Domestic Policy Council, shared that President Obama is deeply committed to an immigration bill moving "as soon as the legislative calendar can allow it" but definitely within the coming year.
Secretary Napolitano also spent some time with our small group, and during that time admitted that DHS has not done as good a job as they should have communicating with the community. Melody echoed this sentiment, saying the Administration is concerned about how to get accurate information to people in a way they can trust, especially given that the President feels his recent comments on immigration reform were skewed by the press. I shared that there are opportunities to get information directly to the people affected, but the government needs to spend more time on the ground working directly with community groups, like those in the IWJ network.
We also had an interesting discussion about such enforcement measures as 287g - agreements between local police officers and federal ICE officials. The Secretary stated that perhaps 287g has "sounded a louder bell than it should." She also said that while previously the program had no oversight, they have rewritten the template and will decide in mid-October whether to make the program permanent.
For the final portion of our meeting, we gathered for closing comments by Secretary Napolitano. The Secretary stated that "this will need to be a continuing conversation" and that we "need to meet each other, meet people who are involved with different parts of the issue." She also stated that she heard a lot of common themes from our small group discussions. She said DHS and the Administration need "to do a better job communicating with us and the public about what is happening." She said their priorities are to "clean up the detention system and create more transparency in the citizenship process," which she said will become apparent by October, when those who are in the application process can go online and check their status.
In terms of passing an immigration reform bill, the Secretary said that she is "not going to predict the time frame," but that she is "directly involved, as are people in the White House." She said, "Congress will need to hear from us in loud and persuasive ways in support for changing the status quo. They need to hear from the grassroots, the business community, and the people of the country who are saying it's time to get this issue dealt with in a way that is fair, remembering that we are a nation of immigrants and laws."
Of particular note for our work, the Secretary stated that she has come to realize the importance of working with others beyond DHS, in particular collaborating with the Department of Labor, and working on OSHA issues. She said that she has already spoken to Secretary Solis about this and will continue to look for ways they can work together. In addition, the Secretary said that she will "ask members of her sub-cabinet to meet with our groups individually in order to explain DHS strategies and structure."
As the Secretary was finishing her closing remarks, we were honored to have a visit by President Obama. The President thanked Secretary Napolitano for her work and informed us that he has asked her and his officials to do meetings with us around the country. He said, "We need to get across the finish line on this, but we can't do it alone. We need your help to get this done in the next year."
The President said that he has been working with a bipartisan group of Senators to move immigration reform forward. He stated they had a very successful bi-partisan meeting of Senators at the White House on June 25th, including Senator McCain, Senator Graham and Senator Sessions, along with various Democrats. He said that Senator Schumer is working on a bill, and that Senator Reid said he will move something when that work is ready.
The President stated that he believes they "will put together a framework that will succeed, but the question is, while we are waiting for a bill, how can we do what we can administratively"? He said, "We need to work more with employers; need to hold accountable those who are exploiting workers and their wages." The President also said, "We need to reform the detention system. No one should suffer from lack of medical care in detention." He said that due to the work of Secretary Napolitano, they "have made great progress on that front."
President Obama also talked about enforcement as part of any solution. He said that they are "going to continue having 287g agreements" and that they are "going to insist that everyone follow the rules." He said he realized that many in the room were concerned about the Administration's enforcement policies, and said, "We need to continue the work of enforcement in a way that is consistent with our values." He also stated that they are going to "hold law enforcement accountable" and said that he expects us "to hold them accountable too."
In his closing remarks, President Obama remarked that "immigration is a problem begging to be fixed, but it will not be easy. If we stay focused, the American people want to see the right thing done, but they want to see it done legally and fairly in accordance with the law. We need to be practically minded and need to acknowledge the legitimate concerns of those that oppose us. We need to insert civility and respect into the debate, but also be strong about telling the other side when we think they are wrong."
This article from Politics Daily speaks volumes about the debate going on in our country. What is striking is that the "God Gap" that used to exist between the conservative evangelicals and Catholics ...
This article from Politics Daily speaks volumes about the debate going on in our country. What is striking is that the "God Gap" that used to exist between the conservative evangelicals and Catholics that formed a base for the Republican Party has been matched by the progressive religious left.
Whichever side you're on, it's interesting to note that the demographics are eerily similar. Progressives have to be more intentional about inclusiveness. On the bright side, it is clear the religious left is leaning toward the issues of poverty, health care and jobs -- issues that can bring us together.
Staff and board members from Interfaith Worker Justice just returned from the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We were fortunate to attend the President's address to the delegates, and ...
Staff and board members from Interfaith Worker Justice just returned from the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We were fortunate to attend the President's address to the delegates, and hear about the initiatives the federation will be prioritizing over the next few years.
It was exciting to witness the new leadership team; Richard Trumka, Liz Schuler and Arlene Holt Baker (who is on our board) provide their unique perspectives on the future of the labor movement.
IWJ executive director Kim Bobo gave the opening invocation and we also coordinated the Interfaith Worship Service with the Religion Labor Coalition of Pittsburgh, thanks to the great work of Fr. Jack O'Malley and his board. So while we work with our allies in organized labor to move the Employee Free Choice Act and Health Care Reform and attempt to move our own initiative around wage theft, we look forward to working with the new team at the AFL-CIO.
Bracing column by Bob Herbert in today's New York Times.
Now, with the financial sector stabilized and economists predicting that the Great Recession is nearing an end, the sighs of relief coming out ...
Bracing column by Bob Herbert in today's New York Times.
Now, with the financial sector stabilized and economists predicting that the Great Recession is nearing an end, the sighs of relief coming out of Washington and Lower Manhattan are understandable. But this is no time to lose sight of the wreckage all around us. This recession, a full-blown economic horror, has left a gaping hole in the heart of working America that is unlikely to heal for years, if not decades.
Fifteen million Americans are locked in the nightmare of unemployment, nearly 10 percent of the work force. A third have been jobless for more than six months. Thirteen percent of Latinos and 15 percent of blacks are out of work. (Those are some of the official statistics. The reality is much worse.)
The President addresses a joint session of Congress tonight to lay out his plan for health care reform.
After months of misinformation and manufactured outrage from right wing Americans, and their puppeteers, ...
The President addresses a joint session of Congress tonight to lay out his plan for health care reform.
After months of misinformation and manufactured outrage from right wing Americans, and their puppeteers, the insurance industry, we will finally hear from the President and I hope that he is on the side of the American people.
So, until tonight, please check out Eric Zorn's piece "Confessions of a managed-care medical director." It has excerpts from Dr. Linda Peeno's testimony to a congressional subcommittee. Zorn writes that as a medical director for an insurance company, she was, she admits, a death panel of one.
IWJ held a press conference call (or telephonic press conference) this morning about our Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar program, in which more than 1,000 religious congregations across ...
IWJ held a press conference call (or telephonic press conference) this morning about our Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar program, in which more than 1,000 religious congregations across the country will take part this Labor Day Weekend.
On the call were Rosalyn Pelles, Director of the AFL-CIO's Civil, Human, and Women's Rights Department, and Melba Collins and Melanie Orman of the Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.
If you're a journalist who couldn't join the call -- or didn't know about it -- but would like to interview one of the above people for a story, please contact Cynthia Brooke, IWJ's Communications Director, at 773-728-8400 ext. 24 or cbrooke@iwj.org.
The AFL-CIO has just released a bracing report revealing a “lost decade” not just for teenagers trying to earn spending money, but for workers 35 and under. The economic crisis has hit these ...
The AFL-CIO has just released a bracing report revealing a “lost decade” not just for teenagers trying to earn spending money, but for workers 35 and under. The economic crisis has hit these workers hard. Compared to a similar study conducted a decade ago, this study finds that workers under 35 are less confident about their economic future and are having a harder time paying bills and saving money. Workers under 35 have not climbed up the ladder to jobs that offer benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and big enough paycheck to put money away for future goals. Many people find it impossible to even achieve financial independence from their parents long after college graduation. Our future rests with this younger generation of workers, and they are in danger.
The full report -- "Young Workers: A Lost Decade" -- can be downloaded as a PDF here.
Senator Kennedy was a champion of economic justice. His legacy in the United States Senate was driven by a passion for helping workers by supporting and authoring a long line of legislation that brought ...
Senator Kennedy was a champion of economic justice. His legacy in the United States Senate was driven by a passion for helping workers by supporting and authoring a long line of legislation that brought economic and civil justice within the reach of our working class, and all people. He struggled though personal crisis to bring justice to millions of Americans.
Like President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ted Kennedy was born into a famous, influential family and with the privilege afforded by wealth, comfort and status. Rather than fall prey to greed, he used his privilege to fight for those in America who have the least. As a senator, he never forgot his responsibility to the people of America he represented.
At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, he said "We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make," I hope that America has yet to see it best times, and it is up to all of us carry on the legacy of Ted Kennedy's accomplishments and make the future a place we would like to live in. He will be sorely missed.
The Summer issue of IWJ's quarterly print newsletter, Faith Works, is out and chock full of good stuff! While the hard copy makes its way to readers in the mail, you can access most of the contents ...
The Summer issue of IWJ's quarterly print newsletter, Faith Works, is out and chock full of good stuff! While the hard copy makes its way to readers in the mail, you can access most of the contents online here. You can download a PDF of the entire issue here.
If you don't currently receive Faith Works in the mail but would like to (free of charge), just click here to sign up!
Federal Labor Department officials recently announced that they will hire 150 more investigators in the Wage and Hour division to protect against wage theft.
It is important to note that Lorelei ...
Federal Labor Department officials recently announced that they will hire 150 more investigators in the Wage and Hour division to protect against wage theft.
It is important to note that Lorelei Boylan, the nominee to run the Wage and Hour Division, hasn't even had a confirmation hearing yet. It has been more than four months since she was nominated. Compare this to Bush's nominee, who was confirmed in less than three months.
The senate must quickly confirm the nominee so she can lead the department in fighting wage theft.
The misinformation that has been spread about the health care bill is disheartening. I applaud Congressman Barney Frank for his response yesterday at a town hall forum in Dartmouth, Mass. At one ...
The misinformation that has been spread about the health care bill is disheartening. I applaud Congressman Barney Frank for his response yesterday at a town hall forum in Dartmouth, Mass. At one point he asked a woman holding sign depicting President Obama as Hitler "What planet do you spend most of your time on?"
A joint project of Interfaith Worker Justice and the AFL-CIO, Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar has helped thousands of congregations focus their Labor Day weekend services on the ...
A joint project of Interfaith Worker Justice and the AFL-CIO, Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar has helped thousands of congregations focus their Labor Day weekend services on the injustices facing low-wage workers and the religious community's efforts to support those workers' struggles for living wages and family-sustaining benefits.
Invite a union member or labor leader to be a guest speaker at your congregation this Labor Day weekend, focus your Labor Day weekend service on worker justice issues -- or get your union involved in Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar!
A recent article in Dollars and Sense magazine reports that according to comprehensive research, the unemployment rate is at its highest since 1931. The official unemployment rate is 9.4% as of April ...
A recent article in Dollars and Sense magazine reports that according to comprehensive research, the unemployment rate is at its highest since 1931. The official unemployment rate is 9.4% as of April 2009, the highest since 1982. However, other measures of unemployment place the rate at 16.4%, the highest the nation has seen since 1931.
Why do these numbers differ? It's all in how you define the term unemployment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) official count of 9.4% only includes those who have searched for work in the last 4 weeks, and does not include workers who have involuntarily been reduced to part time. The BLS also has a more comprehensive definition of unemployment that includes people who have looked for work anytime within the last year and part time workers who are looking for full time work. This definition, although a more realistic portrayal of the economy, is not reflected in the official report.
Our friends at In These Times magazine have launched a major new group blog on labor. The blog - Working In These Times - is fast becoming a must-read clearinghouse for labor news and commentary in ...
Our friends at In These Times magazine have launched a major new group blog on labor. The blog - Working In These Times - is fast becoming a must-read clearinghouse for labor news and commentary in the blogosphere.
Workers--those now protected by unions, those lacking a union at work and those seeking to reform their unions--are increasingly absent in media. This is especially true for the most vulnerable workers, particularly those who are undocumented and easily exploited. The stories of these and other workers are not being told. The dearth of labor coverage in print media is reflected online, where original reporting on labor and workers' rights issues is scarce.
I'm incurably incapable of remembering to check blogs, even ones I love, unless I'm prompted to do so -- usually by an e-mail. If you're anything like me, you'll appreciate that Working In These Times offers a weekly e-mail round-up of its highlights, which you can sign up to receive. A real plus in my book.
What a welcome addition to the online public sphere -- a one-stop shop for some of the best labor writing in these times.
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The Obama administration’s shifting policy on undocumented workers is cause for ambivalence. In contrast to the brutal ...
The Obama administration’s shifting policy on undocumented workers is cause for ambivalence. In contrast to the brutal workplace raids implemented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Bush administration and the dehumanizing criminalization of undocumented workers, the new policy concentrates more on the culpability of employers who hire undocumented workers. Employers will be subject to large fines if they are found to employ undocumented immigrants, and will be expected to fire any undocumented workers, with the most serious charges brought against employers who hire large numbers of undocumented immigrants and violate wage and labor laws.
Employer audits can encourage employers to fire workers who have been identified by the audits before even finding out if they are authorized to work in the US. A Social Security Administration (SSA) internal review showed that more than 60 percent of workers with discrepancies between their names and Social Security numbers are either citizens, legal residents, or immigrants with visas authorizing them to work. Overworked SSA workers make clerical errors entering foreign names such as Pryzinski, and many “No Match” finds are from people who have changed their names, such as women who get married.
The continued use of the E-Verify system despite its flaws means that immigration reform is not moving forward. These shifts in policy represent some improvements over previous immigration policies but leave much to be desired toward the goal of comprehensive immigration reform.
This strategy of targeting undocumented workers and their employers does little to encourage good business practices that protect undocumented immigrant workers. American Apparel is an example of a business that provides a safe workplace and living wages to its employees regardless of their immigration status -- they even receive health care benefits.
Rather than encourage business practices that ensure that immigrant workers get the respect and dignity they deserve, ICE is stepping up their business audits. The agency recently targeted American Apparel and found discrepancies in the documents of roughly a third of the company’s employees, discrepencies which could indicate a worker's undocumented status or simply a flaw in the database. Unless American Apparel is able to dispute ICE’s allegations, the undocumented immigrants they employ will be left jobless, and uncertain about their futures.
The Workers Defense Project / Proyecto Defensa Laboral in Austin, Texas -- a member of IWJ's national network of worker centers -- has issued a stinging indictment of the appallingly dangerous conditions ...
The Workers Defense Project / Proyecto Defensa Laboral in Austin, Texas -- a member of IWJ's national network of worker centers -- has issued a stinging indictment of the appallingly dangerous conditions in Austin's commercial and residential construction industry. The report, "Building Austin, Building Injustice," was officially unveiled at a press conference at Austin's City Hall in June. The elected officials, workers, and supporters who assembled at the event honored the 142 construction workers who died on the job last year by lining up 142 pairs of work boots. The report has occasioned not only media attention (from print to TV) but political action: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it will temporarily increase the number of its inspectors in Texas, a move the Workers Defense Project calls "a good first step" but not enough. To learn more about the Workers Defense Project's vital campaign to "build a better Austin" click here.
The July issue of Harper's features an important article titled "Labor's last stand: The corporate campaign to kill the Employee Free Choice Act" by the magazine's outstanding Washington Editor, Ken ...
The July issue of Harper's features an important article titled "Labor's last stand: The corporate campaign to kill the Employee Free Choice Act" by the magazine's outstanding Washington Editor, Ken Silverstein. Full disclosure: Ken is a friend of mine. (Among Ken's many books, my own favorite is the felicitously titled Washington on $10 Million a Day.)
The article is not available on the Harper's website. We're making a PDF of it available here. Read it and weep.
No, better yet, read it and take action. With Congress quite likely to vote on the Employee Free Choice Act this month, it's high noon for this critical piece of legislation. Please call both of your Senators today to say you expect them to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act. The U.S. Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
Earlier this month, members of the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin met with Senator Herb Kohl's staff in Madison to discuss the Employee Free Choice Act, and to thank ...
Rabbi Renee Bauer, executive director of the ICWJ, and board member Rev. Robert Sichta, pastor of the Barneveld Congregational United Church of Christ, were joined by Becky Schigiel of Temple Beth El and myself. Members of the delegation spoke to Sen. Kohl's staff of the value of the Employee Free Choice Act for working families in Wisconsin.
Rev. Sichta emphasized the potential benefits of the legislation for local communities and small businesses in the region. When the of employees of large corporations and national chains are allowed to form unions and secure fair wages, their increased security and purchasing power stimulate the local economy and invigorate local businesses - businesses that would otherwise have great difficulty successfully competing with those large corporations.
IWJ's resource How to Organize a Delegation to Your Senator is available as a PDF here (it's part of IWJ's dynamic Toolkit on the Employee Free Choice Act).
Click here to write to your Senators about the Employee Free Choice Act.
If you get IWJ's quarterly print newsletter, Faith Works, you probably know that the new issue -- the Spring 2009 edition -- is now out. (If you haven't yet received your copy in the mail, it's on its ...
If you get IWJ's quarterly print newsletter, Faith Works, you probably know that the new issue -- the Spring 2009 edition -- is now out. (If you haven't yet received your copy in the mail, it's on its way...) If you don't get Faith Works but would like to, you can sign up to receive it -- free of charge -- here.
If you sign up now, you'll be in the queue to receive the next issue -- Summer 2009 -- which will come out sometime in August. But if you'd like to get the Spring issue, which has a good deal to recommend it, just e-mail me (dpostel [at] iwj [dot] org) and I'll pop a copy in the mail to you.
This week the TPM Café Book Club is hosting a fabulous running discussion of IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo's Wage Theft in America. Commenting on the book are Dean Baker of the Center for Economic ...
This week the TPM Café Book Club is hosting a fabulous running discussion of IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo's Wage Theft in America. Commenting on the book are Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, journalist Liza Featherstone, New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse, and Nathan Newman of the Progressive States Network (once called "the blogosphere's reigning labor expert"). Chiming in soon will be Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Editor of The Black Commentator, and journalist T. A. Frank. You can follow the discussion as it unfolds here. Here's a sort of table of contents of the individual posts thus far:
Last week the Obama Administration released its budget request for federal agencies in fiscal year 2010 (beginning October 2009). The Department of Labor, which has been severely under-resourced and ...
Last week the Obama Administration released its budget request for federal agencies in fiscal year 2010 (beginning October 2009). The Department of Labor, which has been severely under-resourced and under-staffed for decades, will begin to make up some of that lost ground with the new budget.
While requesting only 3 percent more for FY2010 for the whole agency, much of which would go to aid workers affected by the recession, the DOL plans to add 1,000 new staff, including 670 investigators in various regulatory and enforcement agencies. These would help improve mine safety and health, occupational safety and health, and wage and hour law enforcement.
As part of its national campaign against wage theft, IWJ has been getting the word out about the need for a significant increase in staff in the DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which oversees minimum wage, overtime, and other basic worker protections. In 2007 WHD had 60 percent fewer investigators and conducted one-half as many investigations as in 1941 -- this despite the fact that the American workforce grew more than eightfold in that time.
It's thus great news that the FY2010 budget calls for 9 percent more spending for worker protection programs. Specifically, the DOL seeks funding to hire an additional 200 investigators in WHD. Although that's 50 fewer than IWJ is recommending for this year, it's a great start!
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis will go before panels in both the House and Senate this week to discuss the budget request.
Congratulations to The Progressive magazine on turning 100 this year, and on the publication, to mark its centennial, of Democracy in Print: The Best of The Progressive Magazine, 1909-2009. What a wonderful ...
Among the many treasures in its pages is the section titled "Standing Up for Labor," which contains an article from 1913 titled "The Eight-Hour Day Will Come" by the magazine's founding editor, Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette; the 1914 "Anti-Trust Law and Labor: An Appeal to Congress and the Public" by the AFL's first president, Samuel Gompers; a La Follette polemic from 1920 titled "The War of Organized Capital Against the People"; a 1932 text called "Human Wreckage: A Plea for Federal Relief" by William Green, the AFL's second president; a 1938 "Letter to Henry Ford" by Upton Sinclair; a 1981 article by the late, great John Kenneth Galbraith titled "The Work Ethic: It Works Best for Those Who Work Least"; and a 2000 interview with United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.
The volume abounds with all sorts of great stuff, but it's well worth the cover price for these labor writings alone.
(I should say that I'm proud myself to have published a pair of interviews in The Progressive: with Ariel Dorfman in the December 1998 issue and with the late Richard Rorty in the July 2007 one.)
Addressing a green jobs summit Wednesday -- just two days out from International Workers' Day -- Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said she is committed to ensuring that undocumented workers get paid for ...
Addressing a green jobs summit Wednesday -- just two days out from International Workers' Day -- Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said she is committed to ensuring that undocumented workers get paid for the work they do.
Solis had already motioned in this direction back in March, when she actually used the term wage theft. "I am committed to ensuring that every worker is paid at least the minimum wage," she said at the time, and that "those who work overtime are properly compensated." The Wage and Hour Division, she announced, was in the process of adding 150 new investigators to its field offices "to refocus the agency on these enforcement responsibilities."
Reiterating that commitment yesterday, she said: "We're going to have people going out in the field and investigating," drawing a clear distinction between the Solis DOL and Elaine Chao's. "We're going to be more robust in this area," she said.
She connected the problem of wage theft with the immigration system, saying, as the AP put it, that "unpaid wages will continue to be a problem for day laborers until comprehensive immigration reform is undertaken at the federal level" -- a process that the administration has said will begin this summer.
Solis spoke of "eliminating the underground economy that has sprouted up around illegal workers," in the AP's words, and "preventing the separation of families that include children who are U.S. citizens and others who have not been granted legal entry."
These are laudable goals and dots badly in need of connecting.
Back on March 26, Occupational Health & Safety magazine ran an article on its website titled "Solis Promises Action on 'Wage Theft'". It was at www.ohsonline.com/Articles/2009/03/23/Solis-Promises-Action-Against-Wage-Theft.aspx ...
Back on March 26, Occupational Health & Safety magazine ran an article on its website titled "Solis Promises Action on 'Wage Theft'". It was at www.ohsonline.com/Articles/2009/03/23/Solis-Promises-Action-Against-Wage-Theft.aspx but is curiously and lamentably no longer available either at that link -- or, it seems, at any other. So as to rescue the article from oblivion, we reproduce it in full here:
Solis Promises Action on 'Wage Theft'
Mar 26, 2009
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced Wednesday that she is committed to preventing "wage theft" and already beefing up her department's enforcement ranks. She spoke on the day of a hearing on that issue by the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, incluiding an undercover investigation of DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement by the Goverment Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
A GAO report last July to the committee criticized Wage and Hour's enforcement throughout the Bush administration, saying enforcement actions dropped by one-third from 1997 to 2007, WHD did not alter its targeting of employers despite information from its own studies of low-wage industries in which Fair Labor Standards Act violations are likely to occur, and WHD often changed how it measured its own performance, making it difficult to assess.
"I take the issues raised by the Government Accountability Office investigation regarding past Wage and Hour Division enforcement very seriously," Solis said in a statement posted Wednesday on the DOL Web site. "As secretary of labor, I am committed to ensuring that every worker is paid at least the minimum wage, that those who work overtime are properly compensated, that child labor laws are strictly enforced and that every worker is provided a safe and healthful environment. The department's Wage and Hour Division has already begun the process of adding 150 new investigators to its field offices to refocus the agency on these enforcement responsibilities. In addition, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the agency will hire 100 investigators to ensure that contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with the applicable laws. The addition of these 250 new field investigators, a staff increase of more than a third, will reinvigorate the work of this important agency, which has suffered a loss of experienced personnel over the last several years," Solis said. "The U.S. Department of Labor is the voice for working families, and I am dedicated to ensuring compliance with federal labor laws to both strengthen our economy and protect workers in this country."
Yesterday, national faith-based organizations and denominational bodies came together in support of workers' rights and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Thirty-nine groups from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, ...
Yesterday, national faith-based organizations and denominational bodies came together in support of workers' rights and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Thirty-nine groups from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Sikh, and interreligious traditions wrote to Congress to ask for their support of the Act.
As representatives of millions of people of faith, these groups, along with Interfaith Worker Justice, strive to create a just society by giving voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless. The Employee Free Choice Act would do just that by restoring workers' right to organize and thus negotiate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
The Act would be transformational by reducing poverty and allowing workers to provide for themselves and their families.
As the letter states:
Whenever people stand together in mutual commitment and for the common purpose of promoting and protecting their most essential dignity - a dignity that issues directly from God - then we as people of faith and good conscience have a moral responsibility to stand with them. We have a responsibility to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We make this appeal to the conscience of every Member of Congress.
Great news for low-wage workers! The two major U.S. labor federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, announced a plan to work together to support major reform of our immigration system. This would include ...
Great news for low-wage workers! The two major U.S. labor federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, announced a plan to work together to support major reform of our immigration system. This would include worker protections and a path to legalization for the 12 million undocumented people in this country who not only are doing hard work and paying taxes, but are an important part of our congregations and communities.
Clearly this is an acknowledgement from the labor movement that passing immigration reform should be a priority for all of us who care about worker rights, as ultimately when wages and working conditions are raised for immigrant workers, they will be raised for low-wage workers across the country.
Over the years, IWJ has gotten its share of press. Members of our staff have been interviewed and quoted in a variety of media. (We archive the coverage of a recent vintage here.) But there's never ...
Over the years, IWJ has gotten its share of press. Members of our staff have been interviewed and quoted in a variety of media. (We archive the coverage of a recent vintage here.) But there's never been anything quite as in-depth as the interview with IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo that appears in the Spring 2009 issue of the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas. The interview was conducted by the Georgetown University historian Joseph McCartin, whose thorough introduction covers not only IWJ's history but its prehistory, focusing on Kim's work before the founding of the organization. It's a rewarding read. You can download a PDF here.
The Nation's outstanding Washington Editor, Chris Hayes, has a piece in the magazine's April 27 issue on the GAO's alarming report on the Department of Labor's failure to protect workers from wage theft. ...
The Nation's outstanding Washington Editor, Chris Hayes, has a piece in the magazine's April 27 issue on the GAO's alarming report on the Department of Labor's failure to protect workers from wage theft. He quotes IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo in it. Alas, the online version of Chris's piece (felicitously titled "Not Our Department"), which went up today, contains only the first three paragraphs, with the full text behind a subscriber-only firewall. IWJ gladly offers the whole piece below (hyperlinks added). Our thanks to Chris for providing the full text.
Not Our Department By Christopher Hayes
When you call the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the woefully understaffed body tasked with enforcing the nation's labor laws, you are likely to be channeled to voicemail. You're lucky if you ever get a call back. The Government Accountability Office recently completed an investigation of the division's efficacy in processing and investigating complaints, in which the GAO called in fictional complaints of labor law violations and observed the responses. The results were shocking. In one case, a caller in Miami left seven messages complaining that his employer had failed to give him his last paycheck, and was never called back. In several other cases WHD investigators lied about having followed up on complaints, entering them in the database as resolved, without ever having pursued them.
But the call that best sums up the current state of enforcement was a tip alerting investigators in a California office that children were working at a meatpacking plant. In the hierarchy of labor law violations, child labor occupies a category all its own. A ban on the practice was one of the first laws passed to protect workers, and to this day the prohibition serves as a marker of the developed world, the minimum threshold of decency. So when a GAO investigator called the San Jose branch office in October and left an anonymous message that children were operating "circular saws and the machine that makes hamburger meat"--during school hours, no less!--you'd think it would have triggered whatever the WHD's version of DEFCON 3 is. Instead, the tip languished in voicemail limbo. No investigation was opened; the call was never returned.
The problems reveal a bureaucracy crippled by eight years of malign neglect and insidious, termitic decay. Former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao may go down as the most anti-labor secretary in that department's history, and she was the only member of the Bush cabinet to serve all eight years. Her tenure took its toll. "You had a group of people who simply didn't believe in the Department of Labor's mission in charge of the department," says Alex Bastani, a twenty-two-year veteran of the Bureau of Labor Statistics who is president of the American Federal Government Employees union local at the department. For instance: Glenn Spencer, the man leading the Chamber of Commerce's efforts against the Employee Free Choice Act, was Chao's acting chief of staff. "A lot of good people were fighting back against this," says Bastani, "and a lot of them simply had to retire because they couldn't take it anymore.... Morale is very low."
So are resources. In 1941, when the WHD was overseeing compliance for 15.5 million eligible workers, it employed nearly 1,800 full-time investigators and undertook almost 50,000 investigations. By 2007, WHD oversaw 130 million workers but had only 750 investigators, less than half the number it had had sixty years earlier. The number of workers per investigator has grown twentyfold, and there are only half as many investigations.
This is a recipe for rampant lawlessness because, as Bobo writes, "ethical employers are placed at a competitive disadvantage by employers who steal wages from workers." By one estimate, employers steal $19 billion just in unpaid overtime every year. And among undocumented day laborers--the population most vulnerable to intimidation--wage theft is ubiquitous, Bobo says. The problem has grown to "epidemic proportions."
A palpable sense that investigators feel overwhelmed shows up in the transcripts of the GAO probe. After fielding a complaint from a fictional receptionist who hadn't received his last paycheck, and subsequently being rebuffed by the (fictional) employer, who pled penury, an exasperated and overworked WHD investigator told the complainant, almost apologetically: "I explained the law to her. She knows that she needs to pay you. It's just that she's saying she doesn't have the money to. I can't wring blood from a stone. I'm bound by the laws I'm able to enforce, the money the Congress gives us and all of that lovely stuff. If you are having a problem with what our office is capable of achieving, based on the laws that were written, then you need to write your Congressman. OK, do you know who your Congressmen are? I mean, we can use all the help we can get."
Some help appears to be on the way. "To those who have for too long abused workers, put them in harm's way, denied them fair pay," new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said at her swearing-in ceremony, "let me be clear: there is a new sheriff in town." The agency has already authorized the hiring of 250 more Wage and Hour investigators (with 100 funded by the recovery act and tasked with monitoring compliance on recovery-related projects). For the department's solicitor, the top enforcement position, Obama has nominated Patricia Smith, who served as commissioner of the New York State Labor Department. There she won plaudits for a variety of innovative enforcement initiatives, including partnerships with nonprofits and an anonymous, crime-fighters-style hot line.
But remaking the Labor Department is just part of the larger challenge the Obama administration faces, which is restoring the efficacy and competence of a federal workforce beaten down by mismanagement, outsourcing and contempt from its putative leaders. Despite decades of conservative invective about the existential incompetence of bureaucracies, they are not destined to be ineffectual backwaters. Recent data released by the Office of Personnel Management show a massive degree of variability in the performance of agencies within the government, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Science Foundation ranking at the top and the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Transportation Department at the bottom. (The Labor Department is in the lower half, but not at the bottom--which is, um, disturbing.)
These rankings aren't static. Under President George H.W. Bush, FEMA was a basket case, botching the response to Hurricane Andrew and characterized in one Congressional report as "a political dumping ground, a turkey farm, if you will, where large numbers of positions exist that can be conveniently and quietly filled by political appointment." In 1993 Clinton elevated FEMA to cabinet status and appointed James Lee Witt to head it. Under Witt, FEMA experienced what is widely acknowledged as one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory.
We all know what happened after Witt left. Like cities, effective bureaucracies take a very long time to build but can be destroyed rather quickly.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research has released another great report showing that unionization helps raise wages for service-sector workers. We already know from CEPR that unions help ...
The Center for Economic and Policy Research has released another great report showing that unionization helps raise wages for service-sector workers. We already know from CEPR that unions help raise wages for low-wage workers, women workers, young workers, Latino and African-American workers -- indeed, all workers. The new report shows that service workers will earn on average 10 percent (or $2 per hour) more than if they were in the same job but did not have a union. These workers are also much more likely to have health insurance and pensions.
Yet another reason that we must pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would restore workers' fundamental human right to freely associate and organize themselves in order to negotiate for better wages and benefits. If we are going to repair our economy and make it sound in the long term, we must give those who produce economic growth a fair share in that growth. The best way to do that is by belonging to a union.
The GAO's devastating report on wage theft grabbed some headlines (though not nearly as many as it should have), from the New York Times to ABC News and TPM. At MotherJones.com, Jonathan Stein bracingly ...
The GAO's devastating report on wage theft grabbed some headlines (though not nearly as many as it should have), from the New York Times to ABC News and TPM. At MotherJones.com, Jonathan Stein bracingly noted that
while the mismanagement at Labor may be comical, it is not borne out of incompetence. This is malicious. The government was intentionally allowed to atrophy under the Bush Administration because it suited that crowd's ideological ends. ... And if the mandated inaction desiccated the parts of the government that are designed to protect or help the poor -- like in this instance -- all the better.
Inept government as a self-fulfilling prophecy: a phenomenon Tom Frank anatomizes in his book The Wrecking Crew.
I just read the transcript of six short calls from the Government Accounting Office undercover investigation into Wage Theft. I can't believe that people from the Wage and Hour Division said things like, ...
I just read the transcript of six short calls from the Government Accounting Office undercover investigation into Wage Theft. I can't believe that people from the Wage and Hour Division said things like, ""Once the employer tells me that they're not going to pay and they can't, my ability to, you know, force payment has ended."
So that means if your company decides not to pay you and you report them, all the owner has to say is, "Gee, sorry. I don't have the money."
So, does that work both ways? What if you don't have the money to pay your taxes? You can't just say "Gee, sorry." Doesn't the government just take your home?
This has to be the best piece of political philosophy ever rendered in animated-video form. The New Press (publishers of Kim Bobo's Wage Theft in America) and OnTheCommons.org (which I'd not heard ...
This has to be the best piece of political philosophy ever rendered in animated-video form. The New Press (publishers of Kim Bobo's Wage Theft in America) and OnTheCommons.org (which I'd not heard of) joined forces on this "collaborative video project" which (literally) illustrates the concept of "the commons":
the theory that, according to Peter Linebaugh, "vests all property in the community and organizes labor for the common benefit of all."
Righteous indignation, anger and just plain ticked off. That describes how I felt when I read about AIG's policy to pay out exorbitant bonuses to employees, even though they have received billions of ...
Righteous indignation, anger and just plain ticked off. That describes how I felt when I read about AIG's policy to pay out exorbitant bonuses to employees, even though they have received billions of dollars in bailout cash. The operating theory behind this all, is that these payouts are contractual obligations negotiated before the economic collapse and that there was no way the U.S. government could require them to nullify the payments.
It was only a few short months ago, as the U.S. auto industry sought assistance, that folks were mandating that autoworkers, those people who are making an hourly wage and don't wear suits to work, renegotiate their guaranteed contracts because they were too generous. The auto workers weren't seeking bonuses but job security and health insurance. They were trying to save working class jobs and preserve communities. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I have family members who are facing layoff's in the auto industry.
AIG could have voluntarily asked their employees to defer their bonuses. They could ask them to voluntarily reduce bonuses by 10% or more. We know of many businesses where workers are doing the same to help save their jobs and those of their colleagues. They could do some good PR and donate a portion of the millions to those food pantries and other services that are overwhelmed by the 8.1% of workers who have lost their jobs.
My anger will eventually subside. I will sleep well tonight. I wish the same for those at AIG.
"To those who have for too long abused workers, put them in harm's way, denied them fair pay, let me be clear," our new Secretary of Labor declared at her swearing-in ceremony on Friday, "there is a new ...
"To those who have for too long abused workers, put them in harm's way, denied them fair pay, let me be clear," our new Secretary of Labor declared at her swearing-in ceremony on Friday, "there is a new sheriff in town."
What a relief it is to have Hilda Solis in charge of the Department of Labor, particularly after the eight-year reign of someone who on a very basic level failed to grasp the department's mission.
These lines, in one of the few pieces of reporting I've been able to find about Friday's ceremony (from a publication called Workforce Management), particularly caught my attention:
Her remarks reflected President Barack Obama's budget outline for the agency. He proposes to raise discretionary funding by $1.5 billion by 2010. A big chunk of the increase will go toward the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Wage and Hour Division [emphasis added].
Music to our ears. More funding for the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is exactly what IWJ has been calling for in our wage theft campaign and in our executive director Kim Bobo's writing on the subject.
This past week, I joined a Loyola Alternative Spring Break group to spend a day with Unite HERE learning about the struggles of ex workers from the Congress Hotel. Workers from the Congress Hotel, here ...
This past week, I joined a Loyola Alternative Spring Break group to spend a day with Unite HERE learning about the struggles of ex workers from the Congress Hotel. Workers from the Congress Hotel, here in Chicago, have been on strike for almost six years after being presented with a contract that would reduce their pay to 30% below hotel industry standards. The six year struggle has not changed the stance of the owner, who has refused to budge on the issue.
Our time spent handing out fliers and marching in front of the hotel was an incredible experience in itself, but what has been most overwhelming for me was wrestling the fact that this owner is Jewish. Jewish teaching is very clear about worker treatment. Laws in the Talmud vary from prohibiting a worker from accepting work that is in any way threatening to them; to a requirement that workers be paid for their time spent walking to work. Jewish organizations nation-wide have spoken out on the issue: for example, the Jewish Committee on Urban Affairs has even requested several meetings with the owner to no avail. For a Jewish owner to be so unwilling to even take a few minutes to hear out social justice institutions if not the workers themselves is quite upsetting.
As a Jewish young person living in Chicago, I am distressed to know these issues are happening in my backyard. The only solace I find is knowing that there exist Jewish American institutions who are willing to hold fellow Jewish people accountable for their injustices; as in the case of Postville last spring. As the struggle continues, we must remain united to uphold the power of the people.
I've been on the road almost every week since the beginning of the year talking about wage theft. In each and every presentation, I talk about how the Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for ...
I've been on the road almost every week since the beginning of the year talking about wage theft. In each and every presentation, I talk about how the Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for workers to organize unions and how that would stop and deter wage theft. If you have a union in your workplace, you will not have wage theft. With the introduction of the bill this week, people are really curious about the Employee Free Choice Act. Outside the labor movement, people are surprised to learn how simple the bill is. Last night at Old St. Pat's Church in Chicago, one man said, "I had no idea that's what the bill did." The ads are effectively confusing and scaring people, but people can change their minds if we talk with them. I'm seeing the transformation when we talk. Do check out IWJ Employee Free Choice Act Toolkit to help in your outreach.
Rachel Maddow gets it exactly right in this YouTube video. Hyperbolic warnings ---that's for sure.
The Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for employees to join a union. There are some ...
Rachel Maddow gets it exactly right in this YouTube video. Hyperbolic warnings ---that's for sure.
The Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for employees to join a union. There are some companies that are against the Act because they want to make the process of joining a union very intimidating for workers.
The Act does not abolish the NLRB election process. As she points out, if employees still want an election, they can still do that. People get a choice.
Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of the recently-published Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid-And What We ...
Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of the recently-published Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid-And What We Can Do About It, will present testimony on today (March 9) at Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearings on "Preventing Worker Exploitation: Protecting Individuals With Disabilities and Other Vulnerable Populations".
The hearings were prompted by recent shocking reports of the squalid housing conditions and illegal deductions from the paychecks of disabled workers at a turkey processing plant in eastern Iowa. Last month federal police, state health inspectors and county prosecutors ordered an emergency evacuation of the living quarters and launched a major investigation into Texas-based Henry's Turkey Service, a company that for more than three decades has employed mentally retarded men with Iowa's West Liberty Foods meat-processing plant.
As alarming as this report is, it is not nearly as uncommon as one might imagine. In her testimony Kim will underscore the pervasiveness of the practice of illegal paycheck deduction - one of the many faces of wage theft.
When we have a link to the testimony we will post it.
Today's unemployment numbers are staggering..... another 650,000 workers have joined the ranks of the unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics making the "official" unemployment rate over ...
Today's unemployment numbers are staggering..... another 650,000 workers have joined the ranks of the unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics making the "official" unemployment rate over 8%. What is even more astounding, is the fact that over 2.5 million people have lost their jobs in the past four months.
At my church, An Open Door Church, in Hammond, Indiana, where I am an associate minister, we have seen a double digit increase in families seeking help from our food pantry. For our church, and for thousands of churches, mosques and temples, these numbers are reflected in the families we see every week, struggling to hold it together.
The new IWJ resource, www.CanMyBossDoThat.com can help workers and worker advocates, by making sure that people facing the harsh reality of job loss are aware of their rights for last paychecks, vacation time and the like. The unfortunately reality of the current economic situation is that we will see employers exploit workers who are feeling vulnerable. Until we pass the Employee Free Choice Act, workers will have very little leverage to negotiate their economic security the way Bank CEO's have. Most of the families who come to our food pantry are those who work, sometimes two or three jobs to make ends meet. The loss of a job means that utilities are cut off, medicine isn't bought or child care is compromised. These are the faces behind the numbers. These are the people we stand with.
Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) has created a website, Can My Boss Do That? (www.CanMyBossDoThat.com), which enables workers to understand their rights and protections and advocate for themselves. ...
Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) has created a website, Can My Boss Do That? (www.CanMyBossDoThat.com), which enables workers to understand their rights and protections and advocate for themselves. It offers state-specific information geared to help real life situations:
A teacher is trying to find out if her student can collect unemployment after quitting because she was groped by her boss.
An upscale grocery store closes, with no notice. Workers are told to take their final pay in food and wine.
A worker doesn't file for unemployment after his boss tells him that he isn't eligible because he's a part-time worker. He regularly worked 35 hours a week and was eligible.
We're seeing more bosses cutting corners and breaking employment laws. This website is one way workers can make sure they understand how best to protect themselves.
You can get a preview of the website now, but it officially launches Thursday, March 5. Be sure to let people know about it.
US immigration agents raided the Yamato Engine Specialists factory in Bellingham, Washington on February 24, 2009. The plant employs approximately 100 workers who rebuild Japanese car engines and transmissions. ...
US immigration agents raided the Yamato Engine Specialists factory in Bellingham, Washington on February 24, 2009. The plant employs approximately 100 workers who rebuild Japanese car engines and transmissions. Immigration authorities arrested and chained 28 workers, including three mothers.
Interfaith Worker Justice categorically opposes all immigration raids at workplaces across the United States. These raids target racial and ethnic groups that appear to be "foreign" and are blatantly discriminatory; tear families apart, often leaving children without parents or caregivers; impoverish entire communities; undermine basic civil liberties; deter workers from reporting serious workplaces abuses, including health and safety violations and theft of wages by unscrupulous employers; and do nothing to fix a broken immigration system. In the language of war, these impacts may be seen as "collateral damage," the unfortunate side effects of enforcing the law. But these raids are an affront to human dignity, a totally disproportionate response to the concern and need to enforce immigration laws, as flawed as they are.
Interfaith Worker Justice applauds President Obama's commitment to defend the rights of all workers and get our economy working again. President Obama has shown extraordinary leadership in facing the economic crisis, passing the stimulus and working to create jobs in our communities. We commend his appointment of Congresswoman Hilda Solis, a longtime fighter for worker rights and the daughter of immigrant workers, as Secretary of Labor.
We understand that many people of good will are troubled about the issue of immigration, given the problems native-born workers face in today's workplace, including job insecurity, rising unemployment and a downward push on wages and benefits. Interfaith Worker Justice is dedicated to organizing the religious community to support the rights of all workers, particularly those earning low wages. When our government actively generates fear and havoc among immigrant workers and their families, fuels the fires of bigotry and turns groups of workers against each other based on race, ethnicity and immigration status, we are all diminished.
As people of faith, we recognize and honor the social and economic contributions made by immigrant workers, regardless of their national origin or immigration status. In order to promote human dignity, the civil and workplace rights of all workers must be upheld. From placing food on our tables, making our clothes, or caring for our sick, immigrant workers provide many of our daily needs. While we rely on their work, we allow immigrant workers to be denied basic rights because of their legal status. While many live and work without legal documentation-there are an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the US-legal residents and naturalized citizens also experience discrimination.
Workplace raids are not carried out to apprehend identified law breakers, as is sometimes claimed by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). ICE agents, often wielding assault rifles, sweep into workplaces and detain hundreds of employees-nearly 600 at a recent raid in Mississippi alone. The raids violate basic human rights and offend deeply held American and faith values, such as family unity, welcoming immigrants, and the value of work.
It is time for these raids to stop. Interfaith Worker Justice condemns all workplace immigration raids, and calls for an immediate moratorium on all such raids. IWJ calls on Congress and the President to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Comprehensive immigration reform must aim to provide full and equal protections of employment and labor laws, civil liberties and civil rights for all workers in the U.S. Reform should work to remove economic incentives for the exploitation of immigrant labor and strengthen requirements to fairly consider hiring native-born workers. Permanent status must be favored over temporary status, and families must be valued and allowed to remain intact.
How do we counter the unchecked corporate greed that has led us to the point of national economic turmoil? Well, great minds will be considering that question for years to come, however it is important ...
How do we counter the unchecked corporate greed that has led us to the point of national economic turmoil? Well, great minds will be considering that question for years to come, however it is important to recognize that workers have not had the ability to negotiate for economic security, health care or improved working conditions in an environment free from intimidation and harassment. The Employee Free Choice Act levels the playing field for workers. Interestingly enough, this Sunday's Parade magazine has a poll on whether unions are still relevant! It is amazing that this question is being asked and we have the opportunity to weigh in. For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act, look here and to vote in the Parade magazine poll on the relevance of unions click here.
"Young people have always changed history. Young people led social change movements in the past. Young people are leading change now." These were Kim Bobo's opening words to more than 2,000 students during ...
"Young people have always changed history. Young people led social change movements in the past. Young people are leading change now." These were Kim Bobo's opening words to more than 2,000 students during the Ignatian Family Teach-In at the School of the Americas Vigil in Columbus, Georgia. Kim engage the crowd in the many ways in which young people are leaders in movements for social justice, especially in worker justice movements.
IWJ staff and internship alums travelled to Columbus to participate in the School of the Americas Vigil. We led three workshops for more than 130 attendees about the intersections of immigration and worker justice and the impact that students can have on these important issues. Students learned about how to develop a strategy for winning worker justice campaigns on their college and university campuses. The SOA Vigil provided IWJ with the opportunity to meet many persons of faith and conscience and share the IWJ mission and vision.
Today IWJ took its wage theft campaign straight to the source, holding an event for Executive Director Kim Bobo's new book on wage theft in the Department of Labor itself. As roughly a third of the book ...
Today IWJ took its wage theft campaign straight to the source, holding an event for Executive Director Kim Bobo's new book on wage theft in the Department of Labor itself. As roughly a third of the book deals with what the DOL needs to do to tackle the crisis -- and as Kim has pointedly addressed the current failure of leadership at the department -- it sent a powerful message to have an event about the book in that venue, and at this pivotal moment.
Kim delivered prepared remarks (we'll post them to the IWJ website next week). Joining Kim were Michael J. Wilson, Legislative and Political Affairs Director for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), and Peter Romer-Friedman, Labor Counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Putting flesh on the bones of the discussion, a low-wage worker from Mexico by the name of Francisco Luna talked about his own experience as a victim of wage theft. (Special thanks to Casa de Maryland for making this connection and in particular to Jessica Salsbury, a staff attorney at the organization, for translating and coordinating.)
Kim Bobo's book "Wage Theft in America" was released this week. She will launch her book tour in Washington D.C. November 11. Order your copy of Wage Theft in America HERE.
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Kim Bobo's book "Wage Theft in America" was released this week. She will launch her book tour in Washington D.C. November 11. Order your copy of Wage Theft in America HERE.
Here are several things you -- individually, your organization, your congregation -- can do to participate in IWJ's National Day of Action Against Wage Theft:
Some of you may know (though some of you may not know) that the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) has has called for a boycott of and divestment from JPMorgan Chase. As FLOC explains the campaign:
This past Wednesday, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. The bill retains several elements of former immigration reform bills, including the DREAM Act and AgJOBS in their entirety, increased worker protections, and a pathway to legalization.
With the wave of anti-Muslim vitriol currently permeating the airwaves and Internet, it is imperative that people of conscience take a stand. As people of faith, we reject this hate. Please join us in showing solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers.
I had a distressing conversation today with the director of our affiliated group in Phoenix, the 
If you were to ask any worker in the U.S. what the IRS does, chances are most folks would have a good idea and would also know that the IRS goes after people who fail to honestly report their income. But most workers don't have a clue what the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) can do to protect their rights and to crack down employers who steal their wages.
SFIWJ has also been supporting immigrant rights activists who are entering their 
On August 20, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, along with top DHS and White House officials, held a meeting at the White House with 100 faith, labor, business, legal, law enforcement, and community leaders to discuss prospects for changing our broken immigration system. I was honored to attend representing Interfaith Worker Justice, and humbled to include our network's concerns for low-wage immigrant workers among the many aspects of immigration reform being discussed.
