September 2, 2023

Hey Friend,

 

This Labor Day weekend we're celebrating the hundreds of thousands of workers joining together to fight against corporate greed. From American Airlines flight attendants to Amazon drivers, workers are stepping into their power.

 

The AFL-CIO has compiled a map of Labor Day events. Find a picnic, rally, and more near you: act.aflcio.org/event_campaigns/labor-2023. And keep scrolling for updates from the movement!
 
 

"The Cemex decision reaffirms that elections are not the only appropriate path for seeking union representation, while also ensuring that, when elections take place, they occur in a fair election environment. Under Cemex, an employer is free to use the board's election procedure, but is never free to abuse it—it's as simple as that." Read more.
 

"One thing is clear: the fight for abortion access is the fight for labor justice. Many union leaders have acknowledged this and spoke out against the Supreme Court’s decision striking down abortion rights. Now is the time to turn these words into actions, including organizing rank-and-file members, joining state and local fights for abortion access, and securing abortion workplace protections in collective bargaining agreements." Read more.
 

“This is one of the hardest things a worker can do, right? Especially, when they’re providing for their family,” labor organizer Denise Diaz, deputy director for Institutional Advancement at Jobs With Justice, tells Work-Bites. But because nobody wants to strike — including the money men with guns and a depraved willingness to kill — history shows strike threats alone can be powerful things. They just have to be credible. Read more.
 
 

With less than two weeks until United Auto Workers' contract expirations at the Big Three (Ford, Stellantis, GM), UAW President Shawn Fain announced during a live stream update that "he's fed up with the bulls**t the Big Three continue to peddle". Ford had recently proposed a staggeringly low 9% wage increase through 2027. Meanwhile, Stellantis and GM have been slapped with unfair labor practice charges for failing to bargain in good faith.

 

Time is ticking! Tell the Big Three CEOs you support auto workers in their fight for fair wages and better working conditions.
 
 

Victory in Sonoma County! North Bay Jobs With Justice recently supported 21 farmworkers who had been fired in 2021 for organizing at Mauritson Farms in Sonoma County. The California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) determined that Maurtison had retaliated against workers and demanded the corporation pay $328,077 to the 21 workers.

The settlement is the largest ever reached at ALRB's Santa Rosa office. “We must recognize that this is a victory started by workers to defend not just their rights, but their dignity as well,” said organizer Davin Cárdenas at Monday’s conference. Cárdenas is the director of organizing at North Bay Jobs With Justice (NBJWJ), a labor rights group that supported the former Mauritson employees through the ALRB investigation. Read more.
 
 

Central Florida Jobs Justice has just published a study of extreme heat impacts on workers. Due to human-induced climate change, the next ten years could produce over 125 days of extreme heat per year. Read more.
 
 

On August 28, Jobs With Justice was honored to receive the Breaking Through Award at the UNI Global Union Congress in Philadelphia! 

 

From JWJ Executive Director Erica Smiley: "Having the work of our network seen by UNI through this award provides the affirmation many of us need to keep fighting the good fight against all odds." Read more.