Hi John,
It’s been an incredible year for the UE Research and Education Fund. We’re working every day to build power for working class people, people of color, and our communities across the United States. And this year, we have proven once again that when we fight, we win.
This fall, our Southern Worker Justice Campaign supported Durham, NC’s lowest paid, essential city workers in winning economic justice: $6.5 million in additional bonuses.
The majority of city workers in Durham are Black, and they’ve been suffering for years. Wages have not kept up with inflation, and during the COVID-19 pandemic their step pay plan was frozen for two years. That means city workers effectively took an eight percent pay cut in the lowest-paid municipality in North Carolina — while the cost of living has soared. Many of Durham’s workers can no longer afford to live in the city they serve. Meanwhile, these jobs have become more dangerous as vacancies increase.
On September 6, city workers supported by UEREF said enough is enough. For six days, workers stood down and did not load trucks in protest. The community supported them, just like city workers support their community every day. Community members joined protesting workers on the street and over 1,000 signed our petition demanding economic justice. On October 5, Durham City Council awarded $6.5 million in additional bonuses to the city’s lowest paid workers.
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“We came up with the $5,000 because it is reasonable given our circumstances. The truth of the matter is that there are a handful of guys in my department that are homeless, that are living in hotels with their wife and children. People think it is an honorable position to work for the city. But that is not the case.”
—George Bacote, Solid Waste operator and UE150 member
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This is a major victory — but it’s not the end. We must keep the momentum going. The solidarity shown by our community members demonstrates that we are succeeding in changing the narrative about what our cities owe to our essential workers. Now it’s time to take this fight to the next level and we need your help.
The Southern Worker Justice Campaign supports public-sector workers in the US South. They are predominantly Black, Brown and immigrant workers struggling against the economic legacy of Jim Crow. All public-sector workers in North Carolina and most in Virginia lack the basic right to collective bargaining. These bans date to the Civil Rights Era and were intended from the start to disempower people of color. They are a core driver of institutional racism and a shame on their states in the era of Black Lives Matter. We’re fighting alongside workers for their rights, and we won’t stop until every city worker in the US South has a good, union job with family-sustaining wages.
Help us continue the work and expand to additional municipalities. On Martin Luther King Day, we’re holding mass rallies in ten cities across North Carolina and Virginia to demand racial and economic justice. We need your help to get workers there. Will you invest in justice for public sector workers?
In solidarity,
Kari Thompson
Director, UE Research and Education Fund
