Here is your weekly news from the Texas Labor Movement.
Supreme Court is divided over gay, transgender job bias in civil rights case to be decided during 2020 election
The Supreme Court appeared deeply divided Tuesday on a major civil rights question: whether gay and transgender people are covered by a federal law barring employment discrimination on the basis of sex.
The court's rulings in three cases, which are not expected until next year, seemed to hinge on President Donald Trump's two nominees. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch called the dispute over transgender rights "close" but more likely an issue for Congress to address. Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh directed his only question to a lawyer for two employers that fired gay workers, leaving his position in doubt.
The court's four liberal justices forcefully denounced the firings of two gay men and a transgender woman from Georgia, New York and Michigan and made clear they believe all three should be protected by the statutory ban on sex discrimination.
"We can't deny that homosexuals are being fired merely for being who they are and not because of religious reasons, not because they are performing their jobs poorly," Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, calling it "invidious behavior." - Read More
Join Our Team at the Texas AFL-CIO: Check Out the Job Opening for the Position of Field Organizer:
The Texas AFL-CIO is a statewide labor federation and serves as the leading voice for working families in Texas. The Texas AFL-CIO is seeking an organizer to work with elected leadership, staff and affiliates to build capacity and support organizing, legislative, political and campaign activities particularly in underserved areas across the state of Texas. - Read the Job Posting
Please put only your "Name - Field Organizer Position" in the subject line.
The Richest Americans Are Now Paying a Lower Tax Rate Than the Working Class
If you still happen to be wondering what’s causing the rampant wealth inequality in the United States, here’s a hint: The richest Americans are now paying a lower tax rate than the working class.
The revelation is part of an analysis by University of California at Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, whose new book The Triumph of Injustice breaks down the troubling evolution of tax rates in the United States. Saez and Zucman found that in 2018, the total tax rate for the 400 wealthiest families in America was 23 percent, while the tax rate for bottom half of American families was over a percentage point higher, at 24.2 percent. It marks the first time in history the richest 400 households have shouldered less of a tax burden than the working class. - Read More
Texas AFL-CIO Citizenship Clinic Leads to Another New U.S. Citizen
The Texas AFL-CIO Citizenship Drive is helping more and more applicants get to their naturalization ceremonies.
Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Montserrat Garibay reports the newest citizen who participated in the program is Miriam Hernandez, wife of Homero Garcia of the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 286 in Austin.
The citizenship clinics, which have been held in several Texas cities, help eligible residents fill out the complex naturalization form and prepare for what comes next. Volunteers from unions and an array of allies join volunteer immigration attorneys in making the clinics possible. The few hours participants spend at a clinic and in preparation are geared to lead to a complete, ready-to-mail application.
Garibay notes that Texas has 1.1 million eligible permanent residents. "We are proud to assist our members, their families and our community to apply to become U.S. citizens," said Garibay, who is herself a naturalized citizen.
If you are interested in helping out at the next Texas AFL-CIO clinic in your community, please contact the program's coordinator, Jesus Perales, at [email protected] or (512) 477-6195.
Sign the Petition: No Vote on NAFTA Until It Is Fixed
For more than a quarter century, North America’s working families have raised our voices for a better trade policy. The defenders of corporate-dominated trade rules too often portray trade as an end in itself. But trade is not an end, it is a means. Trade policy must be judged by whether it leads to a just, inclusive and sustainable economy. An economy that works for all, regardless of race, gender or national origin, and that in particular lifts up the most vulnerable. By that measure, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has driven the outsourcing of so many good jobs, has been a catastrophic failure.
The labor movement has made clear that we need a new deal that makes a real difference in stemming outsourcing and improving workers’ lives. Work on this issue is far from complete.
The labor movement rejects the proposition that we must choose between corporate-dominated trade rules on the one hand and xenophobic economic isolation on the other. Neither is remotely acceptable. It is possible to have trade rules that lift wages and treat all countries fairly.
Victory for Working Families as Houston Airport Employees on Path to $12 an Hour Minimum Wage
Working families at Houston's airports scored a huge victory with the announcement that the city will set a $12 an hour minimum wage for thousands of workers who, in some cases, are still laboring at the ridiculous state minimum of $7.25 an hour.
Giant hat tip to UNITE HERE and Service Employees International Union Texas. Those unions have agitated with great distinction to reach yesterday's historic executive order signed by Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Texas cities do not have the power under current law and the state does not have the desire under current leadership to raise local minimum wages in the private sector. That needs to change after more than a decade of erosion of the minimum wage by inflation. In the interim, some local jurisdictions have set significantly higher minimums for their own employees, moving them toward a living wage.
Austin City Limits 2019 Festival Heads Into Final Weekend: Thank you to the workers of IATSE Local 205
"The Union Behind Entertainment" is essential to the success to the Austin City Limits Music Festival which draws thousands of fans and top artists each year.
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. C.E.O.
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one your stores
I bet you can't make it here anymore
Have A Great Weekend! After All...We Fought For It!
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