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Here is your weekly news from the Texas Labor Movement.
The Frightening Rise In Low-Quality, Low-Paying Jobs: Is This Really A Strong Job Market?
There have been some new reports that back up the claims of people who say that the job market is not as hot as advertised. A study by the Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts research to solve problems facing society, found that a large amount of the newly created positions are “low-wage” jobs. According to the report, low-wage workers make up a huge part of the workforce. A staggering amount of people—over 53 million; 44% of all workers ages 18 to 64 in the U.S.—earn low hourly wages. - Read More
Central Texas Building Trades and LIUNA to Sponsor Powerful Worker Documentary in Austin, TX. Get Your Tix!
The Central Texas Building Trades will host a private screening of Building the American Dream on Tuesday, Dec. 10th @ 7pm at Violet Crown, 434 W 2nd St. Austin, TX. Following the movie, there will be panel discussion & questions featuring Ana Gonzalez with the Workers Defense Project; Rebecca Eisenbrey with Equal Justice Center; and Pooja Sethi with the Law Offices of Pooja Sethi. For tickets to this powerful film contact Jeremy Hendricks at [email protected]
Workers Are Heading Back to the Picket Lines
American workers are fed up. So fed up that they’re taking one of the most radical steps available to them: refusing to work.
This year kicked off with public school teachers in California going on strike to demand higher pay, more support services, and smaller class sizes. In October, Chicago’s teachers followed suit, staging their longest strike in decades. Then teachers in Little Rock, Arkansas, struck for just the second time in the city’s history. In between the teachers’ strikes, 46,000General Motors workers walked off the job for 40 days, the longest strike by autoworkers in half a century, to call for higher pay, better benefits, investment in American plants, and a path to full-time status for temporary workers—all meant to reverse the belt-tightening implemented during the Great Recession. A number of other workers, from nurses to Uber drivers to grocery store employees, have also walked off the job to make demands of their bosses.
We won’t have the official numbers for how many Americans went on strike this year until 2020. But workers have clearly continued last year’s trend of insisting that they deserve a share of the spoils from the longest US economic expansion on record. - Read More
Buy Union Made Gifts This Holiday Season!
It's not too late yet to find that perfect holiday gift that carries a union label and is made in America. There is a wide range of gift possibilities, from clothes to games to sports equipment and more, made by members of UNITE HERE, Boilermakers (IBB), Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), Machinists (IAM), United Steelworkers (USW), Teamsters (IBT), UAW, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/UFCW (RWDSU/UFCW) and United Farm Workers (UFW).
This list is compiled from Union Plus, the AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department (UL&STD) and the BCTGM website. Check them out for even more gift ideas. - See the complete list
Stop the Postal Sell-off: Say NO to a Privatizer as the Postmaster General. Take Action!
The public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon.
In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020.
The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off.
The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure.
Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service. Click Here to Sign the Petition!
Become a Texas AFL-CIO Census Ambassador
The Texas AFL CIO will host a second Complete Count Committee training on Saturday, December 14, 2019 from 11 to 3 p.m. at Texas AFL-CIO Building in the Becky Moeller Auditorium - 1106 Lavaca St., Austin, TX 78701.
The Census Ambassadors will play a critical role in making sure all community members understand what the census is, why it's important, and how they can participate.
Ambassadors will serve as volunteer leaders in making sure their communities are counted, complementing the work of Community Action Teams across the county.
Ambassadors must be union members and will be required to complete a census Complete Count Committee training.
The training will include:
- Key aspects of Census 2020 (what, why, when, where, how)
- How to engage community members
- How to address misinformation, questions, and concerns
- Where to direct community members for language, digital, and other support
Once trained, Ambassadors will reach out to their networks to share Census 2020 information, encourage participation, and direct to support for census completion. They will report back on their efforts regularly.
WOW! Before Thanksgiving 120+ Permanent Residents Applied to Become US Citizens at a Co-Sponsored Texas AFL-CIO Citizenship Clinic in Austin.
Thank you to all the wonderful partners and volunteers.
Maybe it's the hairstyle, or the ultra-eighties synths. Whatever the reason, Howard Jones's infectious anthem, from his second album (Dream Into Action, 1985), hasn't received the respect and consideration it deserves. Jones sings the blazes out of the tune, pushing his range to the limit -- just the thought of thousands of progressives all trying to hit the high notes is reason enough to include it here. The lyrics are another; the first verse and chorus are the core of the song's anthemic potential. Jones shifts from a declaration of common progressive purpose, to a surprisingly poignant evocation of the fear of risk; and then, with the jubilant "Whoa, whoa" refrain, he liberates us from all anxiety:
Of course, we know in our hearts that things can also get worse. But by deploying Jones's reflective, uplifting anthem in our protests, we can bring his idealistic vision a little closer to reality.
Enjoy the Weekend...After All, We Fought For It!
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