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Brothers and Sisters, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! It’s hard to believe its already March. Here are 5 things you should know about what’s happening on the labor movement: Organize California Institute The California Labor Federation hosted our very first California Organizing Institute in San Diego. We capped registration at 40, but let some folks sneak in. So we ended up training 43 union activists from 22 different unions or labor councils. This 3-day training was followed up by an opportunity for the graduates to utilize their skills to sign up new union members, resulting in 116 new union members! Huge thanks to UDW for graciously opening up their hall to host this important training! You have to check out the video and be on the look out for an Organizing Institute coming to your area soon!
On March 21-23, thousands of cafeteria workers, special education assistants, custodians, bus drivers and other essential school workers with SEIU 99 at LA Unified are going on strike! And in a historic act of solidarity, the teachers at UTLA are joining them! If you are in the LA Area, please be sure to show your support. Organizing Training On Using Deferred Action For Immigrant Workers The Biden Administration announced a new Deferred Action program for workers who are involved in labor disputes. This allows undocumented workers to get temporary protection from deportation if they are involved in an NLRB charge or a complaint filed to the Labor Commissioner. It’s an important new tool for our unions in organizing campaigns because we know the employers often threaten workers with deportation when they try to organize. We have put together a virtual statewide training on how to use Deferred Action. The top staff from the NLRB and the Labor Commissioner’s Office will be joining us to outline their process. The training is on Tuesday, March 28 at 10:00 AM. Registration link for you and your organizing staff is HERE. If you have any questions, contact Caitlin Vega at [email protected] or Chloe Osmer at [email protected]. This past week, a California appeals court reversed in part a lower court opinion that found Prop 22 was unconstitutional. (Prop 22 was the $220 million initiative that stripped Uber & Lyft drivers of their basic labor protection.) There is little doubt that the labor movement will appeal this ruling to the California State Supreme Court. The fight is not over! We will continue our push to ensure every single worker in California has basic labor protections and the right to organize! This is also a reminder of why it is so important for us to find ways to reform the referendum and initiative process.
This past month California’s Senator Alex Padilla joined his colleagues in introducing Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2023, a comprehensive proposal to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. We are watching as historic numbers of workers are coming together and demanding a voice on the job. Yet, corporations continue to flagrantly break labor law during organizing campaigns and first contracts with very little consequence. We must strengthen labor law at the national level. It’s past time to pass the PRO Act. I hope you are keeping (mostly) dry. Don’t forget to follow us on twitter for updates on organizing campaigns, pickets, strikes and legislative updates. Lorena PS: It’s not new, but a reminder to sign up for this year's legislative conference on May 8-9. We are doing things differently this year with exciting new elements and a renewed focus on organizing. On Sunday May 7th at 5:30pm, we will have a pre-conference opportunity to attend a Salon with our U.S. Senate Candidates. May 8th will be the Conference at the Sheraton (and special guest: NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo) and May 9th will be our joint lobby day in the Capitol. If you haven't already, please register today and reserve your rooms. If you have an excess of rooms, please release them as there's higher demand from unions than we typically experience. Register and reserve your rooms HERE. If you have any questions, contact Rosemarie Boothe-Bey at [email protected]. |
