rally

Action Alert! November 29 Fight for $15 National Day of Action

fight-for-15-november-29-image.png

The Fight for $15 movement began four years ago to uplift low-wage, exploited workers in field predominated by women and people of color. It has already improved the lives of many families. During this post-election season, you can make a significant difference by standing up for a higher minimum wage.On Tuesday, November 29, local fast-food, airport, and other underpaid workers in over 330 cities are taking action in their largest protest yet to demand a $15 an hour minimum wage and the freedom to form a union for 64 million workers making poverty wages.Sign up today to join this historic day of action!

Please join us for any or all of the November 29 actions

  • 6 AM Fast Food Strike and Picket
    • Location: Central Square McDonald's (463 Mass Ave, Cambridge)
  • 11:30 AM Airport Workers Rally
    • Location: Memorial Park in East Boston (143 Porter St, Boston)
  • 1 PM Jewish Community Meet-Up
    • Location: corner of Park St. and Beacon St. in Boston
    • Co-sponsored by JALSA, the Boston Workmen's Circle, the Moishe Kavod House, and the Harvard Progressive Jewish Alliance. Please email us if you would also like to co-sponsor this event.
  • 1:30 PM  Raise Up Massachusetts Announcement
    • Location: State House (24 Beacon St, Boston)

New York Times Op-Ed: Struggling to Serve at the Nation’s Richest University

10-22-rally.jpg

by Rosa Ines Rivera*Cambridge, Mass. — I’ve been at Harvard University for 17 years, but I’ve never been in a classroom here. I’m a cook in the dining halls. I work in the cafeteria at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where every day I serve amazing students studying medicine, nutrition and child welfare, as well as the doctors and researchers who train them.While I’ve earned no college credits here, I’ve had a lesson in hypocrisy.On my way to work each morning, I pass a building with the inscription: “The highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.” If Harvard believes this, why is the administration asking dining hall workers to pay even more for our health care even though some of us pay as much as $4,000 a year in premiums alone?I serve the people who created Obamacare, people who treat epidemics and devise ways to make the world healthier and more humane. But I can’t afford the health care plan Harvard wants us to accept.That’s why I have been on strike with 750 co-workers for more than two weeks. That’s why the other day, co-workers and I were arrested after we sat down in Harvard Square, blocking traffic, in an act of civil disobedience. And that’s why the medical school students, in their white coats, have been walking the picket line with us in solidarity.The co-pays alone can be a problem. When a doctor told me my daughter had failed a hearing test and might need surgery, I thought about what care I could do without. I recently skipped an appointment to have a spot on my lung checked for cancer to save on the co-pays.Medical students analyzed Harvard’s proposal and found that the cost of premiums alone could eat up almost 10 percent of my income. And Harvard wants to increase our co-pays for every single doctor visit to $25, from $15, for primary care and to $100, from zero, for outpatient hospital care and some tests. Some costs would be reimbursed for lower-income workers, but out-of-pocket expenses would still be hard to meet.The students say that Harvard’s proposal is unaffordable for nearly all of us according to state government guidelines. If it goes through, I will keep avoiding the doctor to save that money for my kids’ co-pays. Any increase puts me at the breaking point.Harvard is the richest university in the nation, with a $35 billion endowment. But I can’t live on what Harvard pays me. I take home between $430 and $480 a week, and this August, I fell behind on my $1,150 rent and lost my apartment. Now my two kids and I are staying with my mother in public housing, with all four of us sharing a single bedroom. I grew up in the projects and on welfare. I want my 8-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to climb out of the cycle of poverty. But for most of my time at Harvard it’s been hard.The average dining hall worker makes $31,193 a year, higher than other cafeterias in the area, but it still doesn’t go far around Boston. That’s why we’re asking for an annual salary of $35,000 for some financial stability, particularly since most dining halls are open only during the school year. Right now I’m lucky to work in one of the few cafeterias that’s open all year.I know that health care costs are going up everywhere, and I don’t have all the answers. But there must be some way not to shift costs onto Harvard’s poorest workers.If good health is truly “one of the fundamental rights of every human being,” then shouldn’t that also apply to the human beings working in Harvard’s cafeterias?*Rosa Ines Rivera, a member of Unite Here Local 26, is a dining hall worker at Harvard University. Article via The New York Times.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers Come to Boston!

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-led human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. The CIW's membership is comprised primarily of farmworkers who labor in the tomato fields in Immokalee, Florida.
The CIW has called a boycott against Wendy's for their continued disregard of farmworkers' human rights. Unlike all the other major fast food companies, Wendy's refuses to join the CIW's Fair Food Program, which increases farmworkers' wages and improves workplace safety.

We are excited to invite you to learn from and take action with CIW members!
On Saturday, October 22, CIW members will be speaking at two Boston synagogues:
  • 12 noon at Temple Hillel B'nai Torah, 120 Corey St, West Roxbury
  • 4-5:30 PM at Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, 43 Lochstead Ave, Jamaica Plain
 On Sunday, October 23, join CIW members and their supporters for a Boycott Wendy's rally:
  • 2-3:30PM at the Downtown Crossing Wendy's, (71 Summer St, Boston)
14494714_10154458024102860_699568835634190155_n
Read more about the CIW and its boycott of Wendy's here:

Victory for 13,000 Janitors!

unnamed
On Friday, September 30, 13,000 janitors represented by SEIU 32BJ, reached a tentative agreement on their 4-year master contract! These janitors maintain buildings across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, includingJohn Hancock, Prudential Tower, Vertex and Biogen, State Street. The new contract provides a 12% increase in wages over the life of the contract, expands employer-paid healthcare to family members of full-time employees, and creates more opportunities for full-time work.
The JLC is proud to have participated in many ways in this campaign, from marching janitors to calling for a fair contract as part of the larger faith community. Sixteen rabbis signed the faith statement as they prepared for Rosh Hashanah. Thank you to everyone who supported the fight over the past year.
32BJ janitors continue to negotiate their contracts at Tufts University and Harvard University.

Stand with 13,000 Janitors for a Good Contract

Raise America With Good Jobs Rally

When: September 10 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Where: Parkman Bandstand Boston Commons

32 bj janitors rally 2012

This September, 13,000 janitors across New England will come together to negotiate new contracts that build on the progress made over many years to raise standards in the industry. Join us to support janitors fighting for good jobs for their families and communities! RVSP on Facebook here and email NewEnglandJLC@JewishLabor.orgFor more history on the Justice for Janitors campaign, please click here.