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Harvard Dining Workers: Out on Strike!

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On Wednesday, October 5 at 6AM, 750 Harvard University Dining Services workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 26, began an indefinite strike for a sustainable annual income of at least $35,000 and affordable healthcare. Harvard is the wealthiest university in the world, yet they refuse to adequately compensate the workers who feed and take care of students every day. This is the first strike Harvard has seen since 1983. We joined 600 people at the rally, including students, faculty, and other Harvard workers. Enough is enough!

How can you support striking HUDS workers?
* If you are Jewish, sign onto the Jewish Community Statement of Support for HUDS workers: tinyurl.com/jewish-community-HUDS-support
* Join the JLC mailing list to stay up-to-date on actions.
* Stay connected on social media by liking the NE JLC, UNITE HERE 26, and theHarvard Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) on Facebook and following @NEJewishLabor and @UNITEHERE26 on Twitter.
* Share this Facebook post and tweet @Harvard using #SupportTheStrike

Victory for 13,000 Janitors!

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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.

Tufts Justice for Janitors Campaign

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Community members march during the SEIU rally against proposed janitorial cuts on Saturday, May. 16. Photo Credit: Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

The contract that covers the almost 200 janitors who maintain the Tufts Medford/Somerville campus is set to expire September 30. Tufts has $1.6 billion in revenue, including $800 million in operating budget and a growing endowment, and tuition continues to rise, yet many janitors haven't seen a raise in decades. Workers, represented by 32BJ SEIU, are fighting for better compensation, affordable family health insurance, more full-time work, and better job security.“All of the workload that was done by two or three people before, it gets done by one or two” Adelaida Colón, a janitor on the campus, told the Tufts Daily.Tufts janitors are overworked and underpaid. It's time for a good contract!#JusticeforJanitors #RaiseAmerica


For a more comprehensive history of the Tufts janitors, click here.Read more about the current campaign in the Tufts Daily and on the SEIU 32BJ website.

Harvard Dining Workers' Contract Fight

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Photo: Brian Lang, the president of Local 26, stands alongside HUDS employees during Wednesday's rally on Massachusetts Avenue. LAUREN A. SIERRA via the Harvard Crimson

Harvard University Dining Services workers' contract expires Saturday, September 17. HUDS employees, represented by UNITE HERE Local 26, are fighting for a sustainable yearly income and affordable healthcare.The average HUDS worker earns $21.89/hr, and most support families. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for 1 adult supporting 1 child in Boston/Cambridge/Newton is $26.87/hr. After months of collective bargaining, workers announced that they are considering a strike dependent on the outcome of these negotiations.

"HUDS workers’ contribution to Harvard goes beyond feeding hundreds of students, cleaning up after them, and maintaining order in the dining hall. They also help build and fortify the community and offer support to students. Harvard needs to recognize the important role—one that is not fungible—that HUDS workers play on campus, and compensate them accordingly."
Support HUDS workers by signing the petition:TINYURL.COM/SUPPORTTHESTRIKE
Read more about the campaign:http://www.thecrimson.com/artic…/…/9/13/support-HUDS-strike/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/…/9/8/HUDS-prepares-vote/

A Step Back for Palestinian Workers' Rights and for Israeli Democracy 

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Statement from Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee:

A new regulation instituted by Justice Minister Shaked undermines Palestinians' rights to sue Israeli employers over abusive and unlawful labor practices. It also further entrenches two unequal sets of laws for Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel's justice minister has recently instituted a new regulation that will undermine the right of Palestinians living in the West Bank who are employed by Israelis - in Israel or the West Bank - to seek legal redress for abusive and unlawful labor practices.

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes this new regulation, explicitly designed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, both of the right-wing, pro-settler Habayit Hayehudi party, to prevent Palestinian employees of Israeli businesses from benefiting from Israel's progressive labor laws. We call on the Knesset and Israel's Supreme Court to act forthrightly to defend these workers' just rights to fair labor practices, and nullify the new regulation.

Under the new requirement, non-citizens will be obligated to make a monetary deposit before submitting a lawsuit against an employer in Israeli labor court, unless they can immediately present evidence proving their claim. If they cannot do so, the deposit will be forfeited. Such a measure would primarily affect Palestinians living in the West Bank - most notably those who work on Israeli-owned farms in the Jordan Valley, who will greatly suffer the consequences - by placing a heavy financial burden on those who seek to sue their Israeli employers for labor-law violations. Israeli farmers in the valley, who in the past have been sued for labor law violations, have applauded this new measure.

As an organization that cares about Israel's future as a democratic and progressive society, this matters to us, and should matter to others as well.

In 2007, Israel's Supreme Court ruled in the interest of 30,000 West Bank Palestinians who work for Israeli businesses in the West Bank. Most Palestinians employed by Israelis in settlements became entitled to the protection of Israeli labor law. But this protection is threatened by the new regulation being promulgated by Minister Shaked. Israel's Knesset and/or Supreme Court must act immediately to overturn this regulation, and allow these workers continued access to the same legal protections as their Israeli counterparts.

Two years ago, an investigative report in TheMarker on Palestinian workers in the Jordan Valley revealed that they are denied such basic rights as a pay slip, minimum wage, vacation time and sick days. Also, since there are no written labor contracts, farmers can fire employees at will. Workers who realized that these conditions violate Israeli labor laws have hired lawyers and sued for their rights in Israeli labor courts.

According to MK Moalem-Refaeli, the new regulation will help Jordan Valley farmers combat this "unjust" development.

Justice Minister Shaked, meanwhile, claims that this measure does not require a Knesset review, but it is possible that the Supreme Court will subject this matter to further legal scrutiny.

We strongly oppose this special new regulation. Forcing Palestinian employees of Israeli businesses to jump through hoops to benefit from Israel's generally progressive labor laws is contrary to these workers' basic rights. It will only embitter their lives, providing yet another obstacle to rapprochement between Palestinians and Israelis, and the possibility of serious negotiations toward a viable two-state solution to the conflict.

To do otherwise would be contrary to the fundamental humanitarian needs of these Palestinian workers, and contrary as well to the best traditions of Israel's proud history of advancing the rights of working people - both Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel - through its legacy of trade unionism and labor-oriented political parties.

To do otherwise would reinforce a social and political regime in the West Bank that enforces one set of laws for Israelis and another, inferior, set of regulations for Palestinians living in the West Bank.

To do otherwise would further undermine Israel's standing as a democracy and a progressive society, and erode support for Israel in general in the international court of public opinion.

 

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Palestinians working at a grove of date palms in the Jordan Valley. Photo Credit: Michal Fattal
 
Article available at Haaretz.com.

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

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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.