Guide: which US restaurants pay sick leave, living wages? Which have institutionalized racism?
Have you seen the ROC guide? The ROC (Restaurant Opportunities Center United) has put out a consumers’ report on employment practices and policies or several national and local chains and stores. Laid out is the good the bad and the ugly of wages, discrimination, benefits and more… Check it out!
“Consumer Guide on the Working Conditions of American Restaurants” is a 30-page guide to working conditions in popular American restaurants, published by Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a worker-rights advocacy group. It tells you whether the staff at the restaurant you’re thinking of eating at gives its staff sick-leave, whether they are paid beyond the $2.13 minimum wage for tipped workers, and whether the restaurant has a policy of limiting women, immigrants and people of color to lower-paid “back of the house” jobs.
Working with students from Tulane University and the University of California at Los Angeles, we asked restaurants about their practices with regard to:
a) wages for tipped and non-tipped workers;
b) paid sick leave and other benefits; and
c) opportunities for workers to move up the ladder.
We asked this information from all of our ‘high road’ restaurant partners in our eight current affiliate cities and from the top 150 highest revenue- grossing restaurants in America. Using the Restaurants & Institutions Top 400 list1, we identified the top 50 highest revenue-grossing restaurants in each of the industry’s three segments.
QUICK SERVE: fast food, delis, and any establishment without waiter service
CASUAL: full service restaurants with casual service
FINE DINING: higher-priced full-service restaurants2 Some restaurants did not provide us with all requested information.
Via boingboing >> Via pump handle
Victory! ‘Unfair Labor Practice’ Confirmed at Forest Hill Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream
The National Labor Relations Board reached a decision (case 05-CA-062891) this week bringing justice to a fellow worker wrongfully fired from the Forest Hill Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream in Richmond, Virginia.
On August 18, 2011 (see ‘Unfair Labor Practice’ at the Forest Hill Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream?) an ‘Unfair Labor Practice‘ was filed against the local establishment for a violation of an employee’s right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid protection, as found in Sec. 7. [§ 157.] of the National Labor Relations Act.
The boards decision will require Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream to pay the fellow worker a settlement for lost wages, which includes an agreement that they will not return to their former position with the employer. Furthermore, Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream must visibly post, for all current workers, and email all former workers, an apology and notice of an employee’s right to unionize.
On Jun 8, 2011, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), was terminated after sending an email, a common form of communication, to management and staff. The email addressed Crossroads owner Will Herring’s failure to close and lock up the establishment, forcing employees to wait for his arrival well after the end of their shift. This incident was one in a pattern of disrespectful behavior by Mr. Herring towards employees. While individual attempts were made by employees to address the problem, their failure led to the decision that collective action was the logical step towards resolving the issue.
Our intention was not to suggest a boycott of the establishment; rather, we wanted to join concerned workers and customers in sending a message to management and other Richmond employers that exploitation will not be tolerated. Members of the Industrial Workers of the World firmly believe that all employers, large and small, must respect the rights of its employees — including the right to an open and safe environment where employee concerns can be addressed without the fear of retaliation. If this simple demand can not be met, the working class will respond as necessary.
The Richmond Industrial Workers of the World accept the NLRB’s decision as a victory for our fellow worker and the working class as whole. However, the Industrial Workers of the World would like to stress the importance of workers collectively organizing on the shop floor. The everyday practice of solidarity and direct action as a means to prevent retaliation against our fellow workers should always be the first response, leaving government institutions such as the National Labor Relations Board, whenever possible, as an absolute last resort.
###
Contact the Richmond, Virginia General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World at (804)496-1568
IWW Victory: NLRB finds in Favor of Six Unlawfully Fired Union Organizers Jimmy John’s
Congrats to our Fellow Workers in Minneapolis!
NLRB Upholds Workers Free Speech Rights to Communicate Labor Disputes to the Public
MINNEAPOLIS- In a major victory for the nation’s first fast food union, the National Labor Relations Board filed a legal complaint against Jimmy John’s today, validating union claims that the franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan violated labor rights by firing six workers who blew the whistle on company policies which force workers to make sandwiches while sick.
“This is a tremendous victory for workers rights and public health advocates. Jimmy John’s is not above the law. Seven months ago Jimmy John’s fired six of us for telling the public that because our employer disciplines and fires workers for calling in sick, and because our poverty wages prevent us from taking a day off without pay, customers are exposed to sandwiches made by sick workers almost every day at Jimmy John’s. We are demanding paid sick days for all restaurant workers to end this public health crisis,” said Erik Forman, one of the fired workers.
The NLRB Complaint also alleges that Jimmy John’s committed a slew of violations by using an anti-union Facebook group to unlawfully discourage workers from engaging in union activity, threatening workers with a mass firing in retaliation for union activity, interrogating employees about union activity, and unlawfully removing union posters from stores. Unless Jimmy John’s agrees to reinstate the fired workers and comply with a government settlement of the charges, the company will be prosecuted by NLRB attorneys in an Administrative Law Court.
This is the second NLRB Complaint against Jimmy John’s in the past year. Last January, the Labor Board threw out the results of a union election marred by illegal employer misconduct and implemented a settlement agreement. This latest Complaint demonstrates that Jimmy John’s violated the first settlement agreement in which they pledged to respect workers rights, which could bring about serious legal consequences for franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan.
Workers at Jimmy John’s began a campaign for the right to call in sick without being disciplined and paid sick days after a union survey of employees last Winter revealed that on average two employees are working while sick every day in the ten-store franchise. Franchise managers Mike and Rob Mulligan stonewalled employee requests for reform of the sick day policy for more than two months, prompting union supporters to take their message to the public by posting 3000 copies of a poster explaining that workers are forced to work while sick at the chain.
Franchise owner Mike Mulligan lashed out against his employees, firing six union organizers and disciplining others for the sick day poster action. He then claimed in writing that, “”the company has made more than 6 million sandwiches during its nearly 10 years in business-and no one’s ever gotten sick from eating one.” This claim was revealed as
an outright lie when the union released Department of Public Health reports which showed two outbreaks of foodborne illness at the franchise in the last five years, both due to employees working while ill.
The Jimmy Johns Workers Union, open to employees at the company nationwide, is affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World labor union. Gaining prominence in recent years for organizing Starbucks workers, the IWW is a global union founded over a century ago for all working people.
##
General Strike & Mass Day of Action — November 2, 2011
From Occupy Oakland:
[ http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/10/general-strike-mass-day-of-action/?mid=5137 ]
Below is the proposal passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly on Wednesday October 26, 2011 in reclaimed Oscar Grant Plaza. 1607 people voted. 1484 voted in favor of the resolution, 77 abstained and 46 voted against it, passing the proposal at 96.9%. The General Assembly operates on a modified consensus process that passes proposals with 90% in favor and with abstaining votes removed from the final count.
PROPOSAL:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%.
We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.
All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of.
The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible.
Radio interview with Fellow Worker Reimann and other fellow occupiers on Berkley Radio about the proposal they presented to #occupyoakland general assembly calling for a General Strike!
Click to listen (or download)
Richmond IWW Supports #OccupyRichmond
October 22, 2011
Fellow Occupiers,
The Richmond General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World offer our support and solidarity to the occupation of Kanawha Plaza by #occupyrichmond, those determined to hold accountable our oppressors.
The actions across the United States in solidarity with the Wall Street Occupation call into question the very foundation in which the capitalist system is based, and its relentless desire to place profit over and above all else. When 1 percent of the ruling class holds the wealth created by the remaining 99 percent, it is clear that the watchwords found in our union’s preamble, “…the working class and the employing class have nothing in common…”, ring true more than ever.
The future is ours to command. What began as an issue based movement in New York City, has become a popular education opportunity for fellow workers to learn and implement direct democracy, introducing revolution into our daily lives. These mobilizations shall be the beginning of a new era for radical activity. By transferring power directly to the working class, the conditions in which we live will be determined, as it should have always been, by the workers, for the workers.
Like the #occupyeverywhere movement & its consensus driven General Assemblies, the Industrial Workers of the World shall continue, with your mutual support, in building a democratic and militant labor movement and mold a new society around the struggles of the old.
Therefore, in the spirit of the Wall Street Occupation our ‘one demand’ shall be the abolition of the wage system. This will not be freely surrendered by the ruling class, it must be taken by the mass organization of the working class at the point of production. Only then will we see a definite end to global austerity.
In Solidarity we struggle, and United we Educate, Organize, & Emancipate the masses!
For The Workers,
Richmond Industrial Workers of the World
[download][Solidarity Letter For #OccupyRichmond .PDF]
Richmond GMB Issue Letter of Solidarity To U.S. Postal Workers
Greetings Fellow Workers,
On behalf of our Union, the Richmond, Virginia General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World stand in solidarity with the United States Postal Workers Union and its effort to preserve the peoples post office from further privatization.
In 1967 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a Commission on Postal Reorganization, chaired by AT&T’s Frederick R. Kappel, to “determine whether the postal system as presently organized is capable of meeting the demands of our growing economy and our expanding population.” In June 1968, the Commission found that it was not.[1]
This finding, although hardly a surprise, and considering that six of the nine members of the commission were capitalists who were also heads of major corporations, would be a major blow to one of the oldest public service institutions in the U.S. The commission ultimately decided against privatizing the postal service, but made several recommendations that would leave open the possibility for future privatization. Regardless of opposition from union leaders, in 1968, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon supported the commission’s recommendations, and the U.S. Post Office became a self-supporting government corporation under an increasingly capitalist driven U.S. Congress.
Presently the Post Master General and members of the U.S. Congress have decided to undermine organized public employee’s in favor of private contracts. Contracts which offer substandard wages, few if any benefits, and with it the further corrosion of the working class. The U.S. Postal Service should not have to compete with private enterprise, and it makes even less sense that it call on private enterprise to carry out its services. We believe the resources are available to U.S. Postal Workers, rather than subscribe to further reform or a tax payer bail out, we recognize that allowing the Postal Service to use the billions of dollars in USPS pension over-payment, the U.S. Postal Service can more than meet its financial obligations.
The Richmond, Virginia Industrial Workers of the World will support, within our ability, the will of our fellow workers of the United States Post Service in preserving this public institution for future generations.
In Solidarity,
Richmond General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World
[1] http://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_034.htm
[download][ .PDF of Solidarity Letter to Postal Workers Union]
Video: Hidden History of Black Labor in Richmond with Peter Rachleff – Oct. 8, 2011 – Richmond, Virginia
Peter Rachleff presented a lecture on the subject of Black Labor in Richmond between 1860 – 1890 and the Knights of Labor who organized black and white workers nationwide. The lecture took place at Richmond’s Black History Museum on Saturday October 8, 2011 to a room of 60 people. Please watch and share this lecture and find Peter’s book ‘Black Labor in Richmond 1860-1890′.
Relief Fund For Flood Victims of Walker Trailer Park
Fellow Worker Montigue M. resident and member of the IWW, along with three other neighbors lost their home and many personal effects to a flash flood Tuesday night in the South Richmond Walker Trailer Park.
The Richmond IWW has setup a relief fund, collecting donations until October 11, 2011. 100% of the donations will be distributed to the displaced victims of the flood with the help of Montigue M. If you would like to donate simply click on the “donate” button at the top right-hand corner of this page. This is what unions are all about, solidarity & mutual aid!
The City of Richmond is essentially blaming the results of the flash flood on the residents, claiming that it was their responsibility to report any need for maintenance on the drainage system before a disaster like this happens. In other words the City of Richmond will not help the displaced residents. So far, the only organization to offer aid is the Red Cross. They have placed affected residents in hotels.
Please consider calling Councilperson Marty Jewell and request that he help his constituents through these hard times and have the city compensate the displaced for their troubles.
See WTVR Coverage here: http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-the-aftermath-of-severe-storms-20110928,0,3287269.story
Lecture: The Hidden History of Black Labor in Richmond
RSVP on Facebook Here: [ http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167044056704612 ]
The Richmond, Virginia Industrial Workers of the World & the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia Present:
“The Hidden History of Black Labor in Richmond”
Did you know that in 1886 a bi-racial labor movement organized its own political party and swept the city elections, seeking to build a new city hall out of local materials, on the eight hour day, paying union scale wages, and offering African American workers access to skilled jobs? Later that year they hosted the national convention of the Knights of Labor, bringing more than 1,000 delegates from all over the country to the city. While in Richmond, some of these delegates joined with local activists to challenge the ground rules of Jim Crow, from hotels to the theater. How was this possible, barely two decades after Richmond had served as the capital of the Confederacy? Why did it fall apart? What legacy did this history leave for the civil rights movement of the mid 20th century? And what legacy does it leave for us in the 21st century?
Come learn from of this “forgotten” history and explore these questions with Peter Rachleff, Professor of History at Macelester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Black History Museum
00 E. Clay St (Jackson Ward)
Richmond, Virginia
(804) 780-90935:00pm – 7:30pm
FREE
Biography Brief:
Peter Rachleff is a Professor of History at Macalester College, where he has taught since 1982. He is specialist in U.S. labor history, with particular interests in the roles played by immigration and race in the making and re-making of the U.S. working class.
At Macalester, Peter serves as faculty coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, which supports students of color on a path to graduate school.
Peter has been national president of the Working Class Studies Association and a member of the national executive board of the Labor and Working Class History Association. For the past thirteen years, he has helped to organize the annual “Untold Stories” program, bringing labor history to the Saint Paul community through the public libraries.
Print Flier [ http://richmondiww.org/files/2011/09/flierblacklaborinrichmond.jpg ]
Machinists Union Fights for Justice at Virginia IKEA Factory
Originally published in the Industrial Worker , the official newspaper of the IWW/One Big Union.
IKEA may be known in Sweden for the decent pay it gives its employees, but workers at the furniture company’s first factory in the United States found out that IKEA’s progressive image is only a veneer on self-assembled exploitation. On July 24th, workers at the Danville, Virginia factory overwhelmingly voted for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) to be their union. IAM and IKEA originally held negotiations, but talks fell apart in the months leading up to the election.
Attracted by Virginia’s anti-union right-to-work laws, the furniture company was brought in at a cost of $12 million to the taxpayers. Paying its workers less than their Swedish counterparts, Swedwood – the IKEA subsidiary that runs the Danville factory – cut starting pay and halted its scheduled pay raises. It also hired the union-busting firm of Jackson Lewis to terrorize its workers.
Swedwood fired many of its employees and replaced them with temporary workers that received no benefits and less money. However, under pressure from labor activists, Swedwood was forced to cut down on its use of temp workers in May. IKEA also hired an auditing firm to speak with the workers about their conditions, but many were afraid to tell the auditors their true feelings out of fear of losing their jobs.
The auditors found out that management was forcing the employees to work overtime. Many workers complained that it was common for management to alert them on Friday that they must work a weekend shift or be punished.
“It’s the most strict place I have ever worked,” said former employee Janis Wilborne.
Richmond IWW Twitter Feed- RichmondIWW: Very Nice! Direct Action Makes History - http://t.co/vy7b2yfm May 18, 2012
- RichmondIWW: Just posted a photo http://t.co/wUdr1Ah1 May 10, 2012
- RichmondIWW: That last tweet is a joke... Or reminder of how conservative mainstream unionism really is. May 10, 2012
- RichmondIWW: RT @SEIU: Today is a powerful reminder of why we felt so passionately abt electing @BarackObama in '08 http://t.co/4d0Atucg #MarriageEqu ... May 10, 2012
- RichmondIWW: RT @MoKarnagexvx: About to go to 3rd St to pick up my paycheck, which is 4 a wrong amount, as they have deducted taxes for tips which I ... April 25, 2012
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