Blog

The Boss stole my salary?!?!?

July 17, 2008

I was recently at a briefing on Capitol Hill put on by
Interfaith Worker Justice, an organization that has been tackling this issue at
a federal and local level. Some of the statistics about wage theft are
shocking. According to the written testimony of IWJ Executive Director, Kim
Bobo:

* Two million workers aren’t paid the minimum wage.1

* Three million are mis-classified as independent
contractors instead of employees.2

* Millions more are illegally denied overtime pay.3

TRADE Act Should Be Approached With Praise, But Also Caution

July 15, 2008

The provisions of the 35-page TRADE act require a great deal
of analysis to be carried out on existing and future trade agreements, but are
not as clear about what is to be done with the resulting information. The act
calls for the Comptroller General to author a biennial report assessing all
trade agreements, including a section of recommendations on how to renegotiate
and improve any particular agreement. Yet how these recommendations will be
evaluated or carried out is not discussed in the bill, leaving it vulnerable to
corporations or governments (US or otherwise) that prefer to ignore these
suggestions in the interest of profit or convenience.

Bridgestone/Firestone: Running the Race to the Bottom

June 30, 2008

An article about the potential plant closure in the Indianapolis Star noted that the 72-year old Noblesville plant is the only one of Firestone Industrial Products' three North American plants that is unionized -- represented by the United Steelworkers.  Firestone also has air spring plants in Brazil and Poland.  It's remarkable how clear Firestone is that they are closing up shop in the U.S. specifically because workers are paid better here and they want to find somewhere where they don't have to treat workers as well so that they can pay less in wages and benefits and presumably, make more money for executives.

Lionbridge unlawfully dismisses trade-union organizer in Poland

June 26, 2008

Jakub was warned by members of the management that having a union would
make the company "less competitive".  The reason given for Jakub's
dismissal was “damaging the company's image” and “disclosing
confidential information” by writing an article which was published on
the Internet. No proof of those allegations were given, and in fact,
another person has admitted to writing the article.

First Victories for Colombian Flower Workers!

June 25, 2008

Workers at Splendor and
Fragancia Flower plantations have also advanced in their struggles. Unions at both plantations are currently in
negotiations and expect to sign contracts this summer. At Splendor, “Sintrasplendor workers were
given a major boost in January when Rep. George Miller, D-CA, raised their case
with the Ministry of Social Protection and Vice President Francisco Santos,
ultimately resulting
in a court order for the arbitration tribunal they had
been waiting for since May 2007 … The tribunal began in mid-May,” and the
timing in which the workers receive a final ruling will determine how soon

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