December 2011
22 posts
3 tags
The state of the City Council on 'living wage'... →
“The ‘living wage’ bill may get a boost soon, according to sources who tell City & State that ‘one or more’ City Council members are going to announce their support for the legislation ‘in the coming days.’”
11 tags
The Nasty Truth About the Online Retailers You... →
The retail workers who box the stuff we order online are often treated terribly. Retailers like Walmart use “temporary staffing,” a euphemism for “full time without job security or benefits.” Read more from Mother Jones on today’s Alternet.
12 tags
New York Times: A Living Wage, Long Overdue →
This weekend, the New York Times endorsed the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, pointing to the reasons why it “makes sense”:
“New York City provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in taxpayer-financed subsidies to private developers. It is only right that the jobs created by those projects pay a decent wage. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, widely known as the...
10 tags
Defend the right to vote in 2012 →
As we gear up for the 2012 election cycle, a disturbing trend has emerged that sees powerful forces winning ground in an all-out assault to stifle the voice of American citizens everywhere by suppressing the right to vote.
It’s all part of a right-wing agenda that is seeking to disenfranchise voters and make the U.S. political system an exclusive plaything for the rich. The laws passed in...
7 tags
Big Box Scheduling Leaves Workers Exhausted and... →
Retail employees expect the holiday season to be hectic, but workers at big-box stores report a galling combination: unpredictable shifts but not enough hours to pay the bills or qualify for health coverage.
“I’m working 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, then coming back at 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Black Friday,” reported Johnny Becerra of Duarte, California, on a Walmart workers’ Facebook group....
8 tags
Study Shows Gender Gap in Pay, Benefits, &...
This week, the Retail Action Project (RAP) and the City University of New York (CUNY) released data that shows a dramatic gender gap in wages in the retail industry. The study found that female employees’ median hourly wage was $9.00/hr, while their male coworkers’ was $10.13/hr. Read more about this study in Crain’s New York, Jezebel, Color Lines and Daily Kos.
Heard...
10 tags
UFT Urges Support for Living Wage →
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew sent a letter to all 51 members of the City Council asking them to support the “Fair Wages For New Yorkers Act,” better known as the “Living Wage Bill.” “Millions of New Yorkers are struggling just to make ends meet, and our members–their teachers and other educators–are seeing the effects of that harsh reality in our classrooms everyday....
6 tags
New Agreement for RWDSU Local 1102 Airline Food... →
A new three-year agreement at Flying Foods/Servair in Long Island, New York, protects benefits and raises wages for 500 Local 1102 members at JFK Airport who cater food for airlines. The new pact brings wage increases and job security for the life of the contract, and also secures benefits that are now scarce in the airline catering industry. Read more.
8 tags
New York Times on Living Wage →
In today’s New York Times, Michael Powell discusses the struggles of low-wage workers and defends higher wage standards for taxpayer-subsidized projects. He humanizes the debate over the living wage bill and offers a powerful account of what is at stake for all of us. Read his column: “In Gilded City, Living Wage Proposal Still Stirs Fears.”
8 tags
Sign the petition: Women retail workers deserve... →
Brand new data from the Retail Action Project this shopping season shows retailers are paying women workers significantly less than men. Adding insult to injury, they receive less benefits and fewer promotions. Sign the petition to demand that women retail workers receive equal pay, especially during the holiday season! Make your voice heard!
10 tags
Harlem Residents Say: "Keep NYC Walmart-Free!"
Stirred by rumors that Walmart is considering opening a store on a vacant plot of land at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, a group of politicians, residents and business owners called Thursday for the retail juggernaut to stay out of Harlem and New York City, according to DNAinfo.
According to a report by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, 30 to 41 supermarkets, green grocers, and...
6 tags
Poll: Majority of New York Voters Support Living...
The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows that 74 percent of all NYC voters approve a living wage, saying “it is the government’s responsibility to make sure workers are paid a decent wage.” According to Quinnipiac, support is 56 - 39 percent among Republicans, 83 - 11 percent among Democrats and 67 - 25 percent among independent voters.
“True to its image as a liberal town, New...
8 tags
10 tags
Hotel Workers Push Living Wage Bill
The New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council (NYHTC), AFL-CIO, which represents 30,000 hotel workers, today urged the New York City Council to pass The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act.
“The debate on this legislation has run its course, and the time has come to raise wages for jobs in taxpayer-subsidized projects,” said Peter Ward, President of NYHTC. “City government should recognize the value of...
5 tags
Laid-off National Grocers workers awarded $120K
“I watched grown men break down and cry after the announcement,” said Bruce Lawrence, who worked in maintenance and as a forklift operator for 38 years at the National Grocers warehouse in Sudbury, Ontario.
On March 3, 2010, National Grocers’ owner Loblaw Companies Limited announced it was closing its Sudbury warehouse after 60 years, leaving more than 125 people without work. With only eight...
9 tags
Video: Many Voices, One Goal Rally at Riverside...
Check out the latest video from Living Wage NYC!
8 tags
We Need YOU to Step Up Support for Living Wages! →
“It is time for the Bloomberg administration to recognize that progress depends on the entirety of our City moving together towards prosperity, not just the 1%,” writes Council Member Margaret Chin in the Huffington Post. While poverty continues to rise, wealth gap grows as the top 1% of earners account for nearly 45% of the city’s total income. Something must be done to change this. As...
10 tags
Master Food Employees Join RWDSU Local 338
Workers at Master Food, a supermarket store in Flatbush in Brooklyn, New York, have joined RWDSU Local 338 and ratified a new contract that drastically improves wages and benefits. The successful organizing campaign comes in the wake of a lawsuit settlement that will see the Master Food workers receive $300,000 as a result of stolen wages. Click here to read the full story!
11 tags
Rising Poverty Points to Urgency of a Living Wage...
New stats are out today reporting that poverty continues to drastically grow in New York City…
Crain’s New York reports that the number of needy New Yorkers is growing at an “alarming rate,” with soup kitchens and food pantries struggling to keep up with demand. The New York Daily News writes that the city has doled out $3.5 billion in food stamps this year, up $1.5...
9 tags
11 tags
Bloomberg Administration Broke Promise on Living...
Earlier today Mayor Bloomberg broke ground at the Willets Point redevelopment site. In 2008, his administration promised that living wage jobs would be included in the Willets Point redevelopment, but later broke that promise. Read the April 2008 letter from then-Deputy Mayor Lieber in which living wage jobs for Willets Point are clearly promised. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act would ensure...
