Many in this country have forgotten their working class roots. Read this important piece from Daily Kos on ways we as working people can help to reverse this trend and come together under one banner:

As we move further into the twenty-first century, I have come to the realization that many of us have forgotten where we came from. I would wager many who are doctors, lawyers, elected officials and captains of industry came from humble means. Working class families, such as construction workers, maintenance people and factory workers, just to name a few. And many (oh so many) have turned on the same sort of people that bore and raised them, clothed and fed them, put them through college and called them son or daughter. How do we end this cycle?

Read the full story.

A new union contract offers cutting-edge benefits including paternity leave and strong anti-discrimination language. But the vast majority of LGBT retail workers still lack basic protections.

More often than not, it’s a dirty look or some unspoken signal that a customer would rather deal with another salesperson. Every now and then, things turn outright hostile, as happened recently for Desmond Anthony, an employee at Zara in New York City.

The young retail worker was talking with a group of gay male visitors when a female customer approached and said, “You’re going to hell. I don’t want to shop here. I feel uncomfortable.” Anthony, who is also an actor, knew how to maintain composure, but the other men followed the woman to another part of the store, where an altercation ensued, complete with a tossed shoe.

No one was injured, and management comforted the customer. “We’re sorry that this happened and we understand how you feel,” she was told.

That response did not surprise Anthony, who said that the climate for LGBT people in his store could be so precarious that at least four managers opt to remain in the closet. He said the lack of an explicit non-discrimination policy makes it difficult for management to interject when shoppers express antigay sentiments, let alone ask those articulating such comments to leave the store. Instead, customers are always right, even when employees have been wronged.

“You do know that you are not protected if something happens, God forbid,” he said. “They have this clause in our contract that if you are not fitting the company’s image, they can get rid of you, where it basically comes down to discrimination. That’s dangerous because they don’t clarify what they mean by that, because if you are more flamboyant, or if you wear makeup, it’s just not allowed.”

Research suggests that Anthony’s experience is not uncommon for non-unionized employees who make up the overwhelming majority of workers in retail, a fast-growing industry that attracts LGBT people in disproportionately high numbers. Compared to finance and law, industries that topped the Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index, workers in retail, which ranked a decent third, routinely lack health insurance, live with low compensation, and contend with unpredictable “just-in-time” scheduling. The situation is outlined in “Discounted Jobs: How Retailers are Selling Workers Short,” a report from the Retail Action Project (RAP), a New York City-based membership organization of retail workers, many of whom identify as LGBT.

“It’s an industry that welcomes self-expression, but it’s also lower wage and so it attracts workers encountering other barriers because of sexual orientation or especially gender non-conformity,” said Carrie Gleason, executive director of RAP. “Retail is where a lot of LGBTQ workers find employment. That said, most retailers lack proper policies to deal with workplace harassment and discrimination on the sales force, and when you work retail, you’re dealing with the public, not just your mangers and co-workers.”

Race, gender and immigration status exacerbate the problems. The majority of retail workers in New York City are people of color, and nearly half are immigrants, proportions that hold for the LGBT portion of the workforce. According to the RAP report, women and people of color are overrepresented in low-wage frontline retail positions, where they find less access to benefits and fewer opportunities for raises and promotions.

Advocates hope that a groundbreaking new contract secured by the employees at Bloomingdale’s will influence the industry to make improvements. Last month, members of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union Local 3 ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement that strengthened protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. The agreement, which covers 2,000 employees at Bloomingdale’s flagship store in Manhattan, also includes a new paternity benefit for gay men in marriages and domestic partnerships, which union sources believe could be the first of its kind in a retail contract. Wage increases, enhanced benefits and more employee control over scheduling are also part of the contract.

“The fact that Bloomingdale’s and RWDSU have been able to come to an agreement to extend paternity leave for same-sex couples is phenomenal,” said Gleason. “It’s unheard of in the industry and it’s a huge stride.”

Read the full story in today’s Advocate.com.

washnewyork:

Growing Movement of Elected Officials, Community Leaders, and Workers to Condemn Illegal Practices at East Harlem Car Wash, Push for Industry-Wide Reform

May 17, 6:00 p.m., LMC Car Wash, 334 E. 109th Street, East Harlem, New York

WHAT: City and state elected leaders will join workers City and state elected leaders will join workers and community leaders to confront management at LMC Car Wash in East Harlem, demanding an end to mistreatment of workers as part of a larger movement for fair wages, benefits and job protections in the New York City car wash industry. They will demand a meeting with John Lage, the owner of LMC Car Wash and other car washes that have violated labor laws and health and safety regulations. Lage, who owns more than a dozen car washes in the city, was recently subpoenaed by the New York Attorney General.

WHO: NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio; New York City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Ydanis Rodriguez and Dan Garodnick; New York State Asssemblyman Robert Rodriguez; New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat; East Harlem Workers; members of the New York Communities for Change Worker’s Committee; Make the Road New York; United NY; Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center; Mariachi Real de México; and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU, UFCW).

WHERE: LMC Car Wash, 334 E. 109th Street, East Harlem, New York

WHEN: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 6:00 p.m.

TRANSPORTATION: Take the 6 train to E110th Street and Lexington Avenue.

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NEW YORK — The 2,000 workers at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship voted in favor of a new five-year union contract with the store that opens the way for a general wage increase, more health care options and more flexibility when it comes to scheduling hours.

Workers at the store will get a $3.05 an hour pay hike over the life of the contract, which was ratified by Local 3 United Storeworkers of the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union.

According to the union, the new deal lets senior employees choose their preferred hours first. All workers will get to choose one weekend a month to take off and which late nights they want to work. Managers must honor the choices made by workers. A spokesman for the union said this aspect of the contract sets a new standard for retail.

The scheduling provisions in the contract exceed what parent Macy’s Inc. agreed to when the contract for the company’s 34th Street Macy’s store was negotiated.

“This particular victory will have industry-wide implications because it comes as many retail workers struggle with underemployment and find it difficult to get the hours they want and deserve,” the union said. “A recent study of the retail industry in New York City revealed that only 17 percent of workers have a regular schedule.”

The union said it is still hammering out some details with the store regarding a medical fund that’s overseen by the union.

A spokeswoman for Bloomingdale’s said, “Last night’s positive vote covered a significant portion of our new contract, but we still have some work to do towards full ratification.”

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union announced the ratification of a new five-year contract with Bloomingdale’s covering 2,000 workers at the flagship store on East 59th Street.

Paternity leave is among the benefits that the East 59th Street department store’s workers will receive.

For the first time, new dads at Bloomingdale’s will be able to take time off to spend with their newborns. As part of a new union contract, workers at the retailer’s East 59th Street flagship location will receive paternity leave.

The majority of the contract, negotiated with Local 3 United Storeworkers division of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store union, was ratified Tuesday evening. The new contract will affect the flagship’s 2,000 employees. A spokesman for Macy’s Inc., which owns Bloomingdale’s, noted that though a significant portion of the new contract was approved, there is still some work to do toward full ratification.

“We continue to have discussions with the union in good faith,” he said, but declined to disclose specifics.

The new contract, expected to go into effect this week according to a union spokesman, also added lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender nondiscrimination language for the first time. A general wage increase over five years, increased health-care options and seniority protection were also included, according to the union.

Michael Weber, a partner at Littler Mendelson, a law firm which specializes in employment law, said some of the contract provisions appear innovative.

“These kinds of terms and conditions are new in the collective bargaining setting—paternity leave in particular,” he said. “Bloomingdale’s might be on the cutting edge—my guess is they agreed to these terms because it would be an improved working condition for employees.”

Representatives from the union were pleased with the contract.

“It will improve the lives of our members for many years to come,” said Cassandra Berrocal, president of Local 3. In April, the union and workers rallied in front of Bloomingdale’s flagship, and visited the store with labor leaders including New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento and New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez to build support for a new contract.

Bloomingdale’s and the workers in its flagship 59th Street store have reached an agreement on a new contract for the store’s 2,000 unionized workers.

The contract will increase the wage for hourly employees by $3.05 over five years and give scheduling priority to workers with seniority among other things.

“Given the economy and the overall picture, it’s an excellent package,” said Allen Mayne, a deputy director of field operations at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

A top item on the list of employee demands was alterations to the store’s commission policy.

“Bloomingdale’s has an excellent return policy for the public, but unfortunately it’s very hard for the commission sales force,” said Mayne, who negotiated the terms of the deal on behalf of store workers, members of the Local 3 United Storeworkers Union. Under the new contract, the period of time that shoppers’ returns can be deducted from workers’ commissions will gradually be shortened to 120 days.

Read the full story.

New York, NY - Hundreds of Bloomingdale’s workers in New York City have taken to the streets to demand a better contract with the company.

Mark Spellman was among the workers rallying outside Bloomingdale’s flagship store on Third Avenue today.

Union officials representing some 2,000 Bloomingdale’s employees say they are in negotiations with the company on a new four-year contract, but a large bridge divides the two sides when it comes to wages and health care.

Many employees say they are barely making ends meet as it is, and having to pay more for their health care would be disastrous for them. Union officials say Bloomingdale’s sales have been particularly strong according to numbers released by parent company Macy’s Inc., and they’d like to see some of that profit trickle down to the workers.

Cars, taxis, trucks and buses honked their horns as they passed Bloomingdale’s flagship store on 3rd Avenue on Wednesday, April 18 to show their support to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 3 members who rallied outside the store to demand a new contract from the company.

About 2,000 members, who work as sales clerks, shelf stockers and clerical workers at the 100-year old store, have been working without a contract since March 1. Both the union and company agreed to a 60-day extension so that negotiations could continue, but that window is slowing closing.

Read more.

Workers at Bloomingdale’s flagship location on 59th Street rallied outside the store Wednesday, asking why the company’s strong profits are not translating into better compensation for its workers.

“Bloomingdale’s is just fine — no, they are doing more then just fine — they are raking it in,” said Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. He addressed a crowd of more than 75 workers and union members wearing green t-shirts. The flagship store’s roughly 2,000 unionized sales clerks, shelf stockers and clerical workers are demanding better pay and benefits from the iconic department chain. The current contract expired March 1, and the workers are in the midst of a two-month extension while negotiating with the store.

Bloomingdale’s declined to comment on ongoing negotiations, but said they are working to find a solution that’s “fair and equitable to both parties.”

But workers say a fair contract would better compensate them.

Read more.