On the picket line

N.J. public workers rally to defend benefits

Thousands of public workers in many cities in New Jersey rallied May 31 and June 1 against brutal health care cuts and attacks on union rights proposed by anti-union Gov. Chris Christie. Kicking off the “Solidarity Tour for Bargaining Rights and Budget Fairness” at Camden City Hall, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson urged state workers to stand firm against the “toxic wind” that is blowing across the country. “Workers are being dumped on as if you are the reason we’re in an economic crisis,” he said. “You must not let this governor break your spirit.” Jackson accused Christie of hypocrisy for blaming the state’s budget deficit on workers while cutting taxes for the rich and for recently using a state police helicopter to take him to a son’s baseball game.

Sponsors of the Solidarity Tour included the New Jersey AFL-CIO, New Jersey Black Issues Convention, NAACP, Latino Action Network, Black clergy and many individual unions, including the Communication Workers. (CWA report, June 3)

Brooklyn hospital workers protest loss of health coverage

Working in one of Brooklyn’s poorest neighborhoods, about 3,400 workers at Brookdale University Hospital have lost health care coverage because the hospital has fallen behind in payments to the workers’ benefits fund, claims United Healthcare Workers East, Service Employees Local 1199. So between 400 and 500 workers — nurses, maintenance staff, clerical workers and others — protested in the hospital lobby on May 26, while community members supported them with a picket line outside.

Local 1199 has charged the hospital, which is embroiled in a corruption scandal and is $23 million in arrears, with violating the local’s collective bargaining agreement. (New York Times, May 27)

Target workers unionizing in NYC area

Think Target has a good reputation as an employer, compared to Wal-Mart? Not anymore. Workers at the Valley Stream store in Long Island, N.Y., sought out the Food and Commercial Workers union because many say they can’t raise a family on their wages and they can’t afford health insurance. They have to rely on food stamps and Medicaid for their children.

UFCW has now been organizing 5,000 workers at 28 Target stores in the New York City area. The majority of workers at the Valley Stream store have already signed cards choosing UFCW representation; a government-supervised election will be held on June 17. Stay tuned. (New York Times, May 24)

Hershey: stop child labor in cocoa fields

Concerned chocolate lovers unite! Hershey, one of the biggest U.S. producers of chocolate candy, continues to buy cocoa that is not endorsed by Fair Trade Certification, which works to end child labor, forced labor, trafficking and other labor rights abuses. The International Labor Rights Forum (www.laborrights.org) has called a protest at 10:30 a.m. at the Hershey’s store in Times Square on June 8 to ask Hershey to “raise the bar” and start using FTC cocoa. The rally is co-sponsored by Global Exchange and Green America. (www.change.org, June 1)

Conn. mandates paid sick leave for service workers

On June 4 Connecticut became the first state to mandate paid sick leave for hundreds of thousands of service workers. Now between 200,000 and 400,000 service workers — wait staff, cashiers, fast-food cooks, hair stylists, security guards and nursing home aides — who receive an hourly wage and work for employers with more than 50 staff will be able to earn one hour of leave for every 40 hours worked, with a cap of five days a year. Only San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have similar laws, though such legislation is pending in Philadelphia and Seattle.

The June 5 New York Times noted that, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, more than 40 million U.S. workers do not have a single paid sick day. There is something very wrong with this picture!

Sanitation workers in NYC vindicated

Sanitation workers were accused of intentionally slowing down snow removal during a holiday blizzard last year in New York City. But a report, issued June 3 by the city’s Department of Investigation, exonerated the workers, totally debunking the accusation of anti-union City Councilperson Daniel J. Halloran. (New York Times, June 4)

WW thinks Halloran should be made to publicly apologize to Teamsters Local 831 for slandering its members’ good name.