Human Rights Day, 2008: U.S. Workers Still Lack the Freedom to Form Unions
The Employee Free Choice Act, a vital bill to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life, is a top priority for working families in the new Congress. Today, as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it’s important to remember how crucial it is to protect the right of workers to form unions to protect fair pay, good benefits and a safe work environment.
Around the country today, union volunteers are marking the anniversary by leafleting worksites and getting the message out about the Employee Free Choice Act. In coming weeks, labor councils around the country hold meetings to spread the word about this critical bill to restore worker power and rebuild the middle class.
The Employee Free Choice Act is under heavy attack from CEOs and Big Business lobbyists. One of the country’s largest employers, McDonald’s, is taking the anti-worker side in the fight over the bill.
Tomato Workers Win Agreement with Subway
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The campaign to bring better wages and improve working conditions to Florida’s tomato fields took a big step last week when the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) reached agreement with Subway, the world’s third largest fast-food chain and biggest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes.
Subway also joins other fast-food industry leaders and the CIW in calling on the Florida tomato industry to institute an industry-wide penny per pound surcharge to increase wages for all Florida tomato harvesters. That means the workers will get 72 cents to 77 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, up from 40 cents to 45 cents.
