Pickets, not Picnics, for San Francisco Labor Day
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Steve Stallone is president of the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) and secretary/editor of the Pacific Media Workers Guild.
Labor Day in San Francisco would not be complete without a large community picket at UNITEHERE! Local 2’s latest target. Tourism is the city’s biggest industry and the country’s largest hotel chains seemingly can’t resist providing the labor movement with a villain all can despise.
This year, the winner—and still champion—is Hyatt, with credentials that would make Cruella De Vil blush.
S.F. Activists Launch Anti-Wage Theft Campaign
San Francisco workers yesterday kicked off a new citywide campaign to combat wage theft and rallied to mobilize support for a proposed new anti-wage theft law.
Wage theft is a $30 billion a year problem nationally and in the Bay Area, workers in the restaurant, construction, caregiving, manufacturing industries are victims. Tiffany Crain, from the activist group Young Workers United (YWU), says:
It comes in the form of not being paid overtime, not receiving breaks, not being paid at all in some instances, and many other things that are unlawful, work off the clock, they’re told to clock out and told to do other duties and not paid for it.
In 2010, a report released by the Chinese Progressive Association revealed that 1 out of 2 workers in Chinatown restaurants are paid below the minimum wage. In 2010, the Progressive Workers Alliance helped Bay Area workers recover nearly $500,000 in stolen wages due to wage theft through legal claims, lawsuits, employer negotiations and community campaigns.
Guide Lists Worker-Friendly San Francisco Restaurants
Young Workers United (YWU) members issued their second annual edition of “Dining With Justice,” which highlights food establishments that follow labor laws and treat their employees with dignity and respect.
The San Francisco-based group released the updated guide on May Day, as members participate in May Day marches in support of workers’ rights.
Because of the recession, restaurant owners and managers have a greater incentive to increase profits by cutting corners with food quality, health and safety and labor rights, YWU says.
As a result, most restaurant workers have been victims of wage theft. They may not receive overtime pay or breaks, or are forced to work off the clock. Workers have been increasingly apprehensive of speaking out about work grievances, fearing job loss and prolonged unemployment.
YWU presented awards to restaurant owners who care not only about the food they serve but also the people they employ. To determine the winners, YWU surveyed workers and employers in 35 restaurants in a variety of price ranges throughout San Francisco.
Check out the “Dining With Justice” guide here.
Reports Show Paid Sick Leave Helps Everybody
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Despite claims from business groups that paid sick leave for employees is bad for business, two new reports show everyone benefits from sick leave, including workers, the public and employers.
When workers cannot take off of work to recover from illness, or to care for a sick child or other relative, they are more likely to go into work when sick or to send a sick child to school. This represents a threat to public health due to the spread of contagious disease. A report released today by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) bears that out. The ROC-United found that more than one-third of restaurant workers (38.1 percent) reported that a whopping 87.7 percent don’t receive paid sick days and, as a result, more than 63 percent of all restaurant workers reported cooking and serving food while sick, thus impacting consumers’ health. Check out the ROC-United report here.
Three-quarters of Americans say paid sick leave should be a “basic workers’ right” and Congress should pass legislation that guarantees workers paid sick leave, according to a survey by the Public Welfare Foundation (PWF). More than 160 countries provide paid sick leave, but not the United States.
Hotel Workers’ Faces Show Pride, Determination to Win Justice
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Photojournalist David Bacon has captured the pride and determination in the faces of hotel workers at the downtown Hilton in San Francisco who have spent the past few weeks in a dawn to dusk picket line.
The workers, who chant to guests, “Don’t check in, check out!” are demanding that the hotel’s owners negotiate a new contract with their union, UNITEHERE! Local 2.
San Francisco’s largest hotels are demanding cuts in health and retirement benefits and increased workloads.
A typical San Francisco hotel worker earns $30,000 per year.
These are their faces—all races and ages, together on the picket line.
25,000 City Workers Near Contract in San Francisco—and More Bargaining News
25,000 city workers in San Francisco reach a tentative agreement—and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, City of San Francisco: Unions, representing more than 25,000 city workers, have reached a two-year tentative agreement with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, which will help the city close its massive $483 million budget gap. If approved, city workers will take 12 furlough days a year, including the shutdown of nonessential services between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
17,000 San Francisco Workers Reach Tentative Pact, and More Bargaining News
17,000 San Francisco city employees reach tentative contract, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, City of San Francisco: Unions representing San Francisco city workers have reached a tentative agreement with Mayor Gavin Newsom to save the city $200 million and avoid shortening the workweek for 17,000 workers. If union members approve the pact, city workers will take 12 unpaid furlough days over the next two years.
30,000 CWA Members Ratify Contract with AT&T—and More Bargaining News
Some 30,000 Communications Workers of America members ratify a contract with AT&T, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
CWA, AT&T: Members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 3 last week ratified a three-year contract with AT&T. The contract covers 30,000 workers in the Southeast. CWA District 1 in Connecticut is now the only region still in negotiations with AT&T.
Check Out UNITEHERE’s Hotel Guide Before You Travel
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If you have plans to travel this holiday season, check out the UNITEHERE! Union Hotel Guide before you book a room. The user-friendly online directory helps you identify union-staffed hotels across the country.
Just plug in city and state, and the site will display a list of hotels in the area that employ UNITEHERE! members and are doing right by their workers. You also can add the name of a hotel chain as part of the search. Click here for the Union Hotel Guide.
A link on the site also enables you to quickly see which hotels are on the union’s boycott list and where workers are on strike.
22,000 L.A. Workers Win Pact with City that Saves Jobs—and More Bargaining News
Some 22,000 Los Angeles workers win pact with city that prevents layoffs—and more bargaining news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
Multiple, City of Los Angeles: The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a pact with the Los Angeles Coalition of City Unions, a group made up of AFL-CIO and Change to Win unions and representing 22,000 city workers. The agreement avoids layoffs and furloughs and will save the city more than $77 million by offering an early retirement plan, reducing the number of hours worked and postponing pay raises until after 2011. A deal with the Los Angeles Police Protective League/IUPA also was approved Friday and will save the city $63 million.
