Upcoming Events đź—“
EWOC Foundational Training
Join the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee’s Foundational Training Series, every Saturday Sept. 9–30 at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT). In four 90-minute, weekly sessions, you will learn how to approach co-workers, build a team of organizers among them, and develop a campaign. You will meet other workers who are organizing, learn helpful tools, practices, and principles for winning workplace improvements and getting a democratic voice over your working conditions.
Space is limited to 200 participants, so sign up now!! Register today.
Send questions or suggestions for a future training times to [email protected].
Labor Notes Troublemakers School
Labor Notes is holding a Troublemakers School in the Puget Sound area on September 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT! Troublemakers School is a conference designed for rank-and-file workplace organizers to strategize, share skills, and learn ways to win. While many of those who attend these conferences are union members, there are plenty of workshops planned that address new organizing needs as well. So don’t miss out, sign up today!Â
Union Support on the Rise!
Record numbers of workers are reaching out to the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee for support in unionization efforts, and many of our already existing campaigns are now working with unions and filing for elections. We have more than doubled our average number of calls with workers in the last two weeks. As the strikes in Hollywood persist, the Teamsters contract continues to get national attention, and now United Auto Workers members are preparing to vote on a strike authorization. This trend will no doubt continue, and we love to see it!Â
Public support for unions is also the highest it has been since 1965. As these high profile strikes and union activity gain attention in the media, union-busting tactics by companies like Starbucks are becoming even more pernicious and blatant. Check out this video that explains how the National Labor Relations Board can enforce a policy called “Joy Silk” to make it easier for workers to unionize and deflect their bosses’ intimidation tactics. Â
Workers Are About To Get Way More Power. Here’s How.
World of Work 🌍
Starbucks
Delaying a first contract or refusing to come to the bargaining table in good faith is a common union-busting tactic as Starbucks workers across the country are experiencing right now. On Aug. 7, thousands of Starbucks workers, customers, and their allies gathered at 332 stores across 32 states for “Starbucks Day of Action,” demanding that Starbucks executives come to the bargaining table. Check out this amazing protest against Starbucks and their union-busting tactics.
WGA and SAG-AFTRA
Since our conversation last month with Adam Conover from TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” we’ve seen the WGA strike gain even more momentum and strength. Watch here as actors give testimony to their experiences as working people.Â
WGA has now joined forces with SAG-AFTRA in a collective fight against the major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Hollywood executives have raked in billions of dollars in profits over the past several years while 87% of SAG union members have not been able to earn the baseline salary requirement of $26,000 per year to qualify for health insurance. Watch Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, give an impassioned speech decrying the phenomenal greed of these executives.
UPS Teamsters
Strong leadership is an important theme this month as we’ve seen Sean O’Brien, president of the national Teamsters union, secure a historic win for their rank-and-file members. They received increased worker pay for all employees, safety measures such as air conditioning, and elimination of forced overtime among other contract wins. Although some members felt that they could’ve extracted more concessions if they had authorized a strike, there was truly a shift in power as the strike was looming.Â
United Auto Workers
Finally, we have our eyes on the next struggle in September when the United Auto Workers will negotiate a new contract for their members. UAW union president, Shawn Fein, is asking for a 40% increase in worker salaries, which would match the 40% increase in CEO pay that executives at the Big Three Automakers have seen over the last four years.
Seeing these large unions negotiating far more aggressively, encouraging rank-and-file militancy, and standing in solidarity with one another is proof that when we stand together, we win!
Organizing Tip of the Month
How Do You Talk To A Workplace Leader Who Isn’t On Board With The Union? by Grace Reckers
Week in Labor History đź“š
August 14, 1935: President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, providing, for the first time ever, guaranteed income for retirees and creating a system of unemployment benefits. This is a reminder that social programs enacted by the government can support citizens from desperate situations and provide a floor for the middle class.
August 20, 1910: The Great Fire of 1910, a wildfire that consumed about three million acres in Washington, Idaho, and Montana — an area about the size of Connecticut — claimed the lives of 78 firefighters over two days. It is believed to be the largest, although not deadliest, fire in U.S. history. The wildfires in Maui are now the deadliest fires in modern American history. For over a decade, we were able to prevent deadly fires due to advancements in technology and fire safety, but they’re now returning because corporations would rather funnel their profits to shareholders in lieu of fire safety measures.
Solidarity,
Team EWOC
