We launched in March 2020 to support workers organizing for COVID protections. It’s been an incredible year and a half of organizing. But we need funds to continue this work in 2022. We’re aiming to raise $20,000 before the end of the year, so that we can keep supporting workers in their organizing.
Upcoming Events 🗓
We’ve had a big year! Join us for our end-of-year general meeting, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET, as we discuss our organizing in 2021 and what’s coming up in 2022. We will also be having breakout discussions. This will be a great opportunity to learn about what we’ve accomplished, and to meet other EWOC volunteers. Register today!
We’re in the midst of such an exciting time for the labor movement that words like “historic” and “unprecedented” are starting to feel overused. In the past few months alone, we’ve seen New York cab drivers go on hunger strike to end exploitation by their city government. We’ve seen half a million protesting Indian farmers successfully kill a set of laws that would threaten their livelihoods. We’ve watched the Hollywood workers of IATSE threaten a never-before-seen strike in order to win a new contract. What all of these actions share is that they’re new and bold. They require many individuals to come together in acts of courageous solidarity, and that is exactly what makes them so exciting and so powerful. We look forward to the day when actions like these become the norm, not the exception.
World of Work 🌍
USA: More than 10,000 John Deere workers have ended their five-week strike, ratifying a contract that includes an immediate 10% pay raise, built-in raises over the 6-year contract, and a cost-of-living adjustment that’s designed to keep up with rising consumer prices, a once-common feature of union contracts that has become increasingly rare in recent years. 61% of union members voted in favor of the latest offer after rejecting two previous contracts.
INDIA: In a stunning victory, India will repeal its controversial farm laws after more than a year of protests by farmers. A September rally gathered more than 500,000 farmers, and the movement has extended to organized protests around the globe. It was marked by outbreaks of violence, including a government convoy that rammed into a group of protesters, killing eight people. Others lost their lives to freezing temperatures while camping out during the protests.
USA: After threatening to strike, the film and TV workers of IATSE have ratified a new three-year contract. The agreement narrowly passed with a majority “yes” vote by union delegates, and it will impact nearly 60,000 workers. Among the wins achieved, workers will have annual wage increases, 10-hour turnaround times between shoots, and 54- and 32-hour weekend rest periods.
Solidarity,
Team EWOC
