IARA Update: Truth Tour and a Birthday Party

Hey kids, Maddie here with an update from the IARA campaign:

The Truth Tour is upon us in just a week now and we are working hard to turn people out for the event! We have gotten some RSVPs for each site but we are still reaching out to senior centers, retirement homes and civic organizations to spark people's interest (especially in Aurora, where the IARA does not have a large constituency). I was also able to gain some insight
into the event planning side of organizing by helping Emily (the IARA organizer) find hotels within our budget in each of the three cities and figure out where to get donuts and coffee the morning of. It looks like the Truth Tour is coming together!

Last week we also hosted a birthday party for Medicare, with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky as our guest of honor! Check out some pictures from the event:

CMSA Action! (Part 2)

Maddie did a great job of covering the CMSA action we got an opportunity to be part of this past Thursday. For those of you that would like to know more about the action we now have a short YouTube video documenting how CMSA parents, teachers, alumni, students, and neighbors that came together this past Thursday to advocate for a better school. What I enjoy most about the video is that it serves as a testament of the empowering and transformative effect an organizing campaign has on a community. Labor unions, as democratic organizations of middle class and working people, belong to us all.

After witnessing such a positive gathering this past Thursday I now have no doubt that the path to true school reform lies not in those that are seeking to make a profit off of public school funds, but in the collective action of each individual school's stake holders - the students, teachers, parents, and community members.



The next time you hear someone attack teacher unions you let them know that they've got the story all wrong. No one cares more about students than their educators, no one can advocate for students needs more effectively than an educator with a union contract.

CMSA Action!

Last week we attended an action in support of charter school teachers at the Chicago Math and Science Academy and their initiative to organize. Teachers have been laid off from the school for budget reasons, yet the administration has hired Seyfarth Shaw to represent them against the teachers. One of the teachers laid off was Rhonda Hartwell, who at the time was pregnant and subsequently had to deliver her baby early because her insurance was about to run out. Despite receiving excellent reviews during her time at the school, Rhonda's job was cut; coincidentally, Rhonda also led the initiative to unionize the teachers at CMSA.

See this article by Kim Bobo of Interfaith Worker Justice: http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2010/08/09/chicago-math-and-sciences---the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

See also this article from the Chicago Schools Blog: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/district-299/2010/08/cmsa-pregnant-charter-teacher-fired-for-organizing.html

Check out some pictures from the event (and see more in our Facebook album):

Workers Coming Together

Getting to meet workers and hear their stories has been one of the most rewarding parts of Union Summer for me. This past week I was able to sit in at a meeting with AFSCME organizers and some workers interested unionizing their facility due to the problems they have faced there (see earlier post).

The interesting part was that some of the workers present did not even know each other, and many that did had not heard each others’ stories because they were separated by different shifts. They were isolated. As such, they were not fully aware that their individual experiences were really part of larger trends.

But as they shared their stories of chronic understaffing, workplace injuries left unaddressed, demeaning supervisors, depressed compensation, and even pressure they had received to break the law by lying about billing, they expressed outrage and support for one another. This bonded them together and seemed to rouse them to a place where they could feel that theirs was a shared experience resulting from a shared position. A position without meaningful voice before a management team that is largely dismissive to their concerns.

The organizers helped build the workers’ collective indignation towards a constructive energy, emphasizing the need to “be at the table” with management when key decisions are made, like the recent one to switch health care insurers from one of the best in the state to one that is notorious for denying claims across the nation. Instead of having to work under the fear that speaking out on workplace issues will land them in hot water, the organizers emphasized the alternative that bargaining collectively would provide them: "being able to sit across the table from management as equals.”

Of course, since management has learned about the union drive afoot, its behavior has improved somewhat: they have added a worker to a sorely understaffed shift, and they partially solidified employee pensions after initially gutting them. But “if you want these changes to be permanent,” the organizers stressed, they need to “get them in writing.” They need a contract.

And several months from now, I hope to hear that they have indeed secured it, despite management’s attempts to intimidate them (with captive audience meetings) out of obtaining equality, the power to protect themselves, and lasting prosperity.

Prosser Job Fair

Hello everyone! Long time no blog. I just wanted to post an update regarding the job fair that Rae and I attended last week. The Prosser High School job fair was a great way to meet unemployed and underemployed workers in Chicagoland. I got to hear the stories and concerns of many people while encouraging them to join U-Cubed (http://www.unionofunemployed.com/) and The Unemployed Workers Council to help combat this unemployment problem. While I was optimistic by the turnout and the people who signed up and took our fliers, it has not translated into new people on U-Cubed.
It was interesting to be a part of a job fair that was partly sponsored by Wal-Mart (http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/walmart-seeks-new-workers-through-job-fair-20100722) and that was attended by Mayor Daley and Emma Mitts, who are strong supporters of Wal-Mart and anti-living wage. Though no Wal-Mart bashing was part of my spiel, I did focus on telling people how through U-Cubed and The Unemployed Workers Council we can demand "good paying jobs." It seemed to be clear that most people were concerned with being able to support themselves and a family.
One gentleman's story was perfect example of how low wage jobs are killing us. He had to work three jobs in order to support his family, and because he worked three jobs there was little if any time for rest causing a disorder in his body. The disorder prohibited him from working again and put him on disability. It is stories like these that should anger us and make us demand something be done. With low paying jobs like Wal-Mart we will all be doomed to the same fate as this man.

"Enough is Enough!"

On Thursday, we attended an action at the Hyatt Regency Chicago to demand justice for the workers of that hotel (and at Hyatts across the country). This struggle began when housekeeping staff at a Hyatt in Boston were forced to train temps who they were told were going to be on standby to sub in during the holiday season. All of them (approx. 100) were subsequently fired after having trained their own replacements. When workers at the Hyatt in Chicago were threatened with the same fate if they did not agree to concessions (wage cuts, benefit cuts, etc), the community decided to step up to say "Enough is enough!" Check out pics from the event below, and see more in our photo album on our Facebook page.

For a Few Dollars More

As we watched the two construction workers go knock on the door of their former employer’s residence along with the Arise leaders, we didn’t know quite what to expect. This man has stiffed them several thousand dollars and has since rebuffed their attempts to confront him on this issue, defying a court order he signed agreeing to pay up.

Would it be different this time because they were now at his front door, with several community allies with them, including a Methodist reverend? Or would they get the door slammed in their face?

Well, it was different. And they didn’t get the door slammed in their face, but their old boss was not there either. Instead, they got to speak with his wife, who was quite unaware of the situation. In her, they actually got a decent audience, as she listened, asked questions, and eyed the rest of us on the sidewalk, who were wearing giant digits on our chests, showing the number “$4,000,” the amount of wages yet to be paid to these workers. They were able to show the wife the court document with her husband’s signature on it, promising to pay. (The workers had actually accommodated his claims of financial hardship by agreeing to accept the backwages in smaller installments, but even these were forthcoming).

It proved to be a very civil exchange, but it’s not everyday that people show up at your door informing you that your spouse is defying the law by withholding thousands of dollars in wages from his employees! So, I’m sure he is hearing about it from her, and that may prove to be a more effective means of getting through than we could have otherwise planned. The two workers seemed encouraged by the exchange, and I hope that sustains them at a time when they need their wages the most.

Meanwhile, we will continue to work for justice by discerning what our next steps are. A possible path to explore is how this employer may be held in contempt of court for his defiance. He and too many employers who, like him, steal wages, are certainly in contempt of their workers, our communities, and according to many of our faith traditions, the living God:

Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is one of your countrymen or is a foreigner residing in one of your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
-Deuteronomy 24:14-15