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The Middle Class and Unions … a repost


By CAP Action War Room

With The Middle Class At Risk, We Need Unions Now More Than Ever

We’ll be taking a welcome day off next Monday, and we hope all of you can do the same. But celebrating Labor Day is about more than just a three-day weekend. It’s a chance to reflect on the importance of unions and remember that we need them now more than ever.

Unions have been at the center of some of America’s most important fights for fair labor standards. Unions helped end child labor: the very first American Federation of Labor (AFL) national convention passed a resolution calling on states to “ban children under 14 from all gainful employment.” Labor unions negotiated for and won employer-provided health insurance coverage, one of the first great expansions of health care to all Americans. And unions didn’t just give us this Labor Day long weekend – they fought for labor standards that gave us ALL weekends.

Unions are central in providing good jobs and middle-class security to America workers. As unions go, so goes the middle class. The chart below spells that out pretty clearly: as union membership has declined, the middle-class share of income has also dropped:

 

Nowadays, union membership is under attack from many who are either ignoring history and economic data, or only have the wealthiest Americans’ interests in mind. Anti-union policy groups and lawmakers in states across the country are attacking an already weakened labor movement by advancing so-called “right-to-work” laws, which inhibit workers from collectively bargaining for better wages, benefits and protections, under the guise of ‘choice.’ These laws allow some workers to get the advantages of a union contract—such as higher wages, benefits, and protection against arbitrary discipline—without paying any fee associated with negotiating on these matters. This doesn’t result in more freedom, it results in lower incomes.

Wisconsin became the latest state to adopt a “right-to-work” law and take its working families in the wrong direction. Estimates by Marquette University economist Abdur Chowdhury suggest that Wisconsin workers and families will lose between $3.89 and $4.82 billion in direct income annually due to effects of the law. Recently, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) vetoed a bill passed by the Missouri legislature to enact a similar policy there.

The numbers are clear. The typical worker in a “right-to-work” state makes about $1,560 less per year than she would in a state without such a law. According to new research, women in union jobs earn $212 per week, or 30.9%, more than women in non-union jobs; men in union jobs earn $173 more per week than their non-union counterparts. Union women also face a smaller gender wage gap: They earn 88.7 cents for every dollar a man makes, compared to 78 cents across all workers.

BOTTOM LINE: If you care about a strong middle class in America, you should care about unions. The organizers that have been at the heart of many important labor reforms in the past have a vital role to play for America’s economy now and in the future, too. It’s on us to take every opportunity we can to remind people that unions work. So have a great long weekend, and make sure you remind your friends and loved ones: Enjoying your labor day weekend? Thank a union.

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Allison Johnson – Avaaz


 

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Russian planes are killing children in Syria, just as the world is gearing up to laud Russia at the World Cup! But the UK government is pulling out, and if we get more leaders and teams to say they won’t go to the #cupofshame unless Putin stops the bombings, we could finally stop this hell on earth. Add your name:

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Dear friends,

For 7 years Syria has been hell on earth.

President Assad’s extermination of his own people has been chillingly surgical: he surrounds towns so civilians can’t leave, cuts off access to food and medicine, and drops bombs, even chemical weapons, on desperate families. 400,000 have died — and he’s just started in on a new target. 

There’s one reason why Assad’s been able to continue with this destruction: Russia. But now there’s one thing Russia may care about more than Syria: saving the World Cup it hosts this year.

The British Prime Minister just announced no Ministers will attend. Australia, Japan and Poland may be next. And there’s massive debate in Germany about a boycott. This is huge! If we can get more governments and players to join in opposing the World #Cupofshame, Russia could finally be pushed to stop the bombing.

Add your name to stop this hell on earth

This isn’t a boycott — many countries that respect human rights would be happy to host. And switching the venue could help challenge the infamous corruption of FIFA, the football governing body that is widely rumored to have been bribed by Russia to host the games in the first place!

Russia has vetoed all efforts to stop Syria’s carnage, ignored sanctions, and violated UN agreements it signed. But the World Cup finally gives us some leverage. And pressure is building right now — since the UK just announced they won’t go, we can get others to follow. 

Famous footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have spoken out about the horrors of Syria, and many teams and governments are uncomfortable condoning Russia’s violence at the World Cup. This is a call to them to speak up for basic humanity. If enough of us join, we can do this!

Add your name to stop this hell on earth

We’ve done this before — when Bahrain brutally cracked down on protesters, Avaaz built a massive campaign, caused a media stir, a legendary driver spoke out, and Formula 1 was cancelled.

Some say we shouldn’t mix sports in this horror. But sport is a forum for peace and good. It shouldn’t be used to shower accolades on war criminals. Let’s unite to show we won’t cheer in Russian stadiums while their Air Force bombs and starves babies to death in Syria.

With hope and determination,

Allison, Alice, Rewan, Ricken, Nick and the entire Avaaz team

More information:

FIFA World Cup boycott looms amid Russia’s spy scandal (News.com.au)
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/sergei-skripal-fifa-world-cup-boycott-looms-amid-russias-spy-scandal/news-story/f60f604aaae5c03e32043489dde297ab

Ghouta: thousands of civilians flee fresh regime bombardment (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/15/eastern-ghouta-syrian-regime-forces-break-into-key-town

For Putin, the World Cup is not about football but global respect (The Spectator)
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/01/for-putin-the-world-cup-is-not-about-football-but-global-respect..

FIFA is struggling to find sponsors for Russia 2018 (CNN)
http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/01/news/fifa-sponsors-russia-2018/index.html

On the 7th anniversary Syrians call world leaders to threaten World Cup Boycott (Syrian NGO Alliance)
http://syrianna.org/details/On-the-7th-anniversary-Syrians-call-world-leaders-to-threaten-World-Cup-boycott/126/en
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a big part of my time, but a small part of my life
“I work full-time as a visual merchandiser at an outdoor retailer. My job is to make sure the store looks good — putting the merchandise we’re selling in place, making changes to the floor set to keep everything interesting, dressing and undressing mannequins, tracking sales. I get very steady hours — about 40 a week. That stability is key. It means I can plan out my life — I can look at a calendar and say ‘yes, I can schedule something outside of work this day.’ Work is a big part of my time, but a small part of my life. Secure scheduling makes it easier to do everything outside of work, like spend time with my family, which is massive, or go on day trips or long hikes. I know exactly when I’m working, and I know those hours won’t change on me.
Last year, tens of thousands of food and retail workers in Seattle won secure scheduling, giving them two weeks’ notice of their schedules, the right to rest between shifts, the right to give input into their schedules, and more.

How does your employer stack up when it comes to scheduling? Click here to find out your employer’s Scheduling Score.
I’m lucky in that my current employer has always been pretty consistent when it comes to scheduling. But before I worked here, I was a salesperson at American Eagle and used to deal with constantly being on call, but never scheduled for real shifts. Managers would play favorites, so a small group of people would get all the hours. I just never knew if I was going to have money for anything. You could never really guess how many hours you’d get, so you could go from thinking, ‘ok, I’ll probably make a solid $200 or so,’ to ending up with $40 in your paycheck.

And it was a huge bind on my time — being on call meant that I could never be too far from where I worked, because if I got called in, I would have to show up. My time wasn’t really mine. That’s stressful. You don’t feel valued as a worker, and it creates resentment towards management.

Now, I feel valued at my job, and I can plan ahead long-term. I can plan on having money and time to do things I need or want to do — whether that’s meeting someone at the climbing gym or just mundane grown-up things like going to the doctor’s office or scheduling an eye appointment.

I think secure scheduling is good for business, too. The team’s a little bit happier. Managers don’t have to worry about the schedule all the time, because it’s set up a couple weeks in advance, so if someone can’t show up or needs to take time off, they can plan around that.

Workers are more productive when we’re working the right hours and know when we’re scheduled to work. It boosts morale. It’s just a lot less stress, especially for people who are living paycheck to paycheck and have a lot of bills — it’s important to know exactly how much money you’re going to make at the end of the day and know you can make ends meet. And it’s vital to have work-life balance, which you can only have if you know when you’re working ahead of time. It’s that simple.”
HOW DOES YOUR EMPLOYER STACK UP?
Across Seattle, workers like Adriana are sharing stories of what secure scheduling has meant for them. They’re talking about how two weeks’ notice of their schedules, the right to input into their schedules, and other secure scheduling policies have brought their work and their life into balance.

But right now, most workers in Washington aren’t covered by secure scheduling. That’s why we want to give workers all over the state a chance to see how their employers are doing when it comes to scheduling. Click here to get your employer’s Scheduling Score!
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Tell Congress: Keep Families Together


immigration
call

Tell Congress: Keep Families Together

Nearly 2,300 children have been separated from their families at the US border in the past two months.

This week, the House of Representatives will vote on two bills that will further militarize an already violent deportation force and magnify the cruelty of family separation. Call your representative now and demand they vote “NO” on Paul Ryan’s and Bob Goodlatte’s bills — and YES on Jerrold Nadler’s bill.

Once you have submitted your information and clicked “connect my call,” your phone will ring. You will be connected to your representative after a brief recording

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