Tag Archives: senate spot

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Brittney Berry: Low Pay Is Not Ok


I’m Brittney Berry of the organization Low Pay Is Not Ok, and I started a petition to U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez which says:

Four out of five fast-food workers have been burned on the job—most repeatedly, many badly.1 To make matters worse, many fast-food restaurants don’t even have a properly-equipped and accessible first aid kit and try to treat workers’ injuries with mustard and other condiments instead of getting them the treatment they need. It is unconscionable that fast-food companies value their own profits over basic safety for their workers. I urge you to investigate the fast-food industry’s failure to provide safe working conditions or proper treatment for severe injuries.

Sign Brittney’s petition

An expectant mother is told by her manager to treat a bad boiling-water burn with mustard. Mustard.

A fast-food worker gets third-degree burns from a blisteringly hot, totally unsafe fry lamp.

A cook sears the entire palm of his hand on a too-hot grill—and his supervisor makes him work for hours before getting it treated.

This is the truth about the serious, painful and often permanent injuries that occur every single day in fast-food kitchens across the country. Dangerous conditions, insane “first-aid treatments” like mustard and butter on burns, and poor management have led to this: Four out of five fast-food workers have been burned, most repeatedly. That’s 2.8 million workers burned this year.2

Call on the Department of Labor to investigate an industry that is putting millions of fast-food workers’ health and safety at risk every day.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Brittney

Sources:

1. “Survey Of Fast Food Workers: Some Bosses Told Employees To Use Condiments As Medical Supplies”, CBS New York, March 17, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303566&id=109984-17809870-sW0blux&t=1

2. Ibid.

~ my 2cents ...

Ferguson bias


just another rant …

beaseedforchangestickersGREEN

Ferguson is back in the news and most of the media whether from the states or overseas describes Ferguson as an “embattled city” has also had some positive changes happen since that DOJ report.

This report not only informed America that a small town has been under control, it has been used as a revenue source and subject to search seizures stops while driving ,shopping, walking for just being black. Ferguson is 67% black 85% cited and those residents make up 93% of all arrests. However, their police department is about 96% white and if you listen to the Mayor or police officials their excuses are that far and few Blacks apply, or are not qualified to be on the force.  The DOJ report in my opinion validated what residents were saying after Mike Brown was killed, some say has been going on for years possibly decades lest we include comments about other “Ferguson’s” all over our country is obviously disturbing. It is now our 21st Century reality that comes from fear, politicians who get votes from fear mongering and a learned behavior culture that should be followed and reformed as the DOJ report suggests even if this scathing report comes from outside authorities. Yet, after watching the press conference, the viewer gets the idea that the information from that DOJ report is devastating, brutal and based on fact though Ferguson officials appear to be acing like they are going to stall or shove immediate changes to the back burner. We all saw Mayor Knowles reaction and it may have been a natural response by folks in leadership or those in positions of power, but the longer they wait to implement change the tougher it will be to hold his title even if folks have been leaving or supposedly fired. This finding by the DOJ was validating and clearly just the beginning as real change will take elections that replace the problem and get those into office that will have the courage to diversify Ferguson. They need leaders that create solutions, take responsibility and  not run or hide from it.  Finding out that some of these people in leadership positions will be paid for a year is offensive. I object to paying people who clearly ignored, avoided, closed their eyes or participated quietly if those emails were sent out in-house only with racial slurs or bias is on the backs of those leaders in the police department.

Anyway, I was checking my email looking at blogs when a blogger exercising their 1st amendment rights seemed to have sparked a response from me and as stated on their blog ~~ feel free to respond and that response is below …

This is just my opinion and quite possibly it has some ill feelings attached, but maybe you should re-read your entry because you constantly state that you only know what is being reported yet you write.

“In my mind’s eye I can almost envision some backward baseball cap vigilante thinking to himself/herself that he or she was taking the appropriate action required to “Take Murica Back.”

I hope folks know that what gets reported can be subjective and while there are several reports from Wednesday are that the shots came from across the street, which they say were almost a block down, behind and away from where the peaceful protestors were. It was also reported that police drew guns within seconds on what seemingly were peaceful protestors even while there was “agitation” prior to the shooting and quite possibly “outside agitators.”  We all need to be reminded that this is also something that has not occurred since August, which could very well mean someone from the outside was at it again and or it could have been a resident. I want to make sure you know believe me anyone who shoots at civilians and or police for no reason are guilty, but you have decided to tell your readers what that looks like and that is just wrong. Why, because we do not know if the shooter/vigilante had a backward baseball cap yet. Unfortunately, this seems to be code for “black male” and if that assumption is wrong, I would definitely stand corrected.  I was taught to know, that not all white folks are bad, racists , wear White Hoods, feel like overseers, slave owners or as if what’s needed is to put absolute control over a community that is over 67% Black 85%cited and 93%arrested fined and has been the police/town revenue …fundraiser since who knows how long

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Anthony Carbajal via Change.org


I was diagnosed with ALS last year, which means I have 2-5 years to live. But a new drug could save my life – please help me convince the FDA to allow ALS patients like me to have early access to this life-saving medication.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Failing Grade


By

How The Republican Budget Hurts Students And Workers

We’ve written before about how the House Republican budget proposals present a fundamentally different vision for the country, a vision that hurts the economy and undermines hard-working Americans. When it comes to investing in the future of America – our children – their priorities are equally destructive.

The Republican budget would gut programs for pre-kindergarten education, low-income students, Special Education programs, and college students. Their budget even goes after workers looking to learn new skills to better compete in the 21st century economy. While the President has offered a budget that would keep our country competitive by investing in our workers and our future workers, here’s what Republican budget would do to students of all different kinds:

And while this is at the federal level, conservative leaders at the state level have shown themselves to agree with these priorities. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker’s budget is wreaking havoc on institutions of learning. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is close to laying off nearly a quarter of their employees. Rural Wisconsin schools have had to cut counselors and librarians in part because of a lack of funding.

That’s not all. In North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory’s budget would force the University of North Carolina system to raise tuition, cut professors and increase class sizes. In Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback proposed slashing school budgets to make up for his massive tax cuts largely that benefited the rich and didn’t help the economy. Rather than making important investments, Republican governors are gutting education funding just like they are cutting taxes and hoping that things will magically improve. That’s not how the economy works, and it’s not how education works either.

BOTTOM LINE: Conservatives like to say that America’s workers are the best in the world. But when it comes to supporting our workers and our future by investing in education, whether it is in Congress or in the states, their proposals and policies do the exact opposite: jeopardize our economy both today and in the future.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Amazon Watch …


Amazon Watch

Occupy Amazonia? Indigenous activists are taking direct action – and it’s working

Industrial projects like mega-dams contribute to climate change in addition to threatening to destroy indigenous peoples’ way of…

Brazil: hundreds of thousands of protesters call for Rouseff impeachment

Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon’s ecological systems.