Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts

Victory at Republic

Posted On Thursday, December 11, 2008 at at 1:01 PM by Dan

Below is a message directly from Jobs with Justice about the victory in Chicago at the Republic plant. For direct information go to the union's (United Electrical workers or UE) website here.

VICTORY AT REPUBLIC WINDOWS AND DOORS!

VICTORY AT REPUBLIC WINDOWS AND DOORS!
Workers Vote to Get Pay; Occupation Ends!

After 6 days occupying the plant, workers at Republic Window and Doors in Chicago voted to accept a settlement late last night.

The settlement totals $1.75million. It will provide the workers with:

  • Eight weeks of pay they are owed under the federal WARN Act;
  • Two months of continued health coverage, and;
  • Pay for all accrued and unused vacation.

JPMorgan Chase will provide $400,000 of the settlement, with the balance coming from Bank of America. Although the money will be provided as a loan to Republic Windows and Doors, it will go directly into a third-party fund whose sole purpose is to pay the workers what is owed them. In addition, the UE has started the "Window of Opportunity Fund" dedicated to re-opening the plant.

As the Local 1110 leaders characterized the settlement, "We fought to make them pay what they owe us, and we won." Read more about the settlement here.

We want to extend a big THANK YOU to all of you who participated in this campaign. The tremendous support and solidarity from the thousands of people like you around the country - and the world - who took the time to send messages to Bank of America and who rallied at banks across the country was crucial in winning this victory.

This is truly an historic victory for workers in the United States.

But this struggle is just the beginning! As the economic crisis deepens we need to launch a working class fight back. Rallies for a "People's Bailout" will continue today and throughout the rest of the week. Click here to find an action near you (updated daily). You can also take action online:

Thanks again for all that you do! You can see photos, video, and press clips from the Week of Action here.


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Taxi Drivers Strike in Nashville

Posted On Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at at 6:55 PM by Dan

Workers with the Nashville Metro Taxi Drivers Alliance (NMTDA) went on strike against Allied Cab, the largest taxi company in Nashville, Tennessee. Allied Cab has somewhere between 130 and 150 drivers, but more than 100 turned in their equipment yesterday to the company. The drivers are claiming unfair labor practices by the company. The NMTDA sent a letter to the company demanding a meeting, but Allied refused. Allied also fired one of the drivers. The drivers main demand is that weekly fees by the company be reduced.

Cab drivers in Nashville pay as much as $175 per week to taxi companies to use their company name. After paying weekly fees, inflated gas prices, airport entrance fees, insurance, and other expenses drivers barely break even. The NMTDA has done more than 300 surveys and determined that after paying expenses, drivers make about $2.07 per hour and often work 15+ hours per day.

NMTDA, a member of Mid-Tennessee Jobs with Justice and The Nashville Movement, is a membership-based organization of cab drivers in Nashville. About 350 of the 700 drivers are members of NMTDA, however, it's hard to tell exactly how many total taxi drivers are actually driving every day in the city and not just on the books of the Taxi Licensing Commission.

The NMTDA has said the conditions of drivers are equivalent to indentured servitude. "Drivers are making an average of $2.07 per hour. Can you imagine?” says Abdinasir Ismail, a Board member of the NMTDA. “How can we feed our families on that?"

According to Megan Macaraeg, Director of Mid TN Jobs with Justice, taxi companies make guaranteed super-profits regardless of how much drives struggle. “Cab companies are guaranteed to make a profit of almost $9000 a year from each employee,” says Macaraeg, “Surely this is not what we stand for as Nashvillians who believe everyone should have a fair chance to realize the American Dream."

On Wednesday, July 30 drivers from all cab companies will hold a press conference in front of the mayor's office demanding he hold public hearings investigating the conditions of cab drivers. To punctuate their demand, the NMTDA has called for a general strike of cab drivers for tomorrow.

Links to other news stories:
Nashville City Paper

Tennessean

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