[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] 12/10 Reminder + More Week-of-Action Action 12/11

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

Wednesday December 10

            HUMAN RIGHTS DAY VIGIL

4-6pm, downtown Amherst. Sponsored by Amnesty International. Info: Mohamed
Ibrahim, 215-870-7809, mohamedelgadi at yahoo.com, www.AI-Amherst.blogspot.com.

 

Wednesday December 10

PICKET YWCA HOLIDAY PARTY !!

5:30pm, Shakago’s, 23 Hampden St, downtown Springfield (map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23+Hampden+St,+Springfield+MA+01103&ie=utf-8&
oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocod
e_result&resnum=1&ct=title> ). Due to the continued refusal of the YWCA
management to recognize and reward the contributions its members make to the
success of the YWCA, the UAW Local 2322 Contract Bargaining Committee has
decided to picket the YWCA Holiday Party.

YWCA workers have been in contract negotiations since May, and the YWCA has
said they “cannot afford” any raise at all for the workers who perform the
vital services the organization is known for and Exec Dir Mary Johnson loves
to brag about. 

However, the UAW’s review of YWCA financial records shows the YWCA had
$593,000 in unrestricted funds as of March 31, 2008. And Johnson has claimed
in her annual report that the YWCA has operated at a surplus for the last 24
years.

There has been enough money so that she and other members of the YWCA upper
management have received substantial raises annually. In fact Johnson
received a 19% raise in fiscal year ending (FYE) 2006 and a 7.8% in FYE 2007
bringing her total salary to $129,303. That does not include her “benefits”
package of $8,669 for FYE 2007. 

Additionally, the YWCA has spent in excess of $200,000 over the last several
years in lawyer’s fees to a known antiunion law firm to fight their workers’
rights to a union. 

Even past wage raises have not come from the YWCA! Annually in the 2-2.5%
range, these meager raises are provided by the Massachusetts Legislature
through the “Salary Reserve” for social services. And while the YWCA has
provided those same increases to a handful of workers who do not qualify for
the Salary Reserve, they also used that as an excuse to give raises to the
management of the YWCA, using “unrestricted” funds which they refuse to use
to fund raises to direct care staff. Those management increases often far
exceed the meager 2-2.5% direct care workers have received from the Salary
Reserve.   

TELL
<mailto:mrj at ywworks.org;%20info at ywworks.org;%20clbennett at springfieldpolice.n
et?subject=YWCA%20WORKERS%20DESERVE%20A%20RAISE!>  YWCA: WORKERS DESERVE A
RAISE!

Please support United Auto Workers Local 2322 members employed at the YWCA
of Western Massachusetts by joining their picket line Dec 10 and contacting
the Executive Director and Board President and telling them to give their
workers a raise. Exec Dir Mary Johnson is at (413) 732-3121 x101 and
mrj at ywworks.org, also info at ywworks.org. President of the Board of Directors
Lt. C. Lee Bennett is at clbennett at springfieldpolice.net.  

Info: Ron Patenaude, President, UAW 2322, 534-7600, uaw2322 at uaw2322.org,
www.somethingaboutmaryjohnson.com. 

About 5 minutes straight northeast to next event:  

 

Wednesday December 10

FREE FILM: MADE IN L.A.

6:30-8:30pm, 250 Albany St, Springfield (map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=250+Albany+Street,+Springf
ield,+MA+01101&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.013085,60.644531&ie=UTF8&ll=42
.120429,-72.575984&spn=0.007083,0.014806&z=16&g=250+Albany+Street,+Springfie
ld,+MA+01101&iwloc=addr> ). Made in L.A. is an Emmy-award winning
documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants
working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year
odyssey to win basic labor protections from a mega-trendy clothing retailer.
In intimate verité style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on
each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience.
Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about
immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your
voice. Presented in commemoration of Human Rights Day.

Free refreshments. We will invite donations to support SweatFree
Communities' advocacy for the human rights of sweatshop workers. Sponsored
by CSR Wire, Gasoline Alley Foundation, and SweatFree Communities. Info:
Liana Foxvog, 586-0974, liana at sweatfree.org, www.sweatfree.org,
www.madeinla.com. 

 

AND ADD TO THE WEEK OF ACTION CALENDAR:

 

Thursday December 11

            HANDBILLING IN FRONT OF 2 WAL-MART STORES

            4-5pm, 1105 Boston Rd, Springfield, & 591 Memorial Drive,
Chicopee. Families, grassroots activists, and all allies: Please tell Tyrone
Housey, 732-6209 x17, thousey at ufcw1459.com, which store you plan to target.
See www.wakeupwalmart.com. 

 

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Workers' Rights".

[Workers' Rights] posts opportunities for you to learn about and show
solidarity with workplace and working class struggles. And these events are
opportunities for JwJ members to fulfill their pledge:
<http://www.jwj.org/pledge.html> "I'll be there for workers' rights at least
five times a year!" This is the core mission of Jobs with Justice
(www.jwj.org <http://www.jwj.org/> ), affirming that workers' rights are
human rights. To subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject
of "Subscribe Workers' Rights".

Western Mass Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301 

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