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Spotlight NewsletterApril 27, 2012 |
Volume 1., Issue 228
Workers Memorial Day: Mourn for the Dead, Fight for the Living
More than 300 California workers lost their lives in work-related accidents in 2010, and another 6,500 died from chronic workplace exposure to chemicals and other toxins. Additionally, for every 100 California workers, four nonfatal injuries are disclosed annually to the workers compensation system, and countless more go unreported. It is clear that more needs to be done to keep workers safe and healthy at work.
Tomorrow is Workers Memorial Day, the one day a year dedicated to commemorating the fallen, protecting the injured and preventing future injuries and fatalities. The California Labor Federation and Cal/OSHA are working on a number of new initiatives to minimize the number of workplace accidents, ensure adequate treatment for injured workers and provide support for the families of those who’ve died at work.
Learn more.
Tomorrow: Informational Picket at UC Santa Cruz Alumni Reunion
Skilled Crafts workers at UC Santa Cruz have been fighting for more than six months for a fair contract that would provide them with the same basic benefits and protections as other UCSC employees, but the management is refusing to consider the workers’ proposals.
This weekend, as UCSC alumni celebrate their reunion, the Skilled Crafts employees will be holding an informational picket, in order to raise awareness of the vital work they perform for the UCSC community, and put pressure on the university to grant these workers the same sorts of wages, benefits and respect their fellow UCSC workers already receive. The picket will take place from 9am to noon at the main entrance to the campus.
For more information, email laborcouncil@mbclc.org.
Tuesday: May Day Protest to Support Trash and Recycling Workers in LA
Workers at American Reclamation in Los Angeles have the difficult and dirty job of sorting commercial trash for recyclable materials. And the employer has no problem treating the workers themselves like garbage, forcing them to toil in hazardous working conditions for poverty wages, refusing to provide benefits, and firing workers who make any effort to improve their conditions.
On May 1st, International Workers Day, the waste and recycling workers will be joined by hundreds of other workers and supporters to protest American Reclamation’s abhorrent mistreatment of its workers. The action will begin at 11am at American Reclamation (4500 Doran St, LA).
Learn more.
Sign the Petition: Tell BART to Buy American-Made Rail Cars
Instead of putting thousands of Americans to work by building a new fleet of train cars here in the United States, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors is currently considering outsourcing the $2.5 billion train car contract to a foreign country.
Now is the time to call on the BART directors to invest those taxpayer dollars in creating good manufacturing jobs here in the United States – please take a moment to sign the online petition today.
Sign the petition.
This Week on “Labor’s Edge”
The KPFA worker coalition announced a large picket in protest of Pacifica’s anti-union actions.
LA County Federation of Labor’s Caroline O’Connor shared highlights from last week’s Voto Latino Summit in LA.
We reported back from the Tax Day press event in Sacramento with the Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.
In honor of Equal Pay Day, Jenya Cassidy of the Labor Project for Working Families called on Walmart to stop its rampant wage discrimination against female employees.
Gordon Mar of Jobs with Justice San Francisco detailed the “Gala for the 99%” targeting Walmart heirs in San Francisco.
AFL-CIO’s Tula Connell unveiled new data revealing corporate CEOs are raking in massive profits while median income is falling for working families.
Steve Maviglio shared the new “Wimps didn’t Build California” video in support of California’s high-speed rail project.
Michael Sorkin of United Media Guild memorialized his co-worker who died after their employer broke its health care promise.
Barbara Materna of the California Department of Public Health shared a digital story on preventing workplace deaths in the solar panel industry.
In honor of Workers Memorial Day, we detailed our plan to honor the fallen by protecting the injured and preventing future fatalities.