The executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee makes her case for legislation that would remove obstacles to workers ability to join unions.
By Sybil Sanchez
Aug 29, 2009: NEW YORK (JTA) -- This Labor Day, take a moment to remember people like Lupe Hernandez.
When she toured a Jewish family's apartment in the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, she felt connected to our history as immigrants struggling to make better lives for ourselves and our families. Hernandez is one of the immigrant workers on strike in the 2007 film "Made in LA" struggling to receive a fair wage and stop sweatshop abuse by organizing.
Labor Day might seem like a quaint throwback, but the struggle for workers' rights is still being fought today in our own backyards.
Our community's relationship to labor is very different today than in yesteryear, but the Jewish obligation to remember our history remains relevant. As Jews, we must respect and support workers' rights, whether it's those of our ancestors or today's immigrants.
While most headlines are focused on health care reform, labor law reform should stay on our agenda -- specifically, the Employee Free Choice Act. This much-needed legislation has three important principles: Workers would more easily be able to join or form a union; employers who break the law in efforts to stop union organizing would face more stringent penalties and workers who have chosen to form a union would have a clear path to an initial collective bargaining agreement with their employer.
Today, 44 percent of newly formed unions are unable to reach initial agreements, a serious problem the current law fails to address.
The majority sign-up route to union recognition provided by the Employee Free Choice Act has a long history and is in widespread use today in the United States and many other countries. But there's a catch: Under current law, workers can form a union via majority sign-up only if their employer agrees to it - which most employers refuse to do, even when worker support for the union is overwhelming.
Supporting this legislation is a no-brainer if one supports workers' right to collectively negotiate for decent wages and working conditions.
The Jewish Labor Committee has been a longtime supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act. We're not alone. A number of other Jewish organizations also have endorsed it, including the Progressive Jewish Alliance in Los Angeles, Chicago's Jewish Council for Urban Affairs, Philadelphia's Jewish Social Policy Action Network, Washington's Jews United for Justice and New York's Uri L'Tzedek. A visit to Rabbisforworkerschoice.org reveals the support of dozens of rabbis.
Ofer Eini, chairman of Israel's federation of labor, the Histadrut, also has weighed in on the issue, conveying his support In a recent letter to John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO.
"The Employee Free Choice Act will bring U.S. law for union recognition into conformity with Israeli law and international human rights standards on the freedom of association in the workplace," Eini wrote. "We believe that U.S. workers, and all workers, should have the same rights as Israeli workers, to organize unions free from employer interrogation, intimidation and harassment.
"In Israel, when workers seek to bargain collectively, they just join together into a union, in the same manner that they join any other organization," he added. "When a sufficient number of workers have joined a union, they can demand recognition from their employer. If the employer refuses, the Labour Courts of Israel can investigate, and when it has determined that the required number of the workers are union members, that they have joined freely and without coercion, the court can require the employer to recognize the union."
According to Eini, the Employee Free Choice Act will "reform U.S. labor law so that the U.S. National Labor Relations Board is, like the National Labour Court of Israel, empowered to protect freedom of association, instead of thwarting it, as it is currently compelled to do by U.S. labor law."
"Unlike the National Labour Court of Israel, the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] of the United States has no power to require the employer to recognize the workers' union except by first imposing an NLRB election," he said. "But NLRB elections are a cruel violation of the fundamental principles of free and fair and secret elections. In practice, they effectively prevent workers from exercising their right to freedom of association.
"Paid supervisors are trained by anti-union consultants to act as spies in the workplace. Thousands of workers are harassed, intimidated or fired each year by employers who do everything in their power to rob workers of their right to join unions and bargain collectively.
"So long as the employer-employee relationship remains one of power imbalance there is no way to reform an NLRB election to make it approach the standard of a free, fair and secret election.
"But as the experience of Israel teaches us, there is no reason to force workers through such a process. The National Labor Relations Board of the United States, like the National Labour Court of Israel, is fully capable of assessing the validity of union membership and verifying that membership was achieved without intimidation and coercion. It can do so without being required to impose an undemocratic and workers-rights-violating NLRB election. But it can do so only if the Employee Free Choice Act will pass as written."
The Histadrut leader concluded by calling on "all who desire that our countries' laws reflect our shared ideals of workplace social justice to support Employee Free Choice."
In this respect, Israeli law is pointing the way to a society that treats its workers with justice and dignity. Can we do any less?
The New York Times reports that the company that owns Stella D'Oro cookies has been ordered to reinstate the 134 Bronx-based workers who have been on strike since their contract expired last summer, and to pay the workers back wages plus interest.
As I wrote in a post on The Jew and the Carrot, Brynwood Partners bought Stella D'Oro in 2006 and, when the workers' contracts ran out last summer, demanded that workers accept pay cuts of up to 26% and begin contributing to their health insurance costs.
As far as I can tell, Jews are just about the only consumers of Stella D'Oro cookies, whose major advantage is that they're parve (dairy free) and therefore can be eaten after a meat meal. A few years ago, the company decided to begin using dairy chocolate in some of its cookies; the ensuing outrage from the kosher-keeping community forced a return to (more expensive) parve chocolate.
As I suggested in my earlier post, the Jewish community can use this economic power not only to hold onto parve chocolatey goodness, but to make sure that the workers who help satisfy our sweet tooths are paid decent wages.
While this victory is a huge step forward for the workers, the fight might not be over yet. The company still can appeal the decision to the National Labor Relations Board, which is notoriously slow in hearing cases. In the meantime, it's still worth it to shoot a note to Henrik Hartong, Jr., the senior partner of Brynwood at huppsy@brynwoodpartners.com to let him know how glad you are that the workers will be getting their jobs and their wages back. Can't hurt to tell him that you're now more likely to buy his cookies.
The Jewish Labor Committee has been working both nationally and locally to support the Employees Free Choice Act (EFCA). Hundreds of people across the country have signed onto the JLC’s petition {you can add your name here}.
In Philadelphia, the traditionally secular organization has organized something distinctive: a rabbinic appeal to Senator Arlen Specter. JLC Philadelphia Director Rosalind Spigel has enlisted 25 local rabbis plus rabbinical students to sign an open letter urging Pennsylvania’s newly minted Democratic senior senator to put Jewish values to work and help safeguard the rights of employees who wish to secure union representation.{Additional signatories are of course welcome – see here.} Congress is currently considering the Employee Free Choice Act. While Sen. Specter previously supported the legislation, most recently he indicated a disinclination to support this legislation.
On Tuesday, June 9, a rabbinic delegation of the Philadelphia JLC met Senator Arlen Specter to urge his support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Included in the delegation were Rabbis Anna Boswell-Levy, Reba Carmel, Leonard Gordon, and Alan LaPayover; also participating were Philadelphia JLC Vice President William Epstein {who is communications director for Local 1776 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and board member of the Jewish Social Policy Action Network}, Philadelphia JLC President Jeff Hornstein {who is district organizing coordinator of SEIU Local 32 BJ}, and Philadelphia JLC Director Rosalind Spigel.
That day also marks the official launch of the website of Rabbis for Workers’ Choice. The delegation visiting Specter urging him to stand with working families held a short ceremony to reinforce their message at his Philadelphia office.
The rabbis’ open letter begins by characterizing biblical references about the Sabbath, the day of rest from daily labors, as an affirmation of human dignity for the worker. It goes on to quote D’varim/Deuteronomy [24:14-15]: “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it.”
Under the proposed EFCA legislation, workers would be empowered to choose between a secret ballot and a majority sign-up process. Under current labor law, employers often use a combination of legal and illegal methods of intimidation to silence employees who attempt to form unions and bargain for better wages and working conditions. When faced with union organizing drives, up to 25 percent of employers fire at least one pro-union worker. [See Kate Bronfenbrenner, `Uneasy Terrain: The Impact of Capital Mobility on Workers, Wages and Union Organizing' (September 6, 2000).]
Penalties for employer transgressions are too weak to deter violations. For example, an employer found guilty of illegally firing an employee for union activity must only give back pay to that employee – and is allowed to deduct whatever that worker earned elsewhere in the interim. Many employers find the punishment for breaking the law a bargain if firing a pro-union employee scares off others from supporting the union.
Even if workers successfully form a union despite such tactics, their employer is allowed to repeatedly appeal the results – which can take years to resolve, by which time some employees may no longer be working there, and momentum of any organizing campaign may well be depleted. Such delays mock the democratic process and weaken union support by inviting more opportunities for employee turnover, harassment, and firings by management.
In the course of elections to secure union representation, workers are twice as likely (46 percent vs. 23 percent) as those in sign-up campaigns to report that management coerced them to oppose the campaign to unionize. Whereas less than one in 20 workers (4.6 percent) who signed a card in the presence of a union organizer reported feeling pressured to sign the card. Currently, 91 percent of employers faced with organizing drives force employees to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their supervisors; 34 percent of employers coerce workers into opposing the unionization drive with bribes and favoritism; and 51 percent threaten to close a work site if unionization prevails.
The proposed Employee Free Choice Act was crafted to remedy these pernicious practices and outcomes. Moreover, the implications for social justice are clear: the resulting growth in the unionized work force would produce better wages and working conditions for many of America’s society’s most impoverished and hard-pressed workers. Supporting the Employee Free Act is the right thing to do.
After their six-day factory occupation, workers at Republic Window and Doors in Chicago unanimously voted to accept a $1.75 million settlement. Read details about the settlement here.
It will provide the workers with:
Eight weeks of salary they are owed under the federal WARN Act;
Two months of continued health coverage;
All accrued and unused vacation pay.
Hundreds of laid-off workers began a sit-in last week after their company gave them just three days' notice the plant was closing, violating federal law.
This is a tremendous victory! But as Jobs with Justice articulates, this struggle is just beginning. "As the economic crisis deepened we need to launch a working class fight back. Click here to find an action near you.
And there's more positive news, the union has created a new foundation -- "Window of Opportunity Fund" -- dedicated to re-opening the plant. Initiated with "the thousands of dollars in donations to the union's Solidarity Fund that come in from across the country and around the world in just the past five days." Read more here.
I spent part of this afternoon with the workers of Republic Windows and Doors, who have attracted national attention for their occupation of their Chicago factory. As you may have read, the company laid off 250 workers last week, with three days notice. Workers are owed at least a million dollars in severance and vacation pay. The company claims to be unable to pay because Bank of America, a recent recipient of a $15 billon government bailout, has cut off the company’s credit line.
Of course, the workers also want to hold onto their jobs--especially as rumors fly that Republic plans to open a new plant in another state.
(Just an hour ago, Bank of America agreed to extend some credit to the company; the exact terms are not public).
Since the workers moved into the building on Friday, hundreds of people, ranging from high-level politicians to ordinary people have stopped by to participate in rallies and to drop off food for the workers. Today, 100-some people gathered for an interfaith rally organized by Interfaith Worker Justice and its Chicago affiliate, Chicago Interfaith Committee on Workers’ Issues. I happened to be in Chicago for the board meeting of Interfaith Worker Justice, and so joined the group for this rally. Tomorrow, more than 1000 people are expected at a rally outside of the Bank of America building in downtown Chicago.
We are writing to ask your help, and for your name on the petition online here.
Many of us have been aware of the shameful situation confronting workers for a number of years at the Agriprocessors Inc. meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa - the largest kosher meat processing plant in North America. A number of significant articles and editorials in the Jewish media and general press have brought this matter to the community at large. After the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the plant, many of the company's longstanding labor violations have received public exposure.
Please see the petition here. We feel strongly that we have to take a stand on this. We hope you will sign it. You are invited to join us in calling for the management of Agriprocessors to "live up to their responsibilities of corporate citizenship, to end its campaign of worker abuse, and resp ect the rights of its employees, including their legal right to union representation."
Many of the families of those detained in the ICE raid are in great need. Contributions of non-perishable food, personal care items - and donations via checks to the Postville Food Pantry -- can be sent to:
POSTVILLE FOOD PANTRY c/o Pastor Steve Brackett, Treasurer St. Paul Lutheran Church 116 East Military Road Postville, IA 52162
{The food pantry's phone number is 563-864-7643}
We want to hear from you - please send us your comments and suggestions. If at all possible, sign our petition { http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JLC_Agri_Petition/ }; send in support to the Postville Food Pantry; and share this message with others.
Sincerely,
Rosalind A. Spigel, MSOD Acting Director Jewish Labor Committee 25 East 21st Street New York, NY 10010
Camp Food is No Joking Matter BBYO Teens Demand Agriprocessor-Free Camp Programs
As a result of the allegations of intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors, the largest producer of kosher meat and poultry in the U.S., BBYO takes major stand by asking its various camp partners to avoid serving Agriprocessor products, to which they comply.
Nine hundred teens participating in BBYO’s summer leadership experiences at Perlman Camp, PA; Beber Camp, WI; and American Hebrew Academy, CA, over the course of this summer, will eat meals free of Agriprocessor products, showing a unified commitment to social justice and Jewish values.
Teens make concerted effort to expand summer program curricula to address the Agriprocessor issue from variety of angles, including the ritual and ethical implications of kashrut, worker’s rights, immigration reform and Jewish values.
The first program will take place on Thursday, June 26, 11:45 am – 1:15 pm, when nearly 100 Jewish teens will gather at Beber Camp in Mukwonago, Wisconson (suburban Milwaukee) to make their voices heard against the intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors. Confirmed speakers include Rabbi Morris Allen, a Minneapolis-based leader of the Heksher Tzedek campaign for kosher foods to be produced ethically, who has been to Postville multiple times and will share first-hand accounts from factory workers. Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO’s International Teen Co-President, will also address the group, to raise awareness among her peers and encourage action when teens return home to their local communities.
“If anyone is going to make their opinion on this problem matter to the Jewish community and communities at large, and ultimately stand up against an issue in which human rights and Jewish values are demeaned, it’s BBYO teens.” – Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO International Teen Co-President. ...
I loved my youth movement growing up, but unfortunately we never took the lead on an issue like this. Yasher Koach BBYO!
Demonstration on Thursday, June 19th, of workers, family members and supporters.
On Monday May 26, 2008, twenty long-term employees at Flaum Appetizing Company, a major distributor of high-end kosher products in Williamsburg, Brooklyn New York, lawfully stopped work to protest of the firing of one of their co-workers, Maria Corona. At this point, instead of negotiating with them, management locked out and fired these workers. Previously required to work more than sixty hours per week without legally-mandated overtime pay, without sick leave, holidays, vacations, or even drinking water on the job, the workers joined the Food and Allied Workers Union 460/640, IWW.
The workers had not received overtime, as mandated by New York state law, paid sick days or holidays until, after joining the union for the purposes of collective bargaining, they had petitioned the management. After joining the union, workers had won paid breaks, their first paid holidays, paid vacations, and time and a half for hours worked over 40. The National Labor Relations Board had documented the employees' allegations and has issued a formal complaint against the company's actions, and is currently investigating additional labor law violations. In addition, a federal lawsuit has been filed against Flaum for past violations of wage and hour laws.
The fired workers' most immediate concern is to have their jobs reinstated. While the workers’ case against Flaum will play itself out in the courts and at the Labor Board, letters encouraging management to end the lock-out, and give these workers their jobs back, can be sent to
Flaum Appetizing 288 Scholes Street Brooklyn, NY 11206
The Service Employees International Union recruited comedian Lewis Black to rant on video about leveraged buyouts and corporate tax loopholes. It's hard to pull off; the subject matter is difficult, and the staging is a bit awkward (although it's nice to see the Local 32BJ hat!). The main event the video is plugging is an international protest on July 17, to:
...demand accountability for private equity firms and the billionaires who run them.
The private equity firms these billionaires run are global in their reach and they have global impact on our communities. So we’re going global, too. Join thousands of people across the globe in taking on the buyout billionaires to take back the economy.
The S.E.I.U.’s latest effort is an escalation of a fight that began last April, when it began a broad campaign against private equity firms with a study questioning the value that the leveraged buyout industry adds to the national economy.
Since then, the union has trained its sights on two of the biggest private equity firms around — the Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts — as it seeks to clamp down on the handsome profits that those companies reaped during the buyout boom.
The union argues that buyout executives like David M. Rubenstein of Carlyle and Henry R. Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis have gamed the tax code, reaping huge gains by piling debt on companies their firms have acquired, only to deduct the interest from their corporate taxes.
S.E.I.U. officials acknowledge, however, that changing the tax code could upend the modern corporate regime and say they have not endorsed any specific proposals.
The union also argues that the attention on private equity firms has been justified by the huge role they now play in the economy. Companies owned at least in part by Kohlberg Kravis employ more than 816,000 people, according to the firm’s Web site — more than the population of San Francisco.
If the campaign succeeds at bringing to light the role these firms play in the modern economy, it will be providing an important service. If you don't know who is screwing you, it's easy to get mad at the wrong people...
As a side note... always fun to see a Jewish comedian helping a union with a Jewish president promote a campaign led by a Jewish organizer take on Jewish business owners, who in turn are supported by an industry lobbying group headed by... you guessed it!
