Dear friends,
You may not think of grad school students and adjunct professors when you think of exploited workers, but Brittany Bronson cleared this up for me a while back. Two weeks ago, several thousand students in the Graduate Workers of Columbia Union went on strike. This was the culmination of failed negotiations over increased stipends and childcare subsidies and “access to third-party arbitration in cases of sexual harassment.” NYU’s Grad Student Organizing Committee has also undertaken a strike authorization vote (results pending), as they demand raises, better benefits, and an end to NYU’s ties with the NYPD.
Sign this petition to support striking workers at Columbia University.
This is a critical moment for workers around the nation. Overwhelming support (98%) for the strike authorization vote by staff at The New Yorker and members of two other unions negotiating with Condé Nast will, hopefully, pressure the publisher to raise wages and meet other demands.
Here are some easy ways to support The New Yorker Union.
In case you missed it, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Elon Musk and Tesla violated the laws protecting workers who try to organize. Among the offenses was a tweet from several years ago, which the NLRB understood as a threat:
"Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted," the tweet reads. "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare."
The NLRB has ordered Musk to delete the offending tweet and to rehire a work who had been fired from Tesla for supporting unionization. Additionally, the company was cited for “interrogating employees about their union activities, and disciplining or otherwise discriminating against employees because they support the union.”
The NLRB is part of the alphabet soup of the original New Deal. Biden made the unusual — and refreshingly bold — move of forcing out the Trump-appointed leader of the NLRB on day one of his presidency.
The big labor story, of course, is the vote in Bessemer, Alabama. The feeling on the ground in Alabama is very optimistic.
[T]he union drive has already succeeded in roiling the world’s biggest e-commerce company and spotlighting complaints about its labor practices. The vote comes at a delicate time for the company, which faces increasing scrutiny in Washington and around the world for its market power and influence, which have grown during the pandemic as consumers flocked online to avoid stores. President Biden has signaled his support for the workers, as have many progressive leaders.
If the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union succeeds, it would be a huge victory for the labor movement, whose membership has declined for decades. A victory would also give it a foothold inside the country’s second-largest private employer.
The voting ended yesterday and the NLRB oversees the count, which may take about a week if there are contested ballots. I am anticipating a victory.
Many eyes are on the trial of Derek Chauvin, but I can’t stomach the defense. I am trying to visualize a just outcome.
The New Georgia Project, the Black Voters Matter Fund, and Rise, Inc., filed suit against Georgia’s new voter suppression law because the intention of the law is to create obstacles to voter participation. They further allege that the
“unjustifiable burdens [will fall] disproportionately on the State’s minority, young, poor, and disabled citizens.”
The water provision is mean-spirited and blatantly punitive, instantly recognizable as a Jim Crow tactic designed to make people miserable simply because they are living in a neighborhood (most likely a minority neighborhood) where voting authorities have already tried to discourage voting by deploying old machines and limiting polling places. (“A recent study found that the average wait time in Georgia after polls were scheduled to close was six minutes in neighborhoods that were at least 90% white, and 51 minutes in places that were at least 90% nonwhite,” according to the complaint.)
Support Black Voters Matter.
And here’s another lawsuit to cheer on: A class action suit against Vincent Viola, billionaire and Trump crony, will proceed. He is accused of violating the city’s rent regulations and systematically defrauding his tenants at 2 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Support Housing Rights Initiative, a non-profit that holds fraudulent and discriminatory landlords accountable.
And finally, anyone 30 and over is now eligible to be vaccinated in NYS. Next week, anyone 16 and up is eligible.
Have a great day!
with love,
L