Walmart Workers Launch Strike Action in Three Cities

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p2w2NH-nh

mnemonic here:  http://urlet.com/instituting.sounds

Walmart  Workers Launch First-Ever ‘Prolonged Strikes’ Today

Josh Eidelson on  May 28, 2013 – 10:57 AM

Walmart employees are on strike in Miami, Massachusetts and the California  Bay Area this morning, kicking off what organizers promise will be the first  “prolonged strikes” in the retail giant’s history. The union-backed labor group  OUR Walmart says that at least a hundred workers have pledged to join the  strikes, and that some workers walking off the job today will stay out at least  through June 7, when Walmart holds its annual shareholder meeting near  Bentonville, Arkansas.

Organizers expect retail employees in more cities to join the work stoppage,  which  follows the country’s first-ever coordinated Walmart store strikes last  October, and a high-profile Black Friday walkout November  23. Like Black Friday’s, today’s strike is being framed by the union-backed  labor group OUR Walmart as a response to retaliation against  worker-activists.

Update (5:30 PM EST Tuesday): Dozens of Southern  California Walmart retail employees plan to join this week’s strike starting  Thursday. According to organizers, the employees will rally on Thursday morning  in Pico Rivera with supporters including US Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), and  warehouse workers employed in Walmart-contracted buildings in the region. The  retail workers will take part in the “Ride for Respect,” traveling from  California to Arizona and New Mexico before arriving in Arkansas. Their caravan  will also include two fired warehouse employees, David Garcia and Javier  Rodriguez, who allege that their activism cost them their jobs.

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/174551/walmart-workers-launch-first-ever-prolonged-strikes-today
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Enterprise Zone Scam Revealed – Yes Eureka is Infected

 

shortlink here:  http://wp.me/p38Pt0-c6

mnemonic here: http://urlet.com/anyone.territory

Enterprise Zones: Killing the California Dream

By Gary Cohn

“John Thomas and Hans Burkhardt have a lot in common. For more than 17 years each man had a good paying union job, with health and pension benefits, near San Francisco Bay. Thomas worked as a warehouseman for VWR International, a medical supply company with a warehouse in Brisbane, south of Candlestick Park. Burkhardt also worked as a warehouseman, for BlueLinx, a building products company with a facility across the bay in Newark.

The similarities don’t end there. Both Thomas and Burkhardt are now collecting unemployment, having lost their $22-an-hour jobs after their employers moved to take advantage of California’s enterprise zone plan, a controversial state program that is supposed to create jobs.

The enterprise program, established in 1984, provides $700 million in tax breaks for companies that set up business or move to one of 40 zones within the state. It is operated by the state but administered by local governments. The program gives companies tax credits of up to $37,440 per person hired in one of the zones, which are intended to create jobs and spark investment in economically-distressed areas. Yet interviews and public documents reviewed by Frying Pan News reveal that some of these zones are located in relatively well-off areas, including San Francisco’s Financial District and the city’s hipster-packed SoMa neighborhood, which is home to many software and technology firms. In Southern California, enterprise zone areas encompass parts of Hollywood and the corporate center of downtown Los Angeles.

Overall, 61 percent of enterprise zone tax credits were claimed by corporations with more than $1 billion in assets. People familiar with the program say that recipients include huge retailers such as Walmart. The total amount of enterprise tax credits received by Walmart is one of those facts cloaked in the program’s tax secrecy.”

the rest of the article:

http://www.calitics.com/diary/15051/enterprise-zones-killing-the-california-dream

Right Wing Dark Money Steps into California Minimum Wage Fight

By Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times   March 27, 2013

shortlink here http://wp.me/p2w2NH-m5   mnemonic:  http://urlet.com/similarly.ax

Proposed legislation to raise the state minimum wage could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and harm the California economy, a small-business advocacy group said.

The measure, AB 10, could wipe out more than 68,000 jobs over 10 years and cost $5.7 billion in lost production of goods and services, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The bill, introduced in December by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas), would increase the minimum hourly wage to $8.25 in 2014 from $8 now. The legislation would further increase it to $8.75 in 2015 and $9.25 in 2016.

In 2017 and annually thereafter, the minimum wage would be adjusted to keep up with inflation.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nfib-minimum-wage-20130327,0,5034816.story

Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — The same group that exposed the previously little-known American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as a dominant force advancing corporate interests at the state level has now turned its sights on exposing the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

NFIB is hardly operating in near-secrecy, like ALEC was. The organization, which describes itself as “the voice of small business,” was the lead plaintiff in the ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, taking it to the Supreme Court.

The left-leaning Center for Media and Democracy has posted on  NFIBexposed.org, its new website, a study that reveals how consistently the NFIB lobbies on issues that favor large corporate interests rather than small-business interests; its thoroughly partisan agenda; and the millions it receives in secret contributions from groups associated with Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/nfib-exposed_n_1917262.html

wikipedia:

On its website, the National Federation of Independent Business states that it is a “nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943″ and “represents the consensus views of its members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.”^[2] Its PAC is called Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust (SAFE).^[3] The organization’s donations tend to strongly favor Republicans.^[4]

In 2010, 25 of its members, all Republican, were elected to the 112th Congress.^[5] A number of them, such as Rand Paul, Jeff Duncan, Paul Gosar and Kristi Noem, are affiliated with or endorsed by the Tea Party movement. The same year, the NFIB opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act health care reform legislation while some other small business advocates supported the measure.^[6] The organization joined 26 states in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Act. The case was picked up by the Supreme Court, which issued its ruling on National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius on June 28, 2012, upholding most provisions of the Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Federation_of_Independent_Business

Sourcewatch:

National Federation of Independent Business

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a lobbying group that calls itself “the voice of small business.”[1] However, the group has been shown to lobby on issues that favor large corporate interests and run counter to the interests of small businesses.[2][3] News reports have also found that NFIB, which claims to be non-partisan, engages in partisan politics, and receives millions in hidden contributions.   Small business owners run the gamut politically. For instance, 33 percent identify as Republicans, 32 percent as Democrats, and 29 percent as Independent.[4] However, NFIB accepted a $3.7 million gift in 2010 from Crossroads GPS, a group affiliated with Republican political operative Karl Rove that overwhelmingly endorses and financially supports Republican candidates.[5] According to new data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), in 2010 the NFIB Small Business Legal Center (SBLC) received $1.15 million from “conservative 501(c)(3) conduit group” Donors Trust, a major contributor to the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Other contributions include the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which gave to a wide range of conservative groups including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[6][7][8][

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Federation_of_Independent_Business

crossposted to:  http://wp.me/p38Pt0-6x or:

http://humboldtactivist.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/right-wing-dark-money-steps-into-california-minimum-wage-fight/

 

California Second Most Expensive Place to Rent in the U.S. – RAISE OUR WAGES!

Calif. Minimum Wage Doesn’t Pay the Bills: Report

Workers earning minimum wage can’t afford rent in many SoCal cities

By Heather Navarro and Angie Crouch
| Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 | Updated 7:46 PM PDT

A worker earning minimum wage in California has to clock in more than three the standard 40-hour work week to renting a two-bedroom residents, according to a new report. The divide between wages and rent across America is growing, and California ranks fifth worst in the country. Angie Crouch reports from Beverlywood for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on March 12, 2013.

California’s gap between minimum wage and housing affordability is the fifth worst in the country, behind New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Earning the state’s $8-per-hour minimum wage, Californians would need to clock in 129 hours per week — three times the standard 40-hour work week — to afford housing for $1,300 a month, according to National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual report, which uses census and median income data.

Residents in Orange and Ventura counties would need to earn at least $30 per hour — or work about 155 hours per week on minimum wage — to afford two-bedroom housing, according to the report.

The Golden State ranked as the second most expensive place to rent in the United States, behind Hawaii.

Rent Almost Out of Reach for Minimum…

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Rent-Almost-Out-of-Reach-for-Minimum-Wage-Workers/197705201

Have a Heart Rally for Homecare Workers: Tuesday 12:30 Courthouse – WEAR RED

the following came via Redwood Progressive [ rs@richardsalzman.com ] email letter :

The California United Homecare Workers (CUHW) union will be holding a rally on Tuesday and we need your help to make it a success. Please join us as we continue our fight to improve the lives of those who keep our seniors and people with disabilities healthy at home. Here are the details:

What: Rally for Homecare Justice – Wear red to show that you “have a heart” for homecare.

Where: Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth Street, Eureka

When: Tuesday, February 5 at 12:30 pm

Why: Negotiations with the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, acting as the Humboldt County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Public Authority, have dragged on for over a year as the Supervisors have refused to offer a single penny to the lowest paid caregivers in California. After the workers put forward a Settlement Proposal last December, the Board of Supervisors unilaterally ended negotiations and refused to consider the proposal.

We will be joined at the rally by allies from local non-profits, other unions, the disability rights community, and senior advocates, among others. We hope you will be able to join us too. Following the rally, community supporters are invited to attend a reception at the union’s office, located at 314 L Street, Eureka.

For more information:  shaneb@cuhw.org or  (707) 382-7270.

http://www.cuhw.org/

– To contact the Supervisors:

Rex Bohn   <rbohn@co.humboldt.ca.us> 476-2391

Estelle Fennell  <efennell@co.humboldt.ca.us> 476-2392

Mark Lovelace <mlovelace@co.humboldt.ca.us> 476-2393

Virginia Bass <vbass@co.humboldt.ca.us> 476-2394

Ryan Sundberg <rsundberg@co.humboldt.ca.us> 476-2395

Poll:  Do Humboldt County’s IHSS Workers Deserve A Raise?

or take it at polldaddy:

http://poll.fm/3wz0i

STUDY: How a $12.00 An Hour Wage Standard Would Impact Walmart Workers and Shoppers

CONCLUSION

http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/bigbox_livingwage_policies11.pdf

http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/research/walmart.shtml

Should policy makers consider supporting legislation that would raise wages at Walmart? Should they be concerned that low-income shoppers will bear the cost if Walmart is required to increase its minimum wage to $12 an hour?

Our data suggests that a $12 per hour minimum wage standard at Walmart would be effective in aiding lower-income families. If Walmart increased its minimum wage to $12 per hour, 41.4 percent of the income gain would accrue to workers with wages below 200 percent FPL. These low-wage workers could expect to earn an additional $1,670 to $6,500 a year in income.

If Walmart passed on 100 percent of the wage increase to consumers through price increases, which is unlikely, the impact for the average Walmart shopper would be $12.49 a year (Table 6, page 8). We estimate that 28.1 percent of the impact of the price increase would be borne by shoppers with incomes below 200 percent FPL.

Finally, we should consider the impact of a mandated wage increase on the economic viability of big box retailers. Some analysts suggest that Walmart could not just raise wages, and prices, given that it operates in a competitive environment. However, a living wage policy would require all large retailers to operate under the same standards.

Jacobs, Graham-Squire, and Luce | APRIL 2011 7

Defending the Community:

$12.00 an hour minimum wage for large employers in Eureka:

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com

http://fairwages.org

info@fairwages.org  707-442-7465

Major Victories for Working People – Voters Raise the Minimum Wage in Three Cities!

San Jose 3-2 margin, Albuquerque and Long Beach 2-1 margin!

San Jose voters embrace minimum-wage hike

By John Woolfolk

November 7, 2012 9:23 AM

San Jose voters embraced a ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage in the city, with more than half the precincts reporting the $2 hourly increase held onto its lead early Wednesday morning.

“We’re thrilled,” said Stacey Hendler Ross, spokeswoman for the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, which led the campaign for Measure D to raise the minimum wage in the city. “We always thought San Jose voters would know the right thing to do. Of course we’re not counting all our chickens before they’re hatched, but right now, we’re just ecstatic.”

Approval makes San Jose one of a few cities nationwide to set its own wage floor, even though businesses had argued the $2 hourly raise would only lead to fewer jobs.

Only a handful of other cities nationwide set their own minimum wages: San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N.M.

http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_21943918/san-jose-minimum-wage-hike-leads-early-returns

Measure D – San Jose – Minimum Wage (Vote For 1) Contest Detail Map
456 of 456 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes
YES 58.88% 117,764
NO 41.12% 82,238
200,002

http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/43231/110789/en/summary.html

A proposition to increase the minimum wage in Albuquerque from $7.50 an hour to $8.50 an hour won support by voters by a nearly two-to-one ratio.

The final tally on KOB.com has the wage increase passing with 139,143 for the increase (66 percent) and 70,952 against the increase (34 percent).

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2012/11/paseo-bonds-minimum-wage-increase.html

Measure N: Long Beach hotel wage measure passes
By Eric Bradley Staff Writerpresstelegram.com
Posted: 11/07/2012 01:20:14 AM PST
November 7, 2012 2:14 PM GMTUpdated: 11/07/2012 06:14:47 AM PST

LONG BEACH – A Los Angeles-union-proposed measure to boost pay for Long Beach hotel workers was victorious early Wednesday.  With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 63.22 percent of voters were in favor of Measure N, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/Clerk’s Office.

Measure N would require Long Beach hotels with more than 100 rooms to paymemployees at least $13 an hour. California’s minimum wage is $8.

The initiative would also ensure that service charges are remitted to appropriate employees, give a minimum of five paid sick days per year to full-time workers and pay an automatic 2 percent annual raise to employees.

Christine Petit, a steering committee member with the Long Beach Coalition For Good Jobs and a Healthy Community, which sponsored the measure, celebrated its apparent passage early Wednesday.

“It’s a recognition that people who work hard in Long Beach deserve a wage that they can support their families on,” said Petit.

http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_21946814/measure-n-long-beach-hotel-wage-measure-pass

more

daily kos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/07/1158036/-Voters-in-three-cities-give-low-wage-workers-a-raise

democratic underground http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014294285

the nation http://www.thenation.com/blog/171063/election-2012-field-reports-results-and-analysis#

NELP: http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Press%20Releases/2012/PR-Albuquerque-San-Jose-Long-Beach-Min-Wage-Approved.pdf?nocdn=1

RaisetheMinimumWage: http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/media-center/entry/victory-for-workers-as-voters-approve-minimum-wage-raises-in-albuquerque-sa/

–
Defending the Community
$12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers
http://fairwages.org
http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com
info@fairwages.org

CUHW Ask For Support For Fair Wages & Benefits for IHSS Home Health Care Workers

California United Homecare Workers are asking IHSS Homecare Providers and the public to stand with us in solidarity.

We meet at the Supervisors Chambers in the Courthouse 825 Fifth Street, Eureka. 1:00 PM.

The next meetings are:

Tuesday, 10/16

Tuesday 10/23

Tuesday, 11/6

Tuesday, 11/13

Tuesday, 12/4

Tuesday, 12/11

Tuesday, 12/18

Background Information:

An independent Fact Finder came in and looked at the County’s books and found that they DO have the ability to pay.

Link to the Fact Finding Report.

In closed session, the Board of Supervisors chose NOT to put the recommendations in effect.

They want to keep us in poverty.

We are asking that you stand with us in support at the Board of Supervisors Meetings listed above.  If you can’t make it to the meetings, call and or writ your Supervisor.  Thank you for your support.
-

Kathy Sobilo

707-407-0542

http://www.cuhw.org

Support In Home HealthCare Workers, Protest from 8:30am – end of Supes meeting, Tues. Oct 2nd

Tuesday, October 2nd
8:30am and through the Humboldt Board of Supervisors meeting

Support In Home Healthcare Workers!

Shameful…

Humboldt Supes Reject Fact Finder’s Recommendation to Increase Wages for IHSS Providers

September 26, 2012

After rejecting a Proposed Settlement from a Mediator in July that called for a wage increase for County IHSS providers that have never received a wage increase above the state’s minimum wage or any type of health benefits, the Humboldt Board of Supervisors have reached a new low. Yesterday, the Humboldt Board of Supervisors rejected a recommendation from the recently completed Fact Finding Report from Impartial Fact Finding Chairperson and San Francisco attorney Robert Hirsch. The recommendation ruled in favor of CUHW, calling for an increase in County provider wages, from their current hourly rate of $8/hr. to $8.75/hr. and $9.50/hr. in the following year, as well as a contribution to health care benefits for County IHSS providers. Hirsch referred to his ruling as, “A fair and equitable proposal,” stating that, “The County clearly has the ability to pay the modest sought (as it has acknowledged) and has even budgeted sufficient funds to cover most, if not all, the costs.”

Below is a response to the Humboldt Supes rejection of the Fact Finder’s recommendation from University of Connecticut Economics Professor Candace Howes:

I am shocked that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors would persist in their decision to not increase wages for the county’s 1450 IHSS workers, even in the face of the findings of the impartial chairperson for the Factfinding Panel. The county’s response is cynical and factually incorrect when it argues that “unfortunately, the fact-finder misunderstood a few important concepts. Most critically, the fact-finder incorrectly believed that the County’s 2012-2013 budget predicts financing to increase IHSS worker compensation.” In my reading of the factfinder’s report, he understood the financing perfectly well. He was arguing that the county had, in fact, put forward a budget which would have more than covered the wage cost of the increase, given what the IHSS program actually costs. The factfinder was, in fact, so impartial and careful that he did not report that the county was about to receive a refund from the State as part of a new program under the Affordable Care Act which is intended to help States fund more high quality home care programs. That refund would fully cover the cost of the wage increase without the county having to touch any current General Fund monies.

IHSS workers in Humboldt County are paid less than workers doing the same job in almost every other county in the state. Their wage has not increased in 4 years during which period the purchasing power of their wages (adjusted for inflation) has declined by 6 percent. IHSS workers have no health insurance through their job; they continue to pay for the gas they use to transport their care recipients and to get to their job, even as the average price of gas has risen by 25 percent in four years.

It is too bad the Board of Supervisors didn’t attend the Fact finding Panel for they would have come away with a much better understanding of the value of the program and how little it really costs the county. They would also have gotten a better appreciation of how much it depends on extraordinary sacrifices by the IHSS workers.

Read the full Fact Finding Report here:

http://co.humboldt.ca.us/publicinfo/docs/2012-09-25_h12-079-factfinding–cuhw-humboldt.pdf

California United Homecare Workers:

http://www.cuhw.org/

California Online Voter Registration

https://rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/ or http://urlet.com/investing.cheer

Voter Registration Form

---

Important information to know before registering online. Registration Deadline To be eligible to vote in the November 6, 2012, General Election, you must  finish and submit your electronic form before midnight Pacific Daylight  Time (PDT) on October 22, 2012. What you will need To register online you will need your California driver license or  identification card number, the last four digits of your social security number  and your date of birth. Your information will be provided to the California  Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to retrieve a copy of your DMV signature. If you do not have a California driver license or California identification  card, you can still use this form to register to vote by completing the online  interview by midnight PDT on October 22, 2012, and printing, signing, and  mailing your form to the address on the mailing label. Safe at Home Please do NOT use this form to register or re-register to vote if you  are enrolled in a confidential address program such as Safe at Home. If  sharing your address could put you in life-threatening danger, you may be  eligible to register to vote confidentially. For more information, contact the Safe at Home  program toll-free at (877) 322-5227 or safeathome@sos.ca.gov. https://rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/ or http://urlet.com/investing.cheer You may also print out a blank form to complete by hand. October 22, 2012, is the last day to register to be eligible to vote in the November 6, 2012, General Election. 用中文填寫並打印表格。 हिन्दी में फ़ॉर्म भरें और छापें। 日本語の投票者登録用紙を記入して印刷する。 បំពេញ និងផ្ដិតក្រដាសបំពេញ ជាភាសាខ្មែរ។ 양식을 한국어로 작성하고 인쇄하십시오. Kumpletuhin at ilimbag ang isang porma sa Tagalog. กรอกข้อมูลและพิมพ์แบบฟอร์มเป็นภาษาไทย Hãy điền và in ra một mẫu tiếng Việt. en espanol: https://rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/

–

Defending the Community

$12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers

http://fairwages.org

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com

info@fairwages.org