We know what ‘all work and no play’ makes us…

The AFL-CIO has an interesting exhibit right now: posters from films which celebrate Working Class Heroes. Every now and then I will post a few of the film titles included in the exhibition so you can check them out when you’re in need of some Big Screen respite from the Daily Grind.

Here are a few to add to your ‘To Watch’ list:

• 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002)
  This true story shows how much harder the Great Depression was if you were poor and black. Working for the railroad, you could forget being called by your real name — all black porters were simply called “George,” after George Pullman, the first person to employ emancipated slaves. Asa Philip Randolph agreed to fight for the Pullman porters’ cause and form the first black union in America.
• 9 to 5 (1980, Colin Higgins)
  Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are fed up with abuse from their rampantly male chauvinist employer, Dabny Coleman.  When they kidnap the boss and take control of the office, productivity and profits rise.
• Baran (2001, Majid Majidi)
  At an Iranian construction site where Afghan refugees are illegally employed, an Afghan teenage girl poses an a boy to obtain work after her father is disabled from a fall due to unsafe conditions.  A young Iranian worker resents the new employee until he discovers her secret and falls in love.  The story follows his heroic and, at times, outlandish efforts to protect her from the vicissitudes of the workplace and the immigration police.
• Billy Elliot (2000, Stephen Daldry)
  BillyElliot, the eleven year old son of a coal miner, finds that ballet is his passion and he secretly skips boxing lessons to study dance.  It’s a difficult time for the family – his father and brother are out on the picket line (the story takes place during the 1984-85 British miners strike).  When Billy’s father learns of the ballet class, he’s furious.  A devoted teacher intervenes, but when Billy’s brother is arrested, it seems he’ll miss the opportunity of a lifetime – an auditon to attend the Royal Ballet School.
• Bread and Roses (2000, Ken Loach)
  After a perilous illegal border crossing, a young Mexican woman plays a central role in organizing the janitors of a major Los Angeles office building. She falls in love with a brash young organizer and learns the terrible price her older sister paid to help support the family in Mexico.

Enjoy!

The Occupational Health Clinical Center offers help for the Injured or Ill Worker

Hazards can exist in any workplace, from schools to factories. Some workers suffer from chemical exposures and others are stressed by repetitive tasks. Whatever the cause of workplace illness or injury, low wage earners are frequently more affected than other workers because they don’t have affordable access to medical evaluation and treatment.

Fortunately, workers in Central New York have the resources and advocacy of the Occupational Health Clinical Center (OHCC) of Syracuse to help them deal with occupational illness. OHCC, a state-supported facility, can offer accurate, independent diagnosis of work-related illness. For an injured worker, the Workers’ Compensation process can be difficult: OHCC helps the worker through this stressful period. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center is working hard to let all workers in our community know about this great resource.

A team of occupational medicine specialists, an industrial hygienist, social worker, nurses and other trained staff provide a variety of services at OHCC. The staff can diagnose a worker by taking their medical and occupational history, testing and conducting physical examinations. They can offer referrals for local treatment plans and offer the services of a social worker to assist with the Workers’ Comp process. The OHCC industrial hygienist can also help prevent or lessen workplace injuries by helping modify the workplace so that it is less hazardous to workers.

Of course, all contact with OHCC is completely confidential. Most forms of health insurance typically cover a sizeable portion of fees for a visit. For those without insurance, a sliding scale fee is available. OHCC makes every effort to prevent cost from being a barrier to their services.

It is evident when you meet the OHCC staff that they are some of the most devoted worker advocates you will ever meet, kind and genuinely concerned about worker justice. If you have an injury or illness that is workplace related, give OHCC a call at 800-432-9590 to arrange an appointment. Tell them the Tompkins County Workers’ Center sent you!

Welfare ‘Reform’

Remember ‘Welfare Reform’? The Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington describes it like this:

On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193, better known as the Welfare Reform Bill. This law changes how governmental financial assistance is administered including: changing federal funding to states from an open-ended entitlement to a series of capped block grant allocations; sets time limits on entitlements and cash assistance to welfare recipients; requires most welfare recipients to engage in job activities (this includes work experience, community service, job training, vocational education); changes the disability definitions for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for children who apply; mandates states to establish methods to enforce collection of unpaid parental child support; denies many legal immigrants from collecting SSI and food stamps; consolidates all child care programs into the Child Care and Development Block Grant, and changes foodstamp recertification requirements.

In other words, many recipients of Department of Social Services programs must find paid employment in order to continue receiving said services. And of course, many of these program participants are single women raising young children on their own.

When a person is forced by the government to take a job – any job, no matter the salary – certain industries or business sectors are the fat-cat, happy, inevitable winners.

Take a fast food restaurant, for example. As the proprietor, you are pretty much guaranteed a steady stream of workers who will accept minimum wage, fewer than necessary hours, potentially demeaning treatment and an absolutely nil chance of advancement. Because they have to. As a DSS recipient with no choice and no power regarding your employment, your job hours will most likely be irregular and inconvenient. It will be tough to find childcare on weekend evenings and holidays. You will be scheduled for six hours and sent home after 4 1/2 if the business is light.

But no one, even a minimum wage earning DSS client, needs to accept illegal treatment. When you are hurt on a job, Workers’ Compensation, a type of insurance that an employer pays, must cover your medical bills and a salary for any time that you will be out of work recovering from your injury. Having Medicaid coverage does not mean that Medicaid should pick up your bills for an injury sustained on the job. And if your boss fires you for filing a Workers’ Comp claim? That is unfair retaliation, an illegal activity on the part of your boss. That is a case for the Department of Labor.

I recently visited the Center Ithaca Department of Labor One Stop to ask a few questions. The folks who work there are genuinely kind and caring people. The man helping me said ‘Remember to send people here on their day off when they have these kinds of problems. We can help them get better jobs. There are some out there.’

We all have workers’ rights. Earning minimum wage does not mean that you have minimal rights.

We’ve had several requests at the Workers’ Center for information about former Cost Cutter stylist  Amber Little and her new job.  Amber is now working at A Personal Touch at 23 Cinema Drive in the Bishop’s Small Mall. The phone number is 256-6098.

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On occasion, people stop by the Workers’ Center looking for job postings. Since our staff is small and our time limited, we unfortunately cannot help people locate jobs. Usually we send job-seekers off to visit the Department of Labor’s One Stop Center in Center Ithaca. Besides job listings, there are computer terminals, workshops and Real Live People who are not only amiable but knowledgeable about Unemployment, Workers’ Comp and DOL mysteries in general. Stop in for a visit.

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Don’t forget about the Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition Dinner tonight at the Women’s Community Building.  (The Workers’ Center is a founding member of the Coalition.) At the dinner, we’ll be welcoming a busload of people who have been traveling around NY visiting Congresspeople as well as targeting Senator Schumer in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Delicious Cuban food, delightful music, enchanting conversation with friends and neighbors. Donations are encouraged. Please bring a drink and side dishes for yourself.

Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition blog: http://tcirc.wordpress.com

http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org

Ute Ritz-Deutch’s opinion piece, printed Monday in the Ithaca Journal:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100215/VIEWPOINTS02/2150302/Reforms-will-help-immigrants

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If you’d like to support some actual victims of the current US immigration policy, consider driving to Syracuse next weekend for the Presente Recognition Potluck Lunch. It will be held at the Plymouth Congregational Church at 232 E. Onondaga Street in Syracuse at 1 pm, Saturday February 27.

Freddy Mauricio Rodriquez is being forced to leave his American wife and two young children, causing them great hardship. He is scheduled to be deported in early March to his native Honduras.

Nancy Gwin, also of Syracuse, is scheduled to enter federal prison March 8 for her act of nonviolent civil disobedience to protest the School of the Americas last November. The SOA trained Salvadoran Armed Forces who killed at least 1000 civilians and were responsible for the assassination of  Archbishop Oscar Romero, four North American church women, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in in El Salvador.

Guests are asked to bring a dish to pass (a salad, an entree, a beverage, some soup or bread) or just yourself to hear more from them, comfort them, and show your solidarity.

It helps greatly if you RSVP. Contact Pat Rector at 315 744-0943 to do so.

Thank you and a Dinner

Thanks to Supporters who Faced the Cold on Saturday

At least 100 people stood along Meadow Street last Saturday to show their support for Amber Little, the stylist fired from the Ithaca Cost Cutter last month. It was a typical frigid February day but coffee, donut holes, hot chocolate and solidarity kept everyone warm…or at least, cheerful. I held the Religious Task Force banner with two folks who traveled from Syracuse, members of the Labor/Religion Coalition there. A SUNY Brockport student, shooting a documentary about low income women struggling with the Social Services world, was there, along with local residents and media. Thanks to the beeps as you drove by, too! Nothing like a little support to keep a crowd dedicated.

The Ithaca Journal printed this article about the Rally and the National Labor Relations Board investigation into Cost Cutters: http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/201002141805/NEWS01/2140342

Immigrants Rights Coalition Dinner this Thursday

The Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition and other local groups are sponsoring a welcome dinner for advocates of immigration reform, who will conclude a five-day lobbying tour across the state in Ithaca. The tour was sponsored by Reform Immigration for America and the New York Immigration Coalition. The dinner is Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Women’s Community Building, 100 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca. The event will include brief remarks and information on the topic, live music by Colleen Kattau, and a Cuban main dish. Bring your own (non-alcoholic) drinks, salad or desert. All are welcome. Donations $4 – 50  are encouraged.

On A Personal Note

If you have ever responded to an Action Alert on the TC Workers’ Center site or other sites, you know that there is usually a form letter attached that you can sign and send. You are also given the option to personalize your letter.

Most of the time, I scan the suggested letter, perhaps adding a short paragraph at the beginning or end. But our member  Eric Byrd, also one of the WC’s Community Union organizers, took the time to write the following letter to the Regis Corporation, the mega company that owns CostCutters and other chain hair salons. I’m sure you’ll be inspired by Eric’s example of truly personalizing his fax:

Dear Folks,

I realize you’ve already received hundreds of these, but I want to cast the issue a little differently than the form letter laid it out.  The form letter starts out:

“On January 6th, Amber Little, a hair stylist for 3 1/2 years at Cost Cutters in Ithaca, NY, was terminated from her position as a result of not being able to meet the unrealistic Cost Cutters/Regis Corporation policy that requires stylists to sell hair care products equaling 15% of their hair cutting revenue.”

This much I agree with.  The policy is unrealistic.  I do not agree, however, that the policy is “unfair,” at least not technically:  as a corporation, you do have the right to impose performance standards.  The problem isn’t that the standard you imposed on Ms. Little was “unfair.”  The problem is that the policy is unrealistic, and the timing of its imposition on Ms. Little was very bad, because it caused her to lose her eligibility for her Habitat for Humanity house.  I’m not angry because you have the right to impose performance standards.  I’m angry because the policy you imposed is stupid and unrealistic, and it resulted in Amber losing her eligibility for her house.

I’ll tell you what actions I’m going to take about this.  I’m going to go out of my way, now that I know where Amber is working, to take my haircutting needs to her in her new location, and I will never again go to any Regis-owned hairstyle place, especially now that I have become aware that you force your haircutters to “pimp out” your hair-care products.  If I want hair-care products, I will ask:  which means if I haven’t asked, I don’t want them.  If I come into Regis, and I see all your products displayed and decide I really need some of them, then you have a sale.  But if your haircutters harass me, on pain of losing their job due to your stupid and unrealistic policy, I’m just going to go somewhere else where I can get exactly what I ask for, without all the other sales pressure.  This is why your policy is stupid and unrealistic:  the result of your imposing it is that you will lose customers like myself.

The rest of the form letter reads as follows:

“I believe that Amber should be hired back to her Ithaca Cost Cutters job.”

This, I disagree with.  Now that Amber’s former customers (who went to her because they like her skills, not because they give a snowball in Hell about Regis Corporation) know where she is working away from her former position with Regis, Amber is better off now without Regis Corporation.  Losing her house eligibility was a high price to pay for her freedom, but I believe being free from your absurd performance policies will eventually pay her great dividends.

You are watching economic Darwinism in action:  turmoil, and the emergence of the strong, and the fading-away of the weak.

PS, it’s illegal to force people to sign anti-union statements.  For the moment, you will probably get away with this violation of law… for the moment.

Saturday Rally in Ithaca

First Recipient of Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Project Unfairly Terminated After 3 ½ Years Dedicated Service at Cost Cutters (Regis Corp) Salon in Ithaca:

Workers’ Center To Rally on Worker’s Behalf in Front of Cost Cutters, Saturday, February 13 from 1-3 p.m.

(Ithaca) The Tompkins County Workers’ Center has launched a campaign to get the multinational corporation Cost Cutters, a Division of the Regis Corporation, to rehire a longtime employee unfairly terminated several weeks ago. Amber Little, a popular hairdresser at Cost Cutters (722 S. Meadow Street, Ithaca), was terminated when she failed to fulfill a new corporate policy that required stylists to sell a required quota of company hair care products.

Says Jami Breedlove, a Workers’ Center member, and regular client of Little’s, “I am outraged over the fact that anyone could be fired over the need to sell personal products, and that the customers didn’t know that. I never bought anything there and didn’t think that it was risking somebody’s job!”

Little’s termination is not only unjust in and of itself for this single mother with two small children, but it also jeopardizes her chance at receiving the first-ever Women Build Project/ Habitat for Humanity house (in Lansing). Amber and her family have already put over 500 hours sweat equity into the building of the house. The loss of the Cost Cutters job means a sharp cut in her income just as she was about to sign for a federal loan that Habitat had worked on Little with.

The Regis Corporation and Cost Cutters specifically has recently gotten national attention in the NY Times for its anti-worker policies (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/us/30labor.html), particularly for requiring employees to sign statements promising never to unionize. In fact, employees at the Tompkins County as well as Cortland Cost Cutters were also required to sign the same such statements! William B. Gould IV, a Stanford law professor and former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, was quoted in the 8/29/09 New York Times article as saying, “It seems like a modernized version of the old yellow dog contract,” a provision, now illegal, that many employers used to push workers to sign, pledging not to join a union as a condition of employment.

The Workers’ Center initiated an Action Alert campaign on Monday that has already generated over 250 faxes to Regis Corporation and Cost Cutter Management requesting that 1) Amber be reinstated to her position at the Ithaca Cost Cutters; 2) requesting that the Regis Corporation inform its customers of the sales quota workers must meet in order to continue working; 3) to cease and desist with the over-the-top anti-union corporate strategy.

Welcome to our blog

Welcome to the Tompkins County Workers’ Center new blog. We hope to keep you updated about the work of the Workers’ Center, its friends and affiliated groups. You are invited to send submissions to us about your activities, your thoughts, your experiences living in Tompkins County or as a worker.

The mission of the Workers’ Center is to stand up with all workers treated unfairly at work or faced with critical poverty, racial, housing, healthcare or other social and economic issues. We will support, advocate for and seek to empower each other to create a more just community and world.

See you soon,

Linda, Blog editor