Workers’ Rights

Mayor Curtatone announced memo of agreement with Firefighters Local 76 deferring retroactive payments to next fiscal year. This agreement means no layoffs this fiscal year (including closing West Branch Library). Asked for executive session to discuss next steps, and continuing negotiations with fire alarm operators.

Local residents rallied at the Bank of America on Saturday, December 10 pushing for changes to reign in corporate greed and address growing inequality in both Somerville and the United States. The rally was a kickoff event for Occupy Somerville.…

Surely there are many Somervillians among the many patrons and fans of Traders Joe national (specialty) retail grocery stores. While of little comparison to the retail behemoth in the news these days, Trader Joe’s is not without its problems. The following notice may be of interest.…

Somerville’s economic development policies should place the highest priority on creating the good jobs our community needs.…

Join us for a discussion on how this will affect the community and what you can do about it!

Not hiring any local people (or making a good faith effort to do so) is an insult to our community. It should be unacceptable to the planning board, the Board of Alderman and all of our elected officials.

The following email was sent to me as a subscriber to Change.org. I have forwarded the body of the notice, and you will find the link to the online petition in the text of the story. It brings to mind the maxim that if it sounds too good to be true (as with the detente reached by parties to  Assembly Sq. development/IKEA), it probably is.…

More than 50 Somerville residents signed a petition requesting a hearing by the Board of Alderman on union jobs and local hiring.

The hearing will be at 6:00 PM on February 17. There will be a short rally beforehand at 5:45 PM.…

A half dozen community supporters greeted shoppers at Rite Aid’s Davis Sq. store in Somerville on Valentine’s Day to focus public attention on the company’s culture of corporate greed and its assault employees’ health care benefits and job rights.…

This hearing will receive public input on the use of union labor at the MaxPac site.

This meeting will discuss a petition for a public hearing on the use of union labor at the MaxPac site, along with a home-rule petition to streamline administration.

Tonight the Planning Board voted approval for the MaxPak apt/condo project to go ahead. The unions plan to picket Lowell St. near the VNA.

Union members and community activists concerned about jobs at the future MaxPac development on Clyde Street held a meeting on Jan 4th.

That’s a pretty bold statement made by Phantom Gourmet on facebook.

A firestorm was ignited when a recent front page Boston Globe story reported that Upper Crust Pizza, a rapidly-growing local chain, hired and exploited illegal immigrant workers from Brazil.

The groups fighting for the inclusion of local residents and union jobs on the proposed MaxPac development petitioned the Board of Aldermen on December 22 to hold a hearing on the Covenant language for union jobs that KSS Realty signed with the City of Somerville.

I love getting thoughtful emails from readers with questions, feedback, suggestions and stories. I received the following email a few days ago, and it raises an interesting question.

I read your blog all the

Residents of Somerville concerned about the development of the old MaxPak paper factory where 199 units of new housing are being built will picket and rally for jobs at the entrance to the site (56-61 Clyde Street) in Somerville, MA on Thursday, Dec 2 from 6:00 to 9:00 AM.…

Here is a link to my pictures from the 5th annual Honk! festival.  Many of the pictures show members of the Red Bandana Brigade marching in the Honk! parade from Davis Sq. to Harvard Sq…

Labor Day is coming up. I hope all everyone gets a chance to enjoy some time with their friends and families.

This is the holiday brought to you by the labor movement. What is the labor movement? …

“In budget-cutting season, politics can be brutal,” wrote the author of a recent View from Prospect Hill column in the Somerville News.  With an $8.1 million budget gap, it is imperative that the city cut…

I would like to let people in Somerville and anywhere else know about a rally against the mayor and his wrong budget choices.

WHEN:  June 22, 2010 6 pm

WHERE:  City Hall, 93

Jackie Lawrence of the Somerville Teachers Association extends an invitation to rally to support our fellow Somerville employees whose jobs are in peril.

————————————————–

Support our Good, Hardworking People

Despite the…

I am a school custodian for the City of Somerville.  I see a Boston Herald article that Boston is cutting 83 school custodians.

Reading the comments ( there are 249 comments so far!) I see that many of what these other people are saying is true…

On May 25, 2010 my union received a letter that stated that as of the new fiscal year the school custodians would be privatized out… The mayor mentions that he does not want to cut public safety or education but this mayor has packed the police and fire with all his friends…

Immigrants who gather at Foss Park each morning as early as 5 am looking for work as day laborers are the subject of a new play that will enjoy its community premiere on Friday, May 21st at the Black Box Theater at the Elizabeth Peabody House, 277 Broadway. The program begins at 7:30 pm.

The new play, “They Don’t Tell You Anything!” will be performed as part of an evening of theater, stories and conversation about the struggles and challenges that many Somerville residents face after they are picked up by contractors each morning to paint or perform demolition work. Written by playwright and English teacher Meryl Becker, the play will be performed by student actors from the Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experiences (SCALE).

Through a public records request, I recently obtained scanned copies of the City’s trash contracts with the FW Russell company. The fine print challenges the claim made at the March 2nd BOA Legislative Matters Committee meeting by former City Solicitor, John Gannon, that only the Mayor has the power to break a contract.…

You can show your support for workers at the Somerville Stop and Shop by joining Massachusetts Jobs with Justice in handing out fliers on Friday at 5:00 – corner of McGrath Highway and Mystic Avenue.…

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has reached an agreement with five Somerville waste disposal companies, collectively known as Russell, and its corporate officers… to pay $70,000 to 352 current and former employees as well as a $20,000 penalty to the Commonwealth to resolve allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws. In addition, Russell has agreed to a two-year monitoring and compliance plan.

About 450 laundry workers at Angelica Textile in Somerville went out on strike Thursday… negotiations have been focused on obtaining quality affordable healthcare, well-funded pension benefits, and living wages. Come support these hard working employees as they stand up for a fair contract!

Last week, the Board of Aldermen extended the City’s contract with FW Russell for another year plus 5 more under a new contract despite concerns stemming from a 2-year-old investigation by AG Coakley’s office into the waste disposal company’s labor practices. The company was selected for offering the lowest price among 4 bids procured by the City this past year.…

Pittsburgh floats a sales tax on college tuition!

Hyatt or Tufts, Deval’s choice is the hotter bed.

Rite Aid warehouse workers in Lancaster, California need our support. Before workers voted to form a union in 2008, Rite Aid committed dozens of unfair labor practices. And since then, in an effort to prevent them from achieving a first contract, the warehouse workers have faced continuing anti-union terror.

With summer just around the corner and tens of thousands of young people entering the workforce in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick has proclaimed May “Safe Jobs for Youth Month” to focus attention on preventing workplace injuries and deaths.…

The Board of Directors of the Somerville Teachers Association (STA) voted to endorse HR 676 at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 7.

“Health care reform is finally on the national agenda,” said Linda Vitiello, President of the Somerville Teachers Association. “We are excited to be part of a national grassroots movement for Medicare for All and H.R. 676 and to join with so many other labor organizations that support it.”…

A small group of union members converged on the Rite Aid drugstore in Davis Sq. on Friday, April 3 to condemn the company’s abuse of workers’ rights and urge Congress to pass the “Employee Free Choice Act” — a law backed by President Barack Obama that would better protect employees who want to form unions by limiting employer interference in the process.…

Rite Aid has been abusing the rights of employees – and provides a “textbook example” of why Congress should pass the “Employee Free Choice Act,” reform legislation that would better protect employees who want to form unions by limiting employer interference in the process.

This event is an opportunity for Somerville youth and community partners to meet in person, build community, and discuss how Somerville can become a safer and welcoming place for everyone. At the event, our youth members will present personal stories, and sit in small dialogue groups with adults.

One week ago, Somerville went overwhelmingly for Obama-Biden. To keep the promises made by the Obama campaign, the Obama Administration will need all the help it can get. We in Somerville should do our part to help–and to keep the politicians honest.

Here is a very partial and incomplete list of campaign promises that I think Obama should keep:

From an Oct 12th article on Boston.com: Romulo Santos of Somerville headed off to work Sept. 9 at a Wal-Mart in Walpole as usual. But that day he was electrocuted on the job. Some might consider the 47-year-old Brazilian native’s death a freak accident, but local advocates say that for many immigrant workers, the risk of injury is all too real. Tufts University, Cambridge Health Alliance, and five Somerville community groups have come together to raise awareness of occupational health risks and to teach people their rights.

Fred Berman and Bill Bumpus interviewed a student at Tufts University about the ongoing contract negotiations between the Janitors at Tufts and the subcontractor for the school. If you would like to hear what Kevin Dillon has to say about the “Janitors Alliance” please click the link that will take you to the new blog for the Progressive Voices television show cablecast on Somerville Community Access Television. Channel 3 on the Comcast and RCN cable systems in Somerville.

Come out to a rally on Wednesday to tell Tufts University to respect its workers and ensure they receive the just wages and full-time work that they deserve!

SEIU 615 26 West St Boston MA 02111

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact:
Max Goldman                                  Roxana Rivera
Maxwell.Goldman@tufts.edu Rrivera@seiu615.org

Phone
W: 617-878-7559 C: 860-917-1742    W: 617-878-7458 C: 401-965-3555

Tufts Janitors and the Somerville Community Stand United

Who:     Contracted Janitors at Tufts University…

The National Council on Disability (NCD) is gathering public input for a study of emerging issues and trends affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Information gathered will be used in the development of NCD’s next annual progress report to the President and Congress, “National Disability Policy: A Progress Report,” which is required by Section 401(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Hi, my name is Kevin and I’m a full-time student at Tufts University, where I started a student group, the Jumbo Janitor Alliance. The group focuses on bringing Tufts janitors more into the Tufts community. The janitors are currently in contract negotiations with their employer, the cleaning contractor ABM/One Source.