by DC Jobs with Justice | Apr 8, 2014 | Projects
“Ni Una Más Deportación! Ni Una Más Deportación!” “Not One More! Not One More!” These were the chants echoing in the streets on Saturday, as several hundred people marched down 16th Street NW to the White House. As the number of individuals deported since Obama took office in 2008 nears 2 million, thousands of Americans across the country gathered on April 5th to demand #Not1More. DC Jobs with Justice joined the local action, organized by the day labor organization Trabajadores Unidos de DC – United Workers of DC. The national day of protests was coordinated by NDLON, the National Day Labor Organizing Network, which says that the president must act to fix the immigration system with whatever power he has, since comprehensive reform remains stalled in Congress. Grassroots organizations in over 70 cities took up the call to organize rallies in the communities with the clear message to the president that the time to act is now. In DC, Trabajadores Unidos worked hard to outreach to local organizations, unions, activists, musicians, and both the immigrant and non-immigrant communities. Around 11AM on April 5th, people began to gather in Lamont Park in Mount Pleasant, a neighborhood that has historically been home to many Central American immigrants. The crowd was rallied by traditional Mexican folk music played by a local band, as well as speeches from clergy and community members before setting off on a march to the White House. The parade of marchers was accompanied by colorful flags and signs, drummers, and people in costume. As the march snaked its way down 16th Street with many supportive cheers and honks from onlookers, the...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Oct 23, 2012 | Campaigns, Paid Sick And Safe Days
On Tuesday, March 4th in front of a packed and tense audience of over 100 people, the DC Council voted unanimously to pass the Accrued Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007. The vote makes DC only the second city in the country to have a paid sick days law, and the first to provide paid time off to victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. rnrnUnder the new law, full-time workers at businesses with over 100 employees will earn 7 days a year to take care of their own health, the health of family members, or address a domestic violence situation. Workers at businesses with 25-99 employees will earn 5 days, and workers at businesses of 24 or fewer will earn 3 days. Part-time workers will earn paid time on a pro-rated basis. rnrnWhile winning this groundbreaking bill over huge opposition was a big victory, we also suffered some losses: rnrn*By a 7-6 vote, the Council approved a change that says workers have to be at a job for a full year or 1,000 hours before earning paid sick time. This will especially hurt young workers, workers in high-turnover service sector jobs, and people re-entering the workforce, such as ex-offenders and TANF recipients. Councilmembers Vincent Gray, David Catania and Jack Evans pushed through this change, and Councilmembers Harry Thomas, Mary Cheh, Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander voted in support.rnrn*The Council denied sick and safe days to several categories of workers, including tipped restaurant workers, health care workers in “premium pay programs”, and students employed through University work-study programs.rnrn*The law will also allow businesses to apply for an...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Oct 6, 2009 | Projects, Student Labor Outreach Project
More than 200 highschool students wearing all black walked out of classes Monday to protest the layoff of 388 school employees last week. Chanting “No counselors, no college!” students met at McKinley Technology High School and marched towards schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s office. “We are here because our education in on the line,†said one student. “We have no teachers. All our counselors have been laid off. I am a senior, I want to graduate, I want to go to college, I want to have a future but how can I do that without a school counselor.rnrnAt McKinley officers from the Metropolitan Police Department entered classrooms at around 2:45pm Friday to escort the teachers out of the classroom, “I was in class, the police came in, told my teacher to leave the classroom and escorted her to her car. We knew the layoffs were coming but we didn’t know who or when it would happen. It was very distressing,” explained Tamika DeBose, a student at McKinley Tech. As McKinley students gathered peacefully in the school courtyard on Friday, police attempted to disperse them, pepper spraying DeBose directly in the face. Another senior, Teyvon Cooke, began to voice her opposition to the layoffs when the police allegedly grabbed her neck, threw her on the ground, injuring her face and then arrested her, falsely accusing her assaulting a police officer. “Rhee mismanaged this situation badly,” said Kelvin Sherman, a 12th grader who filmed the incident and was expelled today after he shared the footage to with news stations. “At the end of the day it’s students who suffer.” rnrnRhee argues that...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Apr 1, 2007 | Projects, Student Labor Outreach Project
As part of the National Student Labor Week of Action, more than 100 student, community, and labor activists led a March for Fair Food to demand respect for workers’ rights. The March 31st event kicked off with a rally at the Ballston Metro in Northern Virgina, where Rev. Graylan Hagler of Ministers for Racial and Economic Justice spoke about the abuse Smithfield workers face. The crowd then marched to a nearby Starbucks, where members of the IWW spoke of low pay and benefits for baristas and Starbuck’s disrespect for Ethiopian coffee growers who produce some of their most popular and profitable beans. When the marchers reached the Harris Teeter store on Glebe Road, they were greeted by a crowd of Northern Virginia labor activists, including three county supervisors who were there to speak in support of the action. A delegation of seven faith and community leaders, led by Rev. David Denham of Bethel UCC, went into the store to ask Harris Teeter to take Smithfield products off their shelves. The march — which NoVa CLC President Dan Duncan says had "great energy" — ended at McDonald’s, where student activists spoke about the conditions faced by tomato pickers in Florida and the efforts by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to organize for better pay and dignified work...
