On our last day of our Food Workers Rising days of action, we are sharing a call for solidarity with migrant farmworkers standing up for fairness and respect.

Martin’s Family Fruit Farm employs migrant farmworkers at their Ontario, Canada apple farm. In October, a COVID-19 outbreak struck Martin’s Family Fruit Farm. Dozens of workers contracted the virus.

As a result, workers engaged in a work refusal and ceased work until they had confirmation whether or not they were COVID positive. Rather than respect the health and well-being of the workers, the employer is alleged to have threatened the workers with disbarment from the program if they continued their acts of resistance.

Please join Justicia for Migrant Workers in demanding fairness and respect for the workers who put food on our table. We are asking Martin’s Family Fruit Farm to commit to no reprisals against its workforce and to implement immediate steps to provide strong health and safety protections and adequate housing accommodations to prevent further outbreaks.

Martin’s Family Fruit Farm Apple Chips are sold at Starbucks stores. Today, supporters will be organizing solidarity actions at over 19 Starbucks stores in Canada and the US.

Please join us in sending a message to Starbucks asking them to support farmworkers’ rights to work in an environment that is free from harassment and that is safe and dignified and to call on Martin’s Family Fruit Farm to commit to the above steps.

TAKE ACTION

• TAKE A PHOTO OUTSIDE STARBUCKS TODAY. Hold up a sign with your solidarity message and post on social media using #Justice4AppleWorkers. Sample messages include: Starbucks, support farmworkers in your supply chain; #Justice4AppleWorkers; Stand up for farmworkers rights

• CLICK HERE TO SEND A TWEET AMPLIFYING WORKERS DEMANDS

Thank you so much for your solidarity with food workers today and during the entire week of action!

Thousands of Central American farmworkers have been left in a state of emergency due to the flooding and devastation from Hurricane Eta.

Banana and Palm Oil plantation workers in Honduras and Guatemala have lost everything, including hundreds who spent days atop roofs waiting to be rescued while their homes and communities flooded.

Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) has been supporting union members from El Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares and Izabal Banana Workers’ Union— unions that have played a critical role in defending labor rights and building worker power in the fields for nearly a decade. As they rebuild their own lives, these union organizers are supporting recovery efforts for workers and their families in Honduras and Guatemala.

TAKE ACTION

Stand with Central American workers by joining with GLJ-ILRF to help provide basic supplies and relief.

100% of your donation will go directly to Hondurans and Guatemalans affected by Hurricane Eta to help them with their basic needs, including purchasing food, stoves, mattresses, clothing, and home repairs.

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic and there are still no mandatory federal health and safety federal standards for workers. The second wave is here and workers are still inadequately protected from COVID-19. This means food workers continue to be at risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 at work and bringing the virus home to their communities. We know that every day counts in keeping people safe and healthy. That is why we are urging the new York State legislature to pass the NY HERO Act as soon as possible to stop the second wave of COVID-19.

The NY HERO Act is legislation that provides mandatory safety protocols and regulations to protect workers in every industry and gives workers a stronger voice in the workplace to fight this pandemic.

We join FCWA members and a statewide coalition of unions, worker centers, community organizations, and faith groups in calling on the State Legislature to pass the NY HERO Act and make New York a national model in protecting workers and communities during this ongoing crisis.

TAKE ACTION

• Sign the petition urging state leaders to protect workers from the second wave of Covid-19
• Share an animated short film on working during Covid-19, and the need for the NY HERO Act to protect our communities

In January 2020, FCWA members in New York State won an important victory with the passage of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, affording NY farmworkers long overdue labor protections such as paid overtime. But the fight for farm worker protections continues. The new law stipulates that farmworkers in New York must work 60 hours a week before they receive overtime pay. The NYS Department of Labor is currently holding hearings to consider if that overtime threshold should be lowered.

Farm owners are organizing to keep the 60 hour overtime threshold and make sure farmworkers can continue to be legally exploited by not receiving overtime pay after a long work week.  But farmworkers are also speaking out, sharing their stories today on why farmworkers deserve equal pay for equal hours!

We stand with farmworkers, advocates, and allies to say that a 60-hour work week is too long for farmworkers to receive overtime pay, and that the law should be overtime pay after a 40-hour work week like in many other industries.

TAKE ACTION

Like many other food chain workers, farmworkers will work extra hours this holiday season to make sure we get food on our tables.Show solidarity with NY farmworkers by amplifying their stories and demands for equal pay on social media.

Click here to send a tweet demanding equal pay for equal hours:

Sample tweet:

Farmworkers will work extra hours to make sure we all have food during the holidays, even during a global pandemic! We call on @NYSLabor & @NYGovCuomo to lower the overtime threshold for farmworkers! #EqualPay4EqualHours! #ProtectNYFarmworkers

There are 20,000 street vendors in NYC. Vendors who are primarily immigrants, people of color, and women, keep their city running. But a racist, outdated cap on permits required to run a food cart forces thousands to either work in fear of police harassment without one, or rent a permit in the underground market for up to $25,000. This broken system has gone on for far too long.

On November 12th street vendors from throughout NYC held a historic march across the Brooklyn Bridge demanding:

• NYC council lift the cap on street vendor permits which hasn’t been updated in decades.
• NYC Council pass a resolution to end police harassment of street vendors 
• Financial relief for street vendors who have been financially harmed by COVID19.

Read more about NYC’s street vendors in this powerful NYT expose. 

TAKE ACTION:

Tweet your Support for NYC Street Vendors Today 

Here are some sample tweets:

Demand an end to the racist, outdated vending system that criminalizes NYC street vendors. @NYCMayor @NYCCouncil pass #intro1116 NOW!

Photo 1: Manuel. 

 You read Manuel’s powerful story of surviving by street vending in the @nytimes piece by @arrejuan & @dgbxny

 He’s asking you, @NYCCouncil @NYCMayor, to respect our work. Respect the work of NYC’s street vendors.

Pass #Intro1116 Now!

Photo 2: Yu Xia

“Even after all these yrs, I still don’t have my own permit. I spend $20,000 every 2 yrs to rent someone else’s

 Normally, this is a huge burden. Now during the pandemic, it’s made my situation even more difficult” – Yu Xia, Flushing vendor

 @NYCMayor @NYCCouncil Pass #Intro1116!

Cover photo: Salvador Espinoza 

Today as we launch Food Workers Rising, we are uplifting grocery workers fighting for hazard pay at the grocery chain Food 4 Less.

As COVID-19 cases spike and employees brace for holiday crowds, Food 4 Less workers in Los Angeles rallied Tuesday to demand reinstatement of Hazard Pay and increased safety protections for workers and customers. Despite a huge increase in sales, Kroger, Food 4 Less’ parent company, eliminated hazard pay and has failed to enforce basic workplace protections to keep workers and customers safe.

Workers are concerned that the holiday season and increased COVID infections will put them, their families, and customers at greater risk. Yesterday, Food4Less workers launched their #Fight4More / #Lucha4Más campaign with UFCW Local 770.

Watch Food 4 Less workers deliver a petition to management here and stay tuned for upcoming calls to action to support Local 770 members in their call for hazard pay.

Find out more about the #Fight4More / #Lucha4Más campaign here.

RSVP HERE

Upcoming Expungement & Know Your Rights Workshops

As part of our ongoing know your rights and worker outreach efforts, WWJ will be hosting 2 expungement and know your rights workshops in February. Our first workshop with the Raise the Floor legal clinic is Tuesday, February 25th, 11am at our Chicago office at 37 S Ashland. To rsvp for this workshop or if you have any questions email bobby@warehouseworker.org

Our second workshop will be Thursday, February 27th, 6pm at our new Joliet office at 114 E. Jefferson Street, Suite B (street parking is free after 5pm). RSVP with alicia@warehouseworker.org We highly encourage attendees to get their rap sheets beforehand and our staff can direct those interested in attending on where to obtain this info.

Clean Energy Jobs Act Lobby Day March 4th

As part of our follow up to our People’s Climate Movement event in Elwood, Illinois in 2018, WWJ became a member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and has been a supporter of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA). Within the last couple of weeks Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signaled support for a version of CEJA. While this is a welcome and encouraging development, it’s critical that we follow up with our elected officials in order to pass the strongest bill possible. For all our friends in Will County we want to invite you to join us for a lobby day on March 4th. We will be meeting up at 7am at a location tba. To RSVP or for more info email roberto@warehouseworker.org

Early Warning: Earth Day to May Day

Last year as part of our work with the Athena Coalition, WWJ fought for both labor and environmental justice from Amazon. In this spirit, WWJ is helping to spearhead local Earth Day to May Day organizing efforts that will link labor, community, student and climate justice efforts. Last week we had our first earth to may day coalition meeting in Chicago with 40+ people attending. There is a lot of enthusiasm to link these efforts and to support the unprecedented youth climate strikes. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 19th, 6pm at a location tba. For our friends in Will County, we have set a county-wide Earth Day event for Saturday, April 25th, noon at St. Francis University. For more info on either of these efforts email roberto@warehouseworker.org