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Home, International Program for Labor, Climate and Environment

Sean Sweeney Talks Paris, Climate on City Watch

Audio

Last week, Murphy Professor Sean Sweeney appeared on City Watch to talk with Mark Dunlea about the upcoming climate summit in Paris, and the fight against “not letting science get in the way of business as usual.” The two discuss the climate justice movement, mobilizations and global emissions.

Listen below.



Photo by John Duffy via flickr.

Home, Labor Studies

The End of Tipping?

The food & labor worlds have been abuzz with the news that acclaimed New York restauranteur Danny Meyer has eliminated tipping in his restaurants in favor of higher hourly wages for workers.

This comes on the heels of a similar trend in other cities: in Seattle, for instance, a rising minimum wage has led many restauranteurs to raise prices. Some restauranteurs have compensated by eliminating tipping from their restaurants; in other cases, patrons are choosing not to tip, sensing, begrudgingly or not, that their servers are finally being well-compensated.

A catastrophic disruption to the food service industry as we know it? Hardly. Labor advocates and consumers alike have been praising the trend — with some even arguing that it doesn’t go far enough. Continue reading The End of Tipping? →

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

Clinton Housing Development Company Hiring Project Manager (New York)

Nature of Work

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day project management of affordable housing development projects, including coordinating all development activities with the appropriate lenders, joint venture partners, contractors, owners, architects, engineers and government agencies. Current CHDC projects range from 10 to 100 units and include both substantial rehabilitation and new construction.

Responsibilities

Development phase:

  1. Create project précis and narrative.
  2. Engage and coordinate project consultants including architect, engineers, surveyor, owner’s rep, and environmental designer.
  3. Prepare site feasibility and zoning analyses.
  4. Prepare project financial projections including development and operating budgets.
  5. Review and coordinate preliminary architectural work including inspections, schematic submissions, design drawings and scope review.
  6. Work with government agencies and lenders to ensure required project information is submitted in a timely manner.
  7. Represent organization and present project during public approval process.
  8. Coordinate with project attorneys to prepare, collect and organize all closing documents.
  • Construction phase:
  1. Attend construction meetings.
  2. Coordinate consultants, review work, and track progress.
  3. Obtain approvals of contractor requisitions, invoices, and vouchers from lenders.
  4. Track and monitor the project budget.
  5. Manage change order process and track all proposed change orders.
  6. Work with architect and general contractor to track and monitor submittals and approvals.
  • Close out phase:
  1. Work with architect, expeditor and general contractor to obtain temporary and final certificate of occupancy,
  2. Work with city agencies to secure appropriate tax exemption certificate.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

  • BA/BS degree in real estate, finance, urban planning or other related field.
  • Proven knowledge of housing development process and/or prior work experience in housing development.

Knowledge, Abilities, and Skills

  • Must be a self-starter with drive to take projects to completion
  • Must have excellent organization and communication skills with the ability to manage several projects at once
  • Must be comfortable in the field as well as in an office setting
  • Computer literacy required, including MS Word, Excel and Outlook

Reports To

Director of Housing Development

Manages

None

Salary Range

$50,000 – $60,000

Application: send all coverletters and resumes to applications@clintonhousing.org

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

Organizer – PASO Internacional (Bogota)

NOMBRE DEL CARGO: Organizador Sindical; PASO Internacional

LOCALIDAD: Bogotá, Colombia

ESTIPENDIO: $1.000.000 COP mensuales

BENEFICIOS ADICIONALES: Seguro médico, gastos de visas, tiquete área ida/vuelta a Colombia, reembolso de viáticos asociados al ejecución del trabajo en campo

PROPÓSITO DE PASO: Apoyar al movimiento sindical en el marco de su objetivo para construir sindicatos más grandes, poderosos y democráticos de nivel global

PROPÓSITO DEL EQUIPO: Con el apoyo del sindicato Británico UNISON, PASO está lanzando un trabajo organizativo con las trabajadoras del sector público colombiano que atienden a los niños de la primera infancia en sus propios domicilios – conocidas como las madres comunitarias – y el sindicato que las representa, Sintracihobi. Como Equipo de Soporte, el propósito es generar un efectivo apoyo administrativo, financiero, logístico, jurídico y organizativo en el marco de esta campaña con valor agregado

PROPÓSITO DEL CARGO: Brindar asesoría organizativa y apoyo integral para el equipo en campo, trabajadoras afiliadas al sindicato, y los dirigentes de la Junta Directiva Nacional en la marca de la campaña LINEAS DE DEPENDENCIA: Funcionario/a reporta a la Junta Nacional de Sintracihobi y el Director Ejecutivo de PASO

DIMENSIONES:

  • Manejo de información confidencial
  • Iniciativa y planeamiento básico para tareas rutinarias
  • Resolver problemas básicos y tomar decisiones de amplia variedad y en distintas circunstancias, en ocasiones con la Junta Nacional de Sintracihobi y el equipo de PASO
  • Comunicación amplia dentro del equipo con contactos de Sintracihobi Nacional, sus subdirectivas, y/o un número amplio de contactos externos

RESPONSABILIDADES CLAVE:

  • Español fluido
  • Dos años de experiencia como organizador sindical
  • Disponibilidad de radicarse en Colombia de 6 meses a 1 año, viajando de forma continua entre Bogotá y distintas regiones de Colombia
  • Capacidad de coordinación y organizar trabajo en equipo
  • Capacidad de trabajar bajo presión
  • Elaboración de informes de gestión mensuales
Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

The Working World is Hiring a Rockaway Project Coordinator (NYC, P/T)

Description:

The position requires serving as community outreach and cooperative development coordinator for the Worker Owned Rockaways Cooperatives development program (WORCs). WORCs is a cooperative business incubator that helps residents of the Rockaways develop and finance worker-owned business.

Begun in the spring of 2013, WORCs is an initiative to rebuild after Sandy in a way that addresses both the storm’s impact and the long-term systemic issues in the neighborhood. The program’s goal is to equip Far Rockaway residents with the skills and financing to launch small, worker-owned businesses that fill a need in their community. More than 40 residents have already joined the 12 week training program–people who now work for others as babysitters, house cleaners, exterminators and upholsterers but dream of being their own bosses and keeping wealth inside their neighborhood.

About Us:

The Working World is a non-profit offering a new way for people to take control of their economic lives and change the heart of the working equation. We turn the financial system on its head and offer socially conscious investment to businesses owned and operated democratically by workers. It’s an idealistic vision, but it’s not just an idea — we’ve been doing it for ten years in Argentina, Nicaragua, and now, the United States. We have lent over $4 million to more than 200 worker cooperatives, and over 98% of these investments have paid themselves off, resulting in growing businesses and new jobs. Our aim is to help bring workers into positions of power in the system of production, finance projects that empower people rather than drowning them in debt, and challenge a global economy that puts profit before people.

Responsibilities

  • Recruit new participants during open enrollment
  • Identify businesses with potential for conversion to worker ownership in the Rockaways
  • Provide technical assistance to cooperative businesses in topics including business and financial planning, marketing, and governance
  • Plan and lead regular (ie. weekly) meetings with cooperative businesses within the program
  • Use internal software to track and report on businesses’ progress
  • Assist in the planning of monthly assemblies
  • Assist in meeting with funders

Qualifications

  • Resident of the Rockaway Peninsula
  • Strong social skills
  • Strong logistical and coordinating skills
  • Computer literacy: Basic Excel knowledge, basic web-based platform understanding
  • Ability to be self-motivated and work autonomously
  • Small business experience, preferred
  • Bilingual [Spanish & English], preferred

To Apply

Respond with a cover letter and resume to jobs@theworkingworld.org. Please write “Rockaway Project Coordinator” in the subject line.

Application Deadline

November 3, 2015

Compensation

$20/hr

Labor and Community Job Opportunities, Opportunities

New York Communities for Change Hiring Lead Organizer (Wash NY Campaign)

Make a difference. New York Communities for Change seeks a lead organizer to help support the fight for the WASH NY Campaign. While jobs may have finally started growing, low wage jobs have made up the bulk of new jobs in New York City. New York Communities for Change has joined with leading progressive union RWDSU and with Make the Road New York to support Carwasheros taking a stand against the brutal conditions they face. Since 2012, the Car Wash campaign has been fighting and winning better pay and conditions at car washes across the city. We have been able to raise wages and standards across the industry and have won millions of dollars in back wages for the carwasheros. Working in the WASH NY Car Wash Campaign you will have an opportunity to work in a new and winning model of union and community organizing.

About New York Communities for Change:
New York Communities for Change is a community-based, member-run organization that fights for social and economic justice for low- and moderate-income families. Our members organize their neighborhoods and workplaces to take action against the toughest problems facing working families throughout New York – affordable housing, good schools, decent jobs and transportation. Through meetings with elected officials, community events, and protests and rallies, New York Communities for Change takes a power-in-numbers approach to fight for real change for hard-working New Yorkers.

Applicants must have:

  • Fluency in Spanish or French is required
  • At least 3 years of organizing experience in labor, community, student or political organizations or campaigns
  • Full understanding of NLRB procedures
  • 1 year proven lead-level organizing experience is strongly preferred
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (listening, speaking, and writing)
  • Commitment to the social justice movement and passion for winning change for low-income people
  • Ability to build powerful coalitions with a diverse set of partners, including labor unions, community groups, elected officials, etc., and coordinate with coalition partners through meetings and individual conversations
  • Must be able to work independently and manage a team
  • Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and be detail-orientated
  • Willingness to work long and irregular hours, including nights and weekends
  • People of Color strongly encouraged to apply.

Salary commensurate with experience.

Benefits: Health, dental and vision, 401K and paid vacation.

Qualified candidates should email your resume and cover letter to rvalerio@nycommunities.org with the subject line “Car Wash Lead Organizer.”