Tag Archives: workers

Video: The Next Generation: Young Workers Building Movements

On December 6th, members of SLU community gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by young adults in building the labor movement.

Despite the recent weakness of the U.S. labor movement, young workers are invigorating unions and other working-class organizations throughout the country, showing the promise of a new broad-based progressive movement. Social media-driven movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, along with the emergence of left political organizations and young candidates for local and national office, have also played an important role in sparking new organizing among younger workers. At the same time, student debt is skyrocketing, permanent full-time jobs are harder to find, unemployment and underemployment are prevalent among low-income young people and communities of color, and increases in housing/living costs far surpass increases in real wages for many young workers.

How are young adults building the labor movement in the face of worsening conditions? How are young workers in other movements influencing the political landscape? Are there fundamental differences in young workers’ outlook or analysis compared to previous generations? What are the primary challenges and obstacles they face given the changing economy and its more precarious job opportunities? What are the most exciting opportunities and partnerships that are being developed by young workers?

The conversation featured Arsenia Reilly-Collins, Jedidiah Labinjo, and Kim Kelly, and was moderated by Diana Robinson.

Check out the video above or here.

Event: The Next Generation: Young Workers Building Movements (12/6)

Thursday, December 6th, 2018
6pm – 8pm ET
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
25 W. 43rd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036

RSVP HERE

Despite the recent weakness of the U.S. labor movement, young workers are invigorating unions and other working-class organizations throughout the country, showing the promise of a new broad-based progressive movement. Social media-driven movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, along with the emergence of left political organizations and young candidates for local and national office, have also played an important role in sparking new organizing among younger workers. At the same time, student debt is skyrocketing, permanent full-time jobs are harder to find, unemployment and underemployment are prevalent among low-income young people and communities of color, and increases in housing/living costs far surpass increases in real wages for many young workers. Continue reading Event: The Next Generation: Young Workers Building Movements (12/6)

Unions, Collective Bargaining and Soccer Players

By Jay Youngdahl

This June, the men’s World Cup will begin. Billions of people throughout the world will cheer their favorite team and players. Given the diverse nature of the Murphy Institute community, there will be cheerful disagreement as to which team is the best.

However, in a special treat for soccer fans associated with the Murphy Institute, the global union for soccer players, FIFPro (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnel/International Federation of Professional Footballers) has put out a short inspiring video with some of the leading male and female soccer players in the world. The video, which begins with the incomparable Lionel Messi of Argentina, features talented players discussing the importance of unions and of collective bargaining at work. These famous athletes stress the importance of equal rights, respect, and justice for all workers, including footballers.

So, while many in the Murphy Institute community may disagree about which is their favorite team, this video features players we can all cheer for in this men’s World Cup and in the upcoming Women’s World Cup.

Jay Youngdahl is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Murphy Institute.

“Salting” Built the Labor Movement—It Can Help Rebuild It, Too

This post was originally featured at Jacobin.

By Erik Forman

The Left has a long tradition of asking ourselves, “What is to be done?” Ever since Lenin posed this rhetorical question, it has served as the hook for an ever-expanding genre of think pieces and calls to action on every imaginable social-movement dilemma.

“What is to be done?” bounces from movement to movement, crisis to crisis, and occasionally illuminates more foundational existential problems of the Left. In that spirit, Jacobin’s recent “Rank and File” issue examined one of our more urgent contemporary questions: what is to be done to revitalize the labor movement? Continue reading “Salting” Built the Labor Movement—It Can Help Rebuild It, Too

New Ruling Protects NYS Workers Paid Via Prepaid Debit Cards

Approximately 200,000 workers get paid via debit cards and have long suffered from the fees that come along with them. From ATM withdrawal fees to charges for paper statements and even inactivity fees, these extra charges add up — and can be have a big impact on workers’ take-home pay.

Now, thanks to new rules released last week, employees can breathe a sigh of relief: starting in early 2017, employees will have the ability to make unlimited withdrawals at no charge from at least one ATM that’s located at a “reasonable travel distance” from their work or home.

From the New York Times:

The rules also prohibit a host of incremental fees, including charges for monthly maintenance, account inactivity, overdrafts, checking a card’s balance or contacting customer service.

Companies will have to offer their workers the option of being paid either by cash or check, if they prefer — employers will not be allowed to require that employees accept a payroll card. Federal regulations already prohibit such requirements, but worker advocates say the rule is routinely flouted.

This marks an important development for the retail and service workers who are, increasingly, finding themselves paid by payroll cards rather than checks.

Read more at the New York Times.

Photo by InfoCash via flickr (CC-ND)

Interpretations of Work: New Calendar From CUNY, NYTimes

The CUNY/New York Times in Education 2016 calendar was just released. Called “Working People,” it’s a beautiful and informative document that lifts up work and workers, serving as a piece of art, journey through history, and useful calendar all-in-one.

From CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken’s introduction to the calendar:

Work. It’s what most of us have to do to earn the money we need to live. Ideally, it’s also what we enjoy doing. For some of us, it defines who we are and aspire to become.

The poets, lyricists, authors and union leaders you’ll find in the 2016 CUNY/ New York Times in Education calendar and website expand upon the changing interpretations of work throughout the history of the United States.

Working People is the 13th such collaboration between The City University of New York and The New York Times in Education. This year we’re pleased to welcome a new partner, the New York City Central Labor Council, whose president, Vincent Alvarez, and policy associate, Alexander Gleason, enthusiastically joined in developing this project.

There’s a good deal of practical wisdom in these pages, whose under lying theme is that all workers need to be valued, respected and treated with dignity.

Read the full introduction and check out the calendar here.