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Jobs with Justice Annual Meeting Inspires Activists
Great actions, strategy sessions and music filled the Jobs with Justice annual meeting, which brought more than 850 activists — from unions, student groups, faith-based and community organizations and more — to Cleveland Sept. 6-9.
Nearly 100 CWAers joined the four-day meeting, which included conference sessions on building worker power and globalization; workshops on mobilizing, student organizing and campaigns for social and economic justice; actions against Case Western Reserve University and the Ann Taylor clothing chain; and great jump blues from the Suspenders, a band put together by CWA District 4’s Seth Rosen.
For the first time, a national Workers Rights Board held a hearing on the right to organize, which featured testimony from workers who are fighting for their right to a union voice, as well as from religious, student and union representatives.
Panelists were members of some of the 20 Workers’ Rights Boards organized nationwide; they include elected officials, religious leaders and civil rights activists from Massachusetts to Oregon.
CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen summarized the hearing with a call for activists to continue to build coalitions and Jobs with Justice “ten times as deep, ten times as broad and ten times as powerful” to win economic and social justice for all workers.
The action at Case Western Reserve University kept the focus on organizing rights, as delegates marched through the campus to support food service workers in their fight for card check and neutrality.
The university claims it supports workers’ rights and said it instructed the contractor, a subsidiary of Sodexho Marriott Corp., to obey labor law. But Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 10, which is supporting the workers’ campaign, pointed out that the contractor is running a classic anti-union campaign, a tactic the university should stop.
The Ann Taylor chain was the focus of another action, with activists protesting the women’s clothing manufacturer’s exploitation of workers in overseas sweatshops.
A conference session on globalization and labor solidarity included labor and human rights activists from Brazil, France, Haiti and South Africa, who spoke of the need for a system “that serves the interests of the people.”
Speakers included Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, who recognized the union’s “road warriors” who have worked to build solidarity and support for the union’s fight for fair contracts.
Gerard called Jobs with Justice “one of the most important grass-roots organizations fighting for economic and social justice in this country.”
Fred Azcarate, Jobs with Justice executive director, called the meeting a great opportunity for activists “who are building coalitions around the country 365 days a year to come together and share in the power they are building.”
Nearly 100 CWAers joined the four-day meeting, which included conference sessions on building worker power and globalization; workshops on mobilizing, student organizing and campaigns for social and economic justice; actions against Case Western Reserve University and the Ann Taylor clothing chain; and great jump blues from the Suspenders, a band put together by CWA District 4’s Seth Rosen.
For the first time, a national Workers Rights Board held a hearing on the right to organize, which featured testimony from workers who are fighting for their right to a union voice, as well as from religious, student and union representatives.
Panelists were members of some of the 20 Workers’ Rights Boards organized nationwide; they include elected officials, religious leaders and civil rights activists from Massachusetts to Oregon.
CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen summarized the hearing with a call for activists to continue to build coalitions and Jobs with Justice “ten times as deep, ten times as broad and ten times as powerful” to win economic and social justice for all workers.
The action at Case Western Reserve University kept the focus on organizing rights, as delegates marched through the campus to support food service workers in their fight for card check and neutrality.
The university claims it supports workers’ rights and said it instructed the contractor, a subsidiary of Sodexho Marriott Corp., to obey labor law. But Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 10, which is supporting the workers’ campaign, pointed out that the contractor is running a classic anti-union campaign, a tactic the university should stop.
The Ann Taylor chain was the focus of another action, with activists protesting the women’s clothing manufacturer’s exploitation of workers in overseas sweatshops.
A conference session on globalization and labor solidarity included labor and human rights activists from Brazil, France, Haiti and South Africa, who spoke of the need for a system “that serves the interests of the people.”
Speakers included Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, who recognized the union’s “road warriors” who have worked to build solidarity and support for the union’s fight for fair contracts.
Gerard called Jobs with Justice “one of the most important grass-roots organizations fighting for economic and social justice in this country.”
Fred Azcarate, Jobs with Justice executive director, called the meeting a great opportunity for activists “who are building coalitions around the country 365 days a year to come together and share in the power they are building.”