Living Wage campaign launched at San Jose International

Better airport service and security will come from extending San Jose's Living Wage policy to cover all San Jose International workers. The South Bay Labor Council, Working Partnerships USA, faith and community leaders launched a campaign to do so last week, supported by Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and City Councilmember Forrest Williams.

Speakers at the April 30 San Jose City Council Rules Committee meeting expressed the urgent need for action by the Council, relating tales of severe economic hardship - exacerbated by continually increasing housing and food prices. A recent survey indicated that workers who don't receive wages at the standard of a living wage are far more likely to seek other employment, resulting in continuous turn-over and new, untrained employees at the airport.

Visit www.buildingabetterairport.com for more information and to get involved in the campaign.

Added May 2nd, 2008. Link to this article.

Sunnyvale City Council votes to support Service Workers

The local Labor movement and UNITE HERE won big in Sunnyvale last week when the City Council, led by Mayor Tony Spitaleri and Councilmember Otto Lee, adopted a resolution encouraging companies to hire food service, janitorial and security contractors that meet Code of Conduct standards. The 5-2 vote asks employers to ensure that workers receive good pay, benefits and working conditions, be allowed to remain in their jobs when contractors change, and be allowed to unionize.

Leading up to the vote, Silicon Valley religious and community leaders, organized by the Interfaith Council, gathered at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church in a community forum on Human Dignity for Silicon Valley Service Workers.

Food service, janitorial and security workers shared their testimonies of struggle for dignity and respect at the April 7 forum, held almost 40 years to the day after King's assassination. Dr. Clayborne Carson, founding director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford, and a panel of faith leaders called on local elected officials to pressure business leaders to adopt a Code of Conduct for companies that contract out their support services.

Added May 2nd, 2008. Link to this article.

400 support Justice for Janitors at Applied Materials

More than 400 workers and supporters marched on Applied Materials' Santa Clara offices April 10 calling for improvements in janitors' wages and benefits. The march, called by the Interfaith Council, called on Applied Materials will publicly display its support for Justice for Janitors and send a clear message to contractors that the rights and dignity of janitors must be recognized.

More than 20,000 California janitors San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento are bargaining for new contracts this spring leading in the largest-ever statewide mobilization effort. They are demanding good jobs including wages you can raise a family on, access to quality heath care and respect.

Added May 2nd, 2008. Link to this article.

Saturday breakfast with candidates kicks off primary campaign

Have breakfast with City Council candidate Ash Kalra and Board of Supervisors candidate Dave Cortese on Saturday morning, then spend some time phone banking to kick off the June 3 primary campaign.

Breakfast will be served at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 3 at the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council offices at 2102 Almaden Road, Suite 107 followed by a few hours on the phones. Regular phone banking will run 5:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at the Labor Council. Please RSVP to Gloria@atwork.org.

With the campaign underway, be sure to contact the Labor Council to signup for a night of phone banking! Everyone's small contribution leads to success on Election Day. And with more than two-thirds of votes expected to come from absentee voters who begin voting next week, the time we need volunteers is now!

Added May 2nd, 2008. Link to this article.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins spreads labor's political message at Cornell University

"Our movement is about justice and human rights," not just wages and benefits, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins told Cornell University's annual Union Days event last week.

The executive officer of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council was one of four speakers invited to participate in a panel discussion on "Worker Power in the 2008 Election: Is Change for Real," sponsored by the Ithaca, N.Y., university's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Also on the panel were Jane McDonald-Pines, executive assistant to the executive vice president of the AFL-CIO; Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute; and Barbara Lifton, New York State Assemblywoman.

Added May 2nd, 2008. Link to this article.

Campaign to 'Build a Better Airport' Calls for a Living Wage

Yesterday afternoon, the South Bay Labor Council, Working Partnerships USA, faith and community leaders came together to call for the City of San Jose to assure that it is truly building a better airport - by ensuring a living wage, establishing increased oversight of subcontractors, and guaranteeing the highest quality, most skilled employees serving the airport's millions of annual passengers.

Stemming from a report by Working Partnerships USA which documented alarming security and retention challenges at Mineta San Jose International, Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and Councilmember Forrest Williams asked the Council's Transportation committee to consider extending a living wage to all airport employees. The report found that over half of airport employees responding to a survey weren't trained in critical emergency procedures, such as facility evacuation. Additionally, while over half of employees earning a living wage had been at the Airport for over three years, the percentage of those earning less who remained that long was 6% or lower.

Members of the community joined elected officials in support of the policy. Pastor Kenny Foreman, of the Cathedral of Faith in Willow Glen, stated:

Our City has been richly blessed, and now should continue its leadership in maintaining the standard that has already been set; ensuring that San Jose will continue to lead the way in providing employees that serve the City a living wage -- including everyone who works at the San Jose Mineta Airport.

Wheelchair attendant Dwayne Green, an employee at the airport who earns a minimum wage, related his story, including being forced into homelessness for an inability to afford even a basic rent. "I struggled, I fought, and today I see a brighter future. For our safety, we can't afford to churn through employees," Green stated. "The City I live in and love cannot afford to lose good employees simply because they can't afford to live here, to have families."

Dr. Steven Pitts of UC Berkeley relayed the findings of a study conducted by researchers following San Francisco's application of a living wage to its airport. The study found that the living wage did not negatively impact the function of the airport, and that cost to employers was less than a penny on the dollar. In fact, due to decreases in employee turn-over, some employers saw cost savings of up to 11%.

Copies of the Working Partnerships report, the UC Berkeley study and event photos can be found at the campaign website: www.buildingabetterairport.org.

You can also read the Mercury News article.

Added April 25th, 2008. Link to this article.