Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) and allies held a Stand in Solidarity Event to show broad support for immigrant and refugee families, who have long been a part of the fabric of their Nebraska community.

The action featured a powerful lineup of speakers, including OTOC faith and labor leaders and key allies: the president and CEO of Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, president of Nebraska State AFL-CIO, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, co-founder of the Afghan American Foundation, and the CEO of the Latino Economic Development Council. 

One LA-IAF hosted its inaugural Labor Seder at member institution Temple Isaiah, joining in solidarity with over 150 leaders from labor unions, faith organizations, and nonprofits to take part in the annual Jewish tradition of the retelling of the Exodus story.  SEIU Local 2015 was honored for their organizing work on the "Quality Wages for Quality Home Care" campaign, with workers at the center of an evening about interfaith solidarity.

On March 3, the Colorado State Legislature proposed a bill that would have cut base wages for tipped workers. Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) fought back! In collaboration with CWA 7777 and the Colorado AFL-CIO, CCG organized a press conference and successfully blocked efforts to mandate that Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater reduce the local minimum wage for thousands of tipped workers. CCG also pushed for legislation to expand the right to collective bargaining as a part of their larger strategy to support workers in Colorado.

In a press statement, they assert: “Hardworking Coloradans deserve the opportunity to earn a good wage, especially as the cost of living continues to rise…The amended version of the bill importantly avoids an immediate wage cut for tipped employees and preserves some local control. However, the bill only gives local control to local governments if they want to vote to keep their tipped minimum wage low, but will not allow them to vote to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers. We will continue to work for fair and livable wages with tips on top for Coloradans at the state and local level.” 

Last week, CCG was back at the Capitol to support the Worker Protection Act and again the next day to stand with educators against cuts to education. CCG's work at the Capitol continues as the legislature considers the Worker Protection Act, the state budget, and other issues important to members.

(Photo Credit: Denver7)

On this International Worker's Day, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) leaders, led by members of Centro de los Trabajadores, and labor allies celebrated a major step forward in the protection of immigrant workers. 

At the urging of CCG and labor allies, Denver City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to extend subpoena power to the Denver Auditor in matters of wage investigations. Companies accused of wage theft may no longer simply pay a small fine and move on when accused.  This power means stronger enforcement of Denver's wage protections and more money for the workers who earned it.

This victory was built on hundreds of conversations with immigrant workers who shared painful stories of wage theft and disrespect in the workplace. 

[Excerpt from San Antonio Report]

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh heaped praise on San Antonio’s city government for its expansive workforce development program, often called the largest of its kind in the country.  He said he wishes the federal government could do more.

At a roundtable discussion with local industry leaders and city officials Monday, Walsh called SA Ready to Work — the city’s $230 million program aiming to train thousands of low-wage workers for middle-class careers over the next five years — innovative and exemplary for its heavy collaboration with industry leaders.....

SA Ready to Work opened for enrollment in May, though many pre-registered. In the nearly four months since then, slightly more than 5,400 applicants have signed up — nearly fulfilling what the city anticipated to be enrollment through its entire first year.

Outpacing both contractors so far is Project Quest, the jobs training nonprofit that [like SA Ready to Work] sprang out of COPS/Metro.  Project Quest is managing the cases of 112 participants.

[Photo Credit: Alamo Colleges]

Labor Secretary Would Like to See Bigger Federal Investments in Ready to Work, San Antonio Report [pdf]

U.S. Secretary of Labor visits the Alamo Colleges District, Alamo Colleges District [pdf]

After hundreds of conversations among workers, labor allies and elected officials, City of Austin voted on a budget that raised the living wage floor for their workers to $20/hr including contracted workers and those employed by corporations benefiting from City tax subsidies.  At the urging of Central Texas Interfaith, the City of Austin furthermore expanded emergency assistance for struggling renters and sustained spending on essential human development initiatives including long-term workforce development and after-school programs that the organization had pioneered.

Specifically, the Council approved: 

• $20/hour base pay for all City of Austin staff, contract employees and employees of corporations receiving City tax subsidies 
• $8 Million in emergency rental assistance
• $3.1 Million for long term workforce development
• Increased funding for AISD programs including Parent Support Specialists and Primetime After School programs

Central Texas Interfaith commended the Mayor and the City Council for investing in these important initiatives before turning their attention to the County budget.

Austin Councilmembers Approve Budget Amendment to Include $20 Minimum Wage, KVUE

[Excerpts]

Grocery store workers belonging to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 made their case Wednesday for reinstating hazard pay and safety protocols during COVID-19...

Union leadership, Coloradans for the Common Good faith leaders and the family member of a worker killed by COVID-19 [jointly called] a virtual press conference to address the conditions grocery store employees throughout the state are facing.

“Leaders of CCG are here today out of our concern for grocery store workers who are essential workers and have been a particular risk during this pandemic," Marilyn Winokur of CCG said. "We believe we need to do everything in our power to protect them and our communities while they continue to work.”

Winokur noted that CCG wrote letters to both Steve Burnham, president of King Soopers, and Todd Broderick, president of the Denver Division of Albertsons Companies, to ask for a meeting to discuss the concerns surrounding grocery store employees.

Both CCG and UFCW Local 7 noted the two main asks are for stores to reinforce hazard pay and safety measures to keep workers, customers and communities safe.

[Photo Credit: CBSN Denver]

'From Heroes to Zeros': Grocery Store Employees Seek Return of Hazard Pay as COVID-19 Ramps Up, Pueblo Chieftain [pdf]

Colorado Grocery Store Workers Ask for Reinstated Hazard Pay, KOAA News55 [pdf]

Grocery Worker Union Wants Reinstatement of Hazard Pay, CBSN Denver [pdf]

Press Conference Video, [pdf]

After Coloradans for the Common Good, with UFCW Local 7 and other allies, urged Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate workplace safety and public health concerns reported at a JBS facility in Greeley, CO, OSHA issued a citation for only $15,615. CCG argues that this "meager and insulting penalty, which amounts to only around $2,500 per worker life lost at that plant, will only embolden JBS’s brazen prioritization of its extraordinary profits over the health and safety of working Coloradans."

CCG Urges Attorney General Weiser to Investigate JBS, Coloradans for the Common Good

[Excerpt]

About five years ago, COPS/Metro sought and won “living wage” minimum pay for City workers, resulting in raises for about 20 percent of the civilian workforce. They won similar measures from Bexar County, and some school districts followed suit.

Now two measures on the Nov. 3 ballot offer San Antonians the opportunity to again help lower-rung workers.  Both involve a one-eighth-cent sales tax that for 20 years has provided funding to buy development rights to protect sensitive lands over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

The first ballot measure would transfer those funds to provide about $154 million over the next four years for a job training program projected to boost the incomes of up to 40,000 workers. That’s an aggressive goal, but what gives it credibility is that its approach is based on Project Quest, a jobs training program designed by COPS/Metro 28 years ago.

Interestingly, it was COPS/Metro and their sister organizations around the state that persuaded the Legislature back in 2001 to authorize local governments to spend money on job training and early childhood education. That same law, the Texas Better Jobs Act, permitted San Antonio voters to approve Pre-K 4 SA in November 2012. The highly successful preschool program is up for renewal on the ballot.

[Photo Credit: Scott Ball, San Antonio Report]

Election Day Ballot Will Let You Celebrate Labor Day on November 3rd, San Antonio Report [pdf]

[Excerpt]

Less than two months before early voting begins, Mayor Ron Nirenberg has called in several heavy hitters to steer his campaign to use a sales tax to help residents get back to work after they lost their jobs to the coronavirus.

The campaign, known as “Build SA,” faces the daunting task of figuring out how to break through a noisy November election to convince San Antonio voters to put more than $150 million toward a still loosely defined proposal that city officials estimate would help 40,000 residents get higher-paying jobs....

The mayor has assembled a trio of co-chairs to lead the effort: Blakely Fernandez, a partner at law firm Bracewell and former Alamo Colleges trustee; Linda Chavez-Thompson, former executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO and a former VIA Metropolitan Transit board member; and Sonia Rodriguez, a leader of the local grassroots organization COPS/Metro.

[Photo Credit: KENS5]

San Antonio Mayor Calling In Heavy Hitters for Campaign to Win Voter Approval of Coronavirus Economic Recovery Plan, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]

City to Ask Voters Whether to Redirect 1/8 Cent Sales Tax Towards Workforce Education, KENS5 [pdf]