What started out last fall as a one-day walkout at fast-food restaurants to protest poverty-level wages and stand up for basic human dignity has transformed into a movement that has captured the public interest. I’ve been privileged, especially in recent weeks, to talk to institutional partners, policymakers and media about why low-wage workers across the …
We Cannot Build a Strong, Equitable Economy on Low-Paying Jobs Read More »
While the average McDonalds employee in the United States makes just above the $7.25 minimum wage, that story is different in other countries. As Jordan Weissmann reports at The Atlantic, the minimum wage for full-time adult workers in Australia is $14.50 and McDonalds employees just negotiated a 15 percent raise by 2016. Yet the company has about 900 locations in the …
Can McDonalds Make A Profit While Paying $15 An Hour? Read More »
The 14-month-long strike at Palermo’s Pizza in Milwaukee produced a small slice of justice this week for the Mexican immigrant workers who have been fighting for higher wages, safer conditions and a union voice at the frozen-pizza maker. Last Tuesday, Palermo’s finally agreed to comply with a finding by the National Labor Relations Board and …
Pizza-Making Strikers Win Small Slice of Justice in Milwaukee Read More »
Chicago workers continued the roving fast food and retail strike Thursday, joining strikers and picketers around the nation calling for increased wages and better working conditions for the thousands of low-wage workers who staff some of the nation’s largest companies but are not paid even enough to scrape by. A crowd of workers and supporters sporting employee …
In Streets of Chicago, Fast Food Workers Celebrate Small Victories Read More »
Early this morning, fast food workers in New York, St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. launched strikes demanding both a wage increase to $15 an hour—from a median of $8.94—and the right to form unions without employer interference. Later this week, workers in Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Flint, Mich., will also go out on strike, …
For workers in America, it can be hard to know where to turn when a boss pays you late or not at all, doesn’t provide benefits, or just yells at you for no good reason. That’s why a Working America, a “community affiliate” of the AFL-CIO that focuses specifically on nonunion workers, launched a website …
Why the Revival of US Labor Might Start with Nonunion Workers Read More »
A radical decision by Republican-appointed federal judges threatens to destabilize the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) if the Board loses a quorum in August. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that two recess appointments made by President Barack Obama in January 2012 were invalid and now NLRB decisions made while those appointees served on …
NLRB Truth: 10 Reasons Why the National Labor Relations Board Matters Read More »
Last month a few hundred retail and fast-food workers, from places like Sears, Dunkin’ Donuts, and McDonald’s, walked off their jobs for a rally in downtown Chicago. Carrying signs saying “Fight for 15” (or “Lucha Por 15”) and “We Are Worth More,” these workers make $9 or $10 an hour, at best, and they figure they’re worth …
With a death toll of 1,127, the April 24 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh has earned the shameful distinction of being the sixth-worst worst industrial disaster in history. There’s plenty of shame to go around—and not just for the building owner and factory operators who ignored clear warnings of danger. High on …
Two Wins for Bangladesh Garment Workers, But The Fight Isn’t Over Read More »
Fast food workers at more than 60 restaurants in Detroit walked off the job Friday. This may be the largest fast food strike in American history, involving more than 400 workers from McDonald’s, Long John Silver’s, Burger King, Popeyes and KFC. Some locations were forced to shut down. At issue is workers’ right to form a union …
Detroit Fast Food Workers’ Strike Shuts Down Locations Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
