Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where Payday has taken the week off to focus on some multimedia projects before our multimedia editor, Amos Wolf, goes on paternal leave.
Additionally, I did reporting this week on oil tanker workers facing union-busting. UAW stalled organizing at Rivan, and the fight for paid parental leave in Pittsburgh.
$1,375 Raised for Parental Leave
Big thanks to all who have donated to our efforts to provide parental leave for our multimedia editor, Amos Wolf. He is going to leave in about a week, so that we would appreciate your support.
Danbury Immigrants Strike Against ICE Crackdown
In the small town of Danbury, Connecticut, at least 65 immigrants were detained by ICE in the last four days alone. On Wednesday, hundreds of immigrants walked out of work to protest the raids.
"The plan is to make as much noise as possible for as long as possible," local activist Seth Garben told News 12. "That is the end goal... that ICE never comes back to Danbury."
Wikipedia Workers Unionize
More than 200 Wikipedia workers based in the US unionized in a first for the company. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, agreed to recognize the union voluntarily. Now, organizers hope that their union efforts at Wikipedia go international.
"The recognition of our union's first government-sanctioned bargaining unit is a huge milestone in our over ten-year journey to educate, agitate, and organize coworkers," said Bryan Davis in a press release put out by CWA. "We continue our petition for recognition in the U.K. and hope to see more jurisdiction-specific units call for voluntary recognition in the coming weeks and months. Solidarity will continue to drive our discussions, planning, and actions as we begin working on our collective goals for contract bargaining to support all WMF workers regardless of legal jurisdiction, job duty, or hours of employment."
For more, check out CWA’s press release.
Autism Support Workers Strike
In Maryland, autism workers employed by for-profit contractor Verbal Beginnings are on strike for the first time. With starting wages at only $20 an hour and capped at $24 an hour, many workers say they cannot make enough to live comfortably.
“We can’t support ourselves. This is Montgomery County, one of the most expensive places to live in the state,” worker Collin Johnson told People’s World. “The company has not been willing to give a raise to their technicians in the past four years. We’re not asking for the world. We’re just asking to get by.”
For more, check out People’s World.
How BP’s Oil Worker Lockout Shows Shift in Corporate Battles
Finally, Reuters has a long look at how a lockout of 800 oil workers in Whiting, Indiana shows that labor relations are changing. From Reuters:
"The little guys have been taking hits," Skalka told Reuters at the United Steelworkers union hall during a recent interview. "I don't know what we all did wrong to make everybody hate us so much."
Skalka is one of the roughly 800 workers caught in the bitter standoff between BP (BP.L) and the nation's largest oil workers' union that labor experts, union representatives, and refining workers say poses a crucial test of the power dynamic between Big Oil and organized labor.
If BP can maintain operations at the plant for a prolonged period using supervisors, contractors, and replacement workers, it could weaken one of labor's strongest arguments at the bargaining table: that companies ultimately need union workers to keep their facilities running safely and efficiently.
Alright folks, that's all for this week. Keep sending tips, ideas, and comments to melk@paydayreport.com
