Labor & Workers
Labor unions, workers' rights, and employment
Still no compassion for workers at Greenleaf dispensary in Portsmouth
"Quite honestly, [contract negotiations] have kind of stalled," said Parker Terrell, a member of the Greenleaf Compassion Center union negotiating team. "We're still facing a lot of retaliation from Seth. We still have a lot of unjust terminations and wrongful terminations."
Is this the year the RI General Assembly does something about wage theft?
" If someone steals your pet or your appliance, and the value is over $1,500, that's a felony, but if they steal your hard earned wages, no matter how much it is, it's always a misdemeanor," said Attorney General Peter Neronha. "I don't know how we got to this place in the law, but it seems to me that it is now time to fix it."
An interview with Starbucks barista and union organizer Cassie Burke
"It's been very fun having local politicians reach out to me, direct message me and stuff like that," said barista and union organizer Cassie Burke. "There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for it, not just from other workers, but also people who are trying to enact change politically, which is really cool."
Bishop Tobin to pensioners: A smile and a nod and I'll pray for you
"To us, the church is the most culpable in this entire experience," said Lynn Blais. "This was a church based pension. The Bishop was the Chairman of the Board. The Bishop had ultimate control over that pension. So they hold the most responsibility to make sure that that pension was funded appropriately and correctly, and 2700 pensioners can go into retirement knowing they have the security of a pension."
General Assembly has chance to pay janitorial and security workers a fair wage
“Essential janitors and security officers have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Caceres through an interpreter. "We’ve risked our lives and the health of our families to keep others safe, going to work day after day even before vaccines were available. Many of us have caught COVID, myself included. I was lucky that I didn’t get very sick, but so many essential workers have gotten very sick or even died from this terrible disease. We need more than thanks. We need strong, fair jobs with wages that keep up with inflation and benefits that allow us to take care of ourselves."
How Barrington municipal employees got bumped to $15 min wage for 2022
"Human time and effort is worth at least $15 an hour," said Barrington Town Councilmember Jacob Brier.
Greenleaf bosses fold, meet union demands in Portsmouth
"We encourage workers to continue to organize with each other both within individual companies and across the industry," said Greenleaf employees in a statement.
Boardman: 46,000 Rhode Islanders lost jobless benefits this fall. Hiring didn’t budge
"Data shows the withdrawal of jobless support had no perceptible impact on employment growth in Rhode Island," writes Andy Boardman, "casting doubt on claims that the benefits were meaningfully holding back the return to work."
Seven on the Strike Line: Teamsters 251 Calling for Better Working Conditions
"They wanted to spit their rhetoric about why unions are bad and stuff like that," said Charles Reid. "And what would happen if the union were to join the company, and how bad it would be for us, and paying union dues when we all knew what the truth was to begin with. So we knew it was all lies when they were spitting it at us… So, they just wanted to frown upon us becoming union and try to influence us to not go through with it, even though we already made up our minds."
"Apathy is a Worker’s Disaster": Teamsters 251 on the Johnson Brothers Strike, How you can help, and Why it matters
“Apathy is a worker’s disaster,” said Teamster Matt Maini. "What we need is for people to understand that workers around the world are the same, and their struggle is your struggle."