brandworkers's blog

Join us for the 2nd Annual Brandworkers Awards Dinner:

Celebrating Champions of Economic Justice

Focus on the Food Chain is pleased to invite you to:

A Workers' Rights Forum & Barbecue in Queens

Everyone is welcome, bring your co-workers! Featuring:

- Delicious, freshly prepared food

UPDATE: Read about the successful rally and thanks to all the individuals and groups who made it possible! --- http://www.brandworkers.org/en/node/101145

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers

¿Ha estado empleado por una compañía conocida como Beverage Plus ubicada en 58-87 55th Street, Maspeth, New York 11378 como conductor (Driver) o ayudante (Helper) desde el primero de junio de 2004?

Si es así, usted puede ser elegible para unirse a un pleito para recuperar el pago de horas extras y salarios mínimos que no le pagó la compañía.

Para obtener más información, por favor póngase en contacto con los abogados de los demandantes por medio de Daniel Gross de Brandworkers International:
 
Daniel Gross
Brandworkers International
Teléfono: (917) 577-1110
E-mail: dgross@brandworkers.org
Sitio Web: http://www.Brandworkers.org

Un tribunal autorizo este anuncio.  Esto no es una solicitud de un abogado.

Judge Robert E. Gerber approved the settlement without delay and the workers' victory is secured!

"Wild Edibles Settles with Workers Group Pushing Boycott", New York Times- Rea

Brandworkers campaigners were honored to stand with the Retail Action Project yesterday in its struggle for justice at Scoop NYC, a high-end clothing retailer. Scoop withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay and discriminated against West African immigrant workers.

Diane Krauthamer of Next Left Notes reports:

"The workers, who hail primarily from West Africa, are filing suit with the U.S. Department of Justice for unlawful firings, document abuse and citizenship status discrimination. According to RAP, in October 2008 Scoop NYC initiated an internal I-9 audit of the immigrant workers’ papers. Seven of these workers presented authorization as soon as requested, but Scoop NYC fired them, alleging that they failed to produce proper documentation. These workers are asking for approximately $200,000 in lost wages since the time of their termination." (Read the full Next Left Notes article).

More press coverage from the rally:

NY1: Workers Accuse High End Retailer Of Shortchanging Wages

Crain's New York- The scoop at Scoop: unpaid overtime, workers say

NY Daily News columnist, Errol Louis, blasts wage thieves in a column inspired by a struggle at a nail salon conducted by our friends at the Justice Will Be Served Campaign:

" With the economy on the ropes, it's more important than ever to crack down on bosses who break the law by stealing from their employees."

Read the full article here.

And plug in with the Justice Will Be Served Campaign

The impotence of the federal health and safety law, known as OSHA, is so extreme that it would be comical --- if the consequences weren't so utterly tragic.

After the horrific trampling death of Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour, Brandworkers and many others pointed out the predictable nature of his death: Wal-Mart juices up its customers with marketing tactics to create a door-busting rush on Black Friday yet fails to implement even the most rudimentary plan to deal with the onslaught.

OSHA actually agreed and cited Wal-Mart for failing to implement reasonable crowd control measures to manage the predictable risk. But here's the kicker: OSHA is fining Wal-Mart just $7,000 for the violation. That's not a typo.

What more can we say? The one and only way that retail workers can protect their safety is to get organized and fight for safeguards, rather than relying on the government.

If you haven't heard yet, a pair of Domino's employees ignited a web firestorm by releasing a YouTube video showing them tampering with food including a worker shoving cheese up his nostril and passing gas on a sandwich. (The video was taken down by YouTube after threats from Domino's but we'll let you know when it's inevitably re-posted somewhere).

Brandworkers condemns the conduct of these employees in the strongest possible terms. Their disgusting behavior is an insult to the millions of hard-working, honest, and caring people who work in the fast food industry every day. The vast majority of fast food workers, despite dealing with frequent disrespect from management, would never even consider jeopardizing the well-being of innocent customers with an inane stunt of this kind.

However, Brandworkers also takes issue with response of Domino's and its President Patrick Doyle to the incident. In stilted PR-speak, Doyle's video response declines to take any responsibility for its negative work environment. Domino's has a track record of not rewarding the contributions of its employees or recognizing their voice about issues at work. In addition to perennial low wages, insufficient mileage reimbursement for drivers and many other issues, Domino's has demonstrated a consistent animosity toward the right to choose labor union membership free of coercion. You can view Domino's video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l6AJ49xNSQ