Federal workers to strike, march on White House Wednesday

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Salon.com

By Josh Eidelson

Cleaning and concessions workers plan to walk off their jobs in federal buildings Wednesday and march on the White House, where they’ll demand President Obama wield his executive authority to raise the labor standards for their taxpayer-funded jobs. Organizers expect turnout for the work stoppage to outstrip the fledgling union-backed group’s first strike May 21, which drew just over a hundred Washington, DC workers.

Delano Wingfield, who’ll be striking for the third time tomorrow, told Salon that the federal government “should take a lion’s share of the responsibility” for the fact that he makes just $9 an hour working in the food court at Union Station. “I feel as if they shouldn’t take ownership of the building if they’re not going to take ownership of the operations,” said Wingfield. “Right now it’s actually like really tight…” he said. “Most of my money is on bills and rent.”

As I’ve reported, the same group – called Good Jobs Nation – has mounted three smaller, building-specific strikes since the citywide work stoppage in May. The campaign is backed by the Service Employees International Union and community allies. Its target isn’t the companies that directly employ the workers on paper, but rather the federal government, under whose concession and lease agreements and contracts they work. Their effort exemplifies twin trends in the modern, embattled labor movement. First, the rise of one-day, non-union strikes by minorities of the workforce, designed to embarrass bosses and engage co-workers and the public. And second, new campaigns that side-step workers’ legal employer – whether a fast food franchisee, a warehouse company hired by Walmart, or a federal contractor – and instead attempt to squeeze the “real boss”: the fast food corporation, the retail giant, or the President of the United States.

Good Jobs Nation has so far avoided laying out a specific executive order that Obama should sign. But he has multiple options at his disposal that could – without involvement from Congress – raise labor standards for taxpayer-funded jobs. One would be to implement a “high road” contracting policy that would offer companies with higher standards a leg up in securing contracts, a move which the New York Times reported in 2010 was being pursued, but never came to pass. President Obama did sign an executive order banning federal contractors from billing the government for the costs of union-busting campaigns, although a Salon investigation revealed that the order did not prevent contractors from using office space rented by the government to hold mandatory anti-union lectures.

FULL story at link.




Read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/09/24/federal_workers_to_strike_march_on_white_house_wednesday/

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[ancianita]

1. This is major. Let's see if the WH sets an example for privatizers of government services.

Let's just see which commitments are deeper -- those to The People or those to Big Business. The SEIU makes its case. Let's see if the Democratic Party acts in the interests of labor.

[Kingofalldems]

2. Kick and Rec for the workers

This is why repubs want to privatize the gov't, cheap labor and huge profits for the 1%.

[FirstLight]

3. you know, this is happening all over, too

The executives are eating up all the cash while the workers are being forced to live on $9/hr...sickening.

[SunSeeker]

4. Good! nt

[24601]

5. First thought was that Presidents set most federal pay every December by issuing an Executive Order;

however, as there hasn't been a civilian raise since Jan 2010, I had doubts about the story. The details revealed that it was really talking about private sector employees contracted to government facilities.