Join the campaign for the Patient Safety Act

There is a crisis in patient care in Massachusetts. Patients in Massachusetts hospitals are sharing their nurse with too many other patients. This is dangerous - under such conditions, nurses are forced to rush through their patient care activities and mistakes and preventable errors become more likely to occur. Jobs with Justice has joined with the Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Patients to demand that our hospitals be appropriately staffed. For more information and to send a letter to your legislator, visit www.massjwj.net . And come to the Patient Safety Act Hearing and Lobby Day at the State House, Wednesday October 24 at 10:00 a.m.

Verizon - Can you hear us now?

Verizon Communications had traditionally respected its workers. Unfortunately, in recent years management has begun aggressively interfering with employees right to a union, especially in their newer wireless and business divisions to prevent workers from forming unions. Check out the campaign to organizer Verizon Business workers and a video from a recent rally, visit www.massjwj.net.

Victory for Justice for Janitors

In August the janitor members of Local 615 won and ratified their best, strongest contract ever. The victory dramatically improves the lives of close to 12,000 workers, demonstrates the power that organized workers have, builds a strong property services union in New England, and builds an even stronger property services union nationally. For details on the contract, visit www.massjwj.net.

Massachusetts dumps Smithfield bacon

This summer Boston area Justice @ Smithfield supporters inspected 70 supermarkets in Eastern Massachusetts and found that products made in the Tar Heel Smithfield plant had been pulled from the shelves of Shaw's, Stop & Shop, and Johnny's Foodmaster. These stores got the message that pork products produced in Smithfield's Tar Heel plant are not welcome in Massachusetts and we thanked them for doing the right thing.

In addition, the cities of Boston, Chelsea, Somerville and Cambridge all passed resolutions supporting the workers at the Tar Heel Smithfield plant and calling for the removal of products made in the plant from the shelves. All these victories have Smithfield scared! The company sent the head of PR for Smithfield, Dennis Pittman, all the way up from Virginia last week. He tried to do damage control with city and town officials, who all told him that they stand firm in support of Smithfield workers!

Boycott Enterprise Rent-a-Car

Enterprise Rent-A-Car shuttle van drivers, car drivers and car prep workers just wanted a voice on the job and a say in their future. That's why a majority of the workers at Enterprise's Boston airport rental facility asked management to begin negotiations with them for long overdue improvements in their wages and working conditions.

Workers took action because Enterprise management refused to address their concerns about:

· Unsafe Working Conditions

· Job Discrimination

· Abuse of wage and hours

· Lack of respect

When management refused to negotiate, workers sought a union election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board to compel management to work with employees to solve these on-the-job problems.

Enterprise's response? "You're fired!"

Enterprise management announced on June 13 that all shuttle drivers and car prep jobs would be subcontracted to a Houston-based staffing company and all car drivers would have to apply for jobs at other Enterprise facilities.

Please show your support for the boycott by contacting Regional Vice President Mark Jewell. Tell him: "I'm boycotting Enterprise Rent-A-Car until you stop subcontracting the airport facility jobs in Boston and sit down with employees to resolve their problems."

Call or fax Mark Jewell today! Phone (781) 238-2010 or Fax (781) 238-2099

In the Boston-area, the boycott is being spearheaded by IUE-CWA Local 201, MassCOSH, the Chelsea Collaborative, Jobs with Justice, the Greater Boston Central Labor Council and the North Shore Labor Council. The boycott is supported by over 25 labor and community groups. If you are affiliated to an organization that would like to help promote the boycott, contact Local 201 at (781) 598-2760 or MassCOSH (617) 825-7233 to get a sample resolution and materials. Or visit www.myspace.com/boycott_enterprise to sign up as a boycott supporter.

Clear Channel workers on strike for justice

A strike fund has been established to help out the families of workers on the line at Clear Channel Outdoor in Stoneham. The strike is entering its second month, and members are hanging tough. Friends can send checks to DC 35, 25 Colgate Road, Roslindale, MA 02131, made payable to: DC 35 Billboard Strike Fund. On behalf of the 25 families....thank you. You can also show your support by standing with the workers on the picket line. The line is located at 89 Maple Street Stoneham MA. Read more about the strike and workers' struggles at Clear Channel at http://artontheline.com/HOME.html.

Governor Patrick signs Majority Authorization Bill

On Thursday, September 27, 2007 Governor Deval Patrick signed the Majority Authorization bill, giving public employees the ability to form a collective bargaining unit by achieving majority support in writing. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday, September 18th, and the Massachusetts State Senate voted on Thursday, September 20th to enact the bill into law.

In the Governor's press release this morning, he had this to say, "This bill is about leveling the playing field between labor and management. It affirms the Commonwealth's policy of supporting workers who should be able to bargain collectively for fair wages, decent health care and on the job protections." For more information on the bill, visit www.massaflcio.org .

Roche Brothers to pay $283,000 in back wages

The Roche Bros. supermarket chain has agreed to pay its workers more than $283,000 in back wages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. The probe found that 17 supermarkets in the Massachusetts-based chain, including three operating under the name Sudbury Farms, failed to pay overtime wages to some employees. Under the agreement, 687 employees will receive a portion of the $283,000.