FIGHTING FOR A FAIR CONTRACT

Mark your calendars as OWLS begins a summer organizing series starting on Tuesday, June 25. Arrive a little early to socialize. If you’re able, bring a snack to share, but more importantly, bring yourself!

 In Struggle,
Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity

Union Summer: A 3-part Series for Rank-and-File Organizers

Tuesday, June 25 at 6:30 pm
Part 1: Fighting for a Fair Contract
WSLC offices 321 16th Ave. S., Seattle

The first session focuses on labor contracts. How can rank-and-file members impact negotiations, from the negotiating table to the strike line? What are effective tactics when a newly organized workforce is negotiating its first contract? Bring your questions and share your experiences!
Everyone is welcome!

Presenters
Taran Burnite – Leader in recent union organizing campaign at Virginia Mason and on the negotiating team for their first contract.

Henry Noble – Long time labor activist, organizer of unions at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and University of Washington and also participated in five strikes at Boeing as a member of IAM 751.

Tacoma Art Museum Workers United members – First cultural workers union in Washington state to successfully organize workers across departments

Meeting location: 
Washington State Labor Council Offices
321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144

A Tech Workers’ Guide to Organizing in the Information Age

Tuesday, May 28 at 6:30 pm – OWLS Meeting
A Tech Workers’ Guide to Organizing in the Information Age
What does it mean to organize in the era of technical revolution? Feminist techie Lydia Duncan, and privacy engineer Tariq Yusuf, talk about how the internet and digital communication impacts tech workers and the broader labor movement — from honoring picket lines to organizing remote work. Being terminally online presents unique challenges and opportunities. Join the discussion!

Also featured: Labor battles from around the Sound, Palestinian Solidarity updates, and OWLS elections.
Everyone is welcome!

Meeting location: 
Washington State Labor Council Offices
321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144
(corner of 16th Ave S & Jackson St.)

The Billionaire’s Club vs. Organized Labor

Tuesday, April 23 at 6:30 pm
WSLC offices 321 16th Ave. S., Seattle

The Billionaire’s Club vs. Organized Labor
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other wealthy one-percenters are teaming up to challenge the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  As Amazon, Tesla, Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s wrack up Unfair Labor Practice charges for anti-union antics, their CEOs hope the pro-business Supreme Court will roll back labor rights. What’s at stake? Steve Johnson, officer for CWA 7800 describes this latest corporate attack and how workers are responding. Join the discussion.

Also featured: Labor battles from around the Sound, Palestinian Solidarity updates, and OWLS elections. Everyone is welcome!

Meeting location: 
Washington State Labor Council Offices
321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144
(corner of 16th Ave S & Jackson St.)

At our last meeting rideshare drivers gave an update on their organizing to get justice for drivers killed on  the job. Check out this coverage of their event in honor of a fallen driver by Crosscut:
Seattle rideshare drivers mourn, seek solutions after homicides https://crosscut.com/politics/2024/03/seattle-rideshare-drivers-mourn-seek-solutions-after-homicides


Notice of nominations for the OWLS Steering Committee

Once again, it’s time for elections to the OWLS Steering Committee. Nominations began at the Tuesday, March 26, 2024 OWLS membership meeting and will continue at the Tuesday, April 23, 2024 meeting. A letter and email listing those nominated will be sent to all members after the April 23, 2024 meeting. The election will conclude at the OWLS membership meeting on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

A Tribute to Labor’s Mighty Women Hospitality Workers!

OWLS Meeting – Tuesday, March 26, 6:30pm

For Women’s Herstory Month, OWLS delves into the underreported news
on the recent strike waves of hospitality workers.
Maxine Reigel, former HERE
member and waitress, tells how this predominantly
female workforce won significant gains in Los Angeles,
Detroit and Las Vegas, by practicing ironclad solidarity
and militant shop-floor organizing.
Also featured: Rideshare Drivers’ legislation, OWLS
elections, Palestine Solidarity organizing, and more.
Everyone is welcome!

Meeting location: Washington State Labor Council Offices
321 16th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 (Corner of 16th & Jackson)

Seattle educators: fighting for their students and teaching the truth!

OWLS Meeting – Tuesday, February 27, 6:30pm

Rank-and-file teachers are in the frontlines of fighting for fully-funded schools and defending anti-racist policies and free speech for students and staff. Members of SCORE (Seattle Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators) who are members of the Seattle Education Association will report on their efforts to elevate student voices and promote union democracy in order to bring these issues to the forefront.
Also featured:  Reports on the 2024 National Labor Notes Conference, OWLS elections, Palestine Solidarity organizing, and more. Everyone is welcome!

Meeting location:
Washington State Labor Council offices, 321 16th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 (16th & Jackson)

Mark Your Calendar!

The following events are great opportunities to start the new year off with a kick:
Friday, January 12 at Noon 
–  A conversation about the Million Worker March
Seattle Labor Temple
5030 1st Ave, Seattle
The panel Q&A discussion with renown labor historian Peter Cole and founding participants of the Million Worker March that includes Gabriel Prawl.
Hosted by the Revels Cayton Institute for Industrial Unionism and co-sponsored by the Asa Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) and the West Coast African American Longshore Coalition (AALC)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
OWLS MEETING: Tuesday, January 23 at 6:30pm
At the Washington State Labor Council offices
321 16th Avenue S.,Seattle

Solidarity with Gaza! Stop the Bombing!

At the last OWLS meeting on November 28, the featured topic was on “Defend free speech: Stop Harassment of Pro-Palestine Voices.” There was also a report on union resolutions and solidarity actions that workers are taking up on behalf of embattled Palestinians. In response, OWLS adopted the following [statement] position:
Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity stands with our working-class sisters and brothers in Gaza and calls for:
  • Stop the genocidal bombing and blockade of Gaza now.
  • End U.S. militarily aid to Israel; fund humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
  • No harassment of pro-Palestinian voices on the job, in schools, or by the FBI.

Defend free speech: Stop Harassment of Pro-Palestine Voices

OWLS Meeting: Tuesday, November 28 at 6:30 pm

All eyes are on Gaza’s growing humanitarian crisis as Israel bombs and blockades the occupied territory – with full backing from the White House and Congress. With over 11,000 Palestinians civilians killed, protests are rising across the U.S. But employers, schools and the FBI are cracking down on dissent, especially in Palestinian and Muslim communities.

  • Guest speakers: Executive Director Imraan Siddiqi and Senior Staff Attorney Alex Baron from the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. They will report on the spike in anti-Arab and Islamophobic incidents and offer advice on how community and union members can respond.
  •  OWLS will also discuss union resolutions and solidarity actions that workers are taking up on behalf of embattled Palestinians.

The OWLS meeting will also feature a round-up of current labor battles, including Seattle city workers who are organizing against low-ball wage offers by the city.

Meeting location: 
Washington State Labor Council Offices, 321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144
(corner of 16th Ave S & Jackson St.)

Also: Save the date
Saturday, December 9 – OWLS Winter Holiday Party

Labor and Community Demand a Fair Contract and Full Staffing for City Workers NOW!!!

OWLS October Meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 24, 6:30pm
Washington State Labor Council building
321 16th Ave S, Seattle (corner of S. Jackson and 16th Ave S.)

City of Seattle workers will report on new developments, plans for practice picketing and other measures to ratchet up heat on Mayor Bruce Harrell and city labor negotiators. OWLS members who attended a recent Labor Notes workshop will also share ideas learned there that can be of use in this contract fight and other labor battles erupting in the Puget Sound area.
_____________________________________________________________________   The statement below was handed out by OWLS members at city council hearings 

It’s time for Mayor Bruce Harrell and the City Council to cease and desist with their anti-union antics, stalling and bad-faith wage offers for city workers. Bargain in good faith! Honor our city’s excellent workforce with living wages and fair contracts! City residents deserve fully-staffed, reliable public services that these workers provide.

City workers’ contracts will expire on Dec.31, but the city stalled negotiations for months. Mayor Bruce Harrell then announced an insulting offer of a 1% Cost-of-Living-Adjustment! Meanwhile, Seattle has seen a cumulative 21% rise in inflation in the last three years. (April 2020-April 2023 Consumer Price Index as reported by the Seattle Times.)

After the Coalition of City Unions bargaining team walked out of negotiations over this insulting offer, the City raised its offer to 2.5%. which is still effectively an 18.5% pay cut!

The Coalition then informed the mayor of their intention to hold a rally at City Hall. Mayor Harrell dismissed the idea, saying it would have no impact on him or the contract. “Rally your asses off!” he told them.

But when the Coalition moved ahead with the rally, the Mayor’s office sent the unions a “Cease and Desist” letter saying they would take legal action if union workers held a rally. The letter was filled with inaccurate claims – and was a clear intimidation tactic, which failed. Fifteen hundred workers and supporters showed up to rally at City Hall.

But the insulting COLA isn’t the only issue City workers face

  • Many departments have 14% vacancy rates because the City can’t keep or attract workers. 160 job titles need market rate adjustments to offer competitive salaries.
  • Seattle residents will continue to see the quality of services deteriorate because of these long-standing vacancies. City residents and workers have a common cause.
  • City of Seattle workers need to earn enough money to live in Seattle. Many employees, especially the lowest paid – like admin assistants and cashiers, who are overwhelmingly female and people of color – commute long distances because they cannot afford Seattle rents.
  • Outdoor workers need clear guidelines and more protection during heatwaves and wildfire smoke.

Workers are demanding their just due across the country

City workers in Portland, Oregon and in Los Angeles went on strike this year and won many of their demands. Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS) offered information at the Seattle city workers rally about public workers right to strike. That resonated with many at the rally who felt that city workers need to be prepared to take that step if the city continues to stall and put forward low-ball offers.

Unions and working-class demands have never had more public support than today. Now is the time to call for bold action. For instance, to address chronic understaffing and attrition, the City of San Juan recently agreed to a 32-hour/four-day work week at 40 hours pay. Nationally, striking United Auto Workers are raising that same demand.

Seattle is home to numerous corporate giants and has one of the highest concentrations of millionaires and billionaires in the country. Meanwhile, city workers are being pushed out of the city they serve. The mayor and city council need to get a backbone and start taxing corporations and the ultra-rich and put a stop to the ever-expanding wealth gap in our city. The money is there.

OWLS calls on the community and the broader labor movement to mobilize in support of Seattle city workers!

The Coalition of City Unions is organizing practice picketing in November at several City of Seattle worksites to show the mayor and city council they are making demands, not requests. Show your support by joining the practice picket lines. Ask your friends and neighbors to turn out. City workers already have the support of the community they serve. Now Mayor Harrell and the city council need to see that support.

We also urge community members to call or send emails to Mayor Bruce Harrell and the City Council demanding a fair contract for city workers. Go to “Contact the Mayor” on Seattle.gov or call 206-684-4000. Email the entire city council at council@seattle.gov.