20 Replies to “Workers’ Movements – Leave Reply by 9pm on Monday, April 6”

  1. “Income growth for the highest 1 percent of wage earners rose by nearly 190 percent between 1979 and 2015, meaning that the highest-earning 1 percent have claimed a radically disproportionate share of income growth.” Economic Policy Institute, “How Today’s Unions Help Working People: Giving people the power to improve their jobs and unrig the economy,” Aug. 24, 2017 (Sections 1,2, 7, 8, 9, 10)
    The greed of the rich never fails to amaze me. They already earn more than they need and this funds their lavish lifestyles. In the meantime someone else has to work more than one job to put food on the table and pay all their bills. Why do the highest earning 1 percent need raises? They can already afford essential necessities and luxuries. Getting a raise for them isn’t a necessity and just means hoarding money.

  2. (“The Companies Putting Profits Ahead of Public Health”).
    I find this quote as a statement of reality. business owners don’t care about what happen to their work they just care about making money. as the people in the video say the only way to fight this is by sticking together and fighting for their rights. people not doing anything would lead for owners to do as they please and not follow the rules workers right required

  3. “Some companies are not providing their workers with gloves or hand sanitizer, and some are even prohibiting employees from wearing masks for fear of frightening customers. Many workers feel they’re putting their lives on the line each day by interacting with customers who might be infected and by working in places they’re convinced have not been adequately sanitized against the virus.”
    This shows that companies don’t care for their works only for their look as a company. The woks are putting their lives at risk and don’t get the treatment that they deserve as humans. They are only treated as if they were expendable to their bosses.

  4. “Suddenly, the terms minimum wage and living wage are starting to converge, blurring the lines between minimum and living wage campaigns”. To me, this means is that people and the government are realizing that minimum wage isn’t something the average person can survive on are learning that they must adjust so the average worker gets a wage that doesn’t leave them struggling to survive until there next paycheck.

  5. Economic Policy Institute” how today’s union help working people.

    As we know, in Triangle Shirtwaist fire, Frances Perkins of the consumer’s league, perkin was part of a new generation of progressive activists. Her conclusion that American factories need evacuation plans, adequate fire scapes & sprinkles systems, because she swore this was never going to happen again. The previous year they made a strike seeking shorter hours, better pay & the ability to form unions. The factory bosses led by triangle owners Max Blank & Isaac Harris used to hire gangsters and prostitutes to assault them on the picket line. At one point gangsters had ambushed the strike’s leader Clara Lemlick and broke six of her ribs. The garment workers had become heroes, they won shorter hours & higher wages, but now those same girls were lying dead on the street. Very similar to what’s happening with our people at this time. People that are front line right now in New York City, facing COVID-19 every hour every day supermarket & grocery clerks, doctors, nurses, cleaning people (maintenance) babysitters, delivery personnel etc. Little had changed since the triangle Shirtwaist fire for workers. With the pandemic of the COVID-19 we had seen how unprotected workers are in our society, how many of them are paying taxes and working however, they won’t have the privilege to receive the stimulus check. In conclusion as Bernie Sanders said today, “for the duration of the crisis, pay everyone $2,000 a month regardless of income, tax filing or immigration status “.

    1. Medical personnel, farmworkers, pharmacy workers, food processing workers, truck drivers, janitors, delivery people must have the neccesary equipment, gear, hazard pay, child care and be in safe working conditions at all times.

  6. “Almost everyone has at one point felt unheard or powerless as an employee. Joining a union simply means that you and your colleagues have a say because you negotiate important elements of employment conditions together.” In the Economic Policy Institute article it highlights that unions are diverse and that workers stick together in order to have their needs heard. As an individual, workers often go unheard and their injuries or needs are overlooked because they are part of the minority. Although unions are a great asset to workers and provide them with a basis of community and belonging, it is sad to think that their needs are unheard unless they band together. Workers only have a say because they negotiate as a group, but as an individual negotiations or even meetings are unlikely outcomes of a complaint or necessity being unmet. An employee shouldn’t feel powerless or like a disposable asset in the workplace, they are the foundation of companies and without them most industries would be doomed. Because workers are a necessity for a business to run they should always be heard and treated with respect, no matter if they band together or negotiate as an individual.

  7. “We see some employers doing the right thing, standing by their employees during this crisis… and others not doing much at all.” Not every employer is on board with doing what’s right for their employees, still to this day many workers are not being given protective gears, paid sick leave, a raise etc. and many still put their lives at risk to satisfy the needs of the country or just so that they can provide for their family.

  8. Jason Hargrove a Detroit bus driver, just passed away from COVID-19 complications . Making before his death, a video viral about a passenger (female) that coughed several times and never cover her mouth. He was working with no gears, he was not provided with the right equipment for someone dealing with people getting in and out of the bus all the time. He left a wife and children behind. A dead that could have been prevented if only he was provided with the right equipment for this pandemia.

  9. “Some companies are not providing their workers with gloves or hand sanitizer, and some are even prohibiting employees from wearing masks for fear of frightening customers. Many workers feel they’re putting their lives on the line each day by interacting with customers who might be infected and by working in places they’re convinced have not been adequately sanitized against the virus.” The hard working people of NYC don’t have the equipment to handle the virus and its causing more and more people to become sick. Many essential workers are becoming more sick. This show that companies don’t care and are putting workers at risk. The work that they do show that they deserve these basic rights.

  10. “A big reason that low wage workers are struggling is the erosion of the value of the federal minimum wage, which at 7.25 an hour is worth 25 percent less in inflation-adjusted terms than it was 50 years ago.” (How today’s unions help working people).
    The federal minimum wage isn’t enough to cover costs for the average person to get by. In today’s world most of the earnings go the top 10 or 1 percent of the workers while the others are left in the dust. People got together in cities like New York and Chicago for an increase of $15 minimum wage. Nothing is done unless people come together to fix things because the workforce outnumbers those are paid more.

  11. According to, ”$15 per Hour or Bust: An Appraisal of the Higher Wages Movement” by Stephanie Luce, it states ”Wage campaigns can have the side effect of dividing low-income people into the ”deserving poor” and the ”non-deserving poor.” Some of the campaign rhetoric focuses on ”hardworking” people, which could suggest that those without jobs are not entitled to better conditions. Although voters and politicians passed living wage ordinances and minimum wage increases, they have also approved measures to further criminalize poverty, such as anti-panhandling ordinances”, This quote is significant because it’s showing that the wage depends on wealthy people than those who have trouble financially also with great conditions that is unfair not only are they getting low wages but they are not getting enough payed.

  12. “Some companies are not providing their workers with gloves or hand sanitizer, and some are even prohibiting employees from wearing masks for fear of frightening customers. Many workers feel they’re putting their lives on the line each day by interacting with customers who might be infected”. During this epidemic, we see how several companies handle the situation. Companies putting the money first over their employee’s health. While also risking their customer’s health because these businesses are selfish and ignorant. In conclusion, businesses care more money than their employees and customers.

  13. “Americans have a constitutionally protected right to associate and ask for change.” This is very significant because too often people walk around in their workplace as if they have no say or input in their working conditions. As working American people, it is not enough to simply know your rights, but to defend them if they are violated. It is crucial that people understand the power that they have to change the circumstances around them. Change can only come from somebody accepting that something is wrong and knowing they have the power to make it better.

  14. “We’re Up against an agenda, that’s putting profits over people.”
    Jobs are continuously being eliminated from the people by the people in replace of automatic machines and robots solely to increase mass production. It’s sad.

  15. “We’re Up against an agenda, that’s putting profits over people.”
    Jobs are continuously being eliminated from the people by the people in replace of automatic machines and robots solely to increase mass production. It’s very unfortunate.

  16. “many are furious that their employers are not doing enough to protect them against the pandemic.”
    By Stephen Greenhouse, “Is Your Grocery Delivery Worth a Worker’s Life: Workers Around the Country are Walking Off the Job to Protest Lack of Protective Equipment, Safety Measures, Even Soap” in New York Times, March 30, 2020

    These words related so much through my heart that I completely understand and the frustration. Working at the airport at JFK was usual for me but as soon as the pandemic started we became the first line of being vulnerable. We pleaded with our advisors on getting us proper equipment to protect ourselves and our customers/passengers but to many, we were denied. They continued to tell us that it was unnecessary and out of policy to wear protective gear. All companies should dedicate themselves to provide every equipment as possible for employees.

  17. “More than a third (35.8 percent) are black, Hispanic, Asian, or other nonwhite workers.” There are many types of race that are working in unions and other types of jobs all over the US nation providing data with union coverage, activities, and impacts, this which helps to explain how unions fit into the economy today. Some of the workers will get unfair wage and unfair treatment.

  18. “… workers from fast food restaurants walked off the job in a one-day strike in New York City, demanding a $15-an-hour wage and a union. This wage would be a dramatic increase, more than doubling the current $7.25 minimum for New York. Suddenly, $15 was the wage on the table.” This quote is significant because, as a college student working for $15 an hour, it seems like its decent enough, so I could only imagine how challenging it must’ve been for people back then only earning $7.25 per hour.

  19. “According to Kendall Fells of Fast Food Forward, a group of fast-food workers met to decide their demands. They felt the city’s $10 per hour “living wage” rate was too low to cover basic costs but did not think they could win $20 an hour. They settled on $15, with no formula behind it.”

    Through these demands and movements, things get done and things can get better and beneficial for a specific group, and in this case, it was the working group. Living in NY especially, basic living necessities like food and rent are already high and the $10 minimum wage was not enough to live and cover day to day expenses. It was a high jump from the last minimum wage but it was a good jump to benefit the workers living off the minimum wage.

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