● Walmart is unhappy with Bloomberg’s story about the company’s spying on worker activists. In fact, Walmart says, OUR Walmart should never have shared the documents—obtained through discovery for a National Labor Relations Board case—with Bloomberg, and Walmart wants the documents back. But hey, we already know what they said.
● Was the shrimp you eat peeled by slaves? It could very well be. (Unless you don’t eat shrimp because you realize they’re gross.)
● Gig economy platforms like Uber and Lyft were dealt a loss by the passage of a Seattle law allowing their workers to unionize, and they face another legislative challenge in California—though of a different kind.
A solution about to be proposed in Sacramento, however, probably won't make unions happy, let alone business.
It's to bypass unions entirely and create a new organizing tool that allows groups of gig workers to collectively bargain with the company operating the app. It's titled the California 1099 Self-Organizing Act — 1099 being the annual tax form independent contractors are supposed to receive from the entity paying them, such as Uber.
In recent years, many unions have shown themselves open to and even supportive of labor activism outside of traditional union structures, so we’ll see how unhappy they are.
● Florida gave about $70 million to charter schools that later closed; state recouped little.
● US to increase worker protection from deadly silica dust for first time in more than 40 years.
● Beating apathy in workplace organizing:
So when you’re assessing why more people haven’t stepped up to take on the boss, it’s important to look at your situation carefully, and find out what the actual reasons are. You have to diagnose the problem before you can write the prescription. It’s not apathy—but what is it?
● Workers Independent News report for December 16, 2015:
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