How did the biggest-ever mobilization of fast-food workers come about, and what is its endgame?
The AFL-CIO isn’t lifting a finger to help the White House — it remains in negotiations at the White House and on Capitol Hill to change elements of the law it finds objectionable to workers. Those talks were put on hold earlier this month during the government shutdown — a far larger concern for the federal government employee unions — and have begun to restart only in recent days, according to officials from multiple unions.
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Eliseo Medina made a big mistake in tacitly backing SEIU’s raid on its longtime ally and the nation’s most progressive union, Unite HERE. Some believe that and his support for the SEIU- UHW takeover forever tarnished his legacy. But in the big picture Eliseo Medina did as much to advance social and economic justice as anyone of his time. His career was marked by extraordinary dedication to working people, and he never stopped believing in the power of “Si Se Puede”!
In today’s United States, labor unions and Latino voters are two key pillars of progressive politics. Yet when Eliseo Medina worked for the UFW from 1965-1978, the situation was very different. The UFW was the only union that prioritized grassroots electoral outreach, and among the few groups focused on registering Latino voters and getting them out the vote. Medina would play a key role in expanding this UFW model nationally, and through the broader labor movement.
SEIU 721, which represents 55,000 who've had no raise in five years, plans to protest county's proposed 6%-raise-over-30-months offer.
A hard look at the campaign by retail and fast-food workers to earn a living wage.
Since the first such strike in New York City last year, the expansion of low-wage jobs and the accompanying decline of well-paying union jobs have become a big topic in the media and on the street. The strikes have legitimated walking off the job as a tactic for workers, even those without a union. In addition, some fast food and retail workers have won tangible gains as a result of their strikes.
Fast food is an unlikely union target, due to high workforce turnover and layered franchise ownership. And the path forward is uncertain, say organizers. The only thing that seems sure is that typical union elections won’t work. Nonetheless, the strikes have caught the imagination of fast food workers around the country, who toil in one of the economy’s few growth sectors.
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