Month: November 2019

Original Content

My friends at the PA Domestic Workers Association just won the first city-administered portable benefits fund in the US. Hear from director Nicole Kligerman about how it happened, and how it will roll out. 

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Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability

New York city council staffers are launching a union organizing drive. 

New Jersey (one of the few “ABC test states” for determine whether workers are misclassified as independent contractors) just slammed Uber with a $650 million tax bill, for avoiding payroll taxes. 

United for Respect has succeeded in getting workers onto a “mirror board” for Toys R Us’s follow-up iteration. 

The ’sharing economy’ has gotten a bad rap, thanks to the profit-seeking behavior of various gig companies. But there is value in sharing, and these cities are partnering with sharing economy groups to reap the benefits. 

New Orleans has approved a study of dollar stores in the city limits, realizing that they are concentrating in low-income, food desert areas that could benefit from actual grocery stores. 

The Perils of Trumpism

The DoJ apparently thinks it’s okay for your local McDonald’s to have a “no-poach” agreement with your local Burger King. Because, special sauce, I guess? 

What’s Going on in the Workforce

“…working for a good cause often means accepting lower pay than in the corporate sector—but some nonprofit jobs don’t even meet the most basic criteria of liveability, leaving some of their staff stressed and struggling.” An interesting look at how the non-profit sector factors into income inequality—with some recommendations about how non-profits (and their funders) can do better as employers. 

Organizing Theory

Blueprints for Change just launched their first manual of campaign how-tos. Find out how to get your hands on a copy here. 

Geeking Out

Here’s a pretty interesting data visualization of how salaries vary across 800 different US occupations. 

What’s Going on in the Workforce

The men of Major League Soccer are getting ready to strike. 

Remember when that self-driving Uber killed a pedestrian in Arizona? Turns out the company didn’t program cars to recognize that pedestrians jaywalk.  Meanwhile, the Taxi Workers Alliance are suing Uber for wage theft in NYC.  And ousted Uber founder Travis Kalanick is back with a new venture—this time, he’s building ghost kitchens to maximize productivity in the food delivery space. 

Hollywood assistants are speaking out about low-wages and punishing conditions in the film and tv industry. 

An interesting look at how the gig economy is penetrating the grocery industry, and other retail stores. Hint: it’s not just about delivery. (h/t to reader Thomas Beckett for sending me this one.) 

From Partners

Next 100’s Phela Townsend takes a look at how worker organizations are using digital tools to build power. 

Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability

“Nearly a fifth of Americans hold jobs with nonstandard or variable hours.” What’s that doing to our social relationships? 

Food delivery workers in Japan and Norway have formed the first unions in that industry, in Uber Eats and Foodora, respectively.  Meanwhile, US Instacart workers are striking over changes to the app design that lowered their pay. 

This is more on the anti-solidarity side—but private prisons have created a new attack group, acknowledging the damage that has been done to their business model by migration rights and anti-incarceration activists. 

Shout out to my daughter, Alina, who sent this one my way—Microsoft’s test of a four-day workweek in Japan was a success—and will be repeated next summer. 

Organizing Theory

Who among us hasn’t groaned when being assigned to run the icebreaker section of a meeting? If you need a quick idea, here are 25. 

Check out this Call to Action worksheet put out by Mob Lab—to help you figure out how to describe the actions you’re asking supporters to take. 

And finally, here’s a beautiful interview by Civic Hall’s Micah Sifry, about how Color of Change embraced the concept of Black Joy, as a way to both move from online to offline organizing, and build long-term relationships with and between members.