#trustagestrike #canttrusttrustage

Resources:

linktr.ee/opeiucsc

OPEIU Local 39

Striking workers at TruStage (formerly CUNA Mutual Group) have voted to extend their strike. 450 workers represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 39 have been on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike since May 19th, 2023. The Union has been without a contract since March 31st, 2022 – 419 days. A total of nine unfair labor practices have been filed, charging that TruStage has violated the law by refusing to bargain, retaliating against union members, failing to provide information, and surveilling union members.

OPEIU 39 members held an emergency meeting on the evening of Tuesday, May 23, 2023, to evaluate the strike and consider its position before negotiations scheduled for May 24th. In addition to a positive evaluation of the strike, OPEIU 39 noted that other unions had stated their members will not cross the picket line: IBEW 2304, Teamsters 344, Teamsters 695, CWA 4652, UFCW 1473. More have donated to support the strike, such as SEIU-WI and AFSCME locals 720 and 6000.

“I’m voting to authorize an extension of the strike because we’re all prepared to do what it takes to get TruStage to stop breaking the law, and to secure a fair contract,” said Will Roberts, a Multimedia Specialist and member of the Union.

Following a presentation to hundreds of members and robust discussion, members voted 94% to extend the strike beyond the one week initially authorized in April. The strike was to end after Thursday, May 25th. The extension vote authorizes the strike to continue through June. Future extensions are also possible.

Teuta Resad, a programmer and union member for over twenty-five years, said, “Tonight was a testament of what it means to belong to something that is bigger than you. This strike has united us even more, and we will not stop until we get what we deserve. With a whopping 94% yes vote, the amazing members of OPEIU 39 have authorized our bargaining team to extend the strike!”

Sarah Larsen, a member of the Union’s bargaining committee explained, “The strike extension sends a powerful message to the company that our membership is unwilling to back away from getting a fair contract. The overwhelming margin by which they voted to stay on the picket should show the company: membership means business.”

#trustagestrike #canttrusttrustage

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linktr.ee/opeiucsc

OPEIU Local 39

May 24, 2023

Madison, WI – Striking workers at TruStage (formerly CUNA Mutual Group) have voted to extend their strike. 450 workers represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 39 have been on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike since May 19^th, 2023. The Union has been without a contract since March 31^st, 2022 – 419 days. A total of nine unfair labor practices have been filed, charging that TruStage has violated the law by refusing to bargain, retaliating against union members, failing to provide information, and surveilling union members.

OPEIU 39 members held an emergency meeting on the evening of Tuesday, May 23, 2023, to evaluate the strike and consider its position before negotiations scheduled for May 24^th. In addition to a positive evaluation of the strike, OPEIU 39 noted that other unions had stated their members will not cross the picket line: IBEW 2304, Teamsters 344, Teamsters 695, CWA 4652, UFCW 1473. More have donated to support the strike, such as SEIU-WI and AFSCME locals 720 and 6000.

“I’m voting to authorize an extension of the strike because we’re all prepared to do what it takes to get TruStage to stop breaking the law, and to secure a fair contract,” said Will Roberts, a Media Specialist and member of the Union.

Following a presentation to hundreds of members and robust discussion, members voted 94% to extend the strike beyond the one week initially authorized in April. The strike was to end after Thursday, May 25^th. The extension vote authorizes the strike to continue through June. Future extensions are also possible.

Teuta Resad, a programmer and union member for over twenty-five years, said, “Tonight was a testament of what it means to belong to something that is bigger than you. This strike has united us even more, and we will not stop until we get what we deserve. With a whopping 94% yes vote, the amazing members of OPEIU 39 have authorized our bargaining team to extend the strike!”

Sarah Larsen, a member of the Union’s bargaining committee explained, “The strike extension sends a powerful message to the company that our membership is unwilling to back away from getting a fair contract. The overwhelming margin by which they voted to stay on the picket should show the company: membership means business.”

For further information please contact communications@opeiu39.org

https://opeiu39.org/CMGUnited.aspx | https://twitter.com/CMG_UNITED | linktr.ee/opeiucsc

Interview with Kathryn Bartlett-Mulvihill of OPEIU Local 39: https://www.spreaker.com/user/15475168/we-rise-fighting-may-7-2023-labor-news

Room: 417 North GAR Hall at 9 A.M.

Since Freedom, Inc.’s inception, young leaders of the organization have been pushing Madison Metropolitan School District to invest in education that promotes leadership, wellness, and creativity for Black youth and Southeast Asian youth. Schools have been a site of violence for Black youth, youth of color, LGBTQIA+ youth, and youth with disabilities in Wisconsin and the rest of the country. As people who are committed to racial and youth justice, it is our duty to address the current xenophobic climate as well as the historic violence towards the Wisconsin Hmong community.

Hmong Americans, like other Southeast Asian Americans, have among the lowest educational attainment in the country. According to a Southeast Asia Resource Action Center 2011 Report, 39.6% of Hmong over the age of 25 do not have a high school diploma. The Center for American Progress states that the Hmong high school attainment is about 25 percentage points lower than both the Asian-American and U.S. averages. Just 14 percent of Hmong Americans have at least a bachelor’s degree, less than half the national average. These statistics state an alarming low graduation rate for Hmong youth. Given that Wisconsin boasts the third largest Hmong population in the United States, Hmong youth should have a more proportional success rate of graduation.

In addition, Hmong people have faced violent racism and xenophobia since our arrival to Wisconsin, including in and around school settings. Racist and xenophobic acts towards Hmong people occur all the time and are rarely talked about or reported. Listed below are only the most heinous acts in Wisconsin alone.

• 2007 – Cha Vang was murdered by James Nichols, who called the Hmong bad and mean
• 2014 – 130 pound Sao Lue Vang was beaten unconscious by 200 pound Kevin Elberg
• 2016 – Dan Popp asked where neighbor Jesus Manso-Perez was from, told him to leave, and commented on his lack of English before killing him, then proceeded next door to kill Mai and Phia Vue
• 2017 – Mai Houa Moua was shot at by Henry Kaminski who said derogatory remarks about Hmong people

To learn more about the violence against Hmong people in the USA, Cia Siab, Inc. have provided an in-depth report: Study & Struggle: Tracking Anti-HMoob Violence in CA, MN, and WI, 1975-2019.

We can take responsibility for the wellbeing and leadership development of young Hmong students by investing, developing and implementing culturally affirming education. Learning, hearing, and seeing one’s own ethnic history, people and ancestors contributes to making schools feel more relevant and creates a sense of belonging. AB232 is the educational foundation for cultivating bright and confident leaders with a strong sense of identity, who will bridge divides, break down stereotypes, and build stronger connections within Wisconsin’s diverse communities.

REGISTER: bit.ly/BAPALD2023

Or watch on BAP Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. 

Join the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) for an African Liberation Day online panel discussion, “Imperialism in Sudan and Libya: Implications for the African Continent.”

SPEAKERS
Abayomi Azikiwe
Abdiwahab Abdisamad
Essam Elkorghli
Yolian Ogbu, moderator

Thursday, May 25, 2023
U.S. West Coast: 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
U.S. East Coast: 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
West Africa: 9 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Central Africa: 10 p.m.-11:30 p.m.
East Africa: 11 p.m. -12:30 a.m.

The discussion will be in English. ASL interpretation will be provided.

The discussion will be streamed simultaneously on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, where it can be played back later.

REGISTER: bit.ly/BAPALD2023

Statewide Days of Outrage

Greetings NC worker friends!

You outraged about what is happening in Raleigh right now?? 

Join us in Raleigh next Wednesday, May 31 for this URGENT Day of Outrage!!  See our demands and out coalition supporters below. RSVP at link below if you can attend. Please spread the word at work and encourage co-workers to make it out!!

NC People’s Power Coalition

Statewide Days of Outrage

Wednesday, May 31 & June 14 at 6:00pm – People’s Power Assembly

at State Legislature in Raleigh

Saturday, July 1 – Day of Action in Cities/Towns/Counties Across the State

RSVP to participate in the Days of Outrage here

Sign on to the People’s Agenda and view endorsers here

**En español abajo**

North Carolina is under major attack. Now that the far right wing has gained supermajorities in both chambers of the State Legislature, they are passing far reaching legislation that will impact our people for generations to come. They are attacking our bodies, our schools, our health, our environment, our rights, our communities, our income, our jobs, our democracy and every aspect of our lives.

The people of North Carolina are coming together to put forward the following People’s Agenda:

Invest in Our Children!

• Fully fund public schools (fund Leandro) including early education and childcare, not private school vouchers! Defend Black history and people’s history!
• Protect our children and our communities with sensible gun safety laws!

Fund Health Care!

• Safe staffing in state mental health and medical facilities and universities! Protect mental health of youth and adults!
• Expand Medicaid! Improved Medicare for All – Healthcare is a Human Right! No to BCBS price hikes!

Keep Your Bans Off Our Bodies!

• Defend the right to abortion care and reproductive health care! Protect and increase rural access to OB/GYN and pre/post-natal health care!
• Protect trans youth! Stop criminalization of LGBTQ+ people! Support gender-affirming care services.

Defend Freedom & Democracy!

• Defend voting rights! No to gerrymandering voting districts!
• Stop criminalizing the right to protest!
• Stop the NCGA power grabs taking historic appointments from the Governor’s office!

Create an Economy for All!

• Raise the minimum wage for all workers to at least $15 per hour. Living wages for all!
• Raise the wages of teachers and state employees to $20 per hour or by 20% over two years, whichever is more.
• Make millionaires and corporations pay the taxes that they owe to support vital public services!
• Support the right to organize a union and public sector collective bargaining! Fully fund OSHA! Safe and healthy workplaces, paid sick leave, paid family and parental leave for all!
• Safe, low income housing for all! Provide direct rent and mortgage relief! Moratorium on evictions, foreclosures and utility cut offs.
• Support minority and women-owned business enterprises.

Uproot Racism!

• Stop attacks on Black, Brown and Indigenous people!
• Reparations for descendants of slavery now!
• Protect immigrant workers and families! No to 287G! Community ID’s now!
• Stop construction of prisons and detention centers.
• Expanding criminal record relief and resources for people returning home from incarceration

Protect Our Future!

• Clean water, air and land for all! Environmental and Climate Justice now!  
• Hold Big Agriculture, Duke Energy and all corporations accountable for environmental pollution! Expand commitments to renewable energy.

Endorsers

Action NC

Beloved Community Center

Black Abortion Defense League

Black Workers for Justice

Carolina Jews for Justice

Common Defense

Community Civil Activists

Community Partners Across the South

Durham for All

Durham Workers Assembly

Every Child NC

Fayetteville Police Accountability Taskforce

Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center

Health Care for All North Carolina

Health Care Justice – NC

Housing Justice Now Winston Salem

Muslims for Social Justice

National Black Worker Center

National Conference of Black Lawyers – NC Chapter

NC Environmental Justice Network

NC Justice Center

NC Medicare for All Coalition

NC Medicare for All Coalition Faith Health Caucus

NC Public Service Workers Union, UE 150

North Carolina Council of Churches

North Carolina Housing Justice for Black & Disenfranchised Lives

People’s Budget NC

Pro-Choice North Carolina

PSL Carolinas

Queer Mobilization Fund

Raleigh Area Workers Assembly

The Social Justice Mobilizing Organizing Group

Southern Vision Alliance

Southern Workers Assembly

Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina

United for a Fair Economy

Wake County Housing Justice Coalition

Winston Salem DSA

---

Días estatales de indignación

Miércoles, 31 de mayo y 14 de junio de 2023 a las 18:00 Asamblea del Poder Popular

en la Legislatura Estatal en 16 W Jones St, Raleigh, NC

Sábado, 1 de julio de 2023 – Día de acción en ciudades/pueblos/condados de todo el estado

Carolina del Norte está bajo un gran ataque. Ahora que la extrema derecha ha ganado la mayoría absoluta en ambas cámaras de la Legislatura estatal, está aprobando una legislación de gran alcance que impactará a nuestra gente en las generaciones venideras. Están atacando nuestros cuerpos, nuestras escuelas, nuestra salud, nuestro medio ambiente, nuestros derechos, nuestras comunidades, nuestros ingresos, nuestros trabajos, nuestra democracia y todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas.

La gente de Carolina del Norte se está uniendo para presentar la siguiente Agenda Popular:

¡Invierta en nuestros niños!

• Financiar completamente las escuelas públicas (financiar a Leandro), incluida la educación temprana y el cuidado de los niños, ¡no vales para escuelas privadas! ¡Defendamos la historia negra y la historia del pueblo!
• ¡Proteja a nuestros niños y nuestras comunidades con leyes sensatas de seguridad de armas!

¡Fondo para el cuidado de la salud!

• ¡Dotación segura de personal en centros médicos y de salud mental estatales y universidades! ¡Protege la salud mental de jóvenes y adultos!
• ¡Expanda Medicaid! Medicare mejorado para todos: ¡la atención médica es un derecho humano! ¡No a las subidas de precios de BCBS!

¡Mantenga sus prohibiciones fuera de nuestros cuerpos!

• ¡Defendamos el derecho a la atención del aborto y a la atención de la salud reproductiva! ¡Proteja y aumente el acceso rural a la atención de la salud stétrica/ginecológica y pre/postnatal!
• ¡Protege a la juventud trans! ¡Alto a la criminalización de las personas LGBTQ+! Apoyar los servicios de atención de afirmación de género.

¡Defendamos la libertad y la democracia!

• ¡Defendamos el derecho al voto! ¡No a la manipulación de los distritos electorales!
• ¡Dejen de criminalizar el derecho a la protesta!
• ¡Detenga las tomas de poder de la NCGA tomando nombramientos históricos de la oficina del Gobernador!

¡Crear una economía para todos!

• Aumentar el salario mínimo para todos los trabajadores a por lo menos $15 por hora. ¡Salarios dignos para todos!
• Aumentar los salarios de los maestros y empleados estatales a $20 por hora o en un 20 % durante dos años, lo que sea mayor.
• ¡Haga que los millonarios y las corporaciones paguen los impuestos que deben para apoyar los servicios públicos vitales!
• ¡Apoye el derecho a organizar un sindicato y la negociación colectiva del sector público! ¡Financie completamente a OSHA! ¡Lugares de trabajo seguros y saludables, licencia por enfermedad remunerada, licencia familiar y parental remunerada para todos!
• ¡Viviendas seguras y de bajos ingresos para todos! ¡Proporcione alquiler directo y alivio de la hipoteca! Moratoria sobre desalojos, ejecuciones hipotecarias y cortes de servicios públicos.
• Apoyar las empresas comerciales propiedad de minorías y mujeres.

¡Arrancar el racismo!

• ¡Alto a los ataques contra los pueblos negros, morenos e indígenas!
• ¡Indemnizaciones para los descendientes de la esclavitud ahora!
• ¡Proteja a los trabajadores y familias inmigrantes! ¡No a 287G! Y identificaciones ( ID) para la comunidad ahora!
• Detener la construcción de prisiones y centros de detención.
• Ampliar el alivio de antecedentes penales y los recursos para las personas que regresan a casa después del encarcelamiento

¡Protege nuestro futuro!

• ¡Agua limpia, aire y tierra para todos! ¡Justicia Ambiental y Climática ahora! ¡Haz que el “Big Agriculture”, Duke Energy y todas las corporaciones rindan cuentas por la contaminación ambiental! Ampliar los compromisos con las energías renovables.

Patrocinadores

Action NC

Beloved Community Center

Black Abortion Defense League

Black Workers for Justice

Carolina Jews for Justice

Common Defense

Community Civil Activists

Community Partners Across the South

Durham for All

Durham Workers Assembly

Every Child NC

Fayetteville Police Accountability Taskforce

Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center

Health Care for All North Carolina

Health Care Justice – NC

Housing Justice Now Winston Salem

Muslims for Social Justice

National Black Worker Center

National Conference of Black Lawyers – NC Chapter

NC Environmental Justice Network

NC Justice Center

NC Medicare for All Coalition

NC Medicare for All Coalition Faith Health Caucus

NC Public Service Workers Union, UE 150

North Carolina Council of Churches

North Carolina Housing Justice for Black & Disenfranchised Lives

People’s Budget NC

Pro-Choice North Carolina

PSL Carolinas

Queer Mobilization Fund

Raleigh Area Workers Assembly

The Social Justice Mobilizing Organizing Group

Southern Vision Alliance

Southern Workers Assembly

Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina

United for a Fair Economy

Wake County Housing Justice Coalition

Winston Salem DSA

Suds, Snacks, and Socialism at the Starry Plough
Attack on Trans People: A Page in the Fascist Playbook
Saturday, June 3, 2023, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Doors open at 2:00 p.m. 3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
Please register in advance at  (https://bit.ly/230603_AttackOnTrans (https://bit.ly/230603_AttackOnTrans) to receive your personal link to participate in this event online

Fascism is authoritarianism and class war combined with destruction of social relations within the working class. In order to gain power, fascist movements amplify already-existing prejudices among working-class people, positioning themselves as the defenders of normal people against ‘the others.’

Trans people are currently under attack with both street-level violence and legislation. These attacks, and the propaganda aimed at getting working-class people to support them, are part of the war against the entire working class. The purpose, as ever, is to prevent the growth of workers & oppressed peoples solidarity by driving a wedge between us based on our differences.

We need to be united to fight for our everyday needs and for a better future for all.
This forum will help us put what is happening to trans people into the context of the general conditions in this country and explore ways to fight the growth of fascism in the USA.

Speakers include:

Cassandra Devereaux, transwoman, writes for Fighting Words, the journal of the Communist Workers League – https://fighting-words.net/

Rosa Astra, an organizer in Oakland with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, writes for the socialist feminist magazine Breaking the Chains and Liberation News

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

Please help us celebrate our return to the Starry Plough by ordering food and/or drinks.Please arrive early to place your order so that you do not miss any of the presentations.An open discussion will follow the presentations.We will be accepting donations which will be divided among the sponsoring organizations. This event is sponsored by the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change.

For more information email <info@sudssnackssocialism.org
(mail to: info@sudssnackssocialism.org)

For more information about the California Peace and Freedom Party, please visit http://www.peaceandfreedom.org. 

Join Kenosha transit workers, members of ATU Local 998, tomorrow to rally for a fair contract. Let’s send a powerful message to the City of Kenosha that the transit system can’t operate without transit workers.

Date: Wednesday May 24, 9:20 a.m.- 11:20 a.m
Location: Downtown Kenosha Transfer Center, 54th St. at 7th Avenue.

Transit workers contract demands:
Raises for all transit workers that meet the cost of living.
More full time positions.
Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
Protect overtime pay.
Workers deserve a contract with raises to keep up with the cost of living and more full-time positions to cover all routes and better serve Kenosha riders!

Questions:
Samantha Winslow, ATU (323) 215-8468
samwinslow26@gmail.com