Ministers from three local congregations will gather with security guards and activists at 5:15 pm, Wednesday, October 7, at the West Entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, at the foot of the world famous statue by Jacob Epstein called “Social Consciousness.”
The gathering will be a short prayer vigil to help motivate guards to vote to form their own Philadelphia Security Officers Union at an election to be held in the museum on Friday and Saturday.
The prayer vigil will feature a brief speech by Patrick Eiding, the President of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, and prayer offerings by Bishop Dwayne Royster of Living Water United Church of Christ in North Philadelphia and Reverend Jay Broadnax of Mt Pisgah AME in West Philadelphia.
According to Juanita Love, a security officer, “It is scary for guards to walk into that voting booth with your employer sitting there. There have been many threats against voting for the union. We think that the support of our churches will go a long way to giving us the strength and courage that we will need to vote 'yes' for the union and to solve our issues.”
The guards decided to form their own union after they could not find any established unions to help them, and after appeals for wage and benefit improvements failed to prompt their employer, AlliedBarton, or the host client, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to make changes.
Bishop Dwayne Royster has observed: “Galatians tells us: 'Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.'
"We must remind the guards," he continued, "that the 'proper time' is this upcoming Friday and Saturday. They should not be afraid to vote for their union.”
Fabricio Rodriguez, executive director of Jobs with Justice, a community group that is involved in the union effort, has said: “We know that an overwhelming number of the guards want to be a part of this union. Seventy per cent of the officers have told us they support it. Still, many people might be too afraid to vote.”
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Labor Notes
Philadelphia Jobs With Justice is a coalition of labor unions, community organizations, religious and student constituency groups building a movement for worker's rights and social economic justice on the principles of solidarity, reciprocity, militancy and direct action. Philadelphia Jobs With Justice is dedicated to winning victories that matter for working people.
| WILLIAM WAY CENTER, 1315 SPRUCE STREET, SUITE 331, PHILADELPHIA, PA |
| Phone: 215-670-5855 |
We are a community group that fights for living wages, top-notch benefits, and respect on the job for people in our Philadelphia neighborhoods. We believe in solidarity and reciprocity, helping each other in our struggles so we all win.
Contact:
(215) 670-5855
director@phillyjwj.org
1315 Spruce Street, Suite 331
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Philly Jobs with Justice Solidarity Email List
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| Subscribe to the Philly Jobs with Justice Solidarity listserve |
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The JwJ Pledge
During the next year, I will be there at least five times for someone else's fight, as well as my own. If enough of us are there, we'll all start winning.
STAND UP for our rights as working people to a decent standard of living.
SUPPORT the right of all workers to organize and bargain collectively.
FIGHT for secure family-wage jobs in the face of corporate attacks on working people and our communities.
ORGANIZE the unorganized to take aggressive action to secure a better economic future for all of us.
MOBILIZE those already organized to join the fight for jobs with justice.
STAND UP for our rights as working people to a decent standard of living.
SUPPORT the right of all workers to organize and bargain collectively.
FIGHT for secure family-wage jobs in the face of corporate attacks on working people and our communities.
ORGANIZE the unorganized to take aggressive action to secure a better economic future for all of us.
MOBILIZE those already organized to join the fight for jobs with justice.
Donate!
Your generous donation will go directly to supporting the work and activities of Jobs with Justice, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, and your donation is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Please consider becoming a sustaining member of JwJ with a regular monthly contribution.
Mail your check to:
"Jobs with Justice"
1315 Spruce St., #331
Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Or make a secure donation online by clicking here
Please consider becoming a sustaining member of JwJ with a regular monthly contribution.
Mail your check to:
"Jobs with Justice"
1315 Spruce St., #331
Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Or make a secure donation online by clicking here
Volunteer
Jobs With Justice is looking for Volunteers! Interested in workers' rights? Interested in fighting for social justice work? We need volunteers to help fight for the rights of workers in Philadelphia, as part of a broader social justice struggle. We need people to help distribute handbills, with data entry, writing articles and letters, mailings, photocopying, and much more.
If you want to engage with Jobs with Justice and be part of the solution, please be in touch!
Contact:
director@phillyjwj.org
If you want to engage with Jobs with Justice and be part of the solution, please be in touch!
Contact:
director@phillyjwj.org
Student Labor Action Project
As Philadelphia students and youth we commit ourselves to the struggles of working class people in this city and to the fight against all forms of oppression including racism, sexism, and homophobia. We stand for equality, the rights of workers, justice, and democracy. We are against the corporatization of education and aim to make our universities fully accountable to the communities they were built to serve. We believe that direct action wins working class families better working conditions, affordable health care, paid sick days. SLAP provides dedicated student leaders with the skills and tools necessary to affect meaningful change for workers on our campuses and in our communities through trainings, events, and actions.
Contact:
Contact:
Paul Prescod
piknrol@aol.com
Labor Notes
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2009
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October
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