On this edition of Your Call, we're getting an update on the workers' rights movement.
Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Garment Worker Protection Act (SB 62), which will end the piece-rate compensation for garment workers and hold brands liable for stolen wages. The bill will finally guarantee an hourly wage for the state's 45,000 garment workers.
In California, Oregon, and Hawaii, more than 30,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente have authorized a strike, threatening to walk out over working conditions strained by the pandemic and a two-tiered wage proposal.
Kellogg’s cereal workers in Nebraska, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee who have been on strike since October 5. Around 1,400 union workers are striking over long work weeks, pay, benefits, and a two-tier wage system.
Guests:
Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles, which organizes with garment workers in the fight for improved working conditions
Jane Carter, director of research, public policy and regulatory affairs for United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents over 32,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals
Maximillian Alvarez, editor-in-chief of The Real News Network and host of the Working People podcast
Web Resources:
The Los Angeles Times, Suhauna Hussain: Gov. Newsom signs bill expanding protections for garment workers
Teen Vogue, Aamina Khan: California Becomes the First State to Require Hourly Wage for Garment Workers
CapRadio/CalMatters, Kristen Hwang: Hospitals brace for strikes as California workers protest staff shortages
LaborNotes, Jonah Furman and Sarah Hughes: Kaiser's Outrageous Two-Tier Wage Proposal May Provoke a Massive Strike
The Real News, Maximilian Alvarez: Breakfast of Champions: Kellogg's Cereal Workers Strike for Employees Who Have Been Left Behind
