On May 20, 2022, Drake Cooper zigged when everyone else zagged, and promised a flexible, hybrid workplace policy titled, "Your Choice, Hybrid." "Drake Cooper is Your Choice, Hybrid. What we mean is, it's your choice. We are not going to force anyone to come back into the office, but we are going to maintain an office space..." In the years since this announcement, many of us have moved further from downtown to save money on housing, become healthier than ever before because commuting time could be spent dog walking or exercising. Maybe you expanded your family, or added a furry friend into the mix. Maybe you passed up higher pay because you were so proud to work somewhere that broke trail and put its employee-owners first.  This flexibility is a paramount piece of Drake Cooper culture, and taking it away for the benefit of collaboration in office is capped when so many team members work remote across the country and client calls are near exclusively virtual.

It's simple Publix Other cutters in other departments at Publix are paid a higher rate due to the fact that cutting is considered a skill and not everyone in the produce department can cut like a seasoned produce cutter. The fact remains we are being left out and I think this is a great platform to voice our option and reach the higher ups. We show up everyday and go through big bogos and big holidays at the same pay rate as other employees who are also extremely hard working. What we do is not easy and it does take skill so please pay us and treat us like everyone else who cuts at our stores.

CVS Health claims to care for all of its workers, and constantly states that it has its employees health and wellness in mind, while treating its employees like robots. We shouldn’t have to beg to be allowed to leave our desks for a few minutes to use the bathroom or walk around for a few moments without worrying about going over our metrics, or worrying if we are going to be able to afford food and shelter because of skyrocketing inflation. Our representatives work incredibly hard to make sure our members are taken care of, also while sometimes dealing with abuse and anger from members, or situations that are emotionally difficult. We deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and have compensation that can afford us a decent standard of living.

Right now Californians are facing record rents and house prices AND paying more for their weekly groceries than any other state! Minimum wage workers are on the frontlines of this crisis, and warehouse, retail, school staff, and child-care workers are some of those making the lowest wages in California.  Workers just can’t afford to survive like this. Why are essential workers the poorest? DO better Amazon! IMAGE CREDIT: Tony Webster

Many people know someone or are closely related to somebody who has special needs. Desert Arc is a pillar of the community representing these mentally disabled individuals, heavily relying on support and fundraising from everyday citizens in the Coachella Valley. Yet, with an intake of 50 million in revenue (site: Zippia.com), we the workers , who are hands on, make an average of $18 per hour. The CEO and those above us, when asked, cannot give a specific accounting for where the money is distributed. Our mileage reimbursement (which has been in place for at least 8 years) is now being taken away, in addition to employees now making less than than those working at fast food restaurants, yet we are responsible for human lives.

These members of staff are the future of the company, and management need to remember that grade 2 & 3 employees do have families at home, and social life’s of their own and start treating them with a little more respect. As I write this today I can almost guarantee there isn’t a current grade 2 or 3 that hasn’t been affected at home whether due to arguments with partners, losing contact with friends, or lack of time spent with their kids. We respect massively what the current long serving CORE employees have given to this company. And I believe they are with us when it comes to wanting a fairer, more structured shift pattern for all grade 2’s and 3’s.

Macy's in Tacoma has been a long standing institution that employs many. We have recently found out that our store may be closing in the near future. Over 100 Macy’s workers at the Tacoma Mall location including the Furniture Gallery have been bargaining for a fair contract since January. Please support us as we attempt to bargain for dignity and respect during this difficult time.

We believe that these firings and targeting of employees, the affects these have on the wider community, and the steps Natural Grocers has taken to impede the rights of their workers to organize are in violation of the company’s proclaimed commitments to crew and community. Community is formed through relationships. Customers and crew have formed meaningful relationships over the years and those relationships can better inform company policies to better serve customers. This is a COMMUNITY CALL to UPHOLD Margaret Isley’s five founding principles (see more here: https://www.naturalgrocers.com/our-five-founding-principles) by respecting workers’ rights or organize and embracing the desired feedback structure of workers. We understand that COMMITMENTS require ACCOUNTABILITY, and evidence has shown us that the path to that accountability is a union for Natural Grocers workers. We do believe that the founders of Natural Grocers and the current leadership do genuinely care. We do believe that, unlike a company like Amazon, Natural Grocers could take the feedback of this petition and address our concerns. We hope they will not disappoint us. Community Member Testimony “The warmth and genuine conversations that I have with all of the crew is why I love shopping there, and I want them to feel just as comfortable and supported. It is really distressing to me that a store that I love, value, and respect is causing its employees to feel unsafe about asking for better working conditions, pay, and benefits. I hope that through incorporating the feedback of their employees, Natural Grocers can become an even healthier environment holistically because they value everyone who keeps the store flourishing.” Crew Member Testimony “I have been an employee at the Natural Grocers in Norman, Oklahoma, store #48, for over 8 years. I work very hard to connect intentionally with each customer I encounter and to find them what they need. I have brilliant and kind coworkers and former coworkers whom I have witnessed do the same. I have seen our store act as a community center in many ways. Whenever I go out in Norman, I almost always run into one of my regular customers and they greet me. I have watched children grow up in our store. My apron is filled with buttons and pins, many of them gifts from customers and others in my community. To this day, this is my favorite job I have ever had. But I am sad to say that the company and my little store are rapidly changing, and not for the better. I want a union because I do care deeply for my coworkers, my store, my community, and the future of the company. I believe that a union would provide a more accessible feedback and representation system for workers and that this would enable the company to better uphold their principals and goals.”

Supporting a coworker's petition can be intimidating, but it’s often the only path to workplace change. With more and more employees supporting a campaign, an employer’s ability to deny the demands of the petition becomes more difficult. Firing an employee covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for signing a petition to improve workplace conditions is illegal under section 8(a) (3) NLRA. The NLRA provides that an employer “may not, by reason of reason, terminate an employee or take any other disciplinary action against the employee for the exercise of the employee’s legal right to improve the conditions of the workplace.”

The ongoing payroll issues at Telus are not merely administrative glitches; they are eroding the fundamental trust between the company's management and its dedicated employees. Week after week, the frustration intensifies as affected employees grapple with the fallout of negative paychecks, underpayments, and persistent broken promises. This issue is crucial because it extends beyond financial discrepancies – it's about the erosion of morale and confidence within the workforce. The toll on employees' trust is reaching a critical point, impacting their overall job satisfaction and commitment to the company. The importance of resolving these payroll issues promptly cannot be overstated; failure to do so risks a significant decline in employee morale, productivity, and the overall health of the employer-employee relationship.

Working in Hollywood may seem like a glamorous life with fancy movie premiers, big fame and even bigger paychecks. But for many in the industry this is far from reality. The majority of working actors, voice actors and others on your favorite movies and shows are getting paid so little to perform that they struggle to pay for basic necessities. Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ dominate the entertainment industry and these new business models push out actors who just want to make a living. With “traditional” entertainment media like cable, actors would continue to receive significant payout from shows and movies they’ve been in that play as reruns – these are known in the industry as “residuals.” But with the advent of streaming services, residual pay has dwindled so much that even actors on some of the most internationally acclaimed shows are unable to live a normal life. An actor from Netflix’s Emmy-Award winning show Orange is the New Black shared on social media that she earned only $27.00 in residuals from the show. Streaming has also meant shorter seasons of television shows, and longer breaks in between seasons making it difficult for actors and entertainers to have steady income. At any given time, unemployment among professional entertainers is around 90%. Just like striking writers, actors are fighting back against new technologies like AI that threaten to manipulate their image, including giving studios access to their “digital likeness” that could be used without their consent – and without compensation – forever. With the writers and actors on strike for the first time in decades, this is a flash point for the entertainment industry. As fans and workers ourselves, it’s important we stand up for the artists whose work we love. Sign the petition to stand in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA union members and demand that production companies come to a fair agreement. Sources: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10213-0 https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/kimiko-glenn-pay https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/13/23794224/sag-aftra-actors-strike-ai-image-rights

It is unfair for employers to flagrantly ignore labor laws and best practices, at the expense of workers who just want to support their families. Even if you don't work at Insomnia Cookies, you're still vulnerable to this kind of abuse in the workplace. If we stand in solidarity we can show all of our bosses how strong we are together. Please consider signing in support of our demands