Right now, hourly "associates" are scheduled from week-to-week on an inconsistent schedule and a lot of the times the following week's schedules are published on the previous Friday. But sales managers are able to get their schedules a month in advance. Since we get our schedules with such little advance notice, it’s really difficult to plan everything we need to do in our lives outside of work. If I want to schedule a doctor appointment or any trips with the family, instead of being able to plan ahead around my work schedule, I have to request days off in advance. That means I often lose hours which means a lower paycheck that week because I didn't know ahead of time when I was going to work. In addition to not getting our schedules far enough in advance, the communication around schedules and any changes to them needs to be improved. The only way to see an up-to-date schedule is to come in to the store. If you are working part-time or if you are not working during the weekend when schedules are posted, there is no way to know your schedule unless you call. Even worse, when changes are made to the schedules posted in the store, it isn’t properly communicated to employees. People have been fired because the schedule has changed without notice so they didn’t know they were expected to work a shift. The manager who changed the schedule almost never calls and there is nothing automated (like an email) that tells anyone of any changes -- you are expected to call everyday to find out. I’ve worked in other stores that have schedules posted online or send you an email alert when your schedule has changed. Dick’s Sporting Goods already pays us way below poverty level -- since that isn't changing anytime soon, at least improve your scheduling and communication practices. Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/fanofretail/

To have the employee feel like they're not being over worked, concentration work camp(quiktrip) or an equal rights work place ? If you're going to have us standing running around for 8 hours or more at least make up for it in pay .

I am a believer of you will get more work done, faster, if you're comfortable. And to add, Walmart expects associates to have good hygiene. Being drenched in your own sweat because you're working a heavy department being forced to wear long pants, doesn't feel all that great.

Publix already allows beards at its new GreenWise markets and it has been successful, so why not implement this new dress code policy in the overwhelming majority of its business?

KEEN Footwear’s rugged and comfortable shoes are iconic among those who love the outdoors. The company’s shoes are now sold in more than 1,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and abroad, and buzz around the Portland-based brand continues to build. There's no question that KEEN’s talented employees are a big factor in the company’s success. But we recently learned that KEEN does not provide its U.S. employees with fully-paid parental leave. Instead, KEEN requires that new moms rely on six weeks of short-term disability at 60% of their paycheck after giving birth. Fathers and second parents have to use any paid vacation or sick leave they have stored up, depriving them of time to care for and bond with their children. The current policy isn’t competitive, and many feel it’s not enough time for new parents to recover from childbirth and bond with their children. Paid family leave isn't just the right thing to do -- it makes business sense, too. In 2007, data-driven Google realized that its paid parental leave program actually saved the company money by reducing costly turnover of mid-level and senior employees. Some of KEEN’s competitors offer paid family leave, too. Patagonia already offers eight weeks of maternity and paternity leave, as well as on-site childcare. The CEO of Toms Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, recently wrote in a blog post, “It's nuts that more companies haven't figured out what a win-win paid family leave is.” His company provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave to all parents, and Mycoskie claims it's made their workforce more productive and creative. There are so many reasons why paid parental leave just makes sense. Several members of Democracy for America work for KEEN in Portland, Oregon, and each hope to see a change in the company’s leave policy. DFA is championing paid family leave legislation at the state and national level, but we're also fighting on behalf of our members who work for employers that don't yet offer paid family leave. That’s why we're leading this campaign for change at KEEN. The United States is the only developed nation that doesn’t require paid parental leave, but many companies and local governments are taking steps to offer this important benefit to their staff. KEEN should be a leader on this issue. Not only will it lead to happier and healthier employees and families -- it’s something consumers want to see, too. Do the right thing, KEEN, and offer all employees at least eight weeks of paid parental leave.

Thousands of people have worked for years for Microsoft via contractors-vendors, without having any paid time off. We think Microsoft's new policy should be fully implemented as soon as possible and Memorial Day seems a perfect and very symbolic date to start providing paid leave. Considering the present compensation rate of the 37 or so Tier1 tester/reviewers working for Microsoft and paid via Lionbridge Technologies we estimate the cost for one paid leave day is $5204. In comparison, Lionbridge CEO, Rory Cowan made last year between $1.522.275 and $2.89 million (that's including part of his stock options). Taking into account his $1.5 million compensation, one paid leave day for the 37 employees represents less than one day of Cowan's income and less than 4 hours when choosing his $2.9 million income. For the first quarter of 2015, Lionbridge posted record earnings and bought back 254.000 shares of its common stock for $1.4 million. We don't see any technical or financial obstacle to providing Memorial Day as a holiday for all contract employees and it would be a tangible sign that Microsoft takes its commitment seriously and will implement it promptly.

"I served a party of 30 guests with another server. We waited on them during the dinner rush for over 2 hours. The whole party left a total of $13.” -Janine, Louisiana “I am an excellent, fast, and friendly server and I love my job but sometimes I get big parties who tell me that I did a great job but they only leave $20 on a $600 check. I have to tip out my partners based on my sales so after we split the tip we only make roughly $2 each when we waited on them our whole shift.” -Suzanne, New York “Without the gratuity added to parties I receive very low or no tips at all even though the parties would be there for hours. Quite a few times I have walked home with less than ten dollars in my pocket because of the loss of the autograt. This is just not right. It's disheartening.” -Lauren, PA --- Up until late 2013 we, the front of the house employees at Darden Restaurants, were able to add an automatic 18% gratuity onto the check(s) of parties of 8 or more. The auto-grat was included in large party checks for several reasons including, but not limited to: 1.Guests often do not tip when they are in large parties because they either forget to or assume the host will take care of it. 2. Servers of large parties usually have the rest of their section taken by someone else so they can focus on the party. 3. Darden mandates a tip-share policy with bussers and bartenders (who are also paid sub-minimum wages) and FOH staff get left with little to nothing even though we may work one party for an entire shift. Several wage workers have a stake in the tip on large parties which is why it makes sense to have an auto-gratuity to ensure that both guests and employees are well treated. A host of restaurants around the country provide their servers with autograt to make sure that their employees don’t leave their shifts with less than when they came in. So, why did Darden really get rid of autograt? Did Darden eliminate auto-grat to avoid extra payroll taxes? Therefore, we, the front of the house workers of Darden Restaurants, demand that Darden reinstate autograt.

By Darletta Scruggs I worked as a route coordinator at Brinks on the West side of Chicago since August 2014. Despite being the single mother of a three year old child, I was required to work a minimum of 50 hours a week. I was often told not to leave the building for my lunch break. Brinks pays most of its workers way under $15/hour, and taken away our annual raises, even though the company made $3.5 billion last year. Brinks cut workers' overtime pay last year, even though most workers work up to 16 hour days, often with no breaks. Then earlier this year, they took away workers' earned vacation time, implementing an accrue-as-you-go policy with no compensation for time that workers had saved under the old system. So when I told my co-workers about the April 15th national strike for $15 and a union, they were ready for action. Things got organized in just three days, and a big majority of the drivers and messengers walked out on April 15th! I was targeted and fired just one week after our a successful strike. Management gave no official communication as to why I was fired, but repeatedly intimidated and threatened me for supporting the drive for union recognition. Because I was a dispatcher and paid a salary instead of hourly pay, Brinks labels me as “management” and says I don’t have legal protection to fight for my rights or be represented by a union. But we’ve filed a legal challenge with the NLRB challenging their definition of management and their unjust decision to fire me. Since the strike, a majority of Brinks drivers and messengers have signed union cards, but management refuses to recognize the union or negotiate. Instead they are using the leverage of the economic hardship they can inflict on employees through reduced hours or termination. We must not allow companies like Brinks to just fire someone for speaking up against unfair working conditions or intimidate workers into submission while they pocket millions. We must fight back! Brinks provides service for many banks like Chase and Bank Of America, and large corporations like Walmart and McDonalds, companies known for opposing workers rights. It is time that workers are paid adequately and big businesses are held accountable for worker exploitation and intimidation tactics. That’s why I got active with 15 Now. We need to fight, because MONEY IS NOT MORE VALUABLE THAN HUMAN LIVES!!!

President Obama is scheduled to appear at the Nike company headquarters in Oregon on May 8, 2015 to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- a multinational agreement focused on trade between the U.S. and 11 other countries. Meanwhile, Nike’s management is putting pressure on its own employees to promote the agreement as well. In a memo sent to some employees this March, Nike’s General Counsel said: “We need to hear your voice as a Nike employee on this issue” and pushed employees to contact their members of Congress to approve the deal. Among other concerns, many are worried that an easing of trade restrictions without strong measures to ensure workers’ rights are protected could exacerbate a race to the bottom where companies have even more incentive to source from factories with the worst wages and conditions. Nike has a clear interest in this trade deal. Less than 1 percent of the more than 1 million workers who made the products that earned Nike $27.8 billion in revenue in 2014 were U.S. workers. Last year, one-third of Nike’s remaining 13,922 American production workers were cut. It has been reported that one-third of the supply chain workers who produce for Nike are in Vietnam -- a nation that would be part of the TPP. Vietnam bans independent unions, uses child and forced labor and pays minimum wages of less than 60 cents an hour. Nike took a lot of heat from anti-sweatshop activists and Vietnamese unions for poor factory conditions in the 1990s. While some conditions have improved since that time, wages in apparel and shoe production in Vietnam are still extremely low. TPP would not require companies like Nike to pay the workers who make their sneakers a living wage. It is unfair to pressure employees to lobby on behalf of the company’s desire to outsource production to the lowest wage workers in the world. Employees should be able to make up their own minds and speak their opinions without the company they work for telling them what to do. Nike should stop telling its workers what to believe and how to express their opinions. Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/31954284@N07/ http://www.bargainmoose.ca/

Workers on farms all over Australia are being forced to work up to 22 hours a day for cash payments as low as $4 an hour, picking and packing the fresh fruit and vegetables that we buy at the supermarket. Producers have taken advantage of weak labour standards in the industry and have outsourced to dodgy labour hire contractors. These Labour Hire Contractors – often just a person with a mobile phone and a bank account - routinely steal workers wages, provide them with substandard accommodation for exorbitant fees, and seek sexual and monetary favours for visas or preferential treatment. Workers who speak up are ignored, silenced and have their employment terminated. Exploitation is being driven by the purchasing decisions made by the two supermarkets at the top of the supply chain. As a duopoly, Coles and Woolworths have incredible buying power. Competition among producers to supply the supermarkets is immense. Coles and Woolworths exploit their market positon to demand that producers supply products at lower and lower cost. This price pressure pushes producers to look for ways to lower production costs, particularly labour costs. Once some producers do this, the whole industry is affected as others look for ways to keep up. Coles and Woolworths claim that their Ethical Sourcing Codes of conduct ensure that fresh food products are ethically produced. The reality facing workers on these farms proves that this is not true. Producers are told to comply with Codes of Conduct on one hand, then asked to provide cheaper and cheaper product on the other. When Producers are confronted with the choice between complying with Code standards and losing a supply contract with a big supermarket, they will always chose to cut corners. Without the active participation and oversight of workers in their union in policing conditions on farms, Codes of Conduct will never work. Workers who deliver our fresh food are putting out a call to clean up their industry, a call for a Fair Food Agreement to immediately outline standard conditions and rights that workers can collectively enact.

Here in Portland, Oregon you can't throw a stone without hitting a tattoo parlor. We have police, doctors and lawyers with visible tattoos all over their arms, even their necks, and who knows where else. But at My Goods Market -- a convenience store/gas station chain with hundreds of locations in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado -- we are told that if we don't cover our visible tattoos there will be consequences. We could even lose our jobs because we don't want to put on a long sleeve shirt year round. It gets hot enough wearing long sleeves while working, but for those of us in states like Oregon where the gas pump is contingent on a service rep, employees will overheat in long sleeves while running in and out of the store during the hot summer months. Portland is an art-centric and EXTREMELY tattoo friendly city. Why would this be even remotely acceptable?. We need to fix this. It's 2015: I have met grandparents who have full sleeves. Tattoos are no longer indicative of negative elements of society. They are an expression of personal taste or an homage to something you care about. No one should be able to censor your body or how you choose to adorn it. That's why major national chains like Starbucks have recently changed their policies to allow visible tattoos at work. Please join me in asking My Goods Market to change its policy to allow visible tattoos at work.

John has worked for Linfox/Coles for 37 years as a forklift driver. He has been a loyal employee with a great work record. John is now 65 years old and has been stood down without pay after a company doctor said that John cannot perform every job at the warehouse. John's personal doctor has said he is fit to return to the work. However, after so many year's of strenuous work, it would be crazy to expect John to lift heavy boxes at high speeds. John just wants a little bit of loyalty back after almost four decades of service. Finding a job that meets both the company's needs and John's would be an easy resolution, which Linfox Management should be making a priority. Linfox Management have left John in limbo, with no termination certificate he is unable to claim the pension. Workers at Linfox in Truganina make sure Victorians can access food on the shelves at Coles. It's time they were treated with some respect, not thrown on the scrap heap without concern.