CEO Nadella wrote employees this week: "Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work." As a woman working in the tech industry, equal pay for equal work is important to me too. But from my experience in San Francisco, in many cases in our industry -- as in others -- women are still paid less than our male colleagues. Microsoft's latest publicly available data on workforce diversity shows that men occupy 82.7% of all leadership positions inside the company. With such lopsided representation in leadership, one wonders how Microsoft holds up on pay equity. Do women at Microsoft earn the same as their male counterparts? Are employees actually earning equal pay for equal work? The Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2013 shows that women in the tech industry still earn substantially less than their male counterparts. It's everyone's job to close the gender pay gap -- including Microsoft -- but we can't do it without the data. Microsoft is in a position to lead the industry on this issue. Releasing diversity numbers is not enough -- gender equity includes your paycheck. Employees, shareholders and the public have a right to know whether Microsoft pays women and men equal pay for equal work. Let's disclose the pay ratios across the company -- and if there is a pay discrepancy, let's get to work fixing it! Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/bagogames/ License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

With cost of living rising 3.3% in Western Australia last financial year, and Metso Minerals only offering a 2.8% wage increase - workers are going to struggle to make ends meet. They are just asking for a fair days pay, for a fair days work!

The employees and customers want to see that Jimmy stands by his "Rockstars wanted!" statements. Rockstars stand out in a crowd and show enthusiasm constantly. Shouldn't unique hair, style or vibrant coloring, be a good thing for a business that wants to stand out and attract a variety of different customers? Letting employees at Jimmy johns express who they really are leads to better attitudes and enthusiasm for their jobs. Which leads to a contagious happiness for our customers. Therefore gaining yet another returning customer purely on satisfaction alone. With the speed and diversity among the staff we mark a strong memory in their minds that will create a frequent customer base.

Kroger spokesperson Keith Dailey has said that Kroger won’t prohibit open carry because: “[W]e don't want to put our associates in a position of having to confront a customer who is legally carrying a gun." But all too often, weak gun laws make it impossible to discern whether someone open carrying a gun in a grocery store is a responsible, law-abiding citizen or a person who poses a threat. Allowing open carry in stores is not in line with Kroger’s core values to provide a "safe and secure workplace and shopping environment." If our employer doesn’t want us in the position of having to confront customers openly carrying guns, they should enact a policy prohibiting such behavior. What’s more: Kroger doesn’t allow guns to be openly carried in its corporate headquarters in Cincinnati. Why do they allow it in other Kroger-owned workplaces? All Kroger employees—whether executives, managers, cashiers, or customer service representatives like me—deserve a safe workplace. Kroger should join the growing number of American businesses who have adopted policies to prevent open carry, including Starbucks, Target, Panera, Chipotle, Jack in the Box, Chilis, and Sonic. Please join me in asking Kroger to prohibit open carry of guns in its stores.

Having to adhere to the dress code rules of not being able to show our ink is an outdated practice as Kristie Williams as proven with the mass amount of signatures on her campaign to get Starbucks to revise its dress code policies. Just as in the petition to Starbucks to change its dress code to allow visible tattoos, we should be able to show ours as well. We work hard for this company. We are supposed to make all sandwiches in under 30 seconds through anytime of the day, and keep a good attitude the whole time we do it. Letting us express our individuality isn't really much to ask for -- especially since we're supposed to be these "Rockstar" employees. When I first started working for Jimmy John's, you had to wear white socks that covered your ankle. This was in the dress code. I can't fathom why the color or length of my socks are detrimental to making sandwiches. It's the same with this outdated policy to keep tattoos covered up. Jimmy Johns eventually changed its policy on socks, and I really do believe that this company can be swayed to revise its policy on this issue as well. Just as the white socks really didn't matter, neither does having us keep our tattoos covered up. Jimmy Johns is really an impressive business model. Fresh veggies, freshly sliced meat, great bread baked all day, small delivery areas for faster deliveries, and first and foremost, FAST service. I think it's time to let employees unleash our inner "Rockstar" and let us not have to cover up our tattoos. It's 2014, no one really cares when they go into a quick service restaurant and the people working behind the counter have some ink -- plus it will make our work a lot more comfortable, efficient and pleasant. LET'S MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER AND REVISE THESE OUTDATED RULES! (BIG thanks to Kristie Williams for inspiring this!)

This is important because it's fair. Starbucks is making record profits. Earnings reports has profits the highest they have ever been (http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexadavis/2014/07/24/starbucks-sizzling-profits-get-cool-reception/) In years past, employees would be granted a personal day every quarter as well as sick time being available. After the financial crisis, personal and sick days went away, never to return. If partners get sick, they have to use their precious vacation time to make up the difference. The speed at which employees accrue vacation time was also cut down, so it takes longer to make enough to cover one day. Starbucks should and can do better. Starbucks Baristas operate their stores. It's non management that is responsible for creating that coveted third place environment (the space between home and work) that's so essential and so important to our loyal and wonderful customers. The larger percentage of Starbucks employees struggle to live from week to week. As amazing as the entire benefits package is, free coffee doesn't pay the bills. Free stock won't put gas in our car. Free tuition doesn't ensure a quality of life where many of us scrape by from week to week, just to afford food and gas.

We shouldn't have to change who we are just for a job that we need to make ends meet. We are in a new generation now filled with many people freely expressing themselves in different ways and work places shouldn't have rules that wont allow us to freely express ourselves.

Nissan is the most productive automaker in North America. However, that productivity comes at a price. Only a fraction of Nissan's employees are directly hired and few earn the top pay rate. Most work for agencies like Yates, Onin or Calsonic - have few paid days off, and must deal with ever increasing line speeds. Nissan workers want to be directly hired, earn the top pay rate after a reasonable amount of time, and work at reasonable line speeds.

I have been a T-Mobile employee for 5 years, worked in several different departments and have never been asked to work on major holidays such as Christmas. Recently, I was informed that T-Mobile is now ranked number 1 for the prestigious JD Power Awards. It seems to me that in order to keep this competitive position, T-Mobile has decided that employees like me will be forced to work major holidays, including Christmas Day. Christmas Day is a time to be spent with family and loved ones. Whether you work for T-Mobile, or you just own a cell phone and care about the morals of your cell phone provider, please sign and share this petition, to show T-Mobile's CEO John Legere that it is not acceptable to force it's employees to work on Christmas Day. With enough voices, we can make a change!

There have been several serious OHS incidents at the Smith's warehouse in QLD over the last few years, including a worker being pinned by a forklift and another worker losing half their finger. As a result, workers are concerned that Smith's aren't taking their OHS obligations seriously. Members of the National Union of Workers take OHS very seriously because it could save their life. On 26 June 2014, Royce Mumford's forklift bumped racking and a pallet of chips was dropped. Royce was working four bays away from other workers so there was no risk of injury to anyone. Royce was marched out the front door, and his termination letter reads that he was fired for misconduct. Royce had worked for Smith's for 19 years. Royce's job has not been filled. Accidents happen. Accidents happen at Smiths. Forklifts bump racking which can cause pallets to fall. This kind of incident has been captured on CCTV many times, In Royce's case he was fired, but in other cases no action has been taken. Recently 12 other long-serving employees have been fired, workers feel employees who have worked for Smiths for a shorter time are not being sacked in comparable situations. Workers suspect that Smith's may announce mass job losses later this year. Are Smith's callously getting rid of long-serving employees to save money on redundancy payments? So where does Royce find himself now? "I am getting driving lessons in a Heavy Rigid truck to try and get my HR license to improve my employment prospects. After a month of applying for countless jobs, I still don't have a job. It is very demoralising. This is putting a huge strain on our finances. My wife Shelly is unable to work as she has a serious health issue. We also have a son with Autism and have had to cut back on therapy sessions for him due to our limited finances. I am the sole bread winner. I am feeling depressed; stress and anxiety are part of my daily life now. Having a termination letter stating that my termination was due to misconduct has not helped at all. Trying to explain what really happened puts my credibility on the line. I have a big black mark against me. After 19 years of service I have no reference from Smith's. To be honest, I am really angry at the way Smith's has treated me, especially considering the far more serious incidents that have occurred with little or no disciplinary action. Why am I being treated differently? I feel robbed of my future." Royce Mumford, NUW member.

I can't tell you how many times I have pumped a syrup of some type DOWN MY SHIRT SLEEVE on accident... Long sleeves GET IN THE WAY!!! We work HARD to keep creating inspired moments in our customers day. We want to be comfortable!! Especially in the hot summer months but working in general in long sleeves is a pain! Please let us get rid of our sloppy, syrup covered sleeves! We wash our hands to keep them clean, but what about those long sleeves getting frap roasted all summer long? ON THE STARBUCKS WEBSITE IT SAYS: "Our Partners... We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard." A PLACE WHERE EACH OF US CAN BE OURSELVES. I KNOW our efficiency will IMPROVE with shorter sleeves.

We’re Starbucks employees and we love our customers. Every single day, dedicated customers like Georgia, Chris, Jim, Herb, Colleen, Anna, Rob, Sandy, Charlie, Tim, Mike, Mark, Ashley, Lee, Andie and countless others come into our stores, order their drinks, and share a little bit of their day with us. Our customers are loyal, consistent, and predictable (about their drink orders, at least!) and we love serving them. But we need Starbucks to treat us like we treat our customers. We, employees of Starbucks, demand Starbucks give us one-month advance notice of our schedules, stable hours, and access to full-time work. We regularly have schedules that fluctuate from 15 hours to 40 hours to no hours. We often get our schedules less than a week in advance — that’s not nearly enough to plan for childcare, another job, or school… or enough to cover our bills. And few baristas actually get those health benefits Starbucks brags about because it costs too much or they don’t work enough hours to qualify. Jannette Navarro, a Starbucks barista and young mom, just told her story in the New York Times of the constant chaos of an erratic Starbucks schedule: “You’re waiting on your job to control your life,” she said, with the scheduling software used by her employer dictating everything from “how much sleep Gavin [her son] will get to what groceries I’ll be able to buy this month.” All across the country, Starbucks baristas like us sold copies of the New York Times paper that exposed what it's like to be one of the 130,000 workers making the lattes that keep America going every day. We are a few of those baristas and, like Jannette, we also struggle with the nightmarish "magic" of Starbucks' computerized schedules. After the article came out, Starbucks responded with an announcement that they will now post schedules one week in advance and stop giving baristas closing and opening shifts — we call them "clopens" — back to back. Basically just adhering to policies they already have – and this isn't enough. We are coming together with our dedicated customers — like you — and asking Starbucks for one-month advance notice of our schedules, stable hours, and access to full-time work. There's no reason why our work schedules can't be as consistent as our loyal customers who line up for their morning “Venti soy latte”. Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/ivypics/