We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with subcontracted workers at UC Berkeley and endorse the Speakers Boycott for which they have called. Nearly 100 of these workers, employed by American Building Management, LAZ Parking, and Performance First, launched an insourcing campaign in August 2015: demanding formal inclusion into the UC Berkeley workforce and the wages, benefits and protections that come with direct university employment. Despite performing the same tasks as their UC-employed counterparts, workers subcontracted through the three private companies are paid a fraction of the wage: as little as $9.30/hr in a city where the minimum wage is $11/hr. Many of them are forced to work second and third jobs, and some work up to 190 hours every two weeks without any overtime pay – sometimes working 32 hours in a row. Not only are they largely (when not completely) denied access to healthcare, sick days, vacation days, and retirement, they are also routinely subjected to various forms of abuse. Subcontracted parking attendants have filed wage-theft claims totaling more than $40,000 in the past eight months alone. Custodians who have worked in UC Berkeley’s labs for over fifteen years bear scars where they have been cut by broken glass and burned by spilled chemicals because they were not provided gloves or adequate equipment. Women who have been sexually harassed and assaulted while working on campus describe how the abuses continued, sometimes for months, because they knew they would be fired if they reported them. When these workers began organizing, they were subject to intimidation and retaliation. Their claims to compensation equal to that of UC employees have been repeatedly dismissed on the grounds that they are “temporary” laborers. But the average subcontracted custodian has worked at UC Berkeley for eight years. A number of the workers organizing have poured more than twenty years of their lives into this institution. They are not only vital to the day-to-day functioning of the University, but integral members of the campus community. As members of the various communities to which these workers belong, we stand with them in endorsing the Speakers Boycott of UC Berkeley, and will continue to do so until each and every one of them has been brought in house. -------- Nosotros, los abajofirmantes, en solidaridad con los trabajadores subcontratados de UC Berkeley, endosamos El Boicot que los Oradores han lanzado. Casi 100 de estos trabajadores, empleados por American Building Management, LAZ Parking, y Performance First, lanzaron esta campana en Agosto de 2015: exigiendo inclusion formal en la poblacion laboral de UC Berkeley y tambien los salarios, beneficios y protecciones que vienen con el empleo directo. A pesar de realizar las mismas tareas que sus contrapartes empleados por UC, los trabajadores subcontratados por las tres companias privadas se les pagan una fraccion del salario: tan poco como $9.30/hr en una ciudad donde el salario minimo es $11/hr. Muchos de ellos son obligados a trabajar dos o tres trabajos, y algunos trabajan hasta 190 horas cada quincena sin pago de horas extras - a veces trabajando 32 horas corridas. No solo son negados acceso a la asistencia medica, dias de enfermedad, dias de vacaciones y el retiro, tambien son sujetados a diversas formas de abuso con frecuencia. Los guardacoches subcontratados han presentado reclamos por un total de mas que $40,000 en los ultimos ocho meses. Los custodios quienes han trabajado en los laboratorios de UC Berkeley mas que quince anos tienen cicatrices donde han sido cortados por vidrio roto y quemados por quimicos derramados porque no recibieron guantes ni equipo adecuado. Mujeres que han sido acosadas y agredidas mientras trabajando en campus describen como continuaban los abusos, a veces durante meses, porque sabian ellas que serian despedidas si los reportaban. Cuando comenzaron estos trabajadores a organizar, fueron sujetados a intimidacion y represalias. Sus reclamos a compenscaion igual a la de los empleados por UC han sido rechazados a causa de que son trabajadores "temporales." Pero un custodio subcontratado al medio ha trabajado en UC Berkeley por ocho anos. Varios trabajadores que organizan han vertido mas de veinte anos de sus vidas en esta institucion. No solamente son esenciales para el funcionamiento diario de la Universidad, sino que son miembros integrales de la comunidad del campus. Como miembros de las varias comunidades de que son partes estos trabajadores, nos levantamos consigos endosando El Boicot de los Oradores de UC Berkeley, y continuaremos hacerlo hasta que todos y cada uno sean empleados directamente por la Universidad.

The richest people in America joke about how they only paid 10-15% in taxes, when the rest of us go to jail if we don't pay our share. They get benefits and pay LESS taxes for sending jobs overseas, and then putting their income in offshore tax havens. This is one way we can make sure that these richest people pay their fair share of the taxes.

Gov. Susana Martinez and extreme politicians in Santa Fe have made it clear they want to pass an unfair and unnecessary “right to work” bill this legislative session. This legislation would silence the professional voices of teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers and cut pay and benefits for all New Mexico workers. Thousands of working people have been speaking out against this dangerous proposal since last year. So you’d think our legislators would do the right thing and oppose right to work. But big corporations have been lobbying hard to get this bill passed. This bill could come up at any time, so we need to tell our legislators that right to work is wrong for working people in New Mexico. Sign the petition now!

In an interview from Davos with Bloomberg TV on January 20, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, a top lobbyist for the pro-corporate-power Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] agreement, assured viewers that if Hillary Clinton wins the Presidential election, she will support the TPP, even though she opposes it now. [1] Inside U.S. Trade reported: "The Chamber president said he expected Hillary Clinton would ultimately support the TPP if she becomes the Democratic nominee for president and is elected. He argued that she has publicly opposed the deal chiefly because her main challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has also done so. 'If she were to get nominated, if she were to be elected, I have a hunch that what runs in the family is you get a little practical if you ever get the job,' he said." [2] Donohue also said TPP will not be voted on prior to the election because Senate Republicans do not want to do anything that could jeopardize Republican Senators in close races. But he said he believed there was a 75 percent chance that TPP would get done in the lame-duck session after the election. [3] Voters have the right to know now what Democratic and Republican politicians will do on the TPP after the election, yes or no. Urge Members of Congress to take a stand now and pledge to stick to that stand after the election by signing our petition. References: 1. "Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Survive?" Bloomberg TV, January 20, 2016, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-01-20/will-the-trans-pacific-partnership-deal-survive- 2. "White House Calls Business To TPP Meeting; Donohue Sees Lame Duck Vote," Inside U.S. Trade, January 27, 2016 3. "White House Calls Business To TPP Meeting; Donohue Sees Lame Duck Vote," Inside U.S. Trade, January 27, 2016

Right to Work laws weakens unions ability to fight for workers rights, creating lower wages and more unsafe working conditions. As an everyday electrical worker I am affected by this law everyday.

Retirees and senior citizens are struggling to pay their school taxes throughout the Commonwealth. 10,000 people lose their homes and there are 350,000 foreclosures each year. People's golden year are turning to rust; finding that after the mortgage is paid off they don't own their home. The working middle class who want to own a home, a dream that some will never see because they cannot afford to purchase and pay taxes that are out of reach. Think about the Grandma down the street, the sweet older man at your Church or Temple, the widow or widower or your family members. Chances are at least one of these seniors are struggling to pay their taxes or to put food on the table. Where do these people in middle class with children, after the loss of a job or illness go that are evicted ? People of all ages suffer when they fall on hard times through no fault of their won. No man should lose his Castle who has worked up to retirement and dreams of owning a home. If we can send man to the MOON that seemed impossible, but WE Did IT! WE can with HB/SB 76. When you purchase something, pay it off, you own it .You purchase a home, pay the mortgage but you don't own it . You have been paying rent to the government.

My father is a union member and works for the State of West Virginia through a state agency contractor. His retirement package and benefits have been systematically cut and devastated over the years; he deserves the benefits that he agreed to receive upon being hired over 20 years ago. We need both the WV Legislature and the Governor to advocate for labor over capital, and to stand for hardworking West Virginians rather than shareholders who seek higher profits at lower expenditures each fiscal quarter. We already had the right to work. This is a bad bill, and doesn't represent the will of the people. From Labor Reporter Paul Nyden: CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- "The West Virginia State Senate voted this week to approve a so-called right-to-work (RTW) bill. The vote, 17 to 16, was strictly across party lines. The bill will now go to the House of Delegates, which has 64 Republicans and 36 Democrats. Ken Hall, president of Teamsters Local 175 in South Charleston and the union’s International Secretary-Treasurer, said after the Senate vote on Thursday, “This is going to be the most divisive piece of legislation that’ll be passed in my lifetime.” He previously testified against the bill. The Senate vote would likely have been tied, 17 to 17, if Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) had been able to make his own choice to replace Senate Majority Whip Daniel J. Hall (R). In 2012, Daniel Hall was elected to the Senate as a Democrat from Wyoming and Raleigh counties, which are heavily Democratic. After his election, Daniel Hall switched to become a registered Republican, which he had been before. That gave the Senate a Republican majority of 18 to 16. In late December, Daniel Hall announced he was resigning from the Senate to take a job with the National Rifle Association. Although he planned to appoint a Democrat, Tomblin said he would abide by a ruling from the Supreme Court about this issue. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled Tomblin had to name a Republican to the seat, even though voters had chosen a registered Democrat. The House of Delegates, very likely to pass this bill, took up the issue this week. Tomblin has indicated he will veto the bill, but a veto can be overruled by a simple majority vote in the Senate. If it were a tied vote, his veto would stand. Thursday’s debate in the state Senate was often quite contentious. Several Democrats made strong statements opposing the bill. Meanwhile, Sen. Robert L. Karnes (R) began yelling and attacking union members sitting in the chamber’s balconies at the Capitol. Sherri Moore McKinney, an organizer for SEIU District 1199, stated on her Facebook page that she had “witnessed one of the most disgusting displays of unprofessional, disrespectful conduct on the floor of the West Virginia Senate that I have witnessed in more than 22 years of being there." “Sen. Karnes referred to the hard working citizens, union members and voters (in the gallery of the Senate) as free loaders. Shame on you, Sen. Barnes, Your disgusting words will never be forgotten.” Sen. Jeffrey V. Kessler (D) said many supporters of RTW don’t understand that under federal law a union must represent every worker in a given workplace. If a worker decides not to join a union and pay dues, as allowed under the bill the Senate just passed, then “at the end of the day you are getting benefits you don’t have to pay for,” Kessler said. “This bill encourages breaking up unions for political reasons.” Union contracts, Kessler also pointed out, routinely guarantee workers health insurance coverage, retirement benefits and greater workplace safety. Sen. Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, called the legislation “the most divisive bill I have ever seen. It is nothing but an illusion.” He added, “When other states went to right-to-work, wages went down by 17 percent. It also hurts health-care plans and pension plans. This is for your children and for your grandchildren.” Meanwhile, the House next week is expected to begin debate on legislation to abolish prevailing wages for construction workers. The Senate plans to take up the bill after a House vote. Steve White, executive director of the Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation based in Charleston, opposed similar legislation proposed in the Legislature last February. He pointed to a study released in January 2015 by Dr. Michael P. Kelsay from the University of Missouri in Kansas City that found prevailing wage would: Cost West Virginia residents and their families between $51.3 million and $77.3 million a year in lost wages. Cost the state between $1.4 million and $2.2 million a year in lost sales taxes and between $3.1 million and $4.6 million in lost income taxes. Create a total economic loss between $44.8 million and $84.1 million annually. This year, the Republican Party has placed both these issues at the top of their legislative agenda. The proposed legislation to create a right-to-work law and end prevailing wages is sure to generate continued controversy in coming weeks and months. The Teamsters will continue the fight against these measures. "Right-to-work and prevailing wage won't help everyday West Virginians, they'll only further enrich out-of-state corporate interests pushing for their passage," a union spokesman said. "Lawmakers need to remember their constituents as they consider these measures."

The closing time of bars in Erie County has been 4am since prohibition ended. We are a community that is growing with a city that has thousands of folks at work in the hospitality industry. Why would we want to cut the hours where people can make a living when there are more and more people working different hours who are moving into our region? Keep the closing times where they are and let individual business owners decide if they want to close earlier!

Right to work states have higher workplace injuries, fatalities, lower wages and annual incomes, less funding spent on public school education, and typically RTW states people are less likely to be able to afford health insurance. Right to work is wrong for Kentucky in every way.

My son, Shayne, was fired by phone tonight from the job he has wanted for 10 years because he did as he was trained and refused to give anyone anything for free. He was never told that the owner was exempt from this. Therefore, Shayne was fired even though he was doing his job as he was told to do it. He has been an exemplary employee since he started at Palace 9 in November. Please help us!! Shayne loves and needs this job, he lives with us and helps with rent and is starting college in 2 weeks.

I am starting this petition because I am impoverished living in the state of Florida. Our people should be our top priority and the raise is needed in order for us to live better lives.

It isn't enough to say you are against the Trans Pacific Partnership(TPP) because the American people do not know the details about why it is so bad for ordinary Americans. Bernie must use the upcoming Presidential Debate to point out the details about how it is about Corporate power over our democratic government in the Inter State Dispute Settlement(ISDS). It is not about Free Trade, but further devastates workers wages, unions. medicines, food safety,etc. He should say loud and clear it will do nothing to curb China etc. China already has Most Favored Nation status and our outsourced 700,000 jobs from NAFTA. It is a fraud being perpetrated by our Representatives in Congress and President Obama.