For 5 years now Governor Christie has cut taxes for the rich at the same time he cut services for the rest of us. The result is soaring deficits, reduced credit ratings, and un-employment higher than New York, Pennsylvania, and 40 other states. It is time to reverse course and ask those who have profited most by his policies to help those who have been hurt.

I am personally affected by this law. I have a possession with intent charge from 1991 and a obstructing justice charge from 2006. I went to addiction treatment and returned to school to earn a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and I am currently in my second year of working on my Master of Science in Counseling. I have worked hard, as others have, to change my life. I am so frustrated because after all of my hard work, I am still unable to gain employment because of my record. I have paid my dues and proven that I am rehabilitated!

Computer programming skills requires a high degree of intelligence and a college education. US citizens become IT specialists because they like to create technology and utilize its wonders. IT specialists also expect to make a decent living, an above average living for their knowledge and expertise. Instead corporate america in cooperation with the congress, mostly republicans - democrats included, Obama especially, are in favor of this constant influx of H1-B workers and an incredible amount of loop holes. The level of this influx is staggering. American workers are told to train their replacements, then lose there job to a non-US citizen. The results are devastating to American workers, and NOBODY is standing for them - jobs destroyed, more IT workers lives ruined. This is a petition to eliminate loopholes in the H1B program and levy higher taxes on employers who hire people with H1B status. The on going H1B program has resulted in a downward trend for information technology professionals. Low salaried H1B staff has destroyed the IT profession and companies all over the country are replacing their existing workforce with H1B candidates. People have been forced to train their replacements, accept significantly lower salaries, and no longer be given respect within the work place. An insider-outsider culture is now prevalent. Give Americans back their IT careers and stop giving preference for H1B candidates. I cannot think of any other country in the world that treats its own citizens in such a terrible way.

Outsourcing dismantles public service. At stake are the jobs of hardworking career employees who are members of the Superior, WI community and care deeply about the success and safety of everyone who lives or works at the University.

The Oil City School Board is attempting to outsource cafeteria and maintenance work to a private company. After decades of loyal service, dozens of trusted school employees risk losing their jobs. Instead of relying on well-trained dedicated staff to keep Oil City schools clean and safe, the School Board wants to roll the dice on unaccountable private contractors. Oil City workers and students deserve better. Take action today! The School District thinks that it will save money by outsourcing these jobs, but the truth is that contracting out often raises costs, or simply hides them. And by outsourcing these jobs, the District will have less control over keeping our school clean and safe. Sign the petition today and help Stop Outsourcing in Oil City Schools.

Here in Maine, more and more households rely on women’s salaries as all or part of the family income. Yet, this year in Maine women are only making 83 cents for every dollar men bring home. Bruce Poliquin can’t say he’s in favor of our economic growth if he won’t support equal pay for equal work. It’s time to end pay discrimination and start rewarding equal work with equal pay.

Our new report, Underwriting Good Jobs, finds that a Good Jobs Executive Order could give a raise to over 20 million Americans by lifting up the eight million Americans who work in federally-supported low-wage jobs. Women make up nearly 70% of that low-wage federally-supported workforce, and people of color make up nearly half. Building on the success of his executive order in January raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 an hour, which benefited hundreds of thousands of workers, the president take executive action to institute a Good Jobs Policy today. The Good Jobs Executive Order advocated in the report would apply to the entire workforce of federally-supported employers and would significantly benefit women and minorities – who make up a large percentage of low-wage workers in the federal purchasing footprint. It builds on state and local precedents, advocating for spending agencies to incorporate higher workforce standards when evaluating and awarding federal contracts. These standards should include collective bargaining rights, living wages and good benefits, compliance with workplace protection laws and other applicable business regulations, and limits on excessive executive compensation.

There is no reason why we, the people of the Virgin Islands, should be punished for our inept government. They refuse to allow us to control our own destiny. I, for one, am tired of it!

Cheer coaches deserve to be paid for two seasons. They need to be paid for football/Fall season and competitive cheer/Winter season.

I was a victim of workplace bullying and suffered in many ways because of it. I was lucky and, with the help of my attorney, was able to stop my abuse. However, I still see it happening to too many Americans and I want to help make it stop!

We work at Utrecht Art Supply on 13th Street in New York City. In addition to being dedicated employees, we are artists who are passionate about art and take pride in providing quality service to our customers. As artists, we have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to provide our customers with a high level of expertise. Despite the knowledge we bring to the job and the hard work we put in every day, most of us make less than $10 per hour. On top of that, last year Utrecht was bought by competitor Blick Art Materials. Without any notice, Blick unilaterally slashed our hours. We tried talking to corporate about the impact this would have on many of our lives, but they simply refused to do anything about it. That’s why we decided to come together and unionize with the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU). We know that by standing together we can make real change. In January we filed for a union election in order to force the company to recognize our union and negotiate a legally binding contract. Under the instruction of their high paid lawyers and consultants, Blick immediately launched a sophisticated campaign aimed at convincing us to vote against our own interests. We were subjected to mandatory meetings filled with misinformation and emotional appeals from the CEO. In spite of it all, on March 4th, our store voted to unionize with the RWDSU. Now the company is legally required to sit down and negotiate with us. We’ve already won immediate improvements such as increased weekly hours. We hope to secure this improvement and win more in contract negotiations. We are calling on the company to provide: • Living Wage: Pay us wages we can live on • Raises: Provide guaranteed, regularly scheduled raises • Schedules: Provide advance notice of our schedules and ensure proper staffing levels As we negotiate a contract with Blick, we know that winning the best contract we can won’t happen alone. That’s why we’re asking for your support. Tell Blick you stand with us and will support us in our fight to win a good contract!

As a graduate of and teacher in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, I know how important it is both for our custodians and for our schools to be a part of the AAPS community. The last few years, our custodians have faced even larger wage cuts than teachers, and despite this have strived to keep our schools in good shape with a bare bones staff. This year, our custodians are facing the prospect of being laid off so that the board can outsource their jobs to even more poorly paid employees. This will hurt our schools and crucial members of our community who have worked hard to weather the funding storm with us in Michigan schools, and should be stopped. Savings should be found elsewhere until we can find a better way to fund education in Michigan.