Dear UESF educators, We are writing with an action item to support local hotel workers and our working class students. For the last year, non-union workers at the Pullman hotel in Redwood City have been asking for a fair process agreement so that they can choose the union without fear of retaliation. CALSTRS, the pension fund for California educators, has invested $3 Billion of teacher retirement savings in the company that owns the Pullman hotel, CBRE. On May 9, three brave workers drove to Sacramento to share their experiences of intimidation. In response, CALSTRS staff questioned the truth of their statements saying that they “were not able to verify any of these claims” from “these people.” See the recording here at 55:00. This is unacceptable behavior from a pension fund representing the interests of union employees. We are asking you to send an email to the CALSTRS board calling out these statements. The board needs to hear from teachers about how low-paying jobs in our community affect students and families. Please take a minute to send an email to CALSTRS. Sample letter below, but please make it your own--add details of where you work, and how you feel about your pension being invested in a way that hurts workers. Thank you!

Our small community of Jacksonville, OR deserves the very best! Support Blade & Bourbon LLC in obtaining the historic Jacksonville Barbershop (est. 1869) facility. This barbershop should remain locally owned, operated and community minded.

To make pay better for those who are the some of the backbones of the country

Most Philadelphians make less than $48,000 a year, but high-end housing is growing many times faster than affordable housing. A Construction Impact Tax is desperately needed to incentivize and subsidize development of Affordable Housing... but we must make sure the tax funds go towards equitable development for ALL Philadelphians. It's not fair if all of the funding goes toward apartments that rent for $1500-$2500 a year, which would be possible under the current wording. That's why we need to amend the bill to make sure half the funding go towards housing that is affordable to ALL, and the other half can go to Middle Income housing, to reflect the fact that most Philadelphians struggle to afford even "middle income" housing.

Nurses work hard to save lives everyday and should be paid as any other District employee.

Since incorporation Cottonwood Heights city budget has increased by leaps and bounds on a yearly basis. The city council is about to pass the budget for the fiscal year. There is an approximate $2 million shortfall. Without citizen input property taxes could go up by a significant amount.

Get the Facts on Family Leave! What is the federal law? The Federal Medical Leave Act: 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for self or family member. In most cases, FMLA leave happens concurrently with other options available. What about those Family Leave ads on the subway? The new state law covers all private employers, but public employers must opt-in. Paid for by payroll tax, with an annual maximum of less than $100 per employee. Uses: bonding with a child, caring for a family member, or assisting with a military deployment. In 2018, maximum leave is 8 weeks, increasing to 12 weeks by 2021. In 2018, the benefit is 50% of average weekly wage, with a maximum of 50% of the state average of $1357. The percentage will rise to 67% by 2021. What is it like for teachers? UFT members are currently entitled to FMLA leave but are not covered under the state law. UFT members could be covered by state law via an amendment to collective bargaining agreement or a memorandum of understanding (no need for the contract to expire). Mothers who give birth may take leave for six to eight weeks after a birth but must spend down their sick days or take the leave as unpaid. Any parent may take a child care leave within the first four years of a child’s life, but this leave is unpaid and without health benefits. Other leaves include unpaid leaves for the restoration of health. What about other states? California: similar paid leave law as New York but covers more public employees. Mothers who give birth are also entitled to 28 weeks unpaid maternity leave. New Jersey and Rhode Island also have similar paid family leave laws. Many other states have unpaid leave laws that build on FMLA. What about other countries? Mexico: 12 weeks fully paid maternity leave paid by the social security system. India: 26 weeks fully paid maternity leave, paternity leave for civil servants. Sweden: 390 days per parent, paid at 80%, can be taken until child’s eighth birthday.

Urban Development, Economic Development, and City Attractions

Imagine living on only two-thirds of the income of fifty years ago. Every day you stretch each dollar further and further for life’s basic necessities. What do you choose? Do you buy food, pay the rent, replace worn clothing, repair the car, or pay your insurance? Decisions no one likes to make. Today’s $7.25 Federal minimum wage is also South Carolina’s minimum wage, and it’s worth only two-thirds of the purchasing power of the 1968 minimum wage. Working a full 40 hours work week for 52 weeks at the minimum wage pays $15,080. That’s $100 below the poverty level for a family of one. If there are two in the family, it’s $5,500 below the poverty level. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation over the past 50 years it would be $11.53 per hour. That’s almost 60% more to pay for food, rent, clothes, and medicine. More money for consumers is good for everyone. The money doesn’t end up stashed in some off-shore account; it goes to work directly in the economy. Increased economic activity means more jobs. Increasing the minimum wage is an investment in workers, in the economy, in job creation. I support raising the minimum wage to a livable wage because I believe that no one working full time should find themselves living in poverty. If you agree that the Federal minimum wage must be increased and you want to make a difference, join me by signing my petition.

Uber, Lyft, and Meadows Field Airport (BFL) are currently in negotiations with Kern County, California, to reach a contract with the county which will allow rideshares to drop off and pick up passengers curbside/door front at the airport. Currently, passengers requiring service must be dropped off near the property line, the closest one about a quarter mile away, or, drivers have to shut their equipment down early and sneak in as though dropping off a "friend." The driver's penalty if caught, is a $1000 ticket and deactivation (fired). Passengers with disabilities, women traveling alone, and passengers with luggage, have found it especially difficult to walk to the main entrance from the allowable drop-off points (which are not built for pedestrians, not even any sidewalks, and are often busy with traffic), in the early morning hours. Also, not every Uber or Lyft driver is willing to risk the penalty if they get caught, and this often results in a passenger having to cancel that ride and try again looking for a driver who will go, and this often makes them late for their flight. Bakersfield sprawls out, and it often takes a driver 20-30 minutes just to arrive. But the only two taxi companies who are allowed to service BFL, do not have enough cars to keep up with the demand in the early morning hours. No other taxis, no buses, and no rideshare vehicles are currently authorized. The distant vicinity of the airport to the rest of Bakersfield, makes walking impossible. This petition is to show public support to the county, in favor of reaching an agreement with at least one of the rideshare companies, soon. Bakersfield is growing very quickly in general. BFL is adding flights and building more runways, and the need to drop off passengers at the door is growing every day, especially for disabled passengers. During the day there are also plenty of people trying to access the hangars, rental car companies and other venues located within airport property. We drivers want to give our passengers the service they deserve, safely, to and from this airport. Many of our passengers have said they would be willing to pay a fee to get the curbside service, similar to LAX. The airport is hoping to have a contract in place sometime this summer. Uber and Lyft drivers have created this petition in hopes that it will help speed the process along, by the show of public support. If you live anywhere in the world and you have been affected by the lack of transportation services to or from Meadows Field Airport (BFL) in Bakersfield, California, or if you have had a driver who had to sneak you in or out, please sign this petition. Thank you.

More than 300,000 people in Connecticut live in poverty, many of whom work minimum wage jobs. The current minimum wage in Connecticut is unacceptable. Sign this petition in order to get this message sent to Congress and have the minimum wage in Connecticut be raised to $13.

Sodexo workers will soon be voting to join the UFCW Local 1445 union. The first group will be voting on May 30th, 2018. We are demanding Sodexo not to interfere and intimidate the workers with anti-union tactics. Thank you for your support!