Customers turn away from Subway - in support of striking worker

“I’ll be honest, I love Subway’s sandwiches,” said Michelle standing outside of the 8th and Olive Subway holding her umbrella. “I eat there all the time, but not anymore. I can’t believe they fired a striking worker. That’s wrong.”

She wasn’t alone.

Customers going to downtown Subways during the all important lunch rush were confronted with a choice as community members and workers stood outside with a large banner with a simple message across it - “Strike Back Against Retaliation. Boycott Subway.”

Subway fired a striking worker, Carlos Hernandez, after he helped lead a citywide fast food workers’ strike. Now he, his former co-workers and community members are speaking out in response.

Carlos came out to talk to potential customers the entire week during the lunch rush handing out fliers and telling his story.

“I want my job back to show my co-workers they don’t have to be afraid,” he said talking to a customer who eventually decided not to go into Subway. “I went out on strike for better pay and better working conditions not only for me, but for them too. Subway didn’t like that, but we have to stand up for our rights no matter what.”

One customer, Anne, came up to us in front of the 3rd and Union Subway with something to tell us.

“I got your flyer yesterday,” she said. “I made my own sandwich today.”

Duane, a man sporting an over-sized jacket, grey hair and a wooden cane, came over to the boycott action when he saw the banner.

“You all got my support.100%,” he said shaking the hand of a community member holding the banner. “I’ve been through plenty of boycotts and they all come down to one thing, discipline. So stay strong, keep at it.”

“There is discrimination that can only be stopped by hitting them where it hurts,” Duane continued. “The pocket. I’m telling everybody not to eat at Subway.”

Video: Low wage workers at Sea-Tac fight for fair wages and safety

(Originally posted on our Tumblr page: workingwa.tumblr.com)

Behind a giant banner simply reading “UNION!” poverty-wage airport workers, faith leaders and community members marched down Pacific Avenue towards Alaska Airlines Global HQ.

Reverend John Helmiere of Valley and Mountain United Methodist Church, wearing the white collar of his faith, glanced over at the over-sized letter informing the airline that these workers have formed a union, and then knocked on the locked glass doors.

Broken fuel trucks? Vacuum cleaners on fire? Alaska Airlines- contracted workers deserve to work in a safer place.

Originally posted on itsourairport.org By Nate Jackson

Sifredo Flores, a Fueler at Sea-Tac airport, pulls up his sunglasses and starts telling the on-duty manager of Alaska Airlines why he and 25 other community members came out to talk.

“I’m a fueler. I work hard, but ASIG doesn’t have any respect for us,” he said. “We have to work whether it is rain or snow, sick or well and the equipment we use doesn’t always work.”

Flores drives a truck that takes the fuel out to the Alaska airplanes. He’s is one of many fuelers who work for ASIG, the fueling contractor.

On a typical refueling he and other fuelers at our airport are hauling out over 10,000 lbs of high grade airplane fuel--in trucks that have shoddy brakes. Workers report that many of the trucks have emergency brakes that give out, defrosters that refuse to deice the windshields and other problems that make the act of hauling highly flammable fuel even more dangerous.

Flores continued.

“We do the work,’ he said. “We do it and the fuel gets soaked into our uniforms. We have to take our clothes home and wash them in our own family washing machines. It’s not right.”

For the entire story check out www.itsourairport.org

Don't let Waste Management kick workers to the curb

Update: Recycle and Yard Waste drivers have reached a new 6 year deal with Waste Management. For more details visit teamsters117.org. Recycle and yard waste drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 117, voted to ratify a 6-year contract agreement this morning. The contract vote was held after a 9 A.M. meeting at the Teamsters building in Tukwila. The Local 117 leadership and bargaining committee fully recommended the proposal for ratification by the membership.

by Sage Wilson

It's the same old rhetorical tactic greedy employers recycle over & over again: Waste Management executives are trying to convince the public that the people who drive their trucks are living high on the hog, claiming that the "total compensation" of a truck driver is almost in the six figures.

Yeah, right. That must be why all the recycle trucks have bumper stickers that say "My other ride is an Aston-Martin".

It's obviously a bunch of a garbage, and it's frustrating that some reporters are letting the company get away with building a rats nest of confusion out of their rotten numbers without even having to break down where they come from.

For example, the Seattle Times recently cited a starting wage for a recycle driver of $17 an hour, which works out to about $34,000 a year. And yet they also seem to swallow the junk numbers Waste Management feeds them, also mentioning a $98,000 figure for a driver's "total compensation". So here's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question: where did they get the extra $64,000 from? Clearly, it's rubbish. Because you definitely don't see a number anywhere near that on drivers' pay stubs.

But they say one man's trash is another man's treasure, and that's definitely true for Waste Management CEO David Steiner— he's shoveling millions a year into his bank account on the backs of sanitation workers and the rate-paying public. In fact, it turns out that his $5.19 million salary works out to a bit more than $98,000... every week. So maybe the corporate executives were trashed when they did the calculation, so they got themselves confused? Because it's obvious that the guy who's feeding like a pig at a trough is the one who's making 52 times more than a driver makes in their wildest fantasies.

And while you wouldn't glean this fact from the TV reports, sanitation work is among the most dangerous in the country. Since 2005, four Puget Sound recycle workers have been killed on the job, and more have been injured. This is hard work that all of us benefit from, and the people who do the work deserve respect and fair treatment.

For decades, garbage truck drivers have worked together in a union to make sure they earn a decent living in exchange for their hard work. Recycle drivers have done the same. Now they are only asking for equal pay, since their work involves picking up the same kind of cans from the same customers in the same alleys on the same schedule with the same struggles and the same hazards. In fact, garbage drivers are supporting the picket lines of the recycle drivers because they too support the principle of equal pay for equal work.

But Waste Management executives have refused to negotiate fairly with refuse workers over this and other issues. Instead, they litter the landscape with misleading numbers and try to make workers who spend their days sharing territory with alley cats look like they're the ones who are the fat cats.

All these workers are asking for is to be given the respect they deserve by their multi-billion dollar employer and its multi-million-dollar CEO: fair negotiations, fair treatment, and equal pay for equal work. They deserve the support of the entire 99% — and these deceptive 1% tactics belong in the dustbin of history.

Visit SeattleTrashWatch.org to see what you can do to support workers.

Taxi Drivers drive home a message to the Port of Seattle.

By Nate Jackson Selah Mohammed, a taxi driver sporting sunglasses and a light blue button up shirt, spoke to the gathered media as tourists stood in line to board the cruise ship outside of the Port of Seattle’s headquarters on Pier 69.

“We, the taxi drivers, are part of this airport,” he said. “We provide a great service and we take pride in the work we do. We want the Port to solve this problem and enforce their own rules.”

Taxi drivers have a hard time making ends meet. Most of the cabbies start the week in a $1000 hole due to fees and regulations and have to dig themselves out before they make anything they can take home to their families. They already have enough challenges just to break even and now the Port of Seattle is making it harder by not enforcing its own rules that govern ground transportation at our airport.

And don’t forget, it is our airport. Our airport is publicly owned and ran by the Port of Seattle. The Port is supposed to make sure that the airport works for the workers and customers alike and so far they have been failing the taxi drivers.

Sea-Tac Airport taxi cab drivers are fed up with the Port of Seattle’s lax enforcement of its own rules. They have tried to get the Port to respond for the past three months to no avail so they formed the Western Washington Taxi Cab Operators Association, which has never been done before at Sea-Tac Airport and sent a small delegation to deliver a letter the association created demanding the Port follow its own rules.

The letter, authorized by the hundreds in the taxi driver association, is addressed to the executives of the Port of Seattle who oversee the operations of the airport. The simple demand is for the Port do its part and follow its own rules.

Selah Mohammed continues.

“We are here to deliver a letter to Tay Yoshitani, the CEO of the Port of Seattle,” he said. “We are working hard every day to help this airport work and we follow the rules. We just want everyone else to follow them too.”

This isn’t about taxi driver vs limo driver. It is a direct appeal to the Port of Seattle to make sure that everyone follows the rules and is on an equal basis so that the “competition” can be on a level playing field. The taxi drivers just want a fair chance as they have always abided by the strict rules that the Port created.

After all it is our port, publicly owned, and if it is truly supposed to be an economic engine for the region, it needs to make sure that all the players can get out of first gear.

Another driver, Paul Singh, came forward as he pointed to the over sized copy of the letter.

“We are bound to follow the rules,” he said thumbing at the letter. “The Port is going around their own rules like they don’t matter. It’s not fair and we want it to stop.”

Passengers should have the choice in what transportation they take when they arrive at our port. Competition, when done fairly, is a good thing that drives workers to provide better service and gives customers choice. The problem is that other transportation options are not being forced to follow the stringent rules that cabbies are and this hurts the competitiveness of the taxi drivers. Taxi drivers should have a decent shot at making a living.

“We just want the competition to be fair.” he said. “We’ve formed an association and we are all in this together.”

After answering some questions from the gathered reporters the dozen taxi drivers entered the Port of Seattle Headquarters and asked to speak with Tay Yoshitani. The person at the front desk informed them that Yoshitani was not in, but she called up an executive to speak with them.

The taxi drivers delivered the letter and the signatures to an executive named Tomm Munroe, thanked him for his time and went back outside to answer more questions from the press.

The drivers don’t want anything special. All they want is fair treatment and the Port of Seattle to play by its own rules. The ball is in the Port of Seattle’s court now. Let’s see what they do.

No one expects to get rich driving a taxi at Sea-Tac Airport. Nobody should expect to be driven into poverty either.

By Nate Jackson It's hard to believe, but it's true: after lease fees, licensing costs, taxes, insurance, gas, and maintenance, taxi drivers who pick up passengers at our airport start the work week as much as $1000 in the hole. That includes money they pay to dispatch companies like Yellow Cab and a weekly fee of more than $300 they have to pay to the Port of Seattle in order to pick up passengers at Sea-Tac.

Taxi drivers are technically classified as “independent contractors,” but in addition to the weekly fee they pay, they must follow detailed rules in exchange for the right to pick passengers up at our airport. Cabbies have set prices they cannot change, a set place to park, set rules on how they cannot approach or solicit customers, and tight rules on the appearance and condition of their taxis. They even have to follow a dress code that is written by the Port of Seattle.

These rules are created by the Port of Seattle and they are supposed to benefit the customers and taxi drivers alike by ensuring orderly & reliable service for travelers. Unfortunately, the Port of Seattle is failing to enforce the rules that they themselves set up.

For-hire limousines have suddenly been allowed to expand their services at the airport and solicit passengers, which confuses travelers and undercuts taxi cab drivers. There’s plenty of room for a wide variety of transportation options at the airport, from taxi and and limos to light rail and buses. Choices are a good thing, but the problem is that the Port of Seattle is not holding up its end of the bargain. The way they're handling the situation is unfair, and it make things even harder for taxi drivers who are just trying to make a living.

For months, taxi drivers have raised these issues to public officials, asking the Port to simply enforce their own rules regarding transportation service in the airport. Still, the Port has done nothing to address the problem and ensure all drivers have the opportunity to make a decent living at our airport.

Taxi drivers don’t expect to get rich. They just want a chance to provide for themselves and their families and continue to provide the vital services many passengers rely on. This shouldn't be complicated: it’s our port, it’s publicly owned, and it’s time the people who run the Port of Seattle lived up to their mission by making sure every job at our airport is a good job.

At this point the cabbies, have nearly exhausted their options, so they are starting to take collective action on their own. The taxi drivers are united and are ready to ready to take action to ensure they are treated fairly. It’s time that the Port of Seattle did the right thing: enforce the rules so that travelers have options and drivers have a shot at making a decent living.

Hundreds unite for good jobs at our airport.

by Nate Jackson Hundreds of airport workers, their families and community members came out on a sunny Saturday to say one simple thing: let's make every airport job a good job.

We gathered at the flag pavilion where we set up a stage flanked by large standing flags of over twenty nations representing the diverse cultural backgrounds of the airport workers.

One worker, a yellow cab taxi driver named Gurminder Kahlon, took to the stage and greeted the large cheering crowd with a traditional Indian greeting "Namaskar," which roughly translates to "not just me."

"I'm from India," he said. "But this isn't about what country we’re from. It's about how we are all in this together."

Kahlon is a taxi driver whose route includes the airport. A large contingent of taxi drivers gave a loud shout as he continued.

"We taxi drivers see it everyday," he said. "We see the injustice of the airport towards the workers and we stand with you!"

The crowd was a rainbow of nationalities, ethnicities, cultures and ages. The crowd was young and old, black and white all standing together for one solid idea—justice. It was beautiful.

Rahwa Habte from One America surrounded by youth volunteers took the stage and started her speech with loud tongue flickering whoops.

"This is how we celebrate from Eritrea where I'm from," she said. "I want to hear your cultural shouts too on the count of three let your voices be heard!"

At the count of three, cries, shouts, clapping and hollers rang out from every person in the crowd. it was a cheerful cacophony, but nothing was louder than the feeling of jubilation and unity.

That was the feeling that permeated the entire event. Everyone felt together and joined in solidarity with the airport workers who were fighting to make every airport job a good job.

There were staff and members from SeaTac city council, Seattle city council, the Seattle mayor's office and both senator's offices as well. Congressman Adam Smith spoke to the crowd from the stage about his own familial roots with labor. His father was a ramp worker who was able to support his family.

"We need middle class jobs," he said. "And middle class jobs come with strong unions, fired up workers and a strong community."

We couldn't agree more. We came to the grassy area south of the flag pavillon to stand with workers and show solidarity; but it wasn't just to pat each other on the back. We wanted to take the message to the street--so we did.

The taxi drivers lead the procession in their taxi cabs like a people's version of a presidential motorcade. We spilled out onto International Boulevard and started down the street waving flags, chanting and dancing to the various drums scattered throughout the crowd.

We made our way down International Boulevard brandishing our international flags towards Angle Lake Park.

When we arrived there were homemade samosas made by the taxi drivers, soda, chips and other various food as we ended our march and started the after party. Music blared, dancing sprung up and groups of workers and their families spread out to enjoy the park while workers and community members mingled around the refreshments.

News media was in attendance and started interviewing workers while the rest of us kept up our celebration.

It was empowering and the workers felt the community support. They now know that the community will stand with them as they continue their struggle for fair treatment at our airport.

It is our airport and every job should be a good job.

Fairness: a "sickening" concept?

by Nate Jackson Apparently the 1% don’t like hearing from us.

Billionaire Paychex Inc CEO Tom Golisano said, “If I hear a politician use the term ‘paying your fair share’ one more time, I’m going to vomit.”

The idea of fairness makes him sick and he’s not alone.

Big bank CEOs and other 1% elites are kicking and screaming that it’s unfair that we want them to pay their fair share, invest in our communities and treat their workers with respect. Some CEOs are talking publicly about what they really think of the 99% movement.

We’ve been pushing hard and we’ve gotten under their skin. The 1% hasn’t even thought of fairness in so long that they’ve forgotten what it means.

We know that fairness is equal opportunities, good jobs, respect in the workplace and a system that rewards the real wealth creators, the workers, like Gina Peterson and Susie Esqueda.

Peterson has been out of work for half a year. She was a healthcare worker who has been unable to find good work. She’s been looking for a good job and has every right to complain, but she chooses instead to fight for an economy that works for all of us.

Peterson was one of the activists who came with Working Washington to Washington DC and she went out of her way to help others during that week of action. When she saw a need she filled it. When something needed to be done she did it.

She even stood up to elected officials and held her ground while they tried to ply her with nice words and empty promises.

“It’s not just about me, “she said. “We need to change the system so that everyone who wants to work can find good jobs. There’s so many more people back home who are hurting just like I am.”

Susie Esqueda has just had her 47 year old daughter move back in with her because of the lack of good jobs. Her children are facing foreclosure and her own job situation is dire. She lost her job a year and a half ago. She is facing serious issues, but you would never tell if you talked to her. She has a smile on her face and goes out of her way to help others.

She is standing up and fighting instead of just lobbing complaints. She is talking to her neighbors and showing them how to get involved in this fight that we, the 99% can’t lose. She is getting things done.

“I’m worried that the Congress and the 1% are not doing anything for the working class,” she said. “We all need help and I’m going to fight for the change that we need. They need to hear from us.”

Everyone does better when everyone does better. The big bank CEOs and the 1% keep trying to sell that old line that “you’re on your own,” but we know better. Nothing can change until we all work together. It’s like the 1% don’t get that if they paid their fair share and invested in good jobs in our communities everyone would do better.

We’ve been putting on the pressure and the 1% are lashing out. They want us to just be quiet and go away. It’s not going to happen. We’ll keep telling them to invest in our communities with good jobs and respect in the workplace. They’ll keep seeing us in their offices, in the streets and in the halls of our elected officials.

We’ve got the 1% on the run and we’re not giving up..

Kemper Freeman: The Grinch Who Stole Congress

by Nate Jackson What do you call a man who snatches away the things that bring us joy? The Grinch.

Monday morning a group of 99%ers gave a wake up call to a 1% local area "Grinch" named Kemper Freeman. Freeman is a Bellevue real estate mogul who throws around money to political campaigns and politicians who directly affect our health-care, job prospects and education.

He has backed candidates and policy makers, like Rep. Reichert, who voted against extending unemployment benefits for 62,000 people across Washington State.

He’s shoved money into the pockets of national congressmen like Speaker Boehner who is hell bent on slashing Medicare and Medicaid.

Freeman also doled out cash to local area initiative huckster Tim Eyman to stop the State Legislature from closing tax loopholes for big banks and corporate jets.

He is taking from the people who need essential services and giving to those who’ve forgotten what it was like to need a helping hand. It’s like his heart is two sizes too small.

Freeman is acting like “The Grinch” so we showed up to try to get him to open his eyes.

Workers and unemployed folks gathered on the corner of 8th and Bellevue Way right under Freeman’s office. We handed out carol songbooks to passersby and started singing the 99% version of some holiday classics. Songs like “Here comes Kemper Freeman,” “The 12 Days of Working Poor,” and “All I want for Christmas is a Good Job.”

We sang and sang and took our message inside the offices of Kemper Freeman. Freeman tried to stop having to hear from us and blocked off the elevators. We took the stairs. We wanted to see Freeman and let him know that the 99% weren’t going to take his meddling in our democracy anymore.We wanted him to have another chance to “grow his heart.” Instead he shut the doors on our faces.

RJ Williams, sporting a walking stick, spoke to the crowd outside of Freeman’s office.

“We want to know how you can sleep at night,” RJ said. “You buy our democracy when we just want good jobs, health-care and good education. Shame on you.”

Since Freeman was hiding in his office we decided to go into the mall itself and spread holiday cheer. We sang our hearts out as swarms of onlookers took out their phones and cameras and some even joined in. People came up to us and asked why we were demonstrating and we told them.

Freeman and the 1% think they can buy our democracy and put policies into place that strip away our education, health-care and social services that we so desperately need. It was time for “The Grinch” to stop playing around with our futures.

The Grinch was snatching hats off our heads trying to dampen our mood, but we couldn’t be bothered. The 1% may think that they can keep us down, but they are sorely mistaken.

Everywhere you look you see people standing up. We are not going to sit back and let the 1% dictate what happens to our families anymore. People are getting involved, getting informed and getting out of the house and into the streets. We need to keep up our momentum and keep going after the people who have been holding us down in direct, peaceful actions.

We are not going to let the 1% have their way without a fight. We will keep pushing for a more fair economy where everyone who wants a job should be able to find a good job that treats them with respect.

We need companies and the 1% to invest in their workers, not hand out more bonuses to CEOs. They need to remember that if they invest in us, the workers, they will get more in return--community respect.

If they grew their hearts and invested in education, good jobs and health-care everyone would benefit in the end. Who says we can’t have a happy ending?

Nov: 10 The Port of Poverty celebrates the 1%

By Nate Jackson If you are the Port of Seattle and most of your workers make poverty level wages what do you do? You throw a party to celebrate your overpaid executives, the one percent.

The Port of Seattle calls itself “The Port of Prosperity." We call it the "Port of Poverty." The Port on November 10th is having a self-congratulating $1,750-a-table banquet for the overpaid executives. There is just one problem.  They forgot to invite the people who actually create the wealth of the port: the workers. That’s why we are holding our own banquet to honor the Port Workers at the Bell Harbor Conference Center at 5:30 pm.

It’s not the “Port of Prosperity” for workers. It’s the “Port of Poverty.” Workers are not treated with the respect they rightly deserve. No one understands that better than the airport workers who were just fired for praying.

26 Hertz airport workers were“ suspended” a few weeks ago for practicing their religion. Now they have been sacked.

Sadly, Hertz is far from the only port company that is taking advantage of its workers. The average worker at the ports are working poverty level jobs with no benefits, no job security and rules that change on managerial whims. Meanwhile, the Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani, still makes$400,000 a year. It’s not right and that’s why we are standing up for good jobs at the port.

On Thursday, November 10 we are holding our own banquet to honor workers who work hard every day, providing essential port services, and don’t get the respect we deserve. We stand together. Every job at the Port of Seattle should be a good job. Won't you join us at the Bell Harbor Conference Center at 5:30 pm?

This is our port and we should benefit from all our hard work.