tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47883865960633286882011-06-08T01:36:18.176-05:00Interfaith Worker Justice is a network of people of faith that calls upon our religious values in order to educate, organize and mobilize the religious community in the United States on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits and conditions for workers, and give voice to workers, especially low-wage workers.Interfaith Worker Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17205551416542750521noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-33808571868731941222007-11-28T15:21:00.000-06:002008-12-09T04:30:42.632-06:00

Last week, IWJ joined workers at the New Era Cap Company in Mobile, Alabama in a prayer vigil. Workers at the facility voted for union representation with the Teamsters Local 991 earlier this year. During the organizing campaign, 25 of the 111 workers lost their jobs. The workers were notified Thanksgiving week that 35 additional workers would be laid off. New Era workers in Mobile were joined by

Renaye Manleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04119790651466789160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-60553038413976775562007-11-14T16:55:00.000-06:002007-11-28T17:18:22.601-06:00

IWJ is partnering with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on a trailblazing effort involving workers’ rights, Islamic investment law, transnational social justice organizing, and the morally unacceptable labor practices of a multi-billion-dollar real-estate company.The Indianapolis-based HDG Mansur, which also has offices in London, Dubai and New York, is making international financial

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-2353472345759907952007-11-09T12:09:00.000-06:002007-11-09T14:22:35.056-06:00

As the Iowa primaries near closer, Republican presidential candidates are engaging in heated debates over immigration. Of particular note, the candidates are attacking sanctuary city policies arguing that federal funding should be denied to any cities with sanctuary policies in place.In addition, state and federal lawmakers are proposing crackdowns on sanctuary cities. Measures to adopt

J Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-40127933210533848672007-11-02T15:23:00.000-05:002007-11-09T14:16:32.629-06:00

Interfaith Worker Justice just became aware of new rules that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) want to propagate in order to help agribusiness hire more guest workers to harvest crops. The rules, which were crafted with input from farm operators but none from farmworker unions or advocates, would eliminate existing rights under the H-2A visa program

Ted Smuklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094870732954020741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-49337589588628336062007-11-01T11:35:00.000-05:002007-11-09T14:24:54.596-06:00

The groups American Rights at Work and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights recently reported on FedEx Ground's misclassification of its drivers as "independent contractors," which denies their civil rights and workplace protections. Here is their summary and a link to the report.When is a FedEx worker not a FedEx employee? When it benefits FedEx Corporation. In a new report, American Rights

Liz Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16450489885065328602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-52022764451416255992007-10-30T14:51:00.000-05:002007-11-09T14:20:03.900-06:00

The October 21st New York Times Book Review carried an essay by Alan Wolfe titled "Mobilizing the Religious Left." It's a review of Christianity and the Social Crisis in the 21st Century: The Classic That Woke Up the Church, a new volume celebrating and reflecting on Walter Rauschenbusch's Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907), a book that inspired the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-1206171105367635332007-10-24T15:39:00.000-05:002007-10-26T10:48:07.714-05:00

The Nation had an interesting article today about Americans’ steadily increasing workday and workweek. Since health care and other benefits are costing more and more per worker, companies would rather force workers to work overtime than hire more workers. Union members often have protections against mandatory overtime, but those without the protection of a union contract can be forced to work

Will Tanzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503748256760620493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-86041724392772829682007-10-24T14:31:00.000-05:002007-10-26T10:41:39.805-05:00

I want to alert readers to the growing climate of fear being perpetrated in Virginia as local officials have gone on an offensive against immigrants. With several counties approving policies to root out and drive out illegal immigrants, there is even an exodus from certain areas. People--documented and undocumented alike--are leaving behind homes, jobs, and lives, to escape the persecution they

Liz Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16450489885065328602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-57608423245607817312007-10-19T14:45:00.000-05:002007-10-26T10:43:07.451-05:00

The Wall Street Journal isn't high on the list of publications where one would expect to see Interfaith Worker Justice featured prominently. But, sure enough, the October 16 issue carried an article titled "The Rise of the Religious Left" by Steve Malanga, a Senior Fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute. (The article is no longer available on the Wall Street Journal's website but can be

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-33242992854707407362007-10-18T17:39:00.000-05:002007-10-26T10:39:32.532-05:00

SSA No Match, heightened immigration enforcement and lax labor law enforcement has created a perfect storm for unscrupulous employers. Ballco is the perfect example of what employers are getting away with under this administration.

Jose Olivanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-15246537637154710262007-10-17T12:47:00.000-05:002007-10-18T12:33:49.152-05:00

On October 11, Interfaith Worker Justice co-hosted an exciting event in Baltimore. Faith and labor leaders, as well as local community groups, gathered at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in the Baltimore area to speak out against a potentially devastating government rule that threatens the jobs of millions of workers. One hundred people participated in the event. Our co-hosts included CASA of

Liz Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16450489885065328602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-24308836515164098652007-10-16T16:05:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:32:11.128-05:00

On September 24th, IWJ celebrated the 80th birthday of its friend and past Board President Rabbi Robert J. Marx. The celebration dinner was a wonderful occasion. More than a hundred people came together to honor and celebrate Rabbi Marx and his legacy. The event helped raise over $25,000 for the Rabbi Marx Future Leaders Fund.Among the highlights of the evening was the screening of a short

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-63623057954403975932007-10-12T11:05:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:33:31.153-05:00

Some of you may have seen the documentary Made in L.A., a poignant, moving chronicle of the Los Angeles Garment Worker Center’s campaign against the clothing retailer Forever 21, when it aired on PBS in early September.But in case you missed it, you can now order the DVD. And it’s well worth doing: Made in L.A. is as powerful a documentary on immigration, labor and social change as I've ever

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-86683129496441321692007-10-08T10:06:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:35:04.045-05:00

We need a moral crusade. That’s how noted journalist and author Barbara Ehrenreich approached ending the poverty of low-wage workers in the U.S. At a recent event at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC, experts explained how our national policy is failing low-wage workers, leaving them in poverty and unable to afford basic necessities such as housing, food, child care, health

Liz Weisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16450489885065328602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-43888752391099104852007-10-05T11:53:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:36:11.050-05:00

Anti-immigrant sentiment is running high in Simi Valley, California, located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles County. On Wednesday, October 3, 2007, Mayor Paul Miller sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, requesting that DHS intervene in the current dispute between the Simi Valley City Council and a local parish, the United Church of Christ (UCC Simi).The UCC

J Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-32732888355834351882007-10-04T14:05:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:37:13.471-05:00

Today’s New York Times editorial, “Stop the Raids,” brings attention to an immigrant enforcement system that terrorizes communities and families while doing nothing to increase public safety. Increasingly, agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) are undertaking mass search and seize operations at workplaces, community malls, and private homes, supposedly looking for

Ted Smuklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094870732954020741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-21031188932995292102007-09-28T10:29:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:38:54.579-05:00

IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo wrote a letter to the editor in response to a September 26 Chicago Tribune editorial titled “Striking Failure” but the newspaper chose not to publish it. (While the paper has limited space in the printed version, they post numerous letters on the “Voice of the People” page of their website.) In her letter, Kim highlighted the need to address the national health

Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17525720389470054910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-10062051830961656482007-09-24T11:54:00.000-05:002007-11-28T15:59:34.694-06:00

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been talking to some folks in Mobile, Alabama, about a campaign by 111 workers at a factory owned by New Era Cap Company. The workers organized a union in response to conditions they reported including low wages, forced overtime, and racial discrimination against the predominantly African American workforce. However, over the course of the organizing drive, 20

Will Tanzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503748256760620493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788386596063328688.post-2697719189235637692007-09-07T16:13:00.000-05:002007-10-18T10:41:54.418-05:00

On August 29th, our Executive Director, Kim Bobo, attended the annual shareholders meeting of Smithfield Foods, the largest hog processing plant in the world -- whose hugely controversial labor practices are at the target of a sustained organizing campaign. Kim has written a lively and illuminating account of the contentious meeting, which she calls "both interesting and disturbing," for the next

Danny Postelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07005731570114191657noreply@blogger.com0