What matters more… how you came to America or what you did after you got here? I came to America when I was 3-years old. My mother brought me and my brother here from Mexico. We didn’t have legal documents. Should I be judged based on how I got here or on what I’ve done […]
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Can Gig Workers Have Flexibility and Protections Afforded to Employees in AB 5? Absolutely
Gig companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash, desperate to avoid providing basic protections and decent pay to drivers, are engaged in an all-out disinformation campaign to defend their illegal business models and kill legislation that would protect workers. We can’t possibly provide flexibility AND treat our workers with dignity and respect, they say. Nonsense. The […]
Read MoreThe Difference a Union Makes at Legal Services and Advocacy Nonprofits
Many NEU members are employed at legal services and advocacy nonprofits. We’ve secured workplace policies and procedures that make our legal services and advocacy nonprofits more inclusive, accountable, and effective. Here are some examples of how we’ve done this. Foster Manageable Workloads NEU members are committed to the missions of the nonprofits we work for […]
Read MoreThe Uber/Lyft Sleight of Hand on AB 5 and Dynamex
When corporations violate the law by calling some workers “independent contractors” instead of recognizing them as employees, those workers are denied a host of fundamental protections like a minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance and workers’ comp. Without these protections, working people are living on the edge. Every single day. That’s why the California Supreme […]
Read MoreHonor a Promise Made to California’s Garment Workers
Garment workers form the backbone of L.A.’s manufacturing sector. But tens of thousands of garment workers are routinely underpaid—or not paid at all—for work performed. Wage theft is rampant across L.A.’s low-wage industries: Angelenos lose $26.2 million dollars a week in unpaid wages. But more than four in five workers who win their wage theft […]
Read MoreLabor and the LGBTQ+ Community
As corporations kick off their Pride month marketing strategy by selling rainbow items to improve their profit margins while largely ignoring the concerns of LGBTQ+ community, it is imperative that we understand the true meaning of pride. June was chosen as the LGBTQ+ Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end […]
Read MoreWhat’s the Trump Scorecard on Workers’ Right? A Big, Fat “F”
Donald Trump has been a disaster of a president in many ways. Women’s rights. Foreign affairs. Corruption. Scandal. We could go on and on. But how’s he doing on workers’ rights? Remember, he talked a big game about being pro-worker. Just like everything else, Trump was all talk when it came to protecting workers. As […]
Read MoreCalifornia Labor Commends Assembly on Passing AB 5, Moving Workers a Step Closer to Justice
Millions of workers are living a life of insecurity because corporations refuse to abide by the law and offer the basic protections that come with being recognized as an employee. With today’s passage of AB 5 in the state Assembly, these workers are one step closer to the justice on the job they deserve. We […]
Read MoreTaking a Stand for Public Education
Social movements are rarely fully formed. It takes a while for the percolating to reach full boil. But that is what is happening with the struggle for public education. We saw it last year as teachers in one Republican controlled state after another, states where there are little to no collective bargaining rights for public […]
Read MoreCalifornia Labor Movement Urges Action to End Forced Arbitration with AB 51
California is the nation’s leader when it comes to protecting the fundamental rights of workers. Over the decades, with strong support from the labor movement, legislators have passed landmark legislation from paid family leave to anti-sexual harassment laws to measures that boost wages and promote safe workplaces. But all those laws are in jeopardy. According […]
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