Almost exactly a year ago, we saw corporations calling grocery workers “heroes” — what a difference a year makes! A new company-wide policy on team member meal and rest periods which went into effect on February 8th has shortened our breaks from 15 minutes to 10. The policy change has affected different regions in different ways. Many stores offered two paid 15 minute breaks per shift - under the new policy, all they get is 10. Some stores offered workers a paid 30 minute lunch break - under the new policy, that break will no longer be paid. Whole Foods claims that they are doing this to “streamline regional processes and policies.” In reality, they are bringing every store in America down to the bare minimum. This policy was designed to offer us as little break time and as little pay as the law will permit. Jeff Bezos' net worth grew by $75 billion last year. Now Amazon/Whole Foods is forcing their lowest paid employees to sacrifice paid rest time on the job. Is this how we’re thanked for working through a pandemic? We risk our lives every day to keep these stores stocked and clean. We’ve earned our breaks! Let’s send a message to Amazon and Whole Foods: these changes are unacceptable. If you’re a Whole Foods worker and you want to fight back, reach out to us. Together, we can hold Whole Foods accountable for its unfair policies. In Solidarity, Whole Worker and the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee

Burgerville workers have demanded hazard pay in the past, and Burgerville has denied these requests. Now there is a way for workers to get increased pay at no cost to Burgerville: credit card tips at the drive thru. Workers feel this urgency now more than ever. Due to management error, credit card were briefly enabled at the Convention Center Burgerville in November. This resulted in workers making an extra $5 an hour from the generous contributions of appreciative customers. The community of customers have demonstrated they want to tip when they are given the opportunity, and this gesture makes a huge difference in worker compensation. This is the pay they deserve as they risk their life to serve customers.

Carhops at Sonic are paid a tipped wage of 5 dollars an hour. Since we are a fast food establishment, many customers don't realize that we are tipped workers. Including a prompt to tip your carhop in the check-out will communicate that carhops must be tipped. During my time at Sonic, I've had several customers ask why they can't tip on the card. Staff is expected to wear a mask at all times, to mitigate the spread of covid-19. However, there is no policy that requires that customers extend the courtesy. This puts employees at greater risk, because masks are effective at containing pathogens, in other words they are only effective if both parties wear them. Sonic has the responsibility to provide a safe working environment. In late January Sonic began rolling out card tips for orders through the Sonic app. This is a step in the right direction, but this only makes up a small percentage of card orders. We must push them to update the software in the stalls as well.

More than 7.3 million gig workers, independent contractors, and self-employed workers will see their unemployment benefits cut on December 26 if the government doesn’t act. Millions of people who work for gig companies, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, were directed to apply for unemployment benefits through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Only some have been able to access state unemployment benefits. In any event, these benefits were—and continue to be—extremely meager. The average payment given to workers is between $114 and $357 a week—below the poverty line in most states. Now, some people who were directed to apply for PUA are even being notified that they have been overpaid and may be responsible for returning the overpaid amount . This is not only unrealistic, it is inhumane. Many gig workers are behind on rent and struggling to keep food on the table, and do not have extra cash on hand to return to the state. While drivers, couriers, and shoppers are struggling to stay safe and pay their bills, gig corporations have gotten richer and have not paid a dime into state unemployment insurance funds. For example, through misclassifying their workers, Uber and Lyft avoided paying a total of $413 million into California’s unemployment insurance fund between 2014 and 2019. Sign on today and stand with gig workers who are demanding an extension on their benefits and relief for any overpayment.

Bookshop Santa Cruz workers, who are not currently offered health insurance by their employer, have concerns about the management’s inconsistent communication regarding health and safety at the store, as well as concerns about the rising cost of living in Santa Cruz and the sustainability of the store. The workers want job security, an option for healthcare, and additional employee support systems. The workers’ organizing committee says, “We felt we could garner greater support as a collective rather than as individuals. 2020 has been a difficult year for small businesses everywhere and we hope to collaborate with management to create a sustainable path forward for one of the only independent bookstores in the area.”

No one should profit from the pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic all incentives and bonuses that had been offered regularly prior to the virus disappeared while business for these companies dramatically increased. These companies should not be allowed to exploit workers by consistently excusing themselves from any responsibility to these workers via the "independent contractor" classification.

*11/10 IMPORTANT UPDATE* there has been another wave of workers that have not been paid on a site in Kansas. C2 has backed out of the contract and left workers in a bind where they either had to go home or transfer to woods construction, who C2 made a deal with. going on 30 days and over 150 people have not been paid. some workers are even sleeping in their cars trying to hold out on the job while waiting for a check. C2 Logistics solutions has gotten away with wage theft and unjust firings for too long now! They have lied to and ripped off working families across the country! Most recently they withheld tens of thousands of dollars from over 75 families by not paying workers on time or only paying part of what was owed. Some workers were not paid for 4 weeks and are still waiting on money owed. All while working in often unsafe conditions without proper permits and inspections!

NBCUniversal has a responsibility to ensure workers’ rights are respected in their supply chains. They must ensure we receive all the money we are owed for making their products, and their profits. The Mae Sot region of Thailand is known to be 'a black hole' in the Thai garment industry, where labour rights violations are common place, and factories routinely take advantage of visa dependent migrant workers. If we win, this can set an important precedent for the future – that brands can’t just walk away, proving the power of collective worker action and global solidarity to ensure justice, even in the darkest corners of the garment industry.

Employees working in this company are being overlooked, discriminated, underpaid and overworked to the point where individuals get unhealthy. Employees no longer feel valued & get wrongfully terminated. Not a safe work environment.

This is an issue worth fighting for. Although servers take turns food running, it is not worth our time to make server wage and then a small 1% of the servers' sales during these shifts. Food runners are being pulled to help run to-gos. Food runners and bussers are running around the entire shift and are what makes a shift run smoothly. We aren't fighting for a raise or promotion, just minimum wage because we work hard and deserve that. Other restaurants do it.

We are on the frontlines. We are putting ourselves, our children, and our parents at risk. We are over worked as it is, many are burned out and managment's response is to give out coins to reward people for doing things like mention being 1 of the first 3 employees to mention "jingle bells" to the director of nursing. They're changing how we divide up the halls. They're considering switching from 8 hour shifts to 12. They admit there's a problem but they're not willing to admit there's an obvious solution. We currently make what employees at Wal-Mart make, or less in some cases. We need to be compensated for the ESSENTIAL work we are performing.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many sex workers have relied heavily on OnlyFans to make a living, and in so doing, have helped to accelerate the growth of the platform and increase the profits of the company overall. In response to this surge in growth and some of the complications that have come with it, the platform has introduced new policies that have hurt these workers’ ability to make the money they need to survive, thus compromising their quality of life. The recent decision to lower the amount of money creators can receive via tips and pay-to-view messages has resulted in lost income for many. OnlyFans has also failed to address existing issues, such as the discrimination its creators face on other platforms, which limits their ability to self-promote. While sex workers do not account for the whole of OnlyFans’ creator base, they constitute a significant presence on the platform and notably played a meaningful role in launching the platform into the public consciousness. Unfortunately, due to societal stigma, they are also a uniquely vulnerable population--and this stigma is further compounded for BIPOC and trans workers, who are disproportionately impacted by policies that hinder their ability to work. We believe that as long as OnlyFans continues to profit off the labor of these creators, the company also has a responsibility to protect them and to craft its policies in ways that do not disproportionately penalize, censor, or otherwise interfere with their ability to work and survive.