The issue of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior at Chili's is unacceptable, but it's also reflective of the entire restaurant industry, as a whole. We need to make a change for all future restaurant workers because no one should have to endure exploitation, sexual harassment, or bullying in the workplace.

Please sign my petition to help Rural Carriers be treated fairly. Thank you!

Everyone deserves to be able to pay the rent without relying on the generosity of others to eat, and should not have to ration their food from week to week because of an unpredictable and fluctuating schedule. One green vest I know was forced to live out of their car in the REI parking lot after losing their apartment while their manager turned a blind eye and the store refused to raise wages above starvation wages.

The only way our working conditions and wages will improve is if we all band together to tell our employers that they are not entitled to our labor until they treat us all much more fairly. Our current wages are barely enough to scrape by when considering that after taxes, there's still a struggle to cover rent, bills, groceries, vehicle maintenance, pets and any unexpected injuries or accidents. Our current working conditions are hostile almost daily, typically in the form of coworkers having disagreements and getting into screaming / yelling matches (often in front of donors and / or customers) that go largely unresolved by management; these disagreements also commonly end in "behind each other's backs" comments that often lead to further disagreements that, again, end in one of these two ways. When asked to help resolve many of these issues, management has commonly responded with some remark about or similar to being "unable" to do anything about it.

Our current plant manager knows his stuff and when you go to him with work related problem he will at least take time to listen!

People working in the gig economy, such as drivers for transportation giants like Uber and Lyft, face many challenges. They don’t receive any employee benefits or protections, and the work they do is also inherently dangerous. Drivers lose their lives in carjacking incidents, they have a high likelihood of being in an accident due to long hours on the road and they are often targeted by municipalities for expensive tickets. To add insult to injury, some of the most loyal, hardworking drivers can often find themselves out of a job due to unverified customer complaints. At the moment, if a customer complains about a driver to Uber or Lyft, even if there is no evidence that the claim is valid, drivers can be deactivated and have no ability to appeal or defend themselves against the allegation. Riders are incentivized to complain as they receive discounts if they say their driver did something wrong. There is no accountability or transparency in how these complaints are handled by the companies. This places thousands of workers and their families in financial hardship. Nationally, about 70% of Uber and Lyft drivers are BIPOC or immigrants, and poor labor standards further harm these already vulnerable populations, even while the City of Chicago and gig companies publicly claim to be working to improve conditions for these very people. These workers keep our city running every day, and made Uber and Lyft executives rich with their labor; they deserve a voice! Manminder Sethi, one of the original drivers in Milwaukee Wisconsin, started driving on Uber black first and later joined Uber X nearly 7 years ago. He had over 19000 rides and a rating of 4.93 when he was suddenly deactivated. When he tried to find out why, he was given reasons that ranged from unsafe driving to sexual harassment. Manminder has had no tickets related to unsafe driving, and he offered to provide the dash cam footage for the ride in question but Uber never responded to his requests. Chicago driver Mehrez Sahli, another long-time driver on the platform, started working with Uber Taxi first for a year or two, then also moved on to Uber X. He had 5,710 trips over 3.5 years on Uber X and a rating of 4.94 when he was suddenly deactivated. When he went to the Uber hub to ask why, he was told he was “manipulating” surge pricing by moving from a low surge area to a high surge area before accepting a ride. As this is the way the app is intended to work (surge pay is incentive to drive from a less busy area to a busy area) it is still unclear what the real reason for the deactivation was. However, in Mehrez’s case, not only was he deactivated from Uber, but Uber then also communicated something to the City of Chicago who then communicated that information to Lyft and he was summarily dismissed from Lyft as well. Typically, this is the process that would be followed if a driver were being deactivated for a serious offence such as assault or intoxication on the job, yet no such allegation has ever been communicated to Mehrez. Maurice Clark of Chicago was accused of falling asleep behind the wheel and was deactivated from Lyft with a driver rating of 4.98 and 5,734 rides under his belt. He has never had a ticket or been in an accident in relation to unsafe driving, and the details of the ride have been withheld from him. He was told by Lyft in an email that he was not permitted to “appeal or protest” the decision. Another Chicago driver, Hiep Can Tran, was deactivated from Uber due to an unspecified customer complaint after he completed 6,034 trips. He has called Uber repeatedly and visited the Uber hub but has never been told the details of the complaint. Hiep was supporting his small children using the money he made driving Uber and losing his income suddenly was a major financial hardship for him. He has been able to start driving for Lyft, but he has not been earning as much and still wants to know why he was deactivated from Uber. He maintains a 4.99 driver rating on Lyft at this time and has no tickets or accidents on his driving record. JC Muhammad of Chicago was deactivated due to a customer complaining that he was speeding after completing 3035 trips. He has received no tickets or warnings due to speed, and in fact believes that the complaint was made sarcastically as he typically drives the speed limit or under. Uber has offered no proof of the violation and again has denied JC the ability to defend himself or provide proof to the contrary.

So we can finally get some order to the craziness! This is just a start to show everyone we DO have rights. We just have to know them and be willing to fight for them.

-Petición dirigida a Jim Kari, director de los Servicios del Planta Física Nosotros, los empleados custodiales de UC Santa Cruz, exigimos cobertura adecuada para el aumento número de estudiantes para mantener seguras las operaciones custodiales, mantener seguros a los estudiantes, y para minimizar las lesiones a los trabajadores. El departamento de custodio tiene que PARAR de hacer excusas y debe de llenar puestos vacantes de carrera de tiempo completo. Estamos sobrecargados y bajo el estrés insostenible de cubrir puestos vacantes. La escasez de personal afecta negativamente nuestras condiciones de trabajo y la gerencia sigue sin respetar nuestra señoría, lo que afecta nuestra moral. El departamento ha presionado a los empleados custodiales a trabajar en exceso, lo que pone en riesgo nuestra salud y seguridad. ¡La falta de personal e inaceptables cargas de trabajo ya no pueden ser ignoradas! ¡Estamos preparados para hacer lo que sea necesario para que los estudiantes de UCSC obtengan el mejor servicio y los trabajadores consigan suficiente personal para evitar lastimaduras! A pesar de la narrativa de la UC de que la pandemia de coronavirus ha terminado, los casos de COVID continúan en California, afectando a estudiantes, trabajadores y, en particular, a los trabajadores sindicalizados de la UCSC. Los trabajadores custodiales de AFSCME 3299 siguen enfrentando un ambiente tóxico en los edificios de UCSC. Los trabajadores son la columna vertebral de UCSC, mantienen la limpieza de los edificios, literalmente permitiendo que los edificios puedan ser abiertos. Su trabajo se vuelve aún más importante ahora con el regreso de los estudiantes al campus. A medida que aumenta el riesgo de propagación del coronavirus, la importancia de un equipo de conserjes con el personal adecuado es primordial no solo para la seguridad de los estudiantes y profesores, sino también para los propios trabajadores. Los trabajadores se enorgullecen en su trabajo, pero cuando el departamento rutinariamente engaña al equipo de trabajadores para que trabajen en exceso, su seguridad se ve comprometida y sienten que no pueden ejecutar adecuadamente sus funciones. Esto conduce a sentimientos de intensa ansiedad y miedo. Adicionalmente, los trabajadores de AFSCME 3299 desean detener las muertes evitables por COVID-19. En esto recordamos a Domingo Tovar, mayor operador automotriz y trabajador de AFSCME 3299 que manejaba autobús en el campus, quien murió por complicaciones de COVID-19 en abril de 2020. El departamento falla en apoyar a los trabajadores custodiales, quienes desean mantener a UCSC limpia y segura. En lugar de volver incluso a los niveles de personal previos a la pandemia, UCSC continúa su falta de personal en muchas áreas del campus. Este depende de las obligaciones de los trabajadores custodiales y de sus conexiones con su empleó, por lo que abusa de ellos al obligarlos a trabajar en exceso, limpiando áreas a un ritmo insostenible. El departamento podría fácilmente resolver esto simplemente con contratar al personal adecuado. Nosotros, los trabajadores y estudiantes de UCSC, exigimos que el departamento de custodial ponga fin a su práctica de falta de personal. Si UCSC respeta a sus trabajadores, el departamento custodial debe dejar de engañar a los trabajadores sobre sus responsabilidades y el personal adecuado de los trabajadores custodians. Exigimos que el director de departamento custodial se reúna con AFSCME 3299 y su comité para resolver estos problemas y hace decisiones.

These issues are continuing to gain media attention, and publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The American Prospect, and NBC News have platformed the voices of Sonic workers. In the wake of this global health crisis, fewer workers are willing to tolerate these conditions. Soon there will be no choice but to take workers' demands seriously.

A time may come when a person may need to take time off of work. Maybe for a medical reason for themselves or their child and they don't have sick leave or annual leave to cover the time off and will be charged with LWOP Leave Without Pay. Not only will some people owe medical bills, they'll owe the post office also for using LWOP. Plus if the post office has taken the person step increase away for that person using LWOP you keep that person at the same rate of pay for years even up to retirement.

It's time to take a stand and get paid what's right as we are the only reason there is an estes express.

The industry that allowed and enabled serial abusers like Marie is still the same industry: One that lacks regulation, escapes accountability, and normalizes trafficking -- all off the backs of young women and men. It’s time to ensure that everyone in this industry can work in a safe environment, free from harm, with access to justice. SUPPORTED BY: Model Alliance Akasha Hendrix Alessandra Biaggi, New York State Senator Alex Shanklin Alexander Kjellevik Alexandra Waterbury Alyssa Sutherland Amanda Rodriguez Amber Valletta Ambra Battilana Gutierez Amy Dorris-Hulth Athena Currey Ava Smith Ayesha Barenblat, Remake Barrett Pall Beverly Johnson Bradley James Falconer Braeden Wright Brana Dane Caitlin Dulany Carre Otis Carrie Ann Moss Chandra North Chloe Hayward Cindi Leive David Stewart Dexter Rangel EJ Moran Elizabeth Cline Elle Dawson Elliott Sailors Emily Mott Erin Heatherton Erin Pasquet Evelyn Yang Fitz Greg Asbed, Co-Founder, Coalition of Immokalee Workers Gwen Van Meir Hannelore Knuts Heidi Mount Ian Bohen Ingrid Schram Iskra Lawrence Ivan Lizarde Jason Boyce Jason Hofmann Jennifer Hoffman Jill Dodd Julia Schwadron Marianelli Kai Braden Kara Young Karen Alexander Karen Elson Kenny Sale Laurie Marsden Lesa Amoore Lisa Kauffmann Lynn Mabry Madeline Hill Madisyn Ritland Mariel Hemingway Mary Greenwell Matthew Charles Sutton Maurice Smith Meera Fox Meisha Brooks Meredith Hattam Michael Hager Michael Williams Milla Jovovich Mira Sorvino Nadine Strittmatter Nova Hagel Pania Rose Paulina Porizkova Prema Kerollis Rachel Price Sara Ziff Sarah Hay Sarah Newell, Director of Outreach and Communications, WSR Network Sarah Spinner, PsyD Shaina Danziger Shari Plummer Shawna Lee Shelly Zander Susan Holmes McKagan Susanna Mahoney Sydney Giordano Tatjana Patitz Theresa Haas, Director of Transnational Strategies, WSR Network Yuh-Line Niou, New York State Assemblymember Zoe Ghertner