Excessive sales goals put an intense amount of pressure on team members to sell financial products regardless of whether or not they fit needs of customers. Citigroup shouldn't put their employees in a position where they can't win. When a team member is evaluated based on sales goals rather the financial advice they provide to the their customers, it creates a sales culture that boarders on unethical. Sales at all costs is no way to build trust with our communities and puts unnecessary stress on Citigroup workers. Everyone has unique banking needs, and Citibank employees pride themselves on being able to deliver quality products to individuals and small businesses. But when aggressive sales goals compete with customers' needs, one side always wins. We're calling on Citigroup to immediately review its consumer and commercial banking program and lower excessive sales targets for retail bankers.

As Walmart Associates, we want to do the best job we can. We come to work every day and are proud of the job we do. We are the people helping customers, stocking shelves, moving inventory, getting carts and other items to their proper places, and making sure we run the store in the best way possible. However, as we continue to carry out this work, we are finding it difficult to keep food on the table, pay our rent, provide for our family, put gas in our cars, and make ends meet due to the lack of hours in our schedules. Today, we stand before you, asking Walmart to follow-through on its public commitment to provide Associates with MORE HOURS and MORE CLEARLY DEFINED FULL-TIME POSITIONS to be permanently added to our schedules. We believe this will help ensure that every store is running to the best of its abilities and that Associates will not be going home hungry, avoiding medical care because we are worried about the high cost, living paycheck to paycheck and choosing between rent and food. We believe more hours and full-time work is a more viable and successful strategy than continually hiring and firing temps and letting go of longtime Associates with invaluable experience. We believe these changes will benefit customers, as when hours and positions are cut, we are no longer able to carry out the necessary work in a timely, safe and efficient manner. It is the right thing to do; for the store, for the customers, for all Associates. One year ago, Walmart said it would provide Associates the opportunity to work more hours and make available more full-time positions. With $17 billion in profit per year, we believe there is no viable reason why Walmart can't follow-through with its commitment and provide these much needed changes. LEGAL DISCLAIMER: UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

XXXX sacked one of our coworkers unfairly. We’ve been trying to convince them to reinstate Scotty, we even went on strike. Now we’re calling on XXXX drinkers all over Queensland to help us out. Scott has worked as a fitter for Lion Nathan (owners of XXXX) for 15 years. In October he was injured at work when some pallets fell. We don’t believe it was Scott’s fault but XXXX sacked him. Scott has two daughters - they're five and seven. Now he's facing Christmas without work. If we all work together - XXXX drinkers, XXXX workers and supporters - we can get Scott his job back.

I came to Australia in March on a student visa, and while studying here, I decided to take a job as a contract cleaner at Brisbane Airport. While working at the airport, I witnessed my employer harass and abuse several of my female colleagues. Until now, everyone was too afraid to speak out. That all changed last week, when five brave women came forward to alert authorities of harassment and sexual abuse they experienced at Brisbane Airport. These women are international students who say their employer forced himself on them in locked rooms, and threatened them with deportation if they resisted. He offered them rides home, then drove into dark alleys with an expectation of sexual favours. And in case there was any confusion about his intent, they say he openly and unapologetically fired any woman who resisted him. Right now, these women are scared of being kicked out of Australia for speaking out -- the very thing they were threatened with by their accused abuser. No one should be punished for alerting police of illegal abuse. As the contractor's employer, BAC needs to speak out in support of these workers remaining in Australia. All the women I work with know what this guy is like, and while he has never done anything to me, I was warned about him when I started working at the airport. I've seen so many young people come here to study, and many have taken on work with airport contractors to cover basic expenses. Some of these contractors are fair-minded, lawful businesses. But too many contractors rely on shadowy business practices to keep costs low. It's in this environment that sexual harassment has been allowed to thrive. The Brisbane Airport cleaning contractor accused of sexually abusing these women should be fired, and if found guilty, jailed. But it's also important that we prevent this from ever happening again. I don't want Brisbane Airport to ever again be the scene of exploitation and abuse. BAC should take steps to ensure that all airport workers are protected from potential exploitation. If enough airport employees, customers and members of the public speak out, Julieanne Alroe will listen. Please add your name and share with others. Together, we can repair the damage that's been done, and make Brisbane Airport a safer workplace for all its workers.

Recently I found out that Bank of America is replacing real, in-person bank tellers with video screens. These video tellers will spend their days in front of a camera, staring at customers through a screen. The bank plans to pay these workers a lower wage than in-person tellers, with far fewer benefits. Being a bank teller is all about building a personal connection with our customers, something that I couldn’t do through a video screen. Often our customers have complex questions – a local business attempting to pay an overseas vendor, or a mother who needs to wire money to a family member. Some are elderly or speak English as a second language. My coworkers and I care about meeting the needs of our customers, and we deserve to make a decent wage while doing so. I went to work as a teller at Bank of America because I thought it would offer me the opportunities I had not received in other industries, like paid vacation days, sick pay, and a decent wage—things that are critical to me as a student trying to make my way through college. Bank of America tried to do this a few years ago, but scrapped its plans. It was a bad idea then, and it still is today – and we need to convince them of that. The fact is that you can’t downsize hands-on customer service. Bank of America’s future depends on the employees who represent the bank in our communities and meet the needs of customers every day. Photo via Charlotte Business Journal (http://bizj.us/qxg6p/i/1)

My name is Melanie and I'm a bailiff for San Antonio municipal courts. I have worked in law enforcement for 32 years, so I know a little about safety protocols and the physical requirements of my job. As law enforcement officials, we're required to meet certain physical standards. Everyone accepts this as part of the job and we try to stay in good condition. To meet these standards, we go through periodic physical trainings. For years, San Antonio court employees have met those standards by participating in courses certified by the State Board (TCLEOSE). I've done it many times, and I've found it to be safe and effective. That all changed a few years ago, when decisions were made to abandon the traditional state-certified courses and switch to a local mixed martial arts studio, Blue Tiger MMA. Blue Tiger is active participation -- both defensive and offensive. The people my coworkers and I are up against are trained in mixed martial arts. We are not. Some of us are also much older and not nearly as strong. To put it another way, I'm a 59-year-old woman being placed in wrestling holds by MMA fighters. Imagine that. As trainees, we're put in a number of holds. We wrestle with fighters, and are told to lift and move weighted punching dummies. In two sessions that I did not attend, my coworkers were paired up with cage fighters. They said those sessions were truly brutal. I’m concerned that one of us will be seriously injured if these MMA trainings continue. There's no reason I can think of for why the city of San Antonio is paying for Blue Tiger sessions. There are no course points for the active licensed peace officers and these sessions are not taught by a certified TCOLE instructor. I've lived in San Antonio for most of my life. I grew up here, and attended Holmes High School in the Northside. I want to do my job well and I want my taxes to be well-spent. The Blue Tiger MMA program is demeaning and a waste of taxpayer money. Join me and my coworkers in calling on San Antonio municipal courts to immediately stop the Blue Tiger mixed martial arts “trainings” and return to state-certified courses.

The LA Times recently reported that roughly 30 Wells Fargo branch employees in the L.A. area tried to meet sales goals by opening accounts that were never used. Lying and cheating should never be tolerated in the workplace -- especially at a financial institution. But the situation also suggests that Wells Fargo take stock of its community banking program and the sales goals employees are pressured to meet each week. According to the Times, the pressure to meet sales goals can be intense. Managers have required sales agents to stay late and call their friends and family members to open accounts in order to meet sales objectives. Sales at all costs is no way to build trust with our communities. Everyone has unique banking needs, and Wells Fargo employees pride themselves on being able to deliver quality products to individuals and community businesses. But when aggressive sales goals compete with customers' needs, one side always wins. We're calling on Wells Fargo to immediately review its community banking program and lower excessive sales targets for team members. Photo credit: http://bit.ly/16vf2lK

PNC Bank plans to force its 56,000 employees onto high-deductible health insurance plans starting on January 1, 2014. (Source: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/4556664-74/plans-health-deductible#axzz2coL27Yib) The average high-deductible plan requires you to pay up to $2,000 out-of-pocket before insurance coverage kicks in. For a PNC bank teller earning $9-11 an hour, those costs make medical care entirely unaffordable. How many PNC employees will forgo medical care because they can't afford it? These changes to employee health coverage will have a real impact on your employees' lives. It's for that reason we're calling on you to reconsider. It’s no secret that banks made record profits in 2012. The banking industry raked in $40 billion in the first few months of 2012 alone. PNC Bank is strong and its balance sheets proves it. PNC employees have helped the bank increase the number of customers, expand commercial and consumer lending, and grow deposits to $212 billion. Last year, PNC profits were 47% higher than that same period in 2011. Why, then, is the bank punishing employees by slashing health coverage? Employees have helped PNC Bank grow to be the 7th largest bank in America. They deserve health insurance they can depend on. These changes could make health insurance for some of your employees largely unaffordable. As employees, customers, and concerned citizens, we're calling on PNC Bank to treat its employees better. Give your tellers, sales associates, supervisors and other staff health care coverage options they can count on. Creative Commons photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/blaineo/

Forever 21 sent a devastating memo to several hundred of its full-time U.S. employees this week informing them of drastic cuts to their hours and benefits. In addition to losing hours and all of our health benefits, employees are also losing the ability to earn paid time off – and the company gave us less than two week’s notice! I just started working at Forever 21 in New York City, but now I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to work there, because I need a job that I can actually survive on. When I first applied for the job, I was promised growth and working with the visual team to become a merchandiser. They explained I would be learning and growing and starting off in sales with full time hours. However when I was hired, I suddenly found myself cleaning and organizing the stock room in a part-time position. When I asked what happened with the position I applied for I was brushed off and ignored. I didn't realize that the company treats their employees like that, and now Forever 21 is essentially ending full-time employment for non-management employees altogether. Imagine having a sick child or a chronic illness, then finding out that in less than two weeks, your health insurance will terminated, your paychecks will be smaller, and you won't have any paid time off to take care of your medical issues –All because you are part time. Unstable scheduling in the retail industry is a serious problem. Imagine trying to fit together two part-time work schedules with just days or hours’ advance notice of your shift. To make matters worse, many jobs require you to work "on call" shifts, which means you have to call two hours before your shift to see if you have to work (or you'll face disciplinary action). But if you're not called in, you don't get paid. This practice wreaks havoc in our lives and, in my opinion, amounts to exploitation. Companies claim they can't remain profitable without reducing workers' schedules, but that's a poor excuse because many of these same companies are providing full-time opportunities to workers in other parts of the world. In the Munich, Germany, Forever 21 is hiring full time entry-level sales associates. In Liverpool, England, the job I applied for in New York (a "visual merchandiser") is listed as a full-time position. Why can't these same opportunities be made available in every U.S. location? The Retail Action Project's #JustHours campaign holds companies accountable for forcing workers into unstable unpredictable part time retail jobs, because they can do better. Forever 21 has an opportunity to do the right thing -- to show its employees that it respects the work we do and the valuable contribution we make to the company each day. Every Forever 21 store should have full-time opportunities for hard-working employees. NOTE: The author of this petition has chosen to use a pseudonym to protect her identity. The Retail Action Project has verified that she works for Forever 21.

Today, Lean In's Editor-at-Large posted an ad for UNPAID internship with Lean In in New York City. Lean In says it's about "encouraging women to pursue their ambitions," but what about the women who can't afford to live in New York City and work for free? It's hard to "Lean In" when you're being priced out. And for the many young women who don't have wealthy families who can subsidize unpaid internship opportunities like these, this represents yet another barrier to the kinds of learning and networking opportunities that could help them build successful careers. Sign this petition to tell Lean In to PAY THEIR INTERNS!

Stand with us -- Brandon Garrett & Tavarus Yates -- and other Walmart workers from Baker, LA who've been illegally fired for speaking out. For years Walmart has been taking advantage of us, their workers. Inconsistent scheduling and pay that gives us 30 hours one week and 12 the next leaves us no way to support our family, pay rent, buy food or even gas to make it to work the next day. Even worse, when we speak out about these problems, Walmart tries to bully and silence us. So earlier this year, we went on an unfair labor practice strike. Under federal law it was our right to do so. Now, Walmart is firing and disciplining those of us who stood up. We have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board but Walmart needs to hear from its customers that this behavior is not ok. WE need everyone in the Baton Rouge community to speak with one voice on the rights of Walmart workers to engage in federally-protected strikes. We don’t want to hurt Walmart, we just want them to be better! By signing this petition you are supporting us to make sure that Walmart associates who were disciplined or fired are returned to work and their records cleared.

In order for the Medford Public School District to meet the educational needs of our students, we must foster a culture of mutual trust and respect among all stakeholders—parents, educators, education support professionals, school administration, the Medford community, and our elected school board. When the Medford School District’s bargaining team abruptly abandoned the bargaining table and hired a Salem lawyer to lead negotiations with teachers, they reinforced what many members of our community were already feeling… that our voices are not respected and valued by our School District Management. When educators began asking how others feel about their relationship with the district, it revealed other actions that harm the community’s trust in the District, including: *District Management committed to preserving an early retirement option, yet have continually attempted to rollback this benefit in bargaining beginning in 2009. * District Management promised students, staff and the community equitable funding for both high schools from the 2006 bond project, yet dramatically reduced the allocation to North Medford High School. Other schools were also neglected but the administrative building was remodeled. * District Management continues to allow class sizes in Medford to remain among some of the highest in the valley. * Earlier this year, District Management approved salary increases for all administrators, but demanded cuts from other employees. These decisions and others like them create a climate of distrust and disrespect which interfere with Medford Public Schools’ mission to provide all students with a fantastic public education. By signing this petition, you are taking the first step in holding the Medford School Board accountable for the deteriorating relationships with their staff, parents, and community. When this petition is delivered, members of our school board will know the community is paying attention to their actions and that we expect better for Medford students.