Successful Campaigns

As of today, Tupelo Honey Cafe has raised the wages of support staff in their downtown Asheville, Raleigh and Virginia Beach locations back to $5.15 per hour. I’m incredibly proud of the success of this campaign and more than ever, I am convinced of the power working people have when they stand up and work together to demand more. When it comes to workers’ rights, I believe we have to take power and create voice – those things are not handed to us. Food service activism is on the rise, though addressing workplace conditions within the restaurant industry is a fairly new phenomenon. My hope is that our small victory is one of thousands of small victories that ultimately will change the way workers view their ability to speak up and shape their working conditions. -- Alia Todd

WE WON! Starbucks announced on January 24, 2018 that it is finally going to offer paid parental leave to all employees. Partners will have some protected, paid time to welcome new children to their lives. Starbucks is only one company, but it’s a leader and many other companies follow its example when it comes to how to treat employees. Starbucks is still giving its corporate executives MUCH more parental leave than it gives everyone else (corporate moms still get 3x the leave as baristas, and corporate dads get 2x more) but now, nobody is left out.

After this petition launched, Enterprise surveyed staff on a potential dress code change. In 2016, it changed its dress code to allow beards.

Thank you to everyone who signed this petition. We are very happy to report that Palomar College has agreed to take the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pledge! By taking this pledge, Palomar will be the first community college in the country to commit to informing employees of their student loan repayment options, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness. We could not have won this campaign without your support. We want to thank you for your involvement, and ask for your continued support for future campaigns. This win is important, but it is far from the end of our ongoing efforts to bring about equity in higher education.

Starbucks will require all customers inside locations to wear masks starting on July 15. https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-announces-mask-requirement-for-customers-in-locations-2020-7

NBCUniversal finally agreed to pay up the #Kanlayanee workers stitching their Despicable Me T shirts! This is the first time migrant workers in the Mae Sot area in Thailand receive full compensation for the wage theft they fight against. Thank you for your relentless support, we love international solidarity! Without the energy and work from people and organisations all around the world, this would not have been possible. For two years a group of Burmese migrant workers were illegally paid less than a dollar an hour, were forced to work unpaid overtime, and had their holiday pay withheld at the Kanlayanee factory in Mae Sot, Thailand. In Sept 2019, the Kanlayanee workers bravely spoke out to stop the labour abuses. A few weeks later, the factory suddenly closed, leaving them with nothing. They have been fighting for justice ever since; demanding that they receive the $100.000 usd they are legally owed for making products for four major global companies: Disney, Starbucks, NBCUniversal and Tesco Lotus - เทสโก้ โลตัส. The factory owner made sure they got blacklisted as a result, leaving them unable to find alternative work. What seems like nothing to these brands, means the world for the workers. With this compensation, they can repay debts, send money to their family back home in Myanmar and rebuild their lives.

CNBC reports: "Kroger on Tuesday [September 3, 2019] followed Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in any of its stores, in states where 'open carry' is allowed, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers." https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/03/kroger-joins-walmart-asks-shoppers-not-to-openly-carry-guns-in-stores.html

The desired goal was accomplished.

March 22nd - New Seasons Market workers win temporary "Thank You' pay. https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/03/new-seasons-begins-limiting-number-of-customers-inside-stores-making-overflow-wait-outside.html

Kroger has agreed to pay workers the $2 hazard pay as demanded in this petition! http://www.tdu.org/kroger_finally_agrees_to_2_per_hour_hazard_pay