Labor
Gap Called on to Sign Safety Agreement Harvard Square Outlet Picketed
Cambridge, Mass. - In the less than two weeks since a devastating collapse at a Bangladeshi garment factory on April 24, over 650 workers have been confirmed dead with many more still missing and the death toll is still expected to rise.
Following the loss of life that allegedly resulted from a management decision to ignore structural faults in the building, picketers targeted the Gap outlet at 15 Brattle St. in Harvard Square on Saturday to call on the company – a major purchaser of garments from Bangladesh – to sign a safety agreement in the country.
Hotel Workers Activists Renew Fight Against Le Meridien Hotel and HEI Hospitality
ambridge, Mass. - Over 400 workers, activists and community leaders converged upon the Le Meridien Cambridge-MIT Hotel last Thursday to renew their call for hotel workers to be allowed a fair process to decide on unionization.
The protest, part of national week of action spanning both coasts, marked the latest event in a fight that has been going on for over a year.
Still No Contract for Harvard Workers
Cambridge, Mass. - Members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) have been working without a new contract since the end of June 2012 as negotiations with the university have gotten nowhere. The unions says that wage increases offered by the university are not enough to maintain decent living standards given the cost of living, health care, and local rental markets. Harvard meanwhile says its offers are based on current labor market conditions, its proposals are above inflation rates, and that finances are suffering due to the Great Recession.
Activists Hold Vigil At Boston H&M In Memory of Bangladeshi Fire Victims
BOSTON/Downtown Crossing - Thirty protesters battled the bitter cold in front of Downtown Crossing's H&M on Monday evening to hold a Martin Luther King Day candlelight vigil to honor fallen sweatshop workers in Bangladesh. They mourned 112 workers who died in a garment factory fire on November 24th, 2012.
Labor Activists Protest Harvard Layoffs Citing Discrimination
Cambridge, Mass. - Labor activists, Harvard University employees, and friends and family rallied today in Cambridge to protest the laying off of three University Financial Services workers, citing apparent discrimination.
The emergency rally was held with just a day of notice, after Darlene Tate, a Harvard staffer with more than 25 years of experience in accounts payable, was informed Thursday she was being laid off shortly after returning from disability leave.
One World Cuisine Restaurant Group Sued Again By Underpaid Workers
Somerville, MA - Sixteen Centro Presente organizers and local Somerville residents stood outside of Diva Indian Bistro on Friday evening to protest the restaurant's firing of one of their workers. Diva Indian Bistro is owned by One World Cuisine, a company that owns multiple restaurants in the Greater Boston Area. Seven workers were fired from these restaurants and are currently suing for $183,500 in unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, and minimum wage violations. Work was performed in Mumbai Chopstix, Cafe of India, Bukhara, and Diva.
Upper Crust Ordeal Intensifies
BOSTON - Upper Crust Pizza filed for bankruptcy protection last month – following years of legal battles with staff, creditors, and regulators. The local chain owes employees about $850,000 in back pay and wages. One hundred and forty workers will continue to stay home after being laid off when the company closed 10 of its 16 locations indefinitely on November 13th.
PHOTOS: Ongoing Labor Protest Targets One World Cuisine for Back Wages
Somerville, Mass. - A dozen immigrant and labor advocates from Centro Presente and allied organizations held the latest in a series of protests at Diva Restaurant in Davis Square on Thursday - demanding tens of thousands of dollars in back wages they say are owed to seven immigrant employees of One World Cuisine, the owner of Diva and several other restaurants in the Boston area. A simultaneous protest was also held at another One World Cuisine restaurant, Bukhara in Jamaica Plain. The protests will continue until the workers grievances are redressed.
Harvard University Union Members Protest Proposed HU Library Layoffs
Cambridge, MA - Over 20 Harvard employees and supporters held a demonstration outside Harvard University's 90 Mt. Auburn St. facility on Wednesday against proposed "voluntary and involuntary staff reductions" at the Harvard University Library- while a meeting on restructuring the labor force at the library was being led by HU Library Executive Director Helen Shenton inside.