May Day 2010

With the news of shocking proposed racist legislation in Arizona, it seems more crucial than ever to support Immigration reform. This Saturday, a coalition of community and student groups are cosponsoring a Day of Action to Advocate for the Rights of Workers and Immigrants. A rally is planned on the Commons starting at 3:30. There [...]

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Workers Memorial Day 2010

Both Pete and I were out of the office last week; we’re happy to be back. Today, Workers Memorial Day, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the workers who have lost their lives due to their jobs. Some die in accidents and others contract illnesses or develop disabilities because of their work [...]

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James Meyers, presente!

Many of you may have heard about the passing of Pete’s dad James Meyers. I thought you might like to read about his impressive life. The following is the obituary that the family submitted to the Ithaca Journal. JAMES RAYMOND MEYERS ITHACA – Civil rights activist, dancer of Universal Peace, librarian, free thinker, writer, actor, [...]

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Another Worker Injury

I planned on writing something today about the problem of bullying in the workplace but after reading an email about Ithaca’s most recent worker injury, I changed my mind. The tragic accident at the Cargill mine in Lansing and the grievous loss of  29 miners in West Virginia earlier this month are just two of [...]

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Enjoy your weekend

Once again, the New York Times has an excellent article about issues facing workers in the US. This one, Contesting Jobless Claims Becomes a Boom Industry, will resonate with lots of Tompkins County workers whose unemployment claims have been challenged by their ex-employers. Seems that an entire corporation, Talx, specializes in screwing people out of [...]

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Things to Think About

Yesterday I spoke to Catherine Quinn in the Syracuse office of the US Department of Labor about how our work in Tompkins County could be helped by the USDOL. She told me about a new program instituted by Secretary Hilda Solis called We Can Help. The program identifies low wage earners as its target audience [...]

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Fair Trade?

Many consumers want to ‘vote with their dollars’ by buying products that are produced in an ethical environment, ensuring a fair wage and working conditions for the employees involved in that industry. There are several different international organizations that actually have a list of characteristics that must be met in order for a product to [...]

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Show Support for the Tompkins County Coffee Workers Union’s Struggle to Be Recognized as a Union with Bargaining Power at the Ithaca Coffee Company!

Pick Up Your Support Button Today at the Tompkins County Workers’ Center, 115 The Commons (above Autumn Leaves Used Books), Ithaca Please Drop By One of the Two Ithaca Coffee Company Locations (311 E. Green St., at the base of State St. going up Route 79 and at Triphammer Mall, both in Ithaca), Buy a [...]

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