“This opportunity to negotiate for better pay, meaningful benefits and for respect and a voice in the workplace was the reason why we fought to organize a union,” said Nicole Berry.

MIAMI, FL—A majority of food service workers at the University of Miami have voted to join 32BJ SEIU and authorize the union to represent them when they begin negotiating a first contract with Chartwells Dining Services, UM’s food service contractor.

Nicole Berry, 34, who has worked at UM for over four years, said she was happy.

“This opportunity to negotiate for better pay, meaningful benefits and for respect and a voice in the workplace was the reason why we fought to organize a union,” she said.

Arbitrator Robert Hoffman certified the card check result bringing the 321 workers at cafeterias and dining halls around the university into the union early Friday evening.

32BJ SEIU Organizing Director Rob Hill hailed the workers’ struggle and congratulated on a hard-fought victory.

“This is truly a great victory for the UM workers, new members of 32BJ who are set to bargain their first contract,” Hill said. “By organizing a union, they chose to bargain poverty jobs into good jobs.”

The workers, mostly African Americans who make as little as $9.31 an hour or about $10,000 a year, wanted a simple, fair process to begin bargaining for the opportunity to earn a living wage, more meaningful benefits, and dignity and respect in the workplace. Workers often have to rely on public subsidies for food, health care, housing and cash support in order to live on what they make working at the University of Miami.

Last week, they won that right when Chartwells agreed to a card check process to certify that they wanted 32BJ SEIU as their union. After a long contentious campaign to win their union, The workers were supported by prominent community leaders and clergy who joined with students and faculty to demand that University president Donna Shalala stop the contractor’s attempts to stop the union drive.

“Victory!” said an overjoyed Giovanna Pompele, a UM professor who helped collect over 300 faculty signatures on a petition to Shalala, asking her to intervene on behalf of the workers. “We know now our food workers will have the opportunity to bargain for better pay and have a shot at decent working conditions.”

With more than 125,000 members, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service union in the country.

But behind the scenes, the treatment of its food service workers does not match that high standard. They are at-will employees who can be fired by their firm Chartwells with no notice for any reason or no reason at all.

Chartwells is contracted to provide food service work for more than 200 US colleges. Its revenues exceeded $24 billion dollars in 2011. Nevertheless, the company chooses not to offer any job security or protections to the cooks, cashiers and other workers who fuel college kids across the country.

On April 4th 2013, supporters of the food service work will join forces on the UM campus in Coral Gables to demand an end to poverty jobs at the university and commemorate the death of Martin Luther King’s. They will mark the significance of his legacy regarding workers like dining hall worker Ms. Betty Asbury and dishwasher Alfredo Suarez.

In a speech supporting striking sanitation workers the day before his assassination, Dr. King recognized the importance of maintaining unity. He referred to the parable of the Good Samaritan. Although it takes courage and deep empathy to risk your own comfort and help a stranger but it’s undeniably the right thing to do. And as we all struggle through tough economic times, none of us are strangers to job insecurity.

“Let us stand with a greater determination,” he said. “And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”

After year of opposing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the flip-flopping Scott now supports Medicaid Expansion. That’s great news for potential and existing Medicaid recipients bordering the poverty line, but it doesn’t instill much faith in Scott’s reliability.

Scott will deliver his address on the 2013 legislative session’s opening day, March 5th, in the House chambers. He will talk about removing sales tax on manufacturing equipment, raising pay for teachers by $2,500 and creating more jobs in an improving economy.

We’re betting that he won’t mention that Florida’s economic recovery from the latest Recession has been slower than the national average, or that the state has one of the country’s worst foreclosure rates.

According to a 2012 report from FIU’s Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP), only 96,600 of the 715,200 jobs lost statewide in the Great Recession have been recovered. Nor will the Governor address the problems that Floridians face such as rising rent costs, benefit cuts, or the lack of rights and wages for immigrants and low-paid workers.

We hope that Scott succeeds in boosting the state’s optimism in these uncertain times. But it will be an empty success if he ignores the everyday problems that we encounter.

1Miami members joined staff and supporters of Catalyst Miami on a bus ride to WLRN’s Town Hall Session last week. It was held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale and according to hosts WLRN and The Miami Herald, was attended by 600 Floridians eager to know more about state legislators’ stance on health, voting reform, education and other matters affecting all residents.

Host Phil Latzman of WLRN Radio’s Florida Roundup introduced two state senators: Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale), Senate Democratic leader and Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater), chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. They were joined by Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald’s Tallahassee bureau chief. Along with panel discussions there were questions from the audience plus comments and queries from Twitter users and other online sources.

On the way to the event, WLRN asked the Catalyst and 1Miami members what they’d like to ask the panelists. Medicaid Expansion was the hottest topic and in a section on health, three guests from the bus got their chance to raise an important issue. They were different ages and came from varying backgrounds but they were equally concerned about their eligibility for help with health costs and whether their basic health care needs would be met.

Latvala replied, ‘I was probably the first Republican member of the Senate who was quoted in the paper… and I support the Governor’s plan.’

Florida Governor Rick Scott has recently had a change of heart about Medicaid Expansion. Now he supports the state’s participation in Affordable Care, saying that Florida will take part in the program.

The Town Hall Session, recorded for WLRN Radio and streamed on their website wlrn.org, also covered property insurance, political ethics and the Stand Your Ground law on the eve of the anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death.

But the expansion of Medicaid benefits for Florida’s uninsured was an important element of the session, with Catalyst and 1Miami asking questions and holding up signage for WLRN’s camera.

The well-attended town hall session is a strong reminder that it is possible to talk to our legislators, challenge them when necessary and educate ourselves on essential policies that make a difference to our daily lives.

On January 24th 2013 at 6.30 p.m., supporters of University of Miami food service workers will celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy at the Chapel of the Venerable Bede, 1150 Sanford Drive, Coral Gables.

In a 1961 speech to the AFL-CIO Dr. King said, “…Our needs are identical with labor’s needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.”

More than 50 years after that speech, UM food service workers are still struggling to make a wage that will support themselves and their families. Their employer, Chartwells, can legally dismiss them with or without just cause. While Dr. King specified his own race in the AFL-CIO speech, his legacy reminds us that the “poor people of all colors” deserve human rights, fair treatment and the dream of a better future.

With Dr. King’s words and deeds to inspire us, we can continue to voice their hopes and beliefs that improved rights for the Chartwells employees will better their lives, discourage the wrongful termination of other workers in similar circumstances and lead to a greater, nondiscriminatory system of values throughout the nation.

Dr. King called for equal rights in and outside the workplace. His faith in innate fairness resonates across the decades and will continue to do so as justice is done.

Here’s the low-down. Taxes will increase on almost everyone, including most businesses. Bush-era tax cuts will be gone, and the little cut in payroll taxes we briefly enjoyed will also expire. Spending cuts will affect the majority of federal programs, even our military. $55 billion cut to our defense budget and another $55 billion in cuts to domestic programs.

The important thing to note is that there is no real cliff! If our politicians fail to make a deal, the economy will not crash on January 1st, as the media would have you believe. The consequences of the tax increases and spending cuts, a possible recession and a rise in unemployment, would take effect throughout the course of 2013, causing a gradual decline in the progress made since our economy tanked in 2008. But have no fear, if Congress just does what it should do when it reconvenes in January, all won’t be lost.

And the first thing it should do is let the Bush tax cuts expire for the super rich. Presently, the current Congress can’t seem to reach a deal, with each party “surprised” with what the other is offering. Republicans want drastic spending cuts to public services like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without levying any new taxes, once again favoring the rich over the well-being of the poor. We can’t balance the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class while giving the rich a free pass, everyone must pay their fair share.

Getting the budget balanced is important, and making sure the deal is fair is imperative. But this “cliff” that the media is reacting to is the result of coming down from the overcharged coverage of the election. This could be figured out this week, December 31st or even in January by the new Congress, and it won’t mean the end of the economy if it isn’t fully worked out. Congress created this fictional cliff, now it’s time for them to fix it.

Sources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kitconews/2012/11/29/focus-the-fiscal-cliff-what-is-it/

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/29/qa-what-is-the-fiscal-cliff-3/

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/30/15573754-white-house-surprised-by-gop-surprise?lite

Here in Miami-Dade, 1Miami supported Wal-Mart employee’s effort to speak out for better jobs. Check out the photos below.

Sen. Diaz de la Portilla was one of the main architects in pushing house bill 1355 which took early voting days down from 14 to 8. We decided to go straight to him to deliver a letter asking him to return early vote days to a minimum of 14. We’re willing to work with him to make this happen.

It’s obvious in Miami-Dade County that we need all 14 days for early voting, the voters who waited hours in line can testify to that. The voting process was made harder by Sen. Diaz de la Portilla, whose agenda appears to be to discourage voters from casting a ballot. Everyone should have the opportunity to easily vote, but it seems like every election year Florida has something go awry. We need our early voting days back!

WATCH THE VIDEO: We the People

With the president’s second term, there are many things we’d like to see him accomplish, though we know it is not all possible. Here are just a few ideas for President Obama to consider tackling.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Even though the Latin vote showed up for President Obama, 71% to Romney’s 27%, the president is still deporting people at a higher rate than any other president previous. This needs to stop. We cannot keep on separating families, or using detention centers to hold immigrants who have not committed a crime.

President Obama’s executive order allowing undocumented immigrants who were brought in to this country as children to apply for a two-year resident card is a step in the right direction but it does not solve the problem. We need a path to citizenship, so undocumented workers can eventually live without fear, work anywhere, attend affordable school, vote and be a part of this nation that so many already consider their own.

Prison Reform
A growing problem in our country is the fact that we incarcerate a larger percentage our population than any other country in the world. In fact, according to the New York Times, even though the US has less than 5% of the world’s population, we hold almost a quarter of the world’s prison population.

With all this talk about the deficits, you’d think we could get comprehensive prison reform to save us some money. Do we really need to lock up our fellow citizens and children for simple drug or misdemeanor crimes? There have been numerous studies demonstrating that rehabilitation is more cost effective than sending someone to prison.
Education Reform
With all the cuts to education, our school system is in decline. We have been falling behind other countries for years now. It’s time to move away from standardized testing, or teaching to the test, and to a way that will work for everyone. Every child learns in a different way and we need to help them by making sure we have the best and brightest teachers.

Inner city and poor schools need a boost. The path out of poverty is dependent on higher education and in teachers that have the adequate support to help their students to the fullest.

Making Sure Everyone Pays Their Fair Share
We need to create jobs and fix our budget. The only way to do that, without putting the burden on the middle class or poor, is to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share. We cannot have any more cuts to our already struggling public services that many desperately rely on.

We are all in this together and we need to move away from the “you’re on your own” mentality. Twenty-six US companies are not paying any federal income tax, while the middle class continues to pay their fair share. Asking the wealthy and giant corporations to pay a little more is not going to hurt them in the long run, but to ask the middle class and poor to pay more is detrimental to our very existence.

Sources:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/09/15029245-hispanics-to-obama-we-helped-you-now-you-help-us?lite

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/10/american-principles-action/has-barack-obama-deported-more-people-any-other-pr/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.csdp.org/news/news/ap_prop36_040506.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/us-students-still-lag-beh_n_1695516.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/report-26-us-companies-negative-average-federal-income/story?id=16111671#.UKPLZ-T7LqE

We elected Joe Garcia to Congress, the first Cuban-American Democrat from Miami, over the incumbent and scandal prone Rep. David Rivera in District 26. Garcia roundly defeated Rivera by a margin of 54% to 43%, in a district that has been held by a Republican since its inception 10 years ago.

Jose Javier Rodriguez offers a fresh face to the Florida Legislature. Rodriguez upset Republican Alex Diaz de la Portilla for state House District 112 on Tuesday. The Harvard graduate and Peace Corps volunteer offers new ideas for a state dominated by the same old Republican rhetoric.

What could be the biggest shocker for Miami-Dade County is the turn of the Cuban-American vote. President Obama was elected with 49% of the Cuban vote to Romney’s 47%, thoroughly debunking the Miami Herald’s poll on October 28th, which had 76% of Cuban-Americans ready to cast ballots for Romney. This should be a warning sign for Republicans and their opposing sentiments towards non-white males. Turning off a historically consistent Republican voter bloc could spell doom for the GOP.

Now with the election over, we can relax a little but the work continues. Justice has not been served for those who are still struggling in this economy, without healthcare or access to affordable education and housing. We voted for our politicians, it’s time they started working for us! Join 1Miami as we move forward to work for a better tomorrow.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/miami-elects-first-cuban-_n_2085920.html

http://m.npr.org/news/Politics/161763685

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/06/3085365/incumbents-likely-to-return-to.html

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/11/cubans_are_now_liberals_good-b.php