The best way to thank America's workers who honorably serve us every day is to ensure they receive fair pay and benefits.
Support groups that are advocating for worker justice.
Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ)
CLUE-LA
About Me
- Hussam Ayloush
- Hussam has been a lifelong human rights activist who is passionate about promoting democratic societies, in the US and worldwide, in which all people, including immigrants, workers, minorities, and the poor enjoy freedom, justice, economic justice, respect, and equality. Mr. Ayloush frequently lectures on Islam, media relations, civil rights, hate crimes and international affairs. He has consistently appeared in local, national, and international media. Full biography at: http://hussamayloush.blogspot.com/2006/08/biography-of-hussam-ayloush.html
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Friday, September 02, 2011
Ayloush Condemns Noose Hanging at OC Labor Federation Office
 |
Source: JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
The noose was found hanging at the entrance to the office earlier today.
The federation represents 90-plus unions and is currently in labor negotiations on behalf of workers for better living wages and working conditions.
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush condemned the incident and stressed American Muslim community's solidarity with America's workers.
"We are appalled that there are those in society who seek to intimidate, drive fear, and act with malice toward the backbone of our country through reprehensible actions.
"American Muslims stand on the side of workers across the U.S. in their pursuit of fair and balanced working agreements. We further urge anyone with information to come forward and assist law enforcement in apprehending the perpetrator(s)."
Ayloush yesterday joined a CLUE-OC organized delegation in which OC Labor Federation and advocates met with grocery chain Ralphs in support of the grocery workers' rights.
SEE:
Noose dangling from roof at union office
Thursday, March 31, 2011
An Islamic Call to Action in Support of America’s Workers
"We are One" Campaign for Workers' Rights begins April 1.
By Hussam Ayloush
---
National Board Member, Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ)
Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA)
---
A phrase often repeated in the Qu’ran is “those who believe and do righteous good deeds.” This phrase usually describes a great reward for those who demonstrate their faith by engaging in righteous good deeds.
As people of faith, it is our responsibility to put our faith into action whenever injustice is being perpetuated. Today, I want to share with you a campaign that deserves our attention and response.
In Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, the fundamental right of workers – public sector workers in particular—to organize is being questioned and threatened by right-wing ideologues and political leaders. While many Americans are feeling the pinch in our pocketbooks, it is at this very critical moment that we must reaffirm the rights and protect the wellbeing of hard-working public sector employees and middle-class families. We all rely on those honest and dedicated workers, such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, and public health workers, to provide us with essential services. Today, they are relying on us to ensure a dignified living for themselves and their families.
Treating workers justly and protecting their rights is supported by the teachings of Islam and other faiths. Islamic teachings regarding the rights and responsibilities of the worker and employer toward each other have been outlined with utmost precision. If we work for our living, whether as an employee or as an employer, it is our duty to understand and safeguard the rights of workers wherever they may be.
Of these principles, the right of workers to unionize and organize for their mutual interests is paramount. As we are watching our brothers and sisters (of all faiths) standing up for their fundamental right to have a say in their future in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and many other places, right here in our own country we have workers facing dire situations where they are being forced to choose between feeding their families and having just working conditions. This is a choice no American should ever have to make.
As people of faith, the burden is on us to act. During the week of April 1-4, the faith communities are being asked to stand alongside civil rights organizations, labor unions, and people from coast to coast under the banner We Are One to advocate for working families. To some this might be an easy decision; for others it could be a wakeup call to stand with those workers often not thought of because their contributions are often missed or taken for granted.
So what can we do? I recommend that all imams designate the Friday sermon (Khutba), on April 1 (April 8 is fine too), to this important topic and what the Muslim community can do to support the rights of workers. I also propose the Muslim community hold teach-ins at their local Islamic centers and mosques to educate congregants, as well as friends of other faiths, about the current situation faced by so many American workers. Furthermore, I encourage the community to mobilize support by honoring those in our communities we often overlook: our teachers, who are responsible for providing the tools and guidance necessary for the navigation of a world of learning and infinite possibilities.
Let us live by the Islamic ethics of compassion, justice, and honesty. Let us be part of the political, economic, and social struggle to defend workers’ rights to fair living wages, healthcare, a safe work environment, the right to organize, and the right to enjoy religious freedom. Let us be a living embodiment of the faith we profess.
And, while we continue to advance a cause we believe is just, based on principle, let us not forget about our most valuable asset, prayer. God says in the Qu’ran ““When My servants ask about Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the prayer of every supplicant, when he calls on Me. Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me, so that they may walk in the right way” (Qur’an 2:186).
I pray that Allah (God) purify our hearts from greed, anger, and apathy. And I pray that all Americans unite in appreciating our workers and supporting justice and a respectable life for them.
By Hussam Ayloush
---National Board Member, Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ)
Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA)
---
A phrase often repeated in the Qu’ran is “those who believe and do righteous good deeds.” This phrase usually describes a great reward for those who demonstrate their faith by engaging in righteous good deeds.
As people of faith, it is our responsibility to put our faith into action whenever injustice is being perpetuated. Today, I want to share with you a campaign that deserves our attention and response.
In Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, the fundamental right of workers – public sector workers in particular—to organize is being questioned and threatened by right-wing ideologues and political leaders. While many Americans are feeling the pinch in our pocketbooks, it is at this very critical moment that we must reaffirm the rights and protect the wellbeing of hard-working public sector employees and middle-class families. We all rely on those honest and dedicated workers, such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, and public health workers, to provide us with essential services. Today, they are relying on us to ensure a dignified living for themselves and their families.
Treating workers justly and protecting their rights is supported by the teachings of Islam and other faiths. Islamic teachings regarding the rights and responsibilities of the worker and employer toward each other have been outlined with utmost precision. If we work for our living, whether as an employee or as an employer, it is our duty to understand and safeguard the rights of workers wherever they may be.
Of these principles, the right of workers to unionize and organize for their mutual interests is paramount. As we are watching our brothers and sisters (of all faiths) standing up for their fundamental right to have a say in their future in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and many other places, right here in our own country we have workers facing dire situations where they are being forced to choose between feeding their families and having just working conditions. This is a choice no American should ever have to make.
As people of faith, the burden is on us to act. During the week of April 1-4, the faith communities are being asked to stand alongside civil rights organizations, labor unions, and people from coast to coast under the banner We Are One to advocate for working families. To some this might be an easy decision; for others it could be a wakeup call to stand with those workers often not thought of because their contributions are often missed or taken for granted.
So what can we do? I recommend that all imams designate the Friday sermon (Khutba), on April 1 (April 8 is fine too), to this important topic and what the Muslim community can do to support the rights of workers. I also propose the Muslim community hold teach-ins at their local Islamic centers and mosques to educate congregants, as well as friends of other faiths, about the current situation faced by so many American workers. Furthermore, I encourage the community to mobilize support by honoring those in our communities we often overlook: our teachers, who are responsible for providing the tools and guidance necessary for the navigation of a world of learning and infinite possibilities.
Let us live by the Islamic ethics of compassion, justice, and honesty. Let us be part of the political, economic, and social struggle to defend workers’ rights to fair living wages, healthcare, a safe work environment, the right to organize, and the right to enjoy religious freedom. Let us be a living embodiment of the faith we profess.
And, while we continue to advance a cause we believe is just, based on principle, let us not forget about our most valuable asset, prayer. God says in the Qu’ran ““When My servants ask about Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the prayer of every supplicant, when he calls on Me. Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me, so that they may walk in the right way” (Qur’an 2:186).
I pray that Allah (God) purify our hearts from greed, anger, and apathy. And I pray that all Americans unite in appreciating our workers and supporting justice and a respectable life for them.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Shame on us in L.A. - L.A. leads New York, Chicago in abuse of low-wage workers, survey says
UCLA study finds widespread violation of minimum wage and overtime laws. Large pool of illegal immigrants and predatory business strategies in garment and building sectors are major factors.Los Angeles Times
By Patrick J. McDonnell
January 6, 2010
Low-wage workers in the Los Angeles area are even more likely than their counterparts in New York and Chicago to suffer violations of minimum wage, overtime and other labor laws, according to a new UCLA study being released today.
The study found that almost nine out of 10 low-wage workers surveyed in Los Angeles County had recently experienced some form of pay-related workplace violation, or "wage theft." Almost one in three reported being paid less than the minimum wage and nearly 80% said they had not received legally mandated overtime.
"We knew these violations were happening, but we never really imagined it was as prevalent as this study demonstrates," said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist and principal author of the study, conducted by UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.
The authors described the study as a ground-breaking effort to quantify the plight of a vulnerable, largely immigrant population that is often missed in standard surveys.
Los Angeles employees also reported working off the clock, not receiving proper meal and rest breaks, being forced to work despite injuries and facing retaliation from employers for complaining or trying to start a union. Almost one in five Los Angeles restaurant employees and others receiving tips reported that employers or supervisors illegally pocketed all or part of their tips...
"In nearly every case," the study stated, "the violation rates are higher in Los Angeles than in New York and Chicago."
The reason for the pervasiveness of abuses here, the authors said, is that certain sectors of the Los Angeles economy, including garment manufacturing and residential construction, have embraced business strategies that involve widespread violation of labor laws. Although all three cities have large immigrant populations, few low-wage workers in Los Angeles have union representation, and many work in service industries or in apparel manufacturing. But proponents of immigration restrictions argue that the very presence of so many illegal immigrants creates a climate of exploitation...
patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com
Learn more on what you can do to help challenge this injustice.
www.iwj.org
http://www.wagetheft.org/nda.html
An Islamic perspective on workers' rights.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Ramadan sees birth of emerging Muslim labor movement
An nice article which quotes two of my favorite organizations: CAIR and IWJ
----
Religion News Service
September 29, 2008
By NICOLE NEROULIAS
Hundreds of Muslim workers at two meat processing plants in Colorado and Nebraska walked off the job earlier this month, protesting their employer's refusal to grant time to pray and break a 12-hour fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
About 100 workers were fired in Greeley, Colo., followed by about 80 in Grand Island, Neb. JBS Swift & Co. insists the terminations had nothing to do with religion, but rather with employees refusing to return to work.
Whatever its outcome, the stand-off and others like it may mark the start of a grassroots Muslim labor movement in the United States, as immigrants push for the kinds of religious accommodations they believe their Christian counterparts take for granted.
"American Muslims in recent years have become more organized and aware of our rights as Americans," said Ameena Mirza Qazi, a staff attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "As American Muslims become more a part of the American fabric as educators, professionals, leaders, day laborers, and factory workers we increasingly avail ourselves of rights that every American values."
About one-fifth of the workers at the two JBS Swift plants are Muslim, many of them Somali immigrants. The United Food and Commercial Workers union represents employees at both sites, but has had trouble negotiating because of counter-protests by other workers, who say it's not fair to grant time off to a religious minority.
Nevertheless, the disgruntled Muslim workers will continue working within the union to educate co-workers about their needs, rather than form a separate bargaining organization, said Christina Abraham, civil rights director for CAIR in Chicago.
"They shouldn't separate themselves from the other employees in requesting fair working accommodations," she said. "There hasn't been any kind of movement to create a Muslim workers union, because we feel this is an issue that potentially any employee of any religious background will face."
Interfaith Worker Justice, a national organization that engages the religious community in low-wage worker issues, is carefully watching the recent protests. When a union works on behalf of Muslim immigrants, as with a contract for Ohio janitors negotiated to include prayer breaks last year, the wider community benefits from increased dialogue and cross-cultural cooperation, said Kim Bobo, IWJ executive director.
"Muslims are the newest immigrants, it's a religion that we're not all that familiar with in society, and we've got to kind of grow and learn about what is appropriate for religious accommodations," she said. "It's clearly a place where the union has the opportunity to help educate the total membership and work out accommodations."
The sunset prayer is one of five daily prayers in Islam. Workplace disputes over prayer breaks periodically come up, Abraham said. Ensuring observance of the sunset prayer is crucial during Ramadan, which ends Oct. 1 this year, because Muslims cannot eat or drink before performing it. The prayer only takes about five minutes, followed by 10 minutes to break the daytime fast, she explained.
About 20 employees who were fired last year for insisting on taking prayer breaks at JBS Swift's Nebraska plant filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for denial of religious accommodation, according to Abraham.
Company spokeswoman Tamara Smid declined to comment on negotiations with employees or pending legal action. In a statement, she said, "JBS values its diverse work force and has a long track record of making significant accommodations to employees. We work closely with all employees and union representation to accommodate religious practices in a reasonable, safe and fair manner."
Last month, a Tyson Foods plant in Tennessee that had replaced Labor Day with Eid al-Fitr the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan as one of eight paid holidays decided to reinstate its original schedule in response to community outrage. Next year, the Muslim workers, who make up about a quarter of the plant's 1,200 employees, will instead have the option of taking Eid al-Fitr off in lieu of another paid holiday.
CAIR and local Muslim organizations are working on public education campaigns to reduce hostility against such requests. CAIR has also asked the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission to set up workshops to help the employees file discrimination charges against Swift, Abraham said.
"It always surprises me when I hear, `they should just deal with it, this isn't their country and they need to just work or leave,"' she said. "People who say that don't really understand what this country stands for and that the rights that it protects applies to everybody, regardless of where they're from."
----
Religion News Service
September 29, 2008
By NICOLE NEROULIAS
Hundreds of Muslim workers at two meat processing plants in Colorado and Nebraska walked off the job earlier this month, protesting their employer's refusal to grant time to pray and break a 12-hour fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
About 100 workers were fired in Greeley, Colo., followed by about 80 in Grand Island, Neb. JBS Swift & Co. insists the terminations had nothing to do with religion, but rather with employees refusing to return to work.
Whatever its outcome, the stand-off and others like it may mark the start of a grassroots Muslim labor movement in the United States, as immigrants push for the kinds of religious accommodations they believe their Christian counterparts take for granted.
"American Muslims in recent years have become more organized and aware of our rights as Americans," said Ameena Mirza Qazi, a staff attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "As American Muslims become more a part of the American fabric as educators, professionals, leaders, day laborers, and factory workers we increasingly avail ourselves of rights that every American values."
About one-fifth of the workers at the two JBS Swift plants are Muslim, many of them Somali immigrants. The United Food and Commercial Workers union represents employees at both sites, but has had trouble negotiating because of counter-protests by other workers, who say it's not fair to grant time off to a religious minority.
Nevertheless, the disgruntled Muslim workers will continue working within the union to educate co-workers about their needs, rather than form a separate bargaining organization, said Christina Abraham, civil rights director for CAIR in Chicago.
"They shouldn't separate themselves from the other employees in requesting fair working accommodations," she said. "There hasn't been any kind of movement to create a Muslim workers union, because we feel this is an issue that potentially any employee of any religious background will face."
Interfaith Worker Justice, a national organization that engages the religious community in low-wage worker issues, is carefully watching the recent protests. When a union works on behalf of Muslim immigrants, as with a contract for Ohio janitors negotiated to include prayer breaks last year, the wider community benefits from increased dialogue and cross-cultural cooperation, said Kim Bobo, IWJ executive director.
"Muslims are the newest immigrants, it's a religion that we're not all that familiar with in society, and we've got to kind of grow and learn about what is appropriate for religious accommodations," she said. "It's clearly a place where the union has the opportunity to help educate the total membership and work out accommodations."
The sunset prayer is one of five daily prayers in Islam. Workplace disputes over prayer breaks periodically come up, Abraham said. Ensuring observance of the sunset prayer is crucial during Ramadan, which ends Oct. 1 this year, because Muslims cannot eat or drink before performing it. The prayer only takes about five minutes, followed by 10 minutes to break the daytime fast, she explained.
About 20 employees who were fired last year for insisting on taking prayer breaks at JBS Swift's Nebraska plant filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for denial of religious accommodation, according to Abraham.
Company spokeswoman Tamara Smid declined to comment on negotiations with employees or pending legal action. In a statement, she said, "JBS values its diverse work force and has a long track record of making significant accommodations to employees. We work closely with all employees and union representation to accommodate religious practices in a reasonable, safe and fair manner."
Last month, a Tyson Foods plant in Tennessee that had replaced Labor Day with Eid al-Fitr the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan as one of eight paid holidays decided to reinstate its original schedule in response to community outrage. Next year, the Muslim workers, who make up about a quarter of the plant's 1,200 employees, will instead have the option of taking Eid al-Fitr off in lieu of another paid holiday.
CAIR and local Muslim organizations are working on public education campaigns to reduce hostility against such requests. CAIR has also asked the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission to set up workshops to help the employees file discrimination charges against Swift, Abraham said.
"It always surprises me when I hear, `they should just deal with it, this isn't their country and they need to just work or leave,"' she said. "People who say that don't really understand what this country stands for and that the rights that it protects applies to everybody, regardless of where they're from."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)