Boston School Bus Drivers |

Andre Francois
Workers Memorial Day
Freeport Yard – May 28, 2020

Text of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s robo-call to members of USW Local 8751 on Friday afternoon, April 3, 2020 in English and Kreyol

April 6, 2020

4 hours ago

bidg.org/2020/05/29/justiceforgeorgefloyd-an-injury-to-one-is-an-injury-to-all/ ... See MoreSee Less

#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd: An Injury to One is an Injury to All

bidg.org

As a rideshare drivers organization with many members who are immigrants and people of color who face the threat of police brutality every day, we recognize that an injury to one is an injury to al…

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 day ago

Minneapolis Transit Shuts Down as Bus Drivers Refuse to Help Police – Prison Labor Replaces Meatpackers in Louisiana – DC Giant Stores Remove Social Distancing
May 28, 2020

>”As a transit worker and union member, I refuse to transport my class and radical youth,” Minneapolis bus driver Adam Burch told Payday. “An injury to one is an injury to all. The police murdered George Floyd and the protest against is completely justified and should continue until their demands are met.”

>While it would be illegal for Burch’s union to call for a wildcat strike, his local union ATU Local 1005 did issue a statement of solidarity with the protestors.

>”In ATU, we have a saying “NOT ONE MORE” when it comes to driver assaults, which in some cases have led to members being murdered while doing their job,” said the union in a statement. “We say “NOT ONE MORE” execution of a black life by the hands of police. NOT ONE MORE. JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD!”

paydayreport.com/minneapolis-transit-shuts-down-as-bus-drivers-refuse-to-help-police-prison-labor... ... See MoreSee Less

Minneapolis Transit Shuts Down as Bus Drivers Refuse to Help...

paydayreport.com

Greetings from the Burgh, where we are in the midst of our end-of-the-month fundraising appeal. Only $1,125 Short of Hitting Our Monthly Goal As Payday expands and attempts to bring on a more regular...

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That's what I'm talkin about

🔥 🔥 🔥

Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

4 days ago

Black and Latinx activists say state is reopening too soon
ANISSA GARDIZY, May 25 at 5:10 PM ET

Black and Latinx activists marched to the Massachusetts State House on Monday to advocate for communities of color, who they say are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus crisis and the state’s reopening plans.

The group said it represents about 50 organizations in Boston, including the local chapter of Latinx organization Mijente and the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition.

The group gathered outside of steakhouse Davio’s on the corner of Arlington and Stuart Street surrounding a black chair painted with the words: “essential workers have no seat at the table.”

“The location is significant,” organizer Vero Navarro said in an interview, noting that the chief executive of the restaurant — Steve DiFillippo — serves on the Massachusetts Reopening Advisory Board. “Decisions to reopen are rooted in profit.”

Navarro said employees of color will be disproportionately ordered to return to work in the state’s reopening plans, while others continue to stay at home.

“A lot of folks who can work from home are white, but not all of us have that privilege,” she said. “Essential workers will not be guinea pigs.”

Al Vega, who works for the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health said essential workers have been calling his group’s safety hotline, concerned about not having enough personal protective equipment or social distancing in place at work.

“Our governor is asking the Black and Latino workers to sacrifice themselves for the economy,” he said in front of Davio’s. “We are here to honor the dead, but fight like hell for the living.”

The procession encompassed roughly 20 cars — some adorned with fake coffins — that traveled from Davio’s to the State House.

As the group passed Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, dozens of people nearby stood along Charles Street to observe the procession. Andover resident Lynne Aslanian said she overheard the car horns as she walked through the Common to view the Memorial Day decorations.

“I think today is the perfect day to do it — with this pandemic we need to unite and help everybody,” she said. “It was very emotional today walking through the park, but when I saw everyone here, it was reassuring that we are all trying to come out and respect one another today.”

When the demonstrators reached Beacon Street, they parked their cars and carried the painted chair and one of the coffins to the steps in front of the State House. The coffin read, “honor the dead, protect the living,” and demonstrators surrounded it with several bouquets of flowers and posters.

About 30 people participated in the demonstration, and it was livestreamed on social media for those who could not attend.

“We believe it is happening too quickly,” organizer Armani White said of the state’s reopening plans. “We cannot have business as usual.” ... See MoreSee Less

Black and Latinx activists say state is reopening too soon - The Boston Globe

www.bostonglobe.com

Black and Latinx activists marched to the Massachusetts State House on Monday to advocate for communities of color, who they say are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus crisis and the state...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 week ago

Migrants lead struggle as ‘reopening’ fuels resistance ... See MoreSee Less

Migrants lead struggle as ‘reopening’ fuels resistance

www.workers.org

May 18 — Ford Motors CEO Jim Farley said during a recent conference call, “The auto industry is [the U.S.] economic engine. Restarting the entire auto ecosystem is how we restart the economy.” (...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

De facto, the federal and state governments have now legally recognized Uber, Lyft and all other gig workers as “workers” with a legal right to unemployment and other CARES ACT benefits.

Uber/Lyft/Wall Street: Cease and Desist your illegal activities, Now! ... See MoreSee Less

Uber, Lyft ‘essentially ignore US labor laws’: employment expert

finance.yahoo.com

Companies like Uber and Lyft choose to misclassify their workers and rob them of benefits, said Aquent CEO John Chuang.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

May 13, 2020

> We are writing on behalf of the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity, a group of over 400 healthcare professionals, public health and community leaders to express profound concern about your plan to reopen workplaces in Massachusetts on May 18, 2020. Massachusetts residents have been waiting for two months to go back to work. The economy must be restarted as soon as possible. But we must concur with Boston Infectious Disease specialists in stating that the conditions to do so safely are currently not in place. Residents of our Commonwealth should not have to choose between earning a living and protecting our health and our life.

>Not only the staggering 5,108 death toll in Massachusetts as of May 13th, but also the emerging understanding of prolonged disability in many convalescents of COVID-19 and of impacts on children, demand that appropriate protections in all workplaces and in all public spaces are in place before employees and the public are asked to spend our days in these environments. ... See MoreSee Less

Open Letter from the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity to Governor Charlie Baker Regarding Safe Reopening of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

docs.google.com

May 13, 2020 Governor Charlie Baker Office of the Governor 24 Beacon St., Room 280 Boston, MA 02133 CC: Secretary Marylou Sudders Executive Office of Health and Human Services One Ashburton Place, 11t...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

USW Local 8751 President Andre Francois, Frantz Cadet, Grievance Commitee, and Fred Floreal, Trustee honor Haitian Flag Day (May 18, 1803) at the Dorchester school bus yard at 6:00 AM today before driving food to the homes of thousands of Boston Public Schools children and their siblings.

Boston school bus drivers have performed this essential, frontline work in the local food supply chain daily since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the city on March 17th.

The Union’s Health & Safety Task Force has established and enforced on their employer, the Paris-based transnational conglomerate Veolia Transdev, Emergency Standard Operating Procedures that require Transdev and the City to provide PPE to all humans at the worksite, reorganize logistics into the outside parking lot with strict physical distancing, disinfect the buses and facilities daily, reconstruct restrooms and doorways for a touch-less experience, wining a full pay and benefits agreement for all 900 drivers, and generally enforce the understanding with all anti-worker forces in the city that, “The Buses Don’t Roll Until The Union Says ‘Go’”.

Food for the Children!
Safety and Justice for the Drivers!

Rehire Union steward Macaire Dupuy and
All wrongfully fired drivers, Now! ... See MoreSee Less

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Edit The first purely Haitian flag was adopted on 18 May 1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Port-au-Prince. Haitian lore holds that the newly appointed revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolor and ripping out the white center, which he discarded. He then asked Catherine Flon, his god-daughter,[5] to sew the remaining bands together. The white pale removed, the blue was taken to represent Haiti's black citizens and the red the gens de couleur. The story is widely known in Haiti: the anniversary of the date is celebrated as the Haitian Flag Day and images of Catherine Flon have appeared on Haitian currency and stamps.[6] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Haiti

Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

Rideshare drivers stage caravan protest over Uber’s labor practices – TechCrunch ... See MoreSee Less

Rideshare drivers stage caravan protest over Uber’s labor practices – TechCrunch

techcrunch.com

Around 100 Uber and Lyft drivers are staging a caravan protest at Uber’s San Francisco headquarters to demand Uber comply with gig worker protections law AB 5, pay into the state’s unemployment in...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Local 8751’s Union Security and Visibility at the Freeport yard Food Home-Delivery emergency operation to BPS children and their families this morning. Local 8751 President Andre Francois and Accident Review Committee chair Robert Salley produce 100% compliance with Union’s Emergency Standard Operating Procedures starting at 4:45 AM this morning with Union Front Gate Safety & Orientation flying squad.

Transdevil: Rehire Macaire Dupuy and other wrongfully fired drivers, Now! ... See MoreSee Less

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

After 2 months of Emergency food home-delivery operations to Boston school children, the bosses (Paris-based Transdev and Boston Public Schools) can’t produce worksite PPE compliance nor signs. So Local 8751 is showing up armed with the tools and forces. ... See MoreSee Less

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I will be announcing your efforts to the 3 Town school district for West Newbury, Groveland, & Merrimac,Ma. Plus the Cities of Haverhill and Newburyport. In solidary. Dick Cushing, Water Commissioner WNBY & Evan Cushing.

In support of all poor and working people. Thank you Hannah, Stevan, Ed, Steve.

Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Photos from Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers's post ... See MoreSee Less

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Lincoln Hospital bosses:
Hands Off ER nurse Lillian Udell!

PPE, Hazard Pay and
Free Speech for All Frontline Workers! ... See MoreSee Less

NYC Hospital Investigates Nurse for Sharing Video With The Intercept

interc.pt

Lillian Udell is being investigated for violating privacy laws after sharing video of nurses mourning a colleague who died of coronavirus at the hospital.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Solidarity with the NOLA City Waste Union workers' Strike!
PPE & Hazard Pay, Now!
Rehire the Fired Union Leaders, Now!
End Prison Slavery & the State's Scab Scheme!
NOLA Negotiate Justice, Health & Safety, Now!
#citywasteunion #supportthehoppers #blackworkersmatter ... See MoreSee Less

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Union Health & Safety Committee-designed work site for COVID-19 Danger Zone.

USW Local 8751 President Andre Francois leads the way to “Food for the Children! Safety & Justice for the Drivers and Monitors!”

Photos: Dorchester bus yard, Boston Public Schools food home-delivery operations, May 6 & 7, 2020, by Steven Gillis, Financial Secretary, USW Local 8751 ... See MoreSee Less

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God bless 🙏🙏

Excellent

Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

#KeepItClosed!
#PPE and #HazardPay, Now!

Corporate employers and their agents in the police-state of Ohio have no right to sicken and kill workers for the sake of their bottom line profits!

REAL HEADLINE: Fascism forces workers into unsafe factories, fields and shops as the novel coronavirus pandemic’s U.S.-death toll surges. ... See MoreSee Less

Ohio Government Invites Employers to Secretly Report “Work Refusal” Due to Coronavirus

interc.pt

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Delhi Police:
Immediately Stop the Persecution of Activists and Protesters

We, the undersigned, are outraged at the harassment and recent arrests of students and other activists on fabricated charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Government of India (GoI), acting through the Delhi Police, is targeting activists who participated in non-violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GoI is arresting and throwing activists into crowded prisons. It is criminalizing dissent and has created an atmosphere of terror in Delhi.

Recently, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, the President of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged involvement in the Northeast Delhi pogrom. The Delhi police seized the mobile phone of Kawalpreet Kaur, the All India Students' Association (AISA) Delhi President, citing an FIR (that included a slew of charges under the UAPA). The Delhi police also used the UAPA to book former Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid for his alleged role in the Delhi pogrom. In an earlier incident, Jamia Millia Islamia students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar were detained and placed in prison on charges under the UAPA. Each day they are in prison or in police custody increases their chances of contracting COVID-19, especially Safoora Zargar, who is three months pregnant.

In light of the global pandemic, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged all countries to release “every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, and those detained for critical, dissenting views”.

The students and activists, who participated in the CAA protests and helped people who suffered as a result of the Delhi pogrom have been wrongfully arrested and imprisoned. While the people who actually incited violence and engaged in hate speech, such as Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, and Parvesh Verma, roam free. Is this justice according to the Delhi police?

We demand that:

- All the activists and students who have been arrested should be released immediately and all the charges, including those booked under the UAPA, be withdrawn.

- The Delhi Police must stop arresting and intimidating the peaceful and justice minded activists, who have participated peacefully in the CAA protests.

- The real culprits of the Delhi pogrom (like Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, and Parvesh Verma) should be charged with inciting violence and making hate speeches, and arrested/

Endorsed by:

The Boston Coalition

Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia

Coalition Against Fascism in India

Hindus for Human Rights

India Civil Watch - International

International Action Center, Boston

Indian American Muslim Council

Students Against Hindutva Ideology

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Spare a minute to help out during these times 🙏

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Delhi Police: Immediately Stop the Persecution of Activists and Protesters

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4 weeks ago

Southern Workers Assembly statement

‘Get back to work!’ – Trump tells meatpacking workers facing COVID-19 threat to their lives

Meatpacking Workers in the South Need to Unite, Organize and Struggle!

Join the Southern Workers Assembly’s Safe Jobs Save Lives Campaign:

>Don’t Go to Work without a solid agreement that guarantees testing, monitoring, PPE, separation of work stations, 100% health care family coverage for virus treatment.

>If you don’t have a union, form a workers committee right away and open up discussions with management on these issues and depending what they say and do, move to take protective collective actions

>We call upon other workers and the general public to support packing workers with a Boycott of brands that refuse to abide by Safe Jobs-Saves Lives mutual agreements.

>Connect with other workers in industries and employment sectors in the Safe Jobs Save Lives Campaign by contacting info@southernworker.org
southernworker.org/2020/05/statement-meatpacking/ ... See MoreSee Less

‘Get back to work!’ – Trump tells meatpacking workers facing COVID-19 threat to their lives

southernworker.org

Visit the post for more.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

4 weeks ago

>Workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Walmart, FedEx, Target, and Shipt say they will walk off the job on May 1 to protest their employers’ failure to provide basic protections for frontline workers who are risking and losing their lives at work. Meanwhile, these same companies are making record profits.

www.vice.com/en_us/article/n7j8zw/amazon-whole-foods-instacart-workers-organize-a-historic-mass-s... ... See MoreSee Less

Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart Workers Organize a Historic Mass Strike

www.vice.com

On May 1st, frontline workers at some of the biggest corporations in the country will lead a mass strike action, asking customers to boycott Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, and Target.

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4 weeks ago

Pandemic used as proxy to privatize USPS ... See MoreSee Less

Pandemic used as proxy to privatize USPS

www.workers.org

U.S. Postal Service workers, like health care workers, go to work every day risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Over 900 USPS employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and over 35 have died. On...

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1 month ago

Steel Labor excerpt April 27, 2020

Members at USW Local 366 in Portland, Maine, are also currently producing 5,000 face shields every day at American Roots in a partnership with Flowfold. They are also making surgical-grade masks, designed in conjunction with professors at the University of Connecticut.

“Two weeks ago, American Roots shut its factory down in order to evaluate the safety and well-being of our employees and their ability to work during the COVID-19 crisis,” said American Roots CEO Ben Waxman in a memo. “Within one-week, American Roots, a 100-percent American-made and proudly USW Local 366 union-made company, made the decision to move forward with re-tooling our current factory to produce desperately needed PPE for those on the front lines of this crisis.”

Waxman also stated that they have the ability and space to potentially increase capacity, if needed.

“We are doing everything in our power to get the costs of our face shields down, including new, more efficient designs and inviting unemployed union volunteers to help us assemble them,” said Waxman.

You can order face shields from American Roots, as well as custom masks with filters, by emailing info@americanrootswear.com or calling 207-854-4098

m.usw.org/news/media-center/articles/2020/usw-members-kick-up-production-of-ppe-in-u-s-and-canada ... See MoreSee Less

USW members kick up production of PPE in U.S. and Canada

m.usw.org

While most workers in both the United States and Canada have been forced to stay home amidst the coronavirus pandemic, many, including quite a few USW members, have continued working as essential work...

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Andre FrancoisWorkers Memorial DayFreeport Yard – May 28, 2020

Boston School Bus Drivers' Union

Text of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s robo-call to members of USW Local 8751 on Friday afternoon, April 3, 2020 in English and Kreyol

Solidarity with low-wage worker fightback

Boston school bus drivers win emergency full pay during school closure

Local 8751 Concerns and Demands for COVID-19 Preparedness

Andre Francois
Workers Memorial Day
Freeport Yard – May 28, 2020