Local 8751 Demands Letter to BPS Superintendent Dr. Cassellius

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

Local 8751 Informational Meeting June 18, 2020 6:00 PM

Local 8751 Demands Letter to BPS Superintendent Dr. Cassellius

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

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 days ago

Solidarity with Whole Foods workers walk-outs!
#BlackLivesMatter
#UnionizeWholeFoods

June 30, 2020

>“This is no longer about wearing masks,” the Cambridge employees’ statement read. “When we walk-out of work today, it will be demanding substantive change from the entire Whole Foods corporation.”
www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/29/business/whole-foods-workers-prepare-protests/ ... See MoreSee Less

Whole Foods workers prepare for more protests - The Boston Globe

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Protests are planned on Tuesday over employees' rights to wear Black Lives Matter masks.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 days ago

Full Pay, Benefits and Guaranteed Income for ALL!

June 29, 2020

>The employment-population ratio — the number of employed people as a percentage of the U.S. adult population — plunged to 52.8% in May, meaning 47.2% of Americans are jobless, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the coronavirus-induced shutdowns tore through the labor market, the share of population employed dropped sharply from a recent high of 61.2% in January, farther away from a post-war record of 64.7% in 2000.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/nearly-half-of-american-adults-are-now-unemployed/ar-BB167gf0?li=... ... See MoreSee Less

Nearly half of American adults are now unemployed

www.msn.com

Nearly half of the adult population is still out of a job, showing just how far the U.S. labor market has to heal in the wake of the coronavirus.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 days ago

Black Lives Matter: Support Tufts Dining Hall Workers ... See MoreSee Less

Black Lives Matter: Support Tufts Dining Hall Workers

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

4 days ago

Black Lives Matter: Justice for Victor, Alex, and ScottUNITE HERE Local 26 members and community activists protest the unjust treatment of 3 Black men, including 2 Local 26 members at Tufts University by Lynn Police. #DroptheCharges #BlackLivesMatter ... See MoreSee Less

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6 days ago

Unions Are Taking a Stand for Black Lives ... See MoreSee Less

Unions Are Taking a Stand for Black Lives

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A dock shutdown in Oakland heralds an alliance between antiracist activism and organized labor.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

6 days ago

www.workers.org/2020/06/49657/

Black workers resist union-busting Boston gentrifier

A June 16 action for eight laid-off workers — organized just four days after the announcement they had been fired — drew about 100 people. They were protesting at their place of work, College Bound Dorchester/Boston Uncornered, on a quiet residential street on the Tuesday morning.

With these latest layoffs, CEO Mark Culliton targeted one-third of the remaining youth services employees working for his company, College Bound, after workers declared their intention to unionize as Uncornered United-Service Employees (SEIU) Local 888 on June 2. College Bound is a “further education” preparation program, while Boston Uncornered hires neighborhood leaders impacted by violence to be mentors in the program. The company website advertises the programs as “opportunities to turn away from the ‘street corners’ for good.”

The UU mentors are Black and Brown neighborhood leaders who have demonstrated social influence and skill at developing young people by drawing on their own challenges and experiences. These workers are demanding that Culliton recognize the union and that he reinstate those illegally fired in retaliation for organizing. Uncornered United’s Facebook page asks supporters to sign and share a petition and contact Culliton supporting their demands.

As workers spoke out at the June 16 rally, they described a quintessentially capitalist story of structural racism and gentrification. Technology instructor Joe Taché explained that Culliton reduced his company from 94 workers to fewer than 25 in a decade: “At the same time, in 2010, Culliton’s salary was $140,000 and now it’s $185,000 … a raise of $45,000. That’s more than any of us make in a year!” Taché noted that in 2020 Culliton probably made even more.

Another worker pointed out that big banks and corporations oppress workers — and so do nonprofit entrepreneurs. Workers detailed how Culliton exploits and disrespects them, maximizing donations by publicly narrating selected painful details from their personal stories without consent, then excluding them from decision making.

Culliton, a white graduate of the University of Michigan with a Yale MBA, calls himself “the vision behind the solution,” highlighting his school-privatization credentials on the company website. His biography suggests Black and Brown trauma is a profitable problem for him.

Meanwhile, the company’s advisors, instructors and mentors, on call 24/7 for their youth clients, earn between $30,000 and $40,000 — an unlivable wage in the hyper-expensive Boston area.

Just three days before the layoffs, Culliton raised $650,000, evidence that his motivation in the firings was retaliation, not response to the recession. He had certainly removed workplace activists in the past.

At the close of the rally, workers marched to Culliton’s fancy house — presumably valued above a million dollars in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where once multiple working-class families were crammed into triple-decker housing.

Protesters blocked midday traffic, chanted and leafletted essential workers of color in the streets, receiving a friendly reception. As they attached flyers to Culliton’s door, workers loudly appealed to his neighbors — home because of the pandemic — to help Culliton see the light. They also announced that they encourage people anywhere in the world to give him a call and support the workers’ struggle. ... See MoreSee Less

https://www.workers.org/2020/06/49657/

Black workers resist union-busting Boston gentrifier

A June 16 action for eight laid-off workers — organized just four days after the announcement they had been fired — drew about 100 people. They were protesting at their place of work, College Bound Dorchester/Boston Uncornered, on a quiet residential street on the Tuesday morning.

With these latest layoffs, CEO Mark Culliton targeted one-third of the remaining youth services employees working for his company, College Bound, after workers declared their intention to unionize as Uncornered United-Service Employees (SEIU) Local 888 on June 2. College Bound is a “further education” preparation program, while Boston Uncornered hires neighborhood leaders impacted by violence to be mentors in the program. The company website advertises the programs as “opportunities to turn away from the ‘street corners’ for good.”

The UU mentors are Black and Brown neighborhood leaders who have demonstrated social influence and skill at developing young people by drawing on their own challenges and experiences. These workers are demanding that Culliton recognize the union and that he reinstate those illegally fired in retaliation for organizing. Uncornered United’s Facebook page asks supporters to sign and share a petition and contact Culliton supporting their demands.

As workers spoke out at the June 16 rally, they described a quintessentially capitalist story of structural racism and gentrification. Technology instructor Joe Taché explained that Culliton reduced his company from 94 workers to fewer than 25 in a decade: “At the same time, in 2010, Culliton’s salary was $140,000 and now it’s $185,000 … a raise of $45,000. That’s more than any of us make in a year!” Taché noted that in 2020 Culliton probably made even more.

Another worker pointed out that big banks and corporations oppress workers — and so do nonprofit entrepreneurs. Workers detailed how Culliton exploits and disrespects them, maximizing donations by publicly narrating selected painful details from their personal stories without consent, then excluding them from decision making.

Culliton, a white graduate of the University of Michigan with a Yale MBA, calls himself “the vision behind the solution,” highlighting his school-privatization credentials on the company website. His biography suggests Black and Brown trauma is a profitable problem for him.

Meanwhile, the company’s advisors, instructors and mentors, on call 24/7 for their youth clients, earn between $30,000 and $40,000 — an unlivable wage in the hyper-expensive Boston area.

Just three days before the layoffs, Culliton raised $650,000, evidence that his motivation in the firings was retaliation, not response to the recession. He had certainly removed workplace activists in the past.

At the close of the rally, workers marched to Culliton’s fancy house — presumably valued above a million dollars in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where once multiple working-class families were crammed into triple-decker housing.

Protesters blocked midday traffic, chanted and leafletted essential workers of color in the streets, receiving a friendly reception. As they attached flyers to Culliton’s door, workers loudly appealed to his neighbors — home because of the pandemic — to help Culliton see the light. They also announced that they encourage people anywhere in the world to give him a call and support the workers’ struggle.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 week ago

California seeks to force Uber and Lyft to reclassify drivers as employees within weeks ... See MoreSee Less

California seeks to force Uber and Lyft to reclassify drivers as employees within weeks

www.theverge.com

Uber and Lyft say that if California is successful, they’ll be forced to shut down.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 week ago

www.ktvu.com/news/uber-drivers-hold-protest-outside-ceos-home?fbclid=IwAR0HgG-0fOWxrZNQwZNOQNOrrR... ... See MoreSee Less

Uber drivers hold protest outside CEO's home

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Uber drivers held a protest outside the company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi's, house on Wednesday, to demand labor protections and oppose a ballot measure Uber is working on to force them to remain ind...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 week ago

June 23, 2020

>Nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the US, are planning to strike this Friday in protest over cuts and concessions the corporation is pushing on frontline healthcare workers as coronavirus continues to spread.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/23/us-nurses-strike-over-cuts-ppe-shortages-pandemic ... See MoreSee Less

US nurses at for-profit hospital chain to strike over cuts and PPE shortages

www.theguardian.com

Healthcare workers report understaffing, long hours and protective equipment shortages at HCA Healthcare hospitals

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

1 week ago

Juneteenth: ILWU shuts down 29 ports along the West Coast ... See MoreSee Less

Juneteenth: ILWU shuts down 29 ports along the West Coast

www.workers.org

Oakland, Calif. Taking bold stands against systemic racism and oppression is nothing new for the Bay Area’s Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10. The union has organized work stoppages to p...

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Howard Rotman

2 weeks ago

FRED FLOREAL ADDRESSES DORCHESTER, MA JUNETEENTH FUNK THE POLICE RALLY

On Friday evening June 19, Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating the 1865 declaration of liberation from slavery for people of African descent, over 1,000 people rallied, spoke out, listened & danced to songs of the liberation struggle , featuring “Natural Bliss”, Waleed Mohamed, and many others, on a grassy field and hill at Ronan Park in Dorchester, Massachusetts organized by Mass Action Against Police Brutality. Sirad Zahra, a leader of MAAPB , said the “FUNK THE POLICE” rally was organized to draw attention to Juneteenth and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others by police, continue building a movement to “work our way to truly being free.” Speakers and mothers of sons who were murdered by police in Boston demanded that the District Attorney #ReopenTheCases and #ProcecuteThePolice.

Carla Sheffield, whose son Burrell –“BO”- Ramsey White was murdered by police in 2012 after he was pulled over for a routine traffic “violation” criticized not only the police but the “justice” system that fails to hold police accountable.

Milania Sanchez, the mother of Ross Batista, who was killed by police in 2013 also spoke.

Rahimah Rahim called for justice and prosecution of Boston police and FBI who in 2015 ambushed, gunned down, and murdered her son Usaamah just as he was leaving his CVS job in Roslindale based on a “terror” witch hunt which Rahimah believes was orchestrated by the federal government JUST PRIOR to the date that the Patriot Act was up for renewal in Congress.

Shahidah J. Muhammad ,the mother of David Wright, a Black man who was sentenced by an all white jury to 28 years in prison on charges of terror "conspiracy"- following the police/FBI murder of Usaamah Rahim who falsely was accused of being an accomplice in the “terror conspiracy”- demanded release from prison of David Wright, as a court appeal of the case already “RULED THERE WAS NO TERROR CONSPIRACY”.

Hope Coleman demanded justice in the case of her son, Terrence Coleman, who was murdered by Boston police on October 30, 2016. Terrence Coleman suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, said Hope Coleman. She had made a phone call for an ambulance for her son, and never called for the police. When paramedics arrived at the Coleman home police abruptly barged in, gunned down, murdered, Terrence in the Coleman home. Hope overheard one of the cops saying right after her son was murdered by Boston police, “We don’t have to worry about him [Terrence Coleman] any more”.

www.facebook.com/Howie.Rotman/media_set?set=a.10207808539928681&type=3

The rally was also organized to raise money to send a Massachusetts delegation of Mother's and Families who have lost loved ones to police violence to the July 12 National Mother's Vigil & March organized by “Take a Knee Nation” in Minneapolis against police violence. Donations can be made at this link: www.gofundme.com/f/massachusetts-delegation-to-the-mother039s-march?utm_source=customer&utm_mediu...

#REOPENTHECASES

#JAILKILLERCOPS

#JUSTICE4GEORGEFLOYD

#JUSTICE4BO

#JUSTICE4USAAMAH

#JUSTICE4DAVIDWRIGHT

#JUSTICE4TERRENCE

#JUSTICE4ROSSBATISTA

#JUSTICE4ALL

PHOTO ALBUM OF EVENT: www.facebook.com/Howie.Rotman/media_set?set=a.10207808539928681&type=3 ... See MoreSee Less

FRED FLOREAL ADDRESSES DORCHESTER, MA JUNETEENTH FUNK THE POLICE RALLY

On Friday evening June 19, Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating the 1865 declaration of liberation from slavery for people of African descent, over 1,000 people rallied, spoke out, listened & danced to songs of the liberation struggle , featuring “Natural Bliss”, Waleed Mohamed, and many others, on a grassy field and hill at Ronan Park in Dorchester, Massachusetts organized by Mass Action Against Police Brutality. Sirad Zahra, a leader of MAAPB , said the “FUNK THE POLICE” rally was organized to draw attention to Juneteenth and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others by police, continue building a movement to “work our way to truly being free.” Speakers and mothers of sons who were murdered by police in Boston demanded that the District Attorney #ReopenTheCases and #ProcecuteThePolice.

Carla Sheffield, whose son Burrell –“BO”- Ramsey White was murdered by police in 2012 after he was pulled over for a routine traffic “violation” criticized not only the police but the “justice” system that fails to hold police accountable.

Milania Sanchez, the mother of Ross Batista, who was killed by police in 2013 also spoke.

Rahimah Rahim called for justice and prosecution of Boston police and FBI who in 2015 ambushed, gunned down, and murdered her son Usaamah just as he was leaving his CVS job in Roslindale based on a “terror” witch hunt which Rahimah believes was orchestrated by the federal government JUST PRIOR to the date that the Patriot Act was up for renewal in Congress.

Shahidah J. Muhammad ,the mother of David Wright, a Black man who was sentenced by an all white jury to 28 years in prison on charges of terror conspiracy- following the police/FBI murder of Usaamah Rahim who falsely was accused of being an accomplice in the “terror conspiracy”- demanded release from prison of David Wright, as a court appeal of the case already “RULED THERE WAS NO TERROR CONSPIRACY”.

Hope Coleman demanded justice in the case of her son, Terrence Coleman, who was murdered by Boston police on October 30, 2016. Terrence Coleman suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, said Hope Coleman. She had made a phone call for an ambulance for her son, and never called for the police. When paramedics arrived at the Coleman home police abruptly barged in, gunned down, murdered, Terrence in the Coleman home. Hope overheard one of the cops saying right after her son was murdered by Boston police, “We don’t have to worry about him [Terrence Coleman] any more”.

https://www.facebook.com/Howie.Rotman/media_set?set=a.10207808539928681&type=3

The rally was also organized to raise money to send a Massachusetts delegation of Mothers and Families who have lost loved ones to police violence to the July 12 National Mothers Vigil & March organized by “Take a Knee Nation” in Minneapolis against police violence. Donations can be made at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/massachusetts-delegation-to-the-mother039s-march?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1iK3b9DhpaeWNyslLuMusgrakKUjtH0aMnhfOkLWr5PNqe4ED2RNx7Ml8

#REOPENTHECASES

#JAILKILLERCOPS

#JUSTICE4GEORGEFLOYD

#JUSTICE4BO

#JUSTICE4USAAMAH

#JUSTICE4DAVIDWRIGHT

#JUSTICE4TERRENCE

#JUSTICE4ROSSBATISTA

#JUSTICE4ALL

PHOTO ALBUM OF EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/Howie.Rotman/media_set?set=a.10207808539928681&type=3

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

Solidarity with NETA Brookline workers and the UFCW!
Stop NETA Union-Busting, Now!

June 16, 2020

> About 100 employees of the New England Treatment Access (NETA) marijuana store in Brookline are set to vote whether to unionize beginning next week, when ballots for an unusual mail-in election will be sent by federal labor officials; they are due back July 21.

www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/16/marijuana/push-unionize-massachusetts-marijuana-industry-heats-up/ ... See MoreSee Less

Push to unionize Massachusetts marijuana industry heats up - The Boston Globe

www.bostonglobe.com

Massachusetts union organizers and marijuana executives are squaring off in an increasingly bitter fight.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

And if we don’t get it, SHUT IT DOWN!

mobile.twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/1274036494995542016

NBC Bay Area on Twitter
“LIVE VIDEO: The "West Coast Port Shutdown" Juneteenth rally is underway at the Port of Oakland. t.co/DgJoMO6fni t.co/L2sba1aqae” ... See MoreSee Less

NBC Bay Area on Twitter

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

June 17, 2020

> In a letter published Wednesday, leaders from local organizations that serve communities of color, including El Centro de la Raza and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, called for the police union to be removed from the council.

>”Police have historically been tasked with enforcing laws designed to justify economic inequality and enforce racial hierarchies,” the letter read. “History shows us that when police have shown up for workers, it’s always been to silence them.” ... See MoreSee Less

King County Labor Council expels Seattle police union

crosscut.com

The vote comes amid ongoing protests and weeks of pressure from community advocates and some union members.

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

Multinational unity wins another battle at Harvard ... See MoreSee Less

Multinational unity wins another battle at Harvard

www.workers.org

During the recent worldwide upsurge for justice, the Black and Brown workers’ fight to save their jobs — at the flagship bourgeois enterprise Harvard — led to the university’s first antiracist...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

All Out On Juneteenth! "An Injury to One Is An Injury To All" ILWU Juneteenth Press Conference ... See MoreSee Less

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

2 weeks ago

www.newsweek.com/protesters-call-black-workers-strike-juneteenth-1510728

Protesters call for a black workers' strike on Juneteenth
In addition to Atlanta protesters calling for a black workers' strike on Juneteenth, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union is shutting down ports on the West Coast that day. ... See MoreSee Less

Protesters call for a black workers' strike on Juneteenth

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/bjgt-22jk50--qbhjm-6an9kgk4 ... See MoreSee Less

Port Shutdowns for George Floyd

secure.campaigner.com

On June 19th, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will shut down 29 ports across the West coast in solidarity with ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd. The d...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

The Boston school bus drivers union, USW Local 8751, is in Solidarity with the Black community's demands to remove this and all other representations of racism and inequality which abound in the statues, symbols and place names of this city and state, founded 400 years ago on the genocide and slavery of Indigenous and African peoples.
www.ipetitions.com/petition/remove-the-emancipation-statue?fbclid=IwAR3nrgQtPNvMmsD20XHbvHxykWyqw... ... See MoreSee Less

Petition Remove The Emancipation Memorial/Freedman Statue

www.ipetitions.com

Remove The Emancipation Memorial/Freedman Statue Tory Bullock 1312 Comments 6,344 SignaturesGoal: 1,000 DO NOT DONATE MONEY TO THIS CAUSE! I don't need money, just your signature!My name is Tory Bullo...

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Team Solidarity- the Voice of United School Bus Union Workers

3 weeks ago

Solidarity with the ILWU! ... See MoreSee Less

Solidarity with the ILWU!

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