Fast food workers launch informational picket as unrest grows in Seattle and across the country over low pay, wage theft, other concerns

Poverty-wage workers and supporters call for criminal investigation of fast food wage theft crime scenes, including Northgate Jimmy John's

As unrest continues to spread across our area and across the country, poverty-wage fast food workers will hold an informational picket outside the Northgate Jimmy John's right in the heart of the lunch rush, calling for a criminal investigation of what they allege is one of dozens of wage theft crime scenes across the city. The wage theft crime wave is estimated to cost Seattle fast food workers as much as $100,000/week in lost wages.

Who: Poverty-wage fast food workers from Jimmy John's and other chains

What: Hold an informational picket to demand an investigation of fast food wage theft crime scenes, including the Northgate Jimmy John's. Workers and supporters, uniting under the call "Wage Theft is a Crime. Make Them Pay." will carry picket signs, banners, and giant crime scene tape.

When: TODAY: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 12:00 noon, in the heart of the lunch rush

Where: Jimmy John's, Northgate. 507 NE Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125 (Storefront faces Northgate Way.)

The informational picket comes just days after fast food workers announced they had filed criminal wage theft complaints with the Seattle Police Department, and kicks off several days of escalating actions that will culminate in a rowdy demonstration scheduled to begin Thursday at 4:30 pm at Westlake Park. Follow along as events develop all week at #MakeThemPay .

In just a few weeks of worker-to-worker outreach, surveys, and even a popular webcomic that racked up nearly 30,000 views, Good Jobs Seattle has received hundreds of reports detailing multiple frequent violations of wage theft law at Jimmy John's and numerous other fast food chains. This is all too common: a formal multi-city study by the National Employment Law Project found that about 68% of low-wage workers experience some form of wage theft, and that those who do experience wage theft lose approximately 15% of their income to the crime. Extrapolating from that data suggests that the 4,300 fast food workers in the City of Seattle lose as much as $100,000 a week to the crime of wage theft — more than $5 million a year that goes missing from the paychecks of poverty wage fast food workers in the City of Seattle alone.

Background:

Sparked by the May 30th fast food strike, Good Jobs Seattle is a growing movement which seeks to build a sustainable future for Seattle's economy from the bottom up — by turning poverty-wage jobs in fast food and other industries into good jobs that offer opportunities for a better future and pay enough for workers to afford basic necessities like food, clothing and rent. Good Jobs Seattle is supported by organizations including Washington Community Action Network, Working Washington, OneAmerica, and hundreds of workers and grassroots supporters.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

Fast food workers strike back against wage theft... with a comic

Fast food workers use comic to blow the whistle on the crime of wage theft & call for action

Popular webcomic details wage theft crime wave, asks what it will take to "make them pay"

Little more than a week after Seattle fast food strikers came to City Hall to brief city councilmembers on the issues they face at work, members of Good Jobs Seattle continue to grow their movement with massive public outreach and education around this hidden crime, with materials including … a comic strip.

The Wage Theft: Make them Pay strip has already racked up more than 15,000 views from Seattle-area Facebookers in just the first few days since its publication, rocketed to the front page of the Seattle sub-reddit, and generated countless conversations about the issue of wage theft, its prevalence in the fast food industry, and the question of what it will take to make the fast food chains pay for this crime.

Wage theft is a major problem for fast food workers and others in low-wage jobs. Numerous Seattle fast food workers have shared stories about their own experience of wage theft, and national studies suggest anywhere from two-thirds to 84% of low-wage workers regularly experience wage theft.

Background:

The crime of wage theft is committed when an employer fails to pay time-and-half for hours over 40 in a week; requires workers to work before or after their shifts, or during breaks; takes illegal deductions from paychecks, for example for uniforms or register shortages; or otherwise fails to properly pay workers for all their hours.

Sparked by the May 30th fast food strike, Good Jobs Seattle is a growing movement which seeks to build a sustainable future for Seattle's economy from the bottom up — by turning poverty-wage jobs in fast food and other industries into good jobs that offer opportunities for a better future and pay enough for workers to afford basic necessities like food, clothing and rent. Good Jobs Seattle is supported by organizations including Washington Community Action Network, Working Washington, OneAmerica, and hundreds of workers and grassroots supporters.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

County Elections officially validates signatures for SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative

Ballot measure would spark $40 million+ in direct community benefit if passed by SeaTac voters

It's official: King County Elections has now certified that the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative has met the required signature threshold, and after a public hearing by the SeaTac City Council next month, the Good Jobs Initiative will head to the November ballot. The landmark measure will support good jobs and healthy communities by raising standards for thousands of poverty-wage workers at Sea-Tac Airport and surrounding large hotels, parking lots, and other major transportation & tourism employers.

"I'm pleased that the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative is moving forward," said Ubax Gurdheere of the African Business Association of Puget Sound, which represents small businesses in the area, including 21 in the City of SeaTac. "When the initiative passes in November, our small businesses in SeaTac and surrounding areas will thrive because the workers will have more money to spend at their neighboring small businesses as well as in the community at large."

The Good Jobs Initiative has quickly won widespread support from local businesses, workers, and community leaders because it simply ensures that companies which do well in the SeaTac community have to do right by the SeaTac community. It is estimated that the City of SeaTac and surrounding communities could see an infusion of nearly $40 million a year when the initiative becomes law— a spark which will help boost the entire regional economy.

"It was easy to gather signatures because people in this community understand that if we have more good jobs here in SeaTac, everyone benefits," explained Chris Smith, who works for poverty wages as a fueler at Sea-Tac airport and lives in the city SeaTac. "Passing the Good Jobs initiative would mean I might be able to get by with just one job instead of two. Instead of spending almost 20 hours a day going from one job to the other, I'd be able to spend more time with my kids. It's not that complicated: good jobs means healthy communities."

The SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative would set workforce standards for more than 6,000 low wage transportation and hospitality workers in SeaTac, including paid sick leave, a living wage of $15/hour, and opportunities for full-time employment. The initiative will only apply to those large businesses which are located in SeaTac because of the enormous public investment in our airport — it specifically exempts small retailers, small hotels, and small restaurants. The SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative fact sheet has more details on what the initiative will do and who it will affect.

While this measure would break new ground in our region, similar standards have been set around other West Coast airports — including LAX, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco — which continue to thrive, attract new business, and contribute vigorously to the local economy. For more information, see the report Below the Radar, issued in March 2013 by Puget Sound Sage.

Media availability: Low-wage workers and community members who helped lead the campaign to qualify the Good Jobs Initiative for the ballot are available for comment. Please contact Sage Wilson at sage@workingwa.org to arrange an interview.

The SeaTac Committee for Good Jobs includes a broad array of workers, faith and community supporters, union members and retirees.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Fast food strikers to co-host forum for Seattle mayoral candidates

Low-wage workers from fast food and other industries to host forum for McGinn, Murray, Harrell, Steinbrueck, and other candidates

Just two weeks after fast food strikes spread across the city and brought the issues of low-wage workers to the center of public debate, Seattle mayoral candidates will gather June 15th for a candidates forum hosted by workers from fast food, childcare, retail, hotels, and other fast-growing low-wage industries.

After the candidates hear workers share stories about the issues affecting their lives and their futures, they will discuss various proposals for how to ensure a sustainable future by building our economy from the middle out.

Who: Candidates for mayor of Seattle, joined by fast food workers, child care providers, and other members of Seattle's fast-growing low-wage workforce.

What: Candidates will hear from low-wage workers, attempt to construct their own minimum wage budgets, then debate what they could do as mayor to raise up low-wage workers & lift the economy. The forum will also include a presentation by Lori Pfingst, PhD, of the Budget and Policy Center on the impact of low wage jobs on our economy.

When: Saturday, June 15, 2013, 11 am

Where: 215 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA, in the SEIU Healthcare 775NW auditorium.

The Seattle area has recently seen a surge of unrest among low-wage workers, including the strike by fast food workers that spread across the city; Walmart workers who struck on Black Friday and have continued to speak out for better conditions; workers at Sea-Tac Airport who are organizing for good jobs and living wages; and port truck drivers who ground container traffic to a halt with a work stoppage last February.

The issues raised by low-wage workers are of fundamental importance to the city's future — and it is clear that something has to change if we are going to build a sustainable future for our economy. While the top tier of Seattle's economy may be bouncing back, thousands are being left behind:

This low-wage worker candidates forum is sponsored by Working Washington, Poverty Action, Washington CAN!, Puget Sound Sage, and several labor unions, including SEIU, UFCW 21, Teamsters 117, and UNITE-HERE 8.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

 

Just outside Seattle, a bold campaign to raise workplace standards at the ballot box

Poverty-wage workers bringing SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative to the ballot

A bold campaign to raise standards for airport & tourism industry workers quickly wins overwhelming support

SEATAC, WA (5 June 2013) - After just a few weeks of signature gathering, workers & community allies have collected well more than the number of signatures necessary to qualify the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative for the November ballot, and will officially file those signatures with the city clerk Wednesday afternoon — with the help of a celebratory brass band. The campaign now enters the next phase on the march towards passage of this groundbreaking initiative to raise standards for airport, transportation, and tourism industry workers in the city of SeaTac.

This is just the latest step in an ambitious organizing effort in which workers in and around Sea-Tac Airport have brought health & safety issues to public attention, formed unions, and called on Alaska Airlines— the dominant carrier at Sea-Tac — to support higher standards at its contractors. Taking the Good Jobs Initiative to the ballot is the simply the next move in the broad-based worker and community campaign to make sure every job in and around our airport is a good job.

"It’s great that so many people support the SeaTac good jobs initiative and it was easy to get signatures.” said Assadollah Valibiergi, a wheelchair attendant who works for Alaska Airlines contractor, Bags, Inc. "When I knocked on doors, people understood that we all do better when workers are paid better. I’m sure that when it comes time in November, SeaTac voters will support low wage workers having full-time work and better wages."

Support for the Good Jobs Initiative so far has been overwhelming. In fact, the 2500+ signatures being filed — gathered in just a few weeks — already represent nearly half the votes cast in the last SeaTac municipal election.

The SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative would set basic employment standards for thousands of poverty-wage workers employed in the transportation, tourism, and hospitality industries in SeaTac, including earned sick leave, creation full-time work opportunities, guarantees that tips go to the workers who performed the service, and a living wage standard of $15/hour.

“Today we celebrate in SeaTac," said Rev. Jan Bolerjack, pastor of Riverton Park United Methodist Church. "Filing the initiative shows how the community is coming together in its care and concern for one another. When working families can be paid properly and thrive, our whole community benefits."

Wednesday's filing of signatures to raise standards for poverty-wage airport workers comes less than a week after strikes by Seattle fast food workers spread across the city, forcing the closure of at least 8 restaurants and making the "Strike Poverty - Raise Seattle" message the biggest local story of the week. The growth of poverty wage jobs has become a key local political issue, with local politicians competing to see who can express stronger support for raising standards for poverty-wage workers in our community.

A fact sheet on the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative is available online.

Working Washington has been a key participant in both the SeaTac good jobs campaign and the Seattle fast food effort. We are a coalition of individuals, neighborhood associations, immigrant groups, civil rights organizations, people of faith, and labor united for a fair economy. Together, we are organizing to push corporations and politicians to stop the cuts, invest in our communities and create good jobs. That’s how to make the economy work for all of us, not just the top 1%. For more information, visit WorkingWA.org

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Sea-Tac Airport workers, community and business allies file petitions for Good Jobs Initiative at SeaTac City Hall

Celebration as supporters turn in signatures from 2,500 SeaTac voters, well above the qualifying threshold

When: Wednesday, June 5, 2013, 1:30 p.m.

Where: SeaTac City Hall, 4800 S. 188th Street, SeaTac, WA 98188

Who: SeaTac Airport workers, community supporters, SeaTac small business owners

Visuals: Marching band, One Love; balloons and handmade signs proclaiming “Good jobs, healthy communities,” Sea-Tac Airport workers filing petition signatures for the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative

Today the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative takes a major step forward as supporters will file more than 2,500 signatures and call on the city to place the initiative on the November 2013 ballot. Only 1,541 valid signatures are required to qualify the measure in the city.

It took airport workers and their community supporters less than 4 weeks of door-to-door canvassing to collect the signatures. The signature total represents nearly half of all SeaTac residents who voted in the 2011 general election.

Workers and their supporters will deliver their signatures to the SeaTac City Clerk’s office with the help of a marching band, balloons and celebratory signs.

“Today we celebrate in SeaTac. Filing the initiative shows how the community is coming together in its care and concern for one another. When working families can be paid properly and thrive, our whole community benefits,” said Rev. Jan Bolerjack, pastor of Riverton Park United Methodist Church.

“It’s great that so many people support the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative and it was easy to get signatures.” said Assadollah Valibiergi, a wheelchair attendant who works for Alaska Airlines contractor Bags, Inc. “When I knocked on doors, people understood that we all do better when workers are paid better. I’m sure that when it comes time in November, SeaTac voters will support low wage workers having full-time work and better wages.”

Thousands of poverty wage workers in and around the airport, the vast majority of whom live and shop in south King County, would see their lives improved by the initiative. Local economies could see an infusion of nearly $40 million a year into the City of SeaTac and surrounding communities.

“As a small business owner, I know that when people make more money, they spend more money in their community,” said Mohamed Ali, owner of the SeaTac International Market. “A good wage keeps qualified employees, builds customer loyalty, supports us directly or indirectly in resulting higher sales for small business in the city. When workers win, business wins and our communities win.”

The measure would set basic employment standards for workers employed in the transportation, tourism and hospitality industries in SeaTac, including paid sick leave, full-time work for those who need it, a living wage of at least $15/hour, job security for employees when companies change contractors, and assurances that tips and service charges go to the workers who perform the service. (SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative Fact Sheet is available online.)

The measure would cover businesses in and around the airport, including airport baggage handling, passenger services, cabin cleaning, aircraft fueling, security, and retail stores, along with hotels, rental car and parking lot facilities. Small businesses are specifically exempt.

The SeaTac Committee for Good Jobs includes a broad array of workers, faith and community supporters, union members and retirees.

For more information on the prevalence of low-wage jobs at Sea-Tac Airport, see the report Below the Radar, issued in March 2013 by Puget Sound Sage.

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Fast food workers launch strikelines across Seattle today

Workers issue call to "Strike Poverty and Raise Seattle" as fast-food strikes spread to Seattle

Strikelines going up at fast food outlets across the city as wave of national unrest hits the West Coast

Seattle fast food workers echo national call for $15 and the right to organize

It's hardly business as usual at the city's fast food outlets today, as a citywide strike that launched late last night when striking workers forced a Ballard Taco Bell to close early. has expanded to several dozen Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Arby's, and other national fast food chains across the city. (High-quality footage of Ballard strikelines last night available for use.)

Uniting under a call to "Strike Poverty - Raise Seattle" with a living wage of $15/hour and the right to organize without retaliation, fast food workers across the city have launched a movement they're calling "Good Jobs Seattle". They’re seeking to build a sustainable future for Seattle's economy by ensuring that fast food chains do what every profitable corporation ought to do: pay workers better than poverty wages and offer them opportunities for a better future.

WHO: Fast food workers from dozens of Taco Bell, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, and other national fast food chain outlets across the city.

WHAT: Launch citywide strike against poverty-wage jobs, calling for better pay and the right to organize without retaliation.

WHEN & WHERE: TODAY, Thursday May 30th.

Fast food strikelines launched late last night at a Ballard Taco Bell store, and will extend to multiple locations and multiple chains throughout the day. Locations include:

* 6:30 am: Lake City: Burger King, 14340 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125 * 9:30 am: University District: Taco del Mar, 1313 NE 42nd St, Seattle, WA 98105 * 10:30 am: SoDo/Georgetown: Strikelines hit multiple fast food outlets in the area. Workers will converge at Arby’s at 601 S Michigan, Seattle, WA 98108 * 11:30 am: Capitol Hill: Strikelines expand to multiple fast food outlets in Capitol Hill, including Chipotle, Subway, and Qdoba. Workers will converge at East Pine & Broadway. * And dozens of additional restaurants throughout the city.

Major rally and march where community supporters will join striking fast food workers: * 4:30 pm, Denny Park (100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109), followed by a march to nearby fast food locations, including McDonald’s.

Note: Follow the latest developments at #strikepoverty

More Information:

Seattle is the latest city to join the national surge of job actions by fast food workers, which has spread from New York to Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. This is part of a broader explosion of unrest by poverty-wage workers that includes port truck drivers in Seattle who ground container traffic to a halt by walking off the job last February, Walmart workers across the country who struck on Black Friday, and workers at Sea-Tac Airport who are organizing for good jobs and living wages.

A Good Jobs Seattle fast food fact sheet is available online.

Striking fast food workers are united in Good Jobs Seattle, a growing movement which seeks to build a sustainable future for Seattle's economy from the bottom up — by turning poverty-wage jobs in fast food and other industries into good jobs that offer opportunities for a better future and pay enough for workers to afford basic necessities like food, clothing and rent. Good Jobs Seattle is supported by organizations including Washington Community Action Network, Working Washington, OneAmerica, and hundreds of grassroots supporters.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

On strike in New York, on stage in Seattle -- May 2nd

New York fast-food striker to share his story in Seattle as part of "On the Edge: A Poverty-Wage Story Slam", May 2nd in Pioneer Square

Unique event will bring poverty-wage storytellers and interactive art to First Thursday

KFC employee Wilton Major was one of hundreds of New York City fast-food workers who recently took part in a historic strike which re-ignited a national conversation about poverty, opportunity, and the future of our economy at a time when 7 of the 10 fastest growing jobs pay poverty wages.

Wilton will be sharing stories about his experience on the strikelines as part of On the Edge: A Poverty-Wage Story Slam, coming to Pioneer Square for one night only, Thursday, May 2nd.

Who: Workers from retail, fast food, home care, and other poverty-wage industries, hosted by noted independent journalist Sarah Jaffe, a leading writer and commentator on social movements and low-wage work.

What: Real workers tell real stories from their real experience of living “on the edge” as part of our fast-growing poverty-wage workforce. The event will also include collective visual arts-making and boisterous audience participation, both inside the venue and out on the street.

When: Thursday, May 2nd, the First Thursday immediately following May Day. Doors open at 5:45 pm. Story slam begins at 6:00 pm. The event is free & open to the public, but space is limited. You can reserve a seat by filling out our online form.

Where: Doc Maynard’s in Pioneer Square. 610 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.

This unique First Thursday event — a mash-up blending the politics of May Day and the sprit of an art walk — mixes storytelling, visual arts, audience participation, and some unsettling facts about our economy in order to highlight real stories from the real lives of poverty-wage workers who are rising up from the edge of our economy to demand good jobs and new opportunities for a better future.

In addition to Wilton, On the Edge will feature poverty-wage storytellers like:

  • Darryl, a home care provider who lives in Kent. Daryl is paid astonishingly little for his valuable work caring for people in their homes. Every month, he's left having to choose which bills to pay. He just wants a paycheck that lets him do the work he cares about, keep up on his bills, and maybe even be able to afford to do something fun every once in a while.
  • Pancho, a 50-year-old who has been working in poverty-wage retail and fast food jobs most of the last decade. Despite working odd hours and being promised raises, Pancho has only seen his pay rate increase from $9.04/hr to $9.19/hr in the two years he’s worked at the same burger chain outlet. He gets about 28 hours a week, and lives with his 25-year-old son in North Seattle.
  • Spencer, an airport worker who loads and unloads baggage for Alaska Airlines passengers at Sea-Tac Airport. Spencer is getting married in a few months, and he’s worried about how his new family will be able to pay for health insurance or plan for their future when he is paid so little for his work. He and his co-workers recently told their bosses that they’re forming a union.

From airport workers here at Sea-Tac to fast food workers in New York to Walmart workers across the country — in the past 6 months, unrest among poverty-wage workers on the edge of our economy has reached an intensity that hasn’t been seen in decades.

These are their stories.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

“On the Edge”, a one-of-a-kind poverty-wage arts & culture event, in Seattle May 2nd

Poverty-wage storytellers and collective artmaking blend the political spirit of May  Day with the artistic expression of First Thursday

Mash-up May Day and an art walk, and you get something like "On the Edge: A Poverty-wage Story Slam", coming to Pioneer Square on May 2nd (First Thursday) for one night only. This unique event mixes storytelling, visual arts, audience participation, and some unsettling facts about our economy in order to highlight real stories from the real lives of poverty-wage workers who are rising up from the edge of our economy to demand good jobs and new opportunities for a better future.

On the Edge will feature poverty-wage storytellers like:

  • Pancho, a 50-year-old who has been working in poverty-wage retail and fast food jobs most of the last decade. Despite working odd hours and being promised raises, Pancho has only seen his pay rate increase from $9.04/hr to $9.19/hr in the two years he's worked at the same burger chain outlet. He gets about 28 hours a week, and lives with his 25-year-old son in North Seattle.
  • Spencer, an airport worker who loads and unloads baggage for Alaska Airlines passengers at Sea-Tac Airport. Spencer is getting married in a few months, and he's worried about how his new family will be able to pay for health insurance or plan for their future when he is paid so little for his work. He and his co-workers recently told their bosses that they're forming a union.
  • Darryl, a home care provider who lives in Kent. Daryl is paid astonishingly little for his valuable work caring for people in their homes, so every month, he's left having to choose which bills to pay. He just wants a paycheck that lets him do the work he cares about, keep up on his bills, and maybe even be able to afford to do something fun every once in a while.

Pancho, Spencer, and Darryl will be joined by other local poverty-wage workers from industries like home care, food service, retail, and airport services — which are among the fastest-growing jobs around, and also the lowest paid.

Who: Pancho, Spencer, Darryl, and other workers from retail, fast food, home care, and other poverty-wage industries, hosted by noted independent journalist Sarah Jaffe, a leading writer and commentator on social movements and low-wage work.

What:  Real workers tell real stories from their real experience of living “on the edge” as part of our fast-growing poverty-wage workforce. The event will also include collective visual arts-making and boisterous audience participation, both inside the venue and out on the street.

When: Thursday, May 2nd, the First Thursday immediately following May Day. Doors open at 5:45 pm. Story slam begins at 6:00 pm. The event is free & open to the public, but space is limited. You can reserve a seat by filling out our online form.

Where: Doc Maynard’s in Pioneer Square. 610 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.

From airport workers here at Sea-Tac to fast food workers in New York to Walmart workers across the country — in the past 6 months, unrest among poverty-wage workers on the edge of our economy has reached an intensity that hasn't been seen in decades.

These are their stories.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington, sage@workingwa.org