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Petition Tag - labor
1. For the Australian Labor Party to support Kevin Rudd's return to the leadership 
This petition is to show the Australian Labor Party that the Australian people wish for Kevin Rudd to lead Australia into the future.
2. Do Not Give The ALP Opposition Status After The 2013 Federal Election
When a party fails to reach the required number of seats in an election they don't automatically get funding as an opposition, they get the same pay rates as any other MP or senator. The Prime Minister has the power to, and normally does give them opposition status.
The purpose of this petition is to let the next Australian Prime Minister know we do not want that to happen.
3. KEEP FULL MILITARY HEALTH FOR THE ADF
ABOUT 80,000 military personnel will receive lower standards of care, delays in treatment and won't be able to choose their preferred doctor under sweeping changes to defence health care.
Medicos have warned wounded troops could be forced to take out private insurance to avoid the impact of the contracts those who treat soldiers, sailors and air force staff are being forced to sign.
Surgeons and other specialists will be hit by a "not negotiable" 40 to 50 per cent drop in fees to treat military personnel at bases around Australia under government-imposed budget cuts.
The new military fees are well below Australian Medical Association rates.
All personnel, including those wounded in action or hurt on base or at home, are covered for full medical and dental care.
The latest assault on military entitlements, part of a $154 million 10-year budget cut to defence health services, follows an aborted attempt by top brass to remove family reunion travel from members over the age of 21.
Specialists are refusing to sign so-called garrison health services contracts with Medibank Health Solutions after the government-owned firm won a new $1.3 billion four-year contract in June.
"I urge the decision makers to look at the potentially destructive effect these contract changes will have on morale by limiting access to quality medical care for injuries they suffer in the service of their country," one orthopaedic surgeon said.
Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons national co-ordinator Stephen Milgate said members were very concerned about the trend towards US-style managed healthcare and many senior surgeons would refuse to sign the contract.
MHS spokesman Dr Ian Boyd said: "Our goal is to provide the best healthcare options for every eligible ADF member, but we also have to be responsible and cost-effective with the program's delivery."
"They either take a lower fee or they don't get the work," Mr Brown said.
A top orthopaedic surgeon, who asked not to be named, said he would not sign despite working with the military for the past 11 years.
"Cheapest price is unlikely to provide best practice outcomes for the personnel that should be valued by Defence," the surgeon said.
Opposition defence spokesman David Johnston said he was concerned that Defence Budget cuts were impacting directly upon the men and women in service.
"These are the very people we ask to put their bodies and lives on the line to defend our country and yet the Gillard government is resorting to a cut price solution to their medical care," Senator Johnston said
4. Free Iranian Labor Activist Afshin Osanloo, Tortured, Sentenced To 5 Years
Afshin Osanloo is prison of conscience and brother to Mansour Osanloo, President of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union (Vahed Syndicate), who has also been prosecuted and imprisoned for his union-related activities.
Security forces arrested Afshin Osanloo in the main Tehran bus terminal in December 2010 without any specified charges. He spent three months inside Evin Prison's Security Ward 209 without his family's knowledge. He was sentenced to five years in prison in May 2011 on charges of "acting against national security" and "propagating against the state" without access to a lawyer, and his sentence was upheld by an appeals court.
On Wednesday, June 6, 2012 Afshin Osanloo was abruptly transferred to the Special Security Ward of Rajaee Shahr Prison on orders from Evin Prison's Disciplinary Council and without any explanation. Prior to his abrupt transfer, Osanloo had been serving a five-year prison term at Evin Prison.
Describing his torture at the hands of Islamic Republic regime henchmen, Afshin Osanloo issued the following appeal to the world community on August 7, 2012 from the horrible Rajai Shahr Prison:
"I am Afshin Osanloo of the labor movement in Iran; I drive a transport truck between cities and am now in Gohardasht (Rajaei Shahr) prison in Iran. In the autumn of 2010, while resting in the dormitory for drivers in the passenger terminal, I was arrested by armed persons wearing casual clothing – not uniforms – and was taken to Section 209 of Evin prison. For five months I was kept in solitary confinement and was interrogated and tortured. The tortures included beatings of the soles of my feet with cables; forcing me to run on the beaten feet which were covered in sores and cuts; gross verbal insults and swearing; week-long interrogations, 18 hours at a time, while being beaten by a group of men which resulted in my ribs and some teeth being broken. During these five months, my family had no information about me whatsoever, and their inquiries were not answered. I was not even permitted one phone call to my elderly mother who also was suffering from my brother’s imprisonment (Mansour Osanloo, Chairman of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company).
"I am married and have two sons. When I first started my family, I began working at the Construction Base at Khatam, in the isolated, war-torn provinces of Southern Iran on important projects in the name of a driver for 2 years. The work was hard labor, such as building dirt roads through the Karkhe River, making docks out of rocks in the Port of Mahshahr, and building water pipes from the Karkhe River all the way to Hamideh in Ahwaz. The love for my country helped me endure being so far away from my family, and I dismissed the sorrow.
"After 2 years, all the drivers, whether they were temporary hires or contract workers, were let go. In 1997, I was hired by the bus Company of Tehran and worked 12 hour shifts both during the day and night on the busiest routes in the city. During the time that I worked at the unit, along with my most experienced and truly sincere co-workers, we tried to improve and modernize our working conditions and tried to prevent corruption at the expense of being humiliated and ridiculed by management and bosses from different sectors and regions and even the representatives of the Islamic Labor Council. Nevertheless, we pursued our outstanding arrears, bonuses, uniforms, and prevention of hard, harmful and unsafe labor, along with abolishment of temporary contracts, some of which had lasted 4-5 years.
"Although we were not successful in many issues, and were seen as greedy, ungrateful workers by the higher-ups, we still tried in any way we could. We were threatened with the loss of our jobs by the management.
"Unfortunately, in 2001, while I was transferring passengers during my shift at work, I had an accident that sadly caused the death of another person. I asked my company’s insurance for assistance in the matter but after some talks between the insurance company and the family of the deceased, the sum I was asked to pay was changed from 10 million to 18 million Toumans (Iranian currency). The insurance company from work was deemed legally exempt and not responsible.
"My complaints to the Department of Labor were of no use until the bosses of the company agreed to pay the entire sum, conditional on my resignation. And since I did not have such a large sum of money I was forced to resign, which caused me to lose the 4 years of seniority and experience I had in the field, not to mention the years of enduring hard labor and harsh conditions. This also dealt a large blow to my family. My wife, who was pregnant at the time, suffered from a nervous breakdown. From that time onwards, I was busy working in Transportation and Shipping. The fact that this sector was owned privately, along with the lack of strong, independent unions and late paychecks, made it hard for the drivers to make ends meet, and they suffered from so many different work-related issues. As a result, all of us were communicating about how to better our work situation.
"I had four rules in my life for myself which I have lived by all my life: I was proud of my work, I tried to respect all my peers, I loved my country and its people and I served society by bringing up my children well so that they could be useful.
"After one year of being in prison in sections 209 and 380, without knowing my fate, I was sentenced to 5 years in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, led by Judge Salavati (The Hanging Judge). In just a few minutes I was accused of being “a threat to national security” and was denied the right to be represented by a lawyer. I objected to the proceedings, but there was no way at all for me or my family to review or even see my file or my charges.
"I was sentenced on baseless accusations and charges to five years in prison, two of which I have already served. What did I do against national security? I had no political affiliations and did not belong to any organizations or groups and all my actions were legal and had to do with trade workers. The only crime I committed was pursuing workers’ rights and unions, and arresting us is not going to stop us from wanting our rights. It is necessary to create legitimate, independent labor unions for legal rights that are in accordance with the Ministry of Labor.
"And to provide job security, improved wages commensurate with the inflation rate, to prevent late payment of salary, permanent contracts between worker and employer, payment of social security by the government, insurance coverage for workers and to stop privatization of the transportation and shipping trade which are all privately owned in order to stop employers from taking advantage of the workers. If such issues are pursued by the police force and the Ministry of Transportation, it will allow the trade business to run in accordance with the law. If these laws are implemented, it will benefit public safety and increase productivity, and the industry as a whole will be more profitable. My crime and that of all others like me are the same and repetitive on this issue.
"These issues and problems are discussed among drivers and workers, and even amongst some honest and competent transport managers who work for the industry.
"These issues should be first addressed to The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and also the International Labor Organization (ILO), who have always been sympathetic and have supported their brothers all across the world, and who understand our pain and suffering. We want them to take this issue to the international bodies and communities and also to the human rights organizations. We want all other workers, especially those in transportation, to hear how I and so many other workers have been unfairly and illegally convicted. We want you to tell them how in our country, we have no labor or human rights, and how unjust and illegal it all is, and how the smallest complaint about our working conditions causes us to be severely tortured and imprisoned."
In September, he along with three other prisoners of conscience being held in the horrible Rajai Shahr prison-- Reza Sharifi Bokani (Kurdish human rights activist) and Khalid Hardani (Ahwazi Arab activist)--signed an open appeal to UN General Secretary Ban ki-Moon asking him, among other considerations, to understand the following about conditions in Iran:
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has never allowed any opposition political party, even peaceful ones, has never allowed political activism and the leaders and members of opposition political parties have been severely tortured, detained and executed....
"In this country, poverty, inflation, unemployment, discrimination and corruption are rife. Every year, thousands of workers have lost their jobs, factories have closed and companies have gone bankrupt. Iranian people are forced to accept and tolerate the economic effects of a corrupt totalitarian government, mismanagement and international sanctions against the government. And nobody is allowed to criticise corruption because they are oppressed."
5. York University Students in Support of CUPE 3903
Do you want to prevent a strike? Do you think that tutorial sizes are too large? Are more TAs needed in our labs? Do you support fair wages, working conditions, and benefits for your TA's, instructors, and invigilators?
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3903 -- representing teaching assistants, contract professors, graduate assistants, lab assistants, exam invigilators, and writing ...instructors -- are currently in collective bargaining with the University administration. Their demands include:
• smaller tutorial and lab sizes to improve the quality of undergraduate education
• maintaining financial support for underfunded graduate students
• job security for academic workers
• affordable education
As undergraduate students, we understand that the quality of education we receive in our classrooms depends on the working conditions of those instructing us. Our tutorials are too large, our labs are understaffed, and poverty-line wages keep our instructors from being able to fully commit to our education. We also understand that these conditions are the same ones that will be experienced by many current undergraduate students who, in the near future, will be applying to graduate school. As fellow students, we need to support members of CUPE 3903 in their efforts to make the York University a better place for all of us to study and work at.
Our TAs, instructors, lab assistants, exam invigilators, and writing instructors continue to ask for a reasonable and equitable contract. They continue to bargain in good faith, with every effort being made to prevent a strike. Unfortunately, the University administration has been unwilling to agree to a fair contract, and its disregard has led members of the union to vote 66% in favour of a strike mandate.
The employer is forcing a strike to occur by refusing to bargain with academic workers, and offer semi-decent wages and job security. This move has placed the entire University community in a precarious position.
Clearly, the University administration can no longer claim to have the best interests of students in mind.
Join this group and help towards preventing a strike by forcing the York University administration to give a fair contract for our teaching assistants, instructors, contract professors and other academic workers. The admin is forcing the current strike.
This Facebook group, built by the "Students in Support of CUPE 3903" campaign, will serve two purposes in the coming weeks:
- We will be giving immediate bargaining and strike updates on the state of negotiations. These updates will additionally serve to update members of the University community about class cancellations, about how to deal with specific issues pertaining to a potential strike (such as procedures for assignments), and about potential avenues for acquiring tuition rebates from the University in the case that a strike should occur.
- We will be organizing student support campaigns for members of CUPE 3903 who continue to strive to reach a fair deal with the York University administration, despite the latter's decision to walk away from negotiations and refuse to give workers a fair deal.
E-mail: students.solidarity.cupe3903@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/YorkUniversityStrikeInformationGroup
Support the undergraduate campaign to stop the York admin from causing another strike!
Organizations/Student Groups that have signed on:
New Democrats of York University
Fightback
Afghan-Iranian Youth Network
Health as a Bridge to Peace at YorkU
Sociology Undergraduate Students Association
York University Free Press (YUFP)
Sexuality Studies Association at YorkU
6. Sign to show you support for an early national election
Julia Gillard is going to keep her failing government in power until the last breath, unfortunately they are going to take the Australian people on a downward spiral with them.
Following this support from all over Australia. The Australian people are saying no to a carbon tax.
We are asking the Gillard Goverment to go to an Election on this.
8. Dissolve the new Australian Parliament
The result of the Australian Federal election of 2010 was an absolute farce and a major insult to Democracy. A country that is proud of its ability to enforce a Government that is fair to all, has suffered for probably the first time in these circumstances.
The election determined that no political party was able to form a majority government. This meant that any independents were able to control who would take up office and form the Government. However, the four independents that was in this position decided to milk it all for what it is worth; big noting themselves in order to improve their careers and bank balance. (One example that should be noted is MP Tony Windsor, who was offered by Labor to take up the position of speaker in the House of Representatives, reflected in his decision to back Labor).
Another example that brings this to bear is the admission by two particular independents that if an election were to be re-held, the Coalition would almost assuredly win. This proves that those independent MP’s know that the census of the citizens of Australia WANT the Coalition to be in power as opposed to Labor. And by the independents backing Labor, is evidence of their inability to represent the people of this country, and also evidence of their personal agendas.
This petition will be a show of support that the Australian Democratic System needs to be overhauled to prevent this from happening again in future elections. But it also is a show of support for a re-election of Federal Government to take place to determine the party that the citizens of Australia want in power.
9. Build Australia's Broadband Future
Australia is in dire need of a New Broadband infrastructure as the current network is not adequate for home and business use. By not implementing the NBN you are holding back Australian businesses from achieving there best in a worldwide marketplace.
The Labor Government has said The NBN will be Australia’s first national wholesale-only open access, high speed broadband platform. They will use Fibre Optic Cables which will replace the Old existing Copper Telstra Network. Labor has pledged to set up online consultations with GPs, allowing regional patients to see a doctor without leaving their home, while NBN Co chief Mike Quigley revealed last week that the NBN would be capable of internet speeds of up to 1Gbps, 100 times faster than originally believed.
The Coalition has proposed investing in a combination of technologies, including fibre optic, cable and wireless, to bring a minimum speed of 12Mbps to 97% of Australians. $1 billion public grant funding and additional, undisclosed private funding for building a wireless network for rural and regional areas
$1 billion on building a metropolitan wireless network focussed on outer metropolitan areas. Rural and Regional Areas would miss out on Fiber Optic and only be provided with Wireless or Satellite Access.
10. Coalition of disaffected Labor voters for climate
Opinion polls demonstrated a significant number of ALP voters prepared to desert the ALP after its backflip on climate change earlier this year. With the recent change in Prime Minister, there is likely to be an announcement on climate soon, aimed at placating those voters.
The risk is that any new announcement will not be a significant improvement on existing ALP climate policy, but disaffected voters will feel they have to vote Labor for fear of worse under the Tony Abbott and the Coalition. This petition aims to give those voters a voice before the ALP announces its new approach to climate.
We also aim to empower voters who want to vote climate by providing easy to understand answers to questions about climate, climate policies and the implications for climate of their vote.
If you want to know more about these issues or if you like our petition but have questions or concerns you want to raise before signing, then visit our facebook site (above).
11. Stop Child Labor in Vietnam
Many children worldwide are forced to work in harsh conditions to help support their families. This is the case for 1 in every 7 children worldwide.
If they grow up without an education they will be unsuccessful and their children will also have to go into labor. This creates an endless cycle unless something is done.
Around the world, over 250,000,000 children are put to work for several reasons. Times now are no better than the times of the Industrial Revolution, in which millions of children worked under terrible conditions and many died. During the time, workers worked long hours, suffered from disease, and in some cases, died.
The same still happens today, as large corporations take advantage of poverty stricken children around the world. This work is near the same or even worse than the times of the Industrial Revolution. Children suffer from this greatly. Studies have stated that 1 in 7 children around the world is put into this position where they must work to survive.
13. وعود بلا سياسة: يجب على وزارة العمل الوفاء بوعدها حماية العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان
في آذار/مارس 2009 وعدت وزارة العمل اللبنانية بتطبيق العقد الموحد للعاملات الأجنبيات الذي يستلزم الامتثال لمعايير الحماية المنصوص عليها في العقد الجديد قبل منح تصاريح عمل صادرة عن الوزارة -- لا تسمح/ي لهم بعدم تطبيق هذا القانون بفعالية.
وفقا للعقد الجديد لعاملات المنازل الأجنبيات، لا يجوز أن تتخطى ساعات العمل اليومية العشر ساعات، ويحق لهم بثماني ساعات متواصلة من النوم. يتضمن العقد أيضا يوم عطلة أسبوعياً (24 ساعة)، كما يلزم أرباب العمل بدفع الرواتب شهرياً وتقديم دلائل تثبت ذلك وتحوي تواقيع الطرفين.
إذا فشلت وزارة العمل في تنفيذ العقد الموحد الجديد، وتحسين ظروف عمل النساء بحلول نهاية عام 2009، ستستمر ظاهرة وفاة العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان بظروف غير طبيعية
14. Centrelink legislation should be changed to help students
At this moment at Centrelink, the youth allowance for 18-21 year olds who are going to study, have to work 18 months full time prior to study to be eligible for youth allowance, or their parents have to earn 32,000 or less. With the current economic crisis, there are hardly any jobs out there, especially part time or casual jobs for students.
How are students meant to pay for books, stationary, bus tickets, livelihood? Just because they live with their parents, does not mean they may not pay board/food and it definitely does not mean that the parents give them an, "allowance" each week. If you have ever been persecuted by this issue, please sign this petition. I will be taking it to my local MP at Reynell, also forwarding it to Julia Gillard, Minister for Education and if need be, I will lobby it to the media.
This legislation needs to change and we need YOUR help!
15. Reduced Sentence for the Injured Worker Liu Hanghuang on Humanitarian Grounds
Reflecting on Institutionalized Oppression:
Petition for a Reduced Sentence for the Injured Worker Liu Hanghuang on Humanitarian Grounds
On 16 June 2009, Liu Hanghuang, a factory worker in Dongguan, fatally stabbed two of his Taiwanese employers and left a third critically injured. This is definitely an unbearable tragedy for both sides, especially an irreparable regret for the family of the Taiwanese businessmen.
However, based on the following reasons, we hope that the courts in China can take into consideration the extenuating circumstances.
As a migrant worker from the Province of Guizhou, Liu Hanhuang hoped to improve the economic conditions of his family, but unfortunately his hand was severed in an industrial accident. All hope was lost with a crippled body. Liu had tried to discuss the issue of compensation with his employers for a year without reaching agreement. It is fully understandable how a worker in a subordinate position, facing the much more powerful company and lacking necessary support, felt both helpless and hopeless.
The fact that Liu attempted suicide by threatening to jump from a fifth-floor ledge at the factory before the murder bears witness to his pressures and pains. It is of course illegal and unacceptable to commit homicide, but a sympathetic understanding is indeed possible if this case is placed in the context of “going off to work → occupational injury → prolonged negotiation of compensation → the subordinate position of the worker → the worker’s pressures and pains.”
16. Stop Bill 80's Amendments to the — Construction Industry Labour Relations Act
On March 10, 2009 the Saskatchewan Party Government Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Rob Norris tabled amendments to the Construction Industry Labour Relations Act.
“Assistant Deputy Minister Mike Carr confirmed in a stakeholder briefing that the construction and other unions in Saskatchewan did not ask for this and that none were consulted prior to its introduction. The government says it’s about so-called freedom of
choice for employers and employees. We say it is about opening the door to certain employer-dominated unions to do wall-to-wall certifications of construction projects,”
says SFL President Larry Hubich.
Trades unions have long argued that wall-to-wall certifications, rather than the current system of certifying on a craft basis, will lead to deskilling and lower wages. The amendments also remove ‘maintenance’ from the definition of construction industry, which means a significant portion of unionized construction work will no longer be covered by the Act.
“Once again, the government is gutting legislation that affects thousands of workers without consulting them in advance. We saw this with last year’s essential services legislation and the amendments to the Trade Union Act. Now they’re doing it with the construction trades. This government is obviously intent on breaking unions in every sector,” says Hubich.
“It makes no sense to change the way in which construction workers are certified: the government’s own numbers show that despite the giant boom in construction over the past five years, that the unionization rate has remained the same. The system works for the trades union members because they are assured of a collective agreement and it works for employers, who are provided with skilled labour out of the union hiring hall.
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour Press Release.
http://www.sfl.sk.c/pdfs/News%20Release_Sask%20Party%20vs%20trades.pdf
Saskatchewan Building Trades Council Written Submission to Human Services Committee
http://www.saskbuildingtrades.com/docs/BuildingTrades%20June%2016%20FINAL.pdf
Saskatchewan Building Trades Council Press Release
http://www.saskbuildingtrades.com/docs/BuildingTrades%20June%2016%20FINAL.pdf
FACE BOOK GROUP HAS STARTED
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CLAC/126728855936#/group.php?gid=96626284086
17. Stop "Curry Bashing" Attacks on Indian Students
Violent and unprovoked attacks on Indian students are on the rise in Sydney and Melbourne. There have been at least 20 bashings of Indian students in Sydney in the past month, but most went unreported out of fear. There are estimated over 100 attacks on Indian students in the last 12 months, numerous robbings and random bashings on Indian students at night and in daylight, on trains and near their homes, often in western Sydney.
"There's a name for [the racist attacks]: 'curry bashing' ... [as in] 'lets go curry bashing'..."
18. Petition For The Protection Of Mr Edgar Paez , Secretary General Of Sinaltrainal, Colombia
Our comrade and friend from Colombia, Mr. Edgar Paez, the Secretary General of Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores dela Industria de Alimentos (SINALTRAINAL) is under surveillance and was put in the Order of Battle by the Colombian Military last May 15, 2009.
This petition requests the Colombian Authority to please give Mr. Edgar Paez the necessary protection for his life and liberty as provided for under the International Declaration of Human Rights and respect his rights as a trade unionist in accordance to the ILO Convention 87 and 98.
19. An amendment to the FLSA of 1938
This will save lives by reducing heart attacks and stroke (by reducing stress) and increase tax revenue (without tax hikes).
20. The People Against the Employees Free Choice Act
The Employees Free Choice Act is anything but 'free', and offers no choice. It can be deemed unconstitutional inamsuch that it abolishes the secret ballot in regards to decisions for Unionization.
Unionization will be thrust upon Employees and forced upon Companies, with the Federal Government mandating how our businesses should be run and setting forth indisputable guidelines of compliancy.
This is the antithesis of 'free enterprise', and a bid for power by our Government to seize control over our very existence.
21. 100% Australian Owned Companies in Coles and Woolworths
The average supermarket trolley contains 85% foreign owned and made.This results in around 100 million dollars a day lost to Australia heading to foreign corporate headquarters.In Japan 98% of products are owned by Japanese companies.
Around 85-90% of Australians want to support Australian companies and products but have trouble finding them in the supermarkets.This petition is to demand Coles and Woolworths support Australian companies as consumers want to buy 100% Australian owned so jobs and profits stay in Australia.
We want Coles and Woolworths to beat the Japanese level of 98% and aim for 100% Australian.
22. Support Plans to Renew the Brunswick Baths
Brunswick City Baths is not just a pool, or a gym. It is a key facility and reflects Brunswick values - ideas that value diversity, compassion and community.
The Brunswick Baths offers a supportive environment for people of all ages, offers women only bathing, and free recreation for asylum seekers. It makes an important contribution to the health and wellbeing of our community.
The Baths require a substantial investment of around $15 million to ensure its future. Our council, which owns the facility on behalf of the community, has devised plans to renew the Brunswick Baths.
23. Support 100% Australian Owned Companies To Keep Grocery Prices Low
The supermarket shelves are dominated by foreign giants which jack up prices to make enormous profits.
Many multinational companies pay little or no tax at all in Australia. Australian companies are forced to pay 32 cents income tax creating an enormous tax disadvantage. This is why 85% of the products in the supermarket are foreign owned and made. This is why prices are so high. This creates huge problems for the tax paying Australian company competing against foreign competitors who pay little or no tax in Australia.
The Australian competitor discounts its price it then loses profits and goes broke and is bought out by a huge foreign competitor.Once all Australian competition is destroyed the price paid by the customer skyrockets.
1. At the time we received the class notice, (July, 2005) we were not informed and were not aware we had unpaid wages; not by Class Counsel, the Defendants, the Superior Court, the Class Notice or the Settlement Agreement.
2. Now, we clearly understand we have unpaid, due wages that are owed to us by the Defendants. For many, these unpaid wages amount to thousands of dollars per class member. The penalties, damages and fines created by Defendants failure to pay these wages, in many instances, amounts to several million dollars per class member.
UNION CLASS MEMBERS:
a. Overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
b. Wages under CLC §226.7-(Meal Delay Payments)
c. Overtime on State Meal Delay Payments.
d. Other unpaid wages at www.reversegreenberg.com
NON-UNION CLASS MEMBERS
a. Overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
b. Wages under CLC §226.7 (Meal Delay Payments)
c. Overtime on State Meal Delay Payments.
d. Other wages outlined at www.reversegreenberg.com
3. The settlement relieves Defendants from the legal obligation to pay our unpaid wages. The settlement forever bars us from collecting these unpaid wages if we also happen to claim they are “late.” This is of course absurd! If the wages are past due AND unpaid, how could they be anything but late? This settlement is a sham. It was designed exclusively to help the Defendants evade paying our wages, as well as the liability for failing to pay them.
4. This settlement undermines the purpose of the California wage statutes: to secure prompt payment of our earned and due wages. This is an unfair and deceitful tactic by the Defendants to willfully avoid paying us our unpaid due wages through obfuscation and diversion. If successful in their attempts, they will render the concept of due dates and wages meaningless for motion picture employees.
5. The Defendants were well aware of the existence of our unpaid wages and their obligations to pay them. If they weren’t, they should have been. Many of these Defendants are the largest, most sophisticated media conglomerates in the world.
6. During the entire lawsuit, the existence and status of our unpaid wages was never brought before the Superior Court. This despite 5 years of litigation, the production of over 200,000 pages of documents, the involvement 900 Defendants, and the participation of two Superior Court Judges. We don’t think it is fair our unpaid wages were completely ignored during the litigation only to have them released during settlement, regardless of what label is attached to them. (late, underpayment, non-payment, etc.)
7. We understood the Class Notice addressed wage payments that were paid in full but paid late. But, we DID NOT understand the settlement applied to those of us who still had unpaid wages. Our silence did not and does not equal support. We never would have agreed to this settlement if we knew we had unpaid due wages and if we knew this settlement would be used to prevent us from collecting those wages.
8. So, if the settlement releases our unpaid wages and/or how we choose to enforce their payment, why were these wages never addressed in this lawsuit? We think Class Counsel bears this responsibility.
9. When Class Counsel chose to file this lawsuit and bind us to its class action terms, they had (and still have) a responsibility to vigorously represent and protect all of our interests and claims that might reasonably be affected by this lawsuit. If Class Counsel wanted to release our unpaid wage claims, they could and should have been aware we had unpaid wages in the first place. We don’t think releasing our unpaid wages was in our best interest, but, at a minimum, before they released ANYTHING on our behalf, Class Counsel had an obligation to ensure that our unpaid wages were paid.
10. Class Counsel breached their duty to properly represent us. Class Counsel had no authority to represent, let alone release our FLSA claims as there was never an FLSA cause of action. If we hired them to sell our car, we certainly wouldn’t expect them sell our house too.
11. Currently, there are no published California Appellate opinions regarding application of California Labor Code §206 & §206.5 to large class action wage and hour disputes. In the event you decline to reverse this Superior Court decision, we will request that the Appellant petition the Court for a rehearing, and if necessary, petition the Supreme Court for a grant of review. We believe the California Supreme Court would welcome the opportunity to clarify the rights of employees under Labor Codes §206 and §206.5, especially in the context of a class action lawsuit.
25. Make SRS Available on Medicare
At present neither of the major parties running for the 2007 Election have any policy relating to been committed to continuing and/or extending the Medicare benefits available to transgender people undergoing gender re-assignment.
The only political party that supports this are the Greens. As much as this is majorly supported it however makes no difference unless they hold a balance of power.
It's up to groups such as the Greens along with affiliated groups to try to implement change by having these changes supported by the government of the day. Neither major party has any concrete policies in place to address GLBT issues such as SRS and its time they did.
This Petition is to support the right for TG people to undergo SRS through the Medicare sytem.
In alot of cases TG's go through life unable to afford the cost of correcting a genetic error and rarely get the support they need. It's time this changed.
26. Victoria Pool in Saratoga Spa State Park should open Memorial Day to labor Day once Again!
Save the Victoria Pool Society formed in 2003 pressured our elected and appointed NYS Officials to put $1.5 million of our taxpayer money into rehabilitating the Victoria Pool. This was completed in 2005 even though much more could be done if funding is found.
The Victoria Pool traditionally opened Memorial Day until its neglect of recent years. We wish to have the Victoria Pool open once again from Memorial Day until Labor Day.
27. Say No to NPR's Anti Labor Firing of a Union Negotiator
In 1997 the engineering Unit of NPR began the process of Unionization. NPR management hired a large outside law firm to attempt to thwart these Unionization efforts. NPR filed many costly appeals. Finally, after the appeals and two votes, NABET-CWA was certified as the Engineering Union of NPR in 1999. After long arduous expensive negotiations the first contract was signed in 2002.
NPR violated the contract and a large amount of grievances had to be filed. NPR continued to pay their inside legal team and outside hired expensive law firms. For the second contract negotiations, NPR management hired an additional outside large expensive law firm. One of the negotiators who had also been involved in the Union mobilization efforts and a staunch supporter of workers fair rights was then fired by NPR management. That same negotiator was also utilizing the provisions of the FMLA at the time of her firing.
After the negotiator made her thoughts clear on the then current contract non favorable to workers rights proposal, the negotiator, was brought in to meetings and told she would be terminated for any absences FMLA or not and/or any inadvertent errors. The Negotiator had had an excellent professional record and had been an employee of NPR's for 12 years, and with a family and a young child.
NPR Management concurred that the Union did not agree with what they were doing, NPR was told by Union officials that NPR management was in violation of the contract. However, NPR Management fired the negotiator anyway and the workers voted for NPR's contract. Further resulting in another labor violation and insult: a Union worker would not want to volunteer to be a negotiator unless that volunteer made sure to agree with (NPR) Management.
NPR continues to violate their worker's rights and contract, and still resulting in more and more legal costs from their inside legal team and additionally hired expensive outside law firms.
We the people and general citizens of the United States ask that the U.S. Labor Department enact a bill that would make it mandatory for all employers to supply a 60 minute break across the Nation.
April 23, 2006
The members of the Jefferson City area YMCA have seen the facilities hours of operation be cut back the last two years.
We accepted the early closings between Memorial day and Labor day since the pool was open and staffed for use in the evening. The first cut was closing at 5:00 pm on the weekends from April 1st to October 31st. April, May, September, and October are times when the facility get a lot of late day use.
When the facility posted the head count spreadsheets, you could see the facility closed at a peak use time. These facility use tabulations are no longer posted. Starting this year the facilities are starting to close early on a week night.
We find this practice un-acceptable to the membership. The YMCA is a haven for youth to give them a place to go and play sports. It keeps children off the streets and gives them a positive recreational environment. This does not occur when the doors are locked.
30. Petition to investigate China's concentration camps
Update May 15, 2006
This petition is now closed. Thanks to all who signed. Thanks to gopetition.com! More people have discovered the terrible news of concentration camps and signed to ask for investigation.
April 14, 2006
Recent reports have revealed several concentration camps in China where tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are being held and face possible deaththis is an urgent situation that requires attention from the international community, especially the United States.
According to multiple sources, concentration camps similar to the one in Sujiatun, Shenyang, have been set up in provinces across China to detain large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners. In those camps, the authorities have been harvesting the organs of practitioners while they are still alive and cremating the remains to destroy the evidence, then selling the organs for profit. Clearwisdom.net and The Epoch Times exposed these atrocities to the world in early March, and within three weeks, before Chinese officials addressed the issue to foreign media, the practitioners held in underground concentration camp in Sujiatun had been quickly relocated.
According to tips from Mainland China and different investigations, the Chinese communist regime hastily published the "Interim Regulation for Human Organ Transplant Practice" after the Sujiatun concentration camp was exposed. However, the regulation will not take effect until July 1, 2006, and thus we suspect the regime was allowing time to destroy all evidence of the crimes. Investigations have confirmed that hospitals and transplant centers in Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Hunan, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Anhui, Shan'xi, Xinjiang and etc. are operating overtime to perform transplant operations. Hospital staff members told undercover investigators that patients should come in quickly if they want a transplant, as the hospital can find matching organs in as short as one or two days and it will be difficult after this batch of organs is used up.
This information, supported by multiple investigations, leads to one conclusion: A slaughter to eliminate witnesses and victims of the concentration camps is underway. Because of this urgent situation, the Falun Dafa Association has initiated IGFG (Investigate Genocide against Falun Gong in China) where many credible organizations have been and will be invited to join, aiming to go to China to perform an independent investigation of the persecution of Falun Gong in all the labor camps, jails, hospitals and relevant facilities.
After World War II, the international community deeply regretted its failure to stop the Holocaust and solemnly promised "Never Again." We urgently ask you to take immediate action and activate all possible mechanisms to stop this new genocide in Mainland China. In particular, the U.S. government owns satellites that can provide information on the past and present activities in the concentration camps and labor camps etc.
In the meantime, we know that you are meeting with Hu Jintao later this month. We hope that you can bring up the following points:
1. Open up all of China's labor camps/jails/hospitals for international investigation.
2. Allow IGFG to go into China and research the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong.
We believe such requests are fair, just, necessary, and urgent considering the current situation. Every minute of delay will result in irremediable loss of innocent lives and will be a disgrace to the human race!