Rosie STRIKES Again!
“At an event to spotlight working families, President Obama praised his own executive order raising federal contract worker pay to $10.10 an hour saying, “Nobody who cooks our troops’ meals or washes their dishes should have to live in poverty…That’s a disgrace.” But less than half a mile away, hundreds of those same hourly employees took a different stance. They had walked off their jobs in federal buildings earlier that morning, gathering outside the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in protest…” Washington Post

“I am not asking for a handout,” said Joanne Kenon, a greeter at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.“The $10.10 executive order is a good step, but working women need a union and a seat at the table.” Watch the Washington Post Video

Dressed as the World War II icon “Rosie the Riveter,” the women walked off the job at 50 profitable companies that get a large share of their business from federal contracts…According to a new Demos study, over 70 percent of these workers are women – which makes the federal government the largest funder of low-wage employment for working women.” BillMoyers.com

“The minimum wage is not enough for working moms like me,” said Monica Martinez, a single mom of two children and a federally supported worker. During WWII, the face of low-wage women became Rosie the Riveter, the muscular heroine working on defense contracts. “When Rosie spoke out, FDR listened,” said Liz Watson, senior counsel and director of workplace justice for women at the National Women’s Law Center. “Today Rosie is not a riveter. She’s a woman like Monica.” Ms. Magazine

“There is precedent for presidential action to improve workers’ rights. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9017 to ensure that strikes did not impede the war effort…As a result unions added millions of workers to their ranks, which after the war, helped build the biggest middle class in history. If Obama wants to exercise transformative leadership to address income inequality, he should follow in FDR’s footsteps to give workers a stronger voice.” Los Angeles Times

“The order issued by FDR – even more than the 1935 Wagner Act – enabled unions to raise standards throughout industrial America…The President made a start by issuing an order requiring all government contractors to pay their workers at least $10.10 an hour – but Obama could do a great deal more. Private employers that profit from government contracts should not just do the bare minimum. The government has the authority to demand that they be an exemplary employer…” The Huffington Post

“We need more benefits, higher wages, because single mothers like me, we can’t afford to raise our families on what we earn.” Rodelma Acosta, striking contract worker, National Univision

“There are few other interventions known to improve the prospects for better pay, benefits and workplace flexibility as much as unions do. Anyone who cares about the well-being of women workers and working families should also care about unions.” The Hill

“Lucila Ramirez, a grandmother and federal contract janitor at Union Station, has worked for the same employer for 21 years said, “We are grateful to the President for signing the $10.10 executive order, but we need more help now.” La Opinion

“Lisbeth Caceres works at the McDonald’s in the Pentagon earning $8.50 per hour … I get a lot of stress every day, thinking about how I’m going to be able to make payments on my bills,” she said. “I get headaches and don’t want to go to work because I’m depressed. I’m struggling every month to make ends meet for my family, and it shouldn’t be like that.” CNN Money

Armed with the new Demos study, Good Jobs Nation is “calling on President Obama to issue a ‘Good Jobs Executive Order’ directing agencies to incorporate higher workforce standards in awarding and evaluating federal contracts. Those standards would include: Respecting collective bargaining rights; offering living wages and decent benefits; demonstrating “exemplary” compliance with workplace protection laws; capping executive compensation at 50 times the median salary of the company’s staff.” The Washington Post