What are our rights at work? Know Your Rights Train the Trainer Workshop
Written by Joshua Alba, MA JwJ Worker Rights Organizer
What are our rights at work? If you’ve ever worked in a warehouse, a restaurant, or in retail, like at Target, you, like us, might not know much about what protections and remedies are available to us in our workplaces. It’s not like your boss is going to tell you that you have the right to file a petition against them with all of your co-workers, right?
Well, we found out so much more juicy, helpful stuff early last month during a training when JwJ partnered with UML’s Labor Extension Program to get ourselves trained, together with a bunch of our partners from across the state, on how to effectively teach workers’ rights to the workers that we’re organizing! In addition to reviewing a few laws and analyzing specific worker situations, we got keyed into and experienced the Popular Education model of teaching. Pop. Ed, essentially, is a “participatory process that combines people’s experiences and knowledge, to develop collective analysis and strategies for action for positive change,” to quote the Labor Extension’s presentation. Wild, right? When we think of how most of us were educated with more of a top-down, “do what I tell you” type of approach, we begin to understand how important and empowering Popular Education can be for us and the kind of organizing that we’re trying to master.
One of our interns this Spring noted in a separate meeting, how many people in working class communities simply accept their working conditions as they are, as we and our families have, to one degree or another. We discussed the intersections of racial oppression and the state of public education, and the political and wealthy class that benefit from these and other social conditions, by design. So, when you read that you have the right to collectively petition, picket, or go on strike, we hope that it gives you pause, that you become energized about your options when facing unfair and unjust practices at some big company that should know better, yet they always find ways to further exploit their workers.
Did you know that you can shut production down at a factory, in coordination with your co-workers, to force them to negotiate with you about what you want, that they refuse to give to you after you’ve tried through more accommodating methods? Just double checking. Workers have the right to escalate their tactics and shut production due to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. On the other hand, here in Massachusetts, Public School educators can’t go on strike. That’s because the MGL 150E law exists and it needs to go! Now, feel free to polish your nails on your shirt before you raise your fist to the sky! Knowledge is power. All power to the people!
Our organizers at JwJ have begun to integrate what we’ve learned into our conversations with workers who reach out to us at our regional events and at coalition actions. Join us and give us feedback on how we’re doing and let’s fight back better, together!
Many thanks to Elevated thought, ACT Lawrence, New England United for Justice, MassCOSH, La Colaborativa, Asian American Resource Workshop, Neighbor to Neighbor, UAW-2322, and the Western Mass. ALF for joining us. A big embrace and admiration for Elizabeth, Pam, and Anneta at the Labor Extension for leading us so well through this training.
These partners will continue to work closely with us on one or several projects this year, including our ballot campaigns, education and racial justice issues in Lawrence and Springfield, immigrant rights in Greater Boston, and with organized and unorganized labor in Worcester.
Donation link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kyrblog