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CSWA's Highlights from 2009

Even against the many odds that working people in this country are facing, we have been able to build a collective force to make changes in our workplaces, our homes and our communities. Some of the 2009 highlights from our organizing include:

Anti-Displacement: We engaged thousands of workers and small businesses to fight for community control in land use issues in Chinatown/ Lower East Side and Sunset Park. What started as community-wide struggles to stop Bloomberg’s racist rezoning plans have laid the groundwork to create a new community-based rezoning plan to protect our community from displacement.

9/11 Health: The “We Count!” report conducted by Beyond Ground Zero and 9/11 Environmental Action was released on survey findings of hundreds of residents and workers in Lower Manhattan, and urges Congress to pass legislation providing long-term treatment and study for the entire 9/11-affected population. 

Manufacturer Accountability: We won a precedent-setting decision declaring garment manufacturer Liberty Apparel was a joint employer and therefore responsible for labor violations in its subcontracted factories. (Read more.) With the momentum from this victory, our Ain’t I A Woman?! Campaign is working with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez to launch a massive educational outreach campaign and to pass legislation for stronger manufacturer and retailer accountability.

Justice Will Be Served! : Our service workers organizing campaign won many milestone victories, such as Saigon Grill and Ollies; and is creating waves of change across communities and across trades, from Chinatown to the Upper West Side; and from Flushing to Maine. This progress is enhancing our work with many local elected officials, resident groups, religious leaders, and small businesses in creating Sweatshop Free Zones around the city. The strength of the workers’ organizing has brought awareness to the impact that long hours and sweatshop conditions have on the entire community. 

Break the Chains: In December 2009, we won a ground-breaking decision from the National Labor Relations Board against Majestic Buffet in Wayne, NJ.  The decision orders Majestic Buffet and its successor to pay the undocumented workers for lost wages due to the employer’s unfair labor practices. Most importantly, the decision explicitly denounces the Employer Sanctions Provisions of IRCA for dividing workers, undermining labor laws and destroying work conditions of all workers. Read more.

Join us in celebration of the battles won and in preparation for struggling and winning more victories for working people still to come in this Year of the Tiger!  Bring your family and friends to CSWA’s Lunar New Year Party on Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 2:30pm to 5:30pm; located at East Market Restaurant (75 East Broadway). Please RSVP: contact us for details.