#rights at work

[worldaidsday]

The HIV pandemic has become one of the most critical workplace issues of our time.

In addition to its devastating impact on working women and men and their families and dependents, HIV affects the world of work in many ways. Stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS threatens fundamental rights at work, undermining opportunities for people to obtain decent work and sustainable employment.

Voluntary, confidential HIV counselling and testing for workers: A global initiative to reduce gaps in HIV testing.

[paisinconsistent]

The policy of applying labor laws must encompass a policy of enforcing labor laws effectively....Otherwise, we would leave helpless the very persons who most need protection from exploitative employer practices.

US Supreme Court, Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc VS National Labor Relations Board

[rezultat-blog]

Maxim Polishkevych, the Managing Partner of the Resultat Law Firm explains your rights at work and specific features of labour legislation.

[deardavidwa]

How To Celebrate National Boss’s Day

There seems to be a holiday for everything, even when it’s not totally necessary. Take, for instance, National Boss’s Day, which took place on Wednesday. Boss’s Day, inaugurated in 1958, is “a day for employees to thank their bosses for being kind and fair throughout the year.” Kind and fair is good, but what does that really mean? Where is the bar set, and who gets to set it? If your boss is personally very nice to you but neglects to hear you on issues that are important to you or your co-workers—is that good enough? And what if your boss isn’t kind or fair?

There are, of course, great bosses out there—people who truly treat the employees who work for them with respect and fairness, and strive to make the workplace healthy and productive for everyone. But I know from this column that there are plenty of workers out there for whom “National Boss’s Day” just adds insult to injury.

Like this man, whose boss has told him to “improve” his work but hasn’t said what that actually means.

Or this woman, whose boss is condescending to her and insults her with names like “fathead.”

(If you want a quick survey of how bad bosses can really be—check out these stories.)

For workers like these, whose ability to make a living is at the mercy of someone who abuses their power, every day is “Boss’s Day” and not their own.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to cross your fingers and hope for a boss to decide to be kind to you. If you work strategically and act together with your co-workers, you can begin to reset the imbalance in the boss-worker power dynamic that too often leads to bad situations. There’s some effort involved here, for sure, but that’s true about anything that’s worth doing.

Here’s my challenge to anyone dealing with a bad boss right now:

1. Step back and ask yourself some questions. What would you like to see changed at your workplace or in the way your boss treats you? Who else do you know at work who is feeling the same way as you?

2. Take the Working America “Fix My Job” challenge. Give yourself a year to experiment with the tools on fixmyjob.com, and see what you can accomplish by working together with your co-workers.

3. Keep us posted. You can do this through fixmyjob.com, where you can keep notes, ask us questions and share your progress privately. Once you’ve completed some basic first steps, you’ll have an opportunity to request a meeting with an experienced workplace troubleshooter.

I know it can be disheartening if you are dealing with a bad boss right now. Stay strong! Remember to be patient. Meaningful change doesn’t happen on its own, and it doesn’t happen overnight. But you—together with your co-workers—CAN make change happen.

Got a question for David? Submit it here.

[18mr]

We hope you enjoyed your day off yesterday. (We did!) But this day after Labor Day, we've gotta say: a day off is well and good, but employment protection is golden! Here's 11 things American workers deserve (besides a day off, which we also deserve).

[workingamerica]

My father at the age of 32 fell 30 feet from a defective scaffold to his death on a concrete floor. Workers Compensation ruled out that kind of scaffold after his death. There's something so sad about a person going to work and not coming home. We went to meet his train, he wasn't on it so we went to meet the later train, he wasn't on that one either.

Agathena on DailyKos

[paisinconsistent]

HOFFMAN PLASTIC COMPOUNDS, INC VS NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD US Supreme Court: " Awarding back pay to an undocumented migrant worker, not only trivializes the immigration law, it also condones and encourages future violations". (In this view, no right at work means no rights AT work) Dissenting judges (Breyer, Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg) issued a separate opinion: "The dismissal of Jose Castro was unlawful because it occured in response to the exercise of a fundamental labour right: the right to form a trade union. In terms of the implications of the ruling for immigration policy, the dissenting judges said that leaving undocumented migrant workers without labour rights, such as this, would provide further incentiver for employers to employ undocumented workers. The decision of the majority, according to the dissenting judges,was not only contrary to the fundamental right to organise; it was also counterproductive for it could lead to an increase in the demand for undocumented workers.

#right to work

[deardavidwa]

The Mean Kids

Question:

Dear David, I work with a group of people who bully other co-workers. They spread false rumors, try to sabotage others’ jobs and call our ethics tip line to get others in trouble. What would be your advice in dealing with the wackos?

— Pushed Around in Pennsylvania

  Answer: That sounds like one part “The Office,” one part “Lord of the Flies.”

This would be annoying in a middle school—but in an adult workplace, it’s incredibly embarrassing and totally unacceptable. One question: Where’s your boss in all this? It’s not just you and your co-workers’ responsibility to maintain standards of behavior at the workplace, but your employer’s, too.

Whenever you have a problem at work, often it’s a good idea to talk to others you work with to see if they share your concerns. Together, you gain some protection as well as partners to help you problem solve and organize others. However, you do have to be careful in this environment.

It’s usually not a very good idea to confront someone at work—whether it’s your boss or a co-worker bully—by yourself. It’s called “strength in numbers.” The first question I’d ask: Is there anyone else at your workplace who’s not a part of this group of “wackos,” so you can get some backup if it comes down to it? If so, I would probably start there.

Because you know there’s a risk of false rumors and sabotage, you may want to minimize your appeal as a target by only engaging with the bullies as necessary to do your job. Think about getting a locking file cabinet and a password on your computer if you don’t already have one. And, although it’s one of the easiest things to do, it’s also one of the most easily overlooked: Cover yourself! Document, document, document. It’s smart to keep good records of what’s going on, including times, dates and the names of anyone who was involved or witnessed. You could start a workplace journal, or you could email notes to yourself or another trusted co-worker. Just don’t leave your journal out at work, and use your personal email account, not a work email.

Protecting yourself, keeping a record and figuring out who your trusted allies are is the key here. That’s a good start on the path to organizing and getting your boss to take some meaningful action.