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New Orleans uses prison labor against striking workers

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  • New Orleans uses prison labor against striking workers

    First thing that hit my mind was "Cool Hand Luke".
    Imagine only making $10.25 an hour ? Then asking for protective safety equipment. Only then you find out your job has been replaced by state prisoners !

    Outrage Rises as New Orleans Replaces Striking Garbage Workers With Prison Labor Equal to “Modern Day Slavery”
    Last week, according to PayDay Report and Louisiana local news, dozens of garbage workers employed by the temp service People Ready went on strike demanding proper safety equipment. The workers, who make only $10.25 an hour are also demanding hazard pay and paid sick leave.
    Many have responded in outrage about the practice, equating it with modern day slavery considering the prisoners pay rate and working conditions.
    Local residents, union workers, hospitality workers and health care professionals — all impacted by the coronavirus — have voiced support and concern for the sanitation workers. The workers said they will keep fighting until they get the pay and protection they need.
    “They are trying to show the world that people will still do our job without giving us the proper protective equipment,” Woods said. “All of it is a hustle for them, a scam for them. They saving money that’s all they are doing – that’s all it is”.
    https://scapimag.com/2020/05/12/outr...Z4Z5WI7HSSp8aE

  • #2
    Re: New Orleans uses prison labor against striking workers

    These men who were replaced, after striking, by prison labor have formed their own union.

    Replaced by Prison Labor, NOLA Garbage Workers Form Union to Fightback
    Nearly a month ago, People Ready fired Edwards and 13 other coworkers who went on strike.
    Forced to work in one of the world’s worst hotbeds of COVID, garbage pickers like Edwards, employed through the temp firm People Ready and contracted by Metro Services, were only paid $10.25 an hour without benefits.
    On May 6th, workers went on strike demanding $15 an hour, hazard pay, protective equipment, and health insurance. However, the workers were fired two days later on May 8th.
    Instead of re-hiring them, Metro Services replaced them with prison labor. The workers have since filed National Labor Relations Board charges alleging that they were illegally fired for striking.
    The workers’ move to unionize comes as The Appeal reports that some sheriffs in rural Louisiana are continuing to allow prison labor to replace workers refusing to work in food processing plants.
    So far, though, the Office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrel, who was elected as Mayor in 2017 as an anti-establishment candidate on a platform of $15-an-hour minimum, has yet to meet with the workers.
    “The Mayor’s Office has not truly addressed this at all,” says Edward’s niece, Daytrian Wilken, a local community activist who has been helping to form the City Waste Union.
    So far, New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams is the only city official who has met with the workers.
    https://paydayreport.com/replaced-by...o-fightback-2/

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    • #3
      Re: New Orleans uses prison labor against striking workers

      These low paid garbage disposal workers are still on strike.

      'They're being treated as disposable;' New Orleans sanitation workers continue strike for living wage, hazard pay
      Sanitation workers in New Orleans continued to demand hazard pay and a living wage during demonstration and marches Saturday.
      Workers for Metro Services Disposal Group began striking in March, saying they weren't being given proper safety equipment or paid sick leave. Protesters also noted that sanitation crew workloads had increased because after stay-at-home orders were issued.
      "They're being treated as disposable," a protester said. "We have this idea that certain jobs are more important that others, but I think we've realized with the pandemic that some jobs are essential — and it's the working class."

      Metro has not addressed those issues and has replaced workers with prison laborers.
      https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/l...f-07d6ac51ded4

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