On the Beaches of Santa Monica, Temp Workers Organize

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2015/01/beaches-santa-monica-temp-workers-organize



Even public employers are dipping their toes into the "permatemp" economy. Workers designated "trainees" clean Santa Monica bathrooms and lifeguard stations, earning half of what permanent workers earn for the same job. One has been a trainee for almost 30 years. Photo: Marcy Winograd.


January 12, 2015 / Shyolanda Montana

There’s a hidden underside to Santa Monica, California’s idyllic exterior.

Santa Monica is a beautiful beachfront city: breezes from the Pacific Ocean, a year-round Mediterranean climate, 3.5 miles of beaches. Seven million visitors a year flock here—generating $1.63 billion.

But the workers who maintain the city are hired on an as-needed basis, earning poverty-level wages, lacking benefits and the ability to form a union.

I am one of them. I’ve been employed as a temporary employee in beach bathroom maintenance for four years. I struggle to earn a living and hold an extra job so I can earn enough money to survive.

The recession hurt many families in Los Angeles, including mine. My mother moved in with me when my family’s house was lost to a foreclosure. She had nowhere else to go, so I found a home big enough for all of us.

READ the FULL story at link. They are in front of the city council next week.

[abelenkpe]

1. K&R

[marym625]

2. We are going backwards

This was shot down with the Microsoft decision years ago. Now it's back.

Why do we have to keep fighting the same fights over and over?

I owe my soul to the company store

[gopiscrap]

3. Good