UNION WINS
Local 800 has had so many achievements so far this year. Here are just a few:
• JVS GAIN won a $13,000 back pay settlement, to be distributed among several current and former Local 800 members, and a 2% wage increase for 14 union members. This happened after two Local 800 members informed the Union that JVS was systematically paying below Union contract rates. Management initially denied the problem, but, under threat of impending arbitration, settled on the Union’s terms.
• At Jewish Family Service, Union Shop Steward Niki Cannon learned that many of her co-workers were not being paid the cell phone reimbursement stipend guaranteed in the Union Agreement. With great persistence and dedication, Niki pushed this issue until we reached a settlement last month. Twenty-nine Local 800 members working at the Hirsch Kosher Kitchen, SOVA Food Bank, JFS Headquarters, and Meal Site Managers received a total of between $225-$250, for reimbursements for the period July 2019-March 2020. The total settlement amounted to over $7,000.
• At Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Union discovered that management had failed to implement the 2019 guaranteed 5 percent increase to the employer share of health care premiums. Six JBBBS union members received a combined total of $1,134.13 in back pay, ranging from $85.08 to $269.42 each.
• When Teachers and Teacher’s Assistants at Silverlake Independent JCC were laid off due to the school closure, Union Shop Stewards Judith Jimenez, Evelia Ontiveros, and Yamilee Valenzuela discovered underpayments in their severance packages. They promptly ensured that management paid all union members their full amount due.
• At JVS SoCal, Local 800 President Charlie Orlowski learned that management tried to deny Union membership to an employee newly-hired in a Union position. We ensured that she became a Union member, with full benefits and rights. JVS also agreed to pay $300 Union dues owed to Local 800 on behalf of this new member.
This is why we fight! This is the Union difference!
