labor

Workers at the ESPN Zone gathered in front of their former employer at a press conference on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 to express their outrage and to raise legal issues regarding their termination and treatment.

The Disney Corporation announced on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 they would be shutting down the following week – Tuesday, June 15, 2010 – its ESPN Zone locations in Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, Washington, and Baltimore, keeping its Los Angeles and Anaheim locations open.

Every year around the world countries celebrate International Workers Day or Labor Day on May 1 – commonly known as May Day.

   For the youngest republic in the industrialized world it also marks the anniversary of the 1886 Haymarket massacre – a three-day strike for an 8-hour work day that took place in Chicago, Ill, which turned violent when police fired on demonstrators, killing several as well as fellow officers.

Video from May Day 2010 in Baltimore and the United Workers "Our Harbor Day":

On May 1st the United Workers marched for living wages and work with dignity, targeting the developers behind the Inner Harbor. "Our Harbor Day" mobilized three separate political theater performances and street marches (on "earth", "education", and "work") from the greater Baltimore social justice community, which converged on City Hall for a concluding performance followed by a march to and through the Inner Harbor itself.

CIW’s principle is, 'We are all leaders'

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November 23, 2009, Baltimore, MD

Sometimes major movements begin by a simple drink of water.

A Farmworkers Rights Vigil organized by Just Harvest took place at the Baltimore American Indian Center (BAIC) on 113 S. Broadway in Fells Point, Baltimore.

Just Harvest, recently formed by veteran organizer Marina Saenz, is dedicated to social justice and human rights for immigrant farmworkers of color.

The weight for real social change - for better and for worse - has become much heavier.

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Nov. 14 2009, D.F. México

"¡Aquí se ve la fuerza del SME! - Here they see the force of SME!”

The Inner Harbor has been built tremendously with tax breaks and subsidies that have created a poverty zone that is not talked about.

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Dominique Washington was one of those workers that tourists would see – or not see – toiling behind the counter to provide them refreshment at the Downtown Inner Harbor. The 19-year-old former employee at Five Guys Burgers and Fries recounted stories of tripled duties, shorted paychecks, and working overtime unpaid at Baltimore’s premier tourist haven.

Major announcement today! Workers call on Inner Harbor developers to ensure human rights standards at the harbor

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Inner Harbor workers announced a major ramp-up in the Human Rights Zone Campaign by calling on Inner Harbor developers, The Cordish Companies and General Growth Properties (GGP) to ensure basic human rights standards at the Inner Harbor.

It may’ve taken longer than we had hoped to bring you this article. But, it is here now… a quick summary of April 18th, 2009, a.k.a. the Bmore Fair and The Human Rights Zone March. We, at Baltimore’s Indypendent Reader, fully support The United Workers campaign and hope to give this story better coverage in the future.

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Bmore Fair
By: John Ellis (one of the “cycling activists” at the day’s events)