• The Workers’ Rights Board is made up of concerned local leaders, drawn from a broad spectrum of the community.
• WRB members exercise creative combinations of “moral persuasion” and public exposure tactics to put pressure on employers and other decision-makers who engage in unfair labor practices, including blocking their workers’ right to decide, if they choose, to be represented by a union. The WRB seeks to provide a collective and unified voice in support of workers, and to establish community standards for employer behavior.
• The WRB is a community alternative to the National Labor Relations Board and a supplement to understaffed government regulatory agencies, both state and federal. Existing labor law provides very little protection for workers who are treated unfairly or who try to organize collectively. Even though it has no formal legal power, the WRB can be the moral voice of the community when labor laws fall short.
• In over 20 cities nationwide, Jobs with Justice Workers’ Rights Boards have become a powerful tool for focusing public attention and moral pressure on employers who violate workers’ rights.
What does the Workers’ Rights Board Do?
• Investigate complaints from workers regarding unfair treatment, discrimination, and suppression of democratic collective activity.
• Hold a public hearing on a workers’ rights issue. WRB hearings give workers the opportunity to tell their stories of workplace abuse and injustice to the community. Employers are also given the opportunity to testify. The WRB usually hears testimony from workers and others engaged in the campaign and then issues recommendations and a report.
• Do a delegation to management in response to a complaint from workers: WRB members can meet with employers to discuss an injustice they’ve heard about from workers and to pressure the employer to rectify the situation.
• Sign a letter to management to express support for workers’ demands.
Current members:
Byron Bangert
Rob Deppert
Donn Hall
Lorri Hamer
Isabel Piedmont-Smith
Chelsea Rood-Emmick
Jane Walter
For more information, e-mail: scijwj@gmail.com
