Blaming too few students signed up for the class, the Iowa City Community School District has decided to cancel the Ethnic Studies elective course scheduled for the upcoming trimester. Brought about amid protests last school year, the student organization Students Against Hate and Discrimination (SAHD) negotiated the addition of this Social Justice class with…
Here at the Center for Worker Justice, we value and celebrate diversity in our community. After receiving reports from multiple community members of racially-charged messages and harassment, the CWJ participated in a forum as a member of the Johnson County Interfaith Cluster that met with city leaders, faith groups, and local police to…
Eleven CWJ members and allies met with the regional directors of Senators Grassley (Fred Shuster) and Ernst (Brittney Carroll) on Tuesday, January 16 to discuss immigrant justice, including the urgent need to pass a “clean†DREAM Act immediately. Every day that Congress fails to pass a DREAM Act, more than 100 young people who…
In 2015, Johnson County workers won a long-overdue, historic minimum wage increase when the Johnson County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved raising the minimum wage in three steps: to $8.20 in November 2015; $9.15 on May 1, 2016, and $10.10 on January 1, 2017. After years of inaction from Congress, County Supervisors joined 29 states…
“We are here to stay! Immigrants are here to stay! Our minimum wage is here to stay! Our unions are here to stay!†CWJ is proud to Honor those Leaders in our Community who have contributed to improving our lives in the last year; here are the Winners: Emerging Leader: Margarita Volunteer of the Year: Sally…
Over 100 businesses have committed to honoring a livable wage within our community – but we’re not going to stop there. Every day, we’re working to make sure that number grows, and working to make sure that each worker in our community is getting what they need and deserve. Click the headline for the full…
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been working hard to make sure that local businesses continue to honor a minimum wage that our community can actually live off of. With the passage of HSB92, local businesses no longer have a legal obligation to continue to pay $10.10, but as Rev. Rudolph T. Juárez points out in…
Celebrate local progress with us at CWJ’s Second Annual Gala on October 21, 2017 at 6:00 PM! Our members and allies have built a vibrant organization bringing hundreds together across boundaries of race, national origin, and immigration status. Through the hard work of our community, we’ve redefined what’s politically possible in our region. We’re delighted to announce…
Case came to the CWJ in April for help in recovering over $400 in unpaid wages owed by her former employer – money needed for car payments, groceries, and other essentials. After working with us and out supporters, she was able to receive pay for her missing hours. Wage theft and abuse has no place…
We’ve been hard at work asking local businesses to commit to continuing to support our community by paying at least $10.10 wage to all their workers, irregardless of what happens in Des Moines. For the full, continually updating list, follow this link or click the headline above: http://cwjiowa.org/moving-forward-local-businesses-who-have-comitted-to-10-10/