Jimmy Johns Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World) Contact: Rikki Olsen, 612-750-9924; Matt Miranda 651-788-5192

MINNEAPOLIS- Spirits were high and the air full of song on picket lines outside Jimmy Johns this afternoon as over 100 workers and supporters brought business to a near standstill. The picket was prompted by the refusal of Mike and Rob Mulligan, owners of the Miklin Enterprise franchise, to meet with their employees to discuss improvements in wages and working conditions.

Union members say they are undiscouraged by the owners' absence from the negotiating table. "We'll be out here until the Mulligans realize that workers can't make it on these poverty wages. We need consistent scheduling and more respect on the job. We need sick days. We need change. We're fired up and we're not going away until we see the changes we want," said Rikki Olsen, a union member at the Block E Jimmy Johns.

So far, the only response from the company has been a craigslist post advertising openings at all locations, with starting pay at $7.50, 25 cents more than current workers make.

Workers walked off the kitchen floor and presented demands this morning at all nine Miklin franchise locations, declaring their membership in the IWW Jimmy Johns Workers Union.

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Fast Food Chain Rocked by Work Stoppages in Sign of Mounting Economic Frustration among US Workers

MINNEAPOLIS- Service was anything but 'freaky fast' at Jimmy Johns today as workers walked off the kitchen floor in an unprecedented move to demand improved wages and working conditions at nine Minneapolis franchise locations. Announcing the formation of the IWW Jimmy Johns Workers Union, the workers are seeking a pay increase to above minimum wage, consistent scheduling and minimum shift lengths, regularly scheduled breaks, sick days, no-nonsense workers compensation for job-related injuries, an end to sexual harassment at work, and basic fairness on the job.

"I have been working at Jimmy Johns for over two years and they still pay me minimum wage and schedule me one-hour shifts," said Rikki Olsen, a union member at the Block E location. "I'm working my way through school and can barely make ends meet. I'd get another job, but things are just as bad across the service industry. Companies like Jimmy John's are profitable and growing, they need to provide quality jobs for the community."

The Minneapolis franchise, owned and operated by Miklin Enterprises, Inc., pays the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr, offers no benefits, and has no full-time positions outside of management. Jimmy Johns corporate website lists $264,270 as the average yearly net profit for operating a franchise. Union members estimate that Rob and Mike Mulligan, owners of Miklin, Inc. made an annual profit of at minimum $2.3 million in the last year alone. The Miklin franchise plans to open four new locations this year at an estimated cost of over $1.2 million.

Jake Foucault, a delivery driver at the Riverside store, said, "If Mike and Rob Mulligan have the money to open four new stores, then they have the money to pay us more than minimum wage. We hope Rob and Mike do the right thing and come to the negotiating table."

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Headline news, compiled by NationalJournal.com.

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In another case officially issued on Member Schaumber's last day on the NLRB, the Board has protected union banners that were alleged to be unlawful secondary pressure. In Eliason v. Knuth, at issue were some "Shame On" banners placed near...

In another case officially issued on Member Schaumber's last day on the NLRB, the Board has protected union banners that were alleged to be unlawful secondary pressure. In Eliason v. Knuth, at issue were some "Shame On" banners placed near...

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MP3:  winhead090310.mp3 Headlines:  United Steel Workers: Latest Gulf Oil Rig Explosion Shows Need For More Time For Safety Inspections- 09/03/10 Locked Out Honeywell Workers Defending Health Care And Pensions- 09/03/10 UNITE-HERE Presses Campaign Against Hyatt Hotel Labor Practices- 09/03/10

Hyatt Regency Waikiki workers staged a one-day strike on Thursday. Jesse Russell reports.

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By Doug Cunningham

Honeywell is continuing its lockout of United Steel Workers members at a uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Illinois. It’s one of just two plants in North America that converts uranium ore to UF-6 gas for use in nuclear power plants. USW Local 7-669’s Steven Lech says in June Honeywell locked out 230 United Steel Workers members when they refused to agree to major concessions – even though Honeywell is a profitable company.

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[Editor's note: Ms. Socrates is a science teacher in a high school in Brooklyn entering her second year. She blogs at Teacher's Diary where this post originally appeared.]

The day after I got back from my trip to Europe, I was already feeling the pressure to start getting ready for my upcoming year. As I have reflected on my first year this summer, I feel I have grown a lot as an educator — I will certainly start this coming year off very differently than last year. Still, everyone says the second year is in some ways harder than the first. In the first year, I was not as hard on myself when things went wrong, telling myself it was a rookie mistake that I would learn from. In my second year, however, I know I will not be as forgiving. I’ll still be experimenting a lot, trying new techniques and lesson ideas, but after seeing how poorly my students did on the Regents last year, I am determined to do much better with my second crop of students.

Here’s what I’m thinking about as the new school year approaches:

1. Lesson Planning — Having strong lesson plans and unit plans ready before the year starts was a goal of mine last year that didn’t really pan out. I only had about a week and a half fully planned before beginning the year and that set me back for the rest of the semester. This year, I already have a week planned out, plus the overviews for the following two weeks, and I still have plenty of time to plan. My goal now is to have the first two units (about 8 or 9 weeks) planned before I start. I will also have time to co-plan, so that both my special education co-teacher and I are on the same page with the lessons. If I can do that, I’ll be in great shape going in.

2. New Classroom Routines — I’m redesigning how certain things work in my classroom work, especially homework. Last year, I planned to give homework almost every night, but the excessive amount of time I spent grading made me cut back. After observing a friend’s system, I plan to give homework EVERY night, so that it becomes a routine, but not collect it every time. Instead, students will check each other and I will simply record whether it was done or not. I also plan to allow more time for students to go over homework and quizzes — I ran out of time last year, but with better planning, I can surely fit this in.

3. Creating a Student-Centered Classroom — I read the book “Work Hard. Be Nice.” this summer (review to come) and it gave me some ideas about how a classroom should run — crisp, smooth transitions and lots of back and forth between students and teachers, like having a conversation. I want to include more student choice and have more classes driven by their questions and interests. Obviously it will still need to be directed in a way that prepares them for the end-of-year tests, but giving them ownership and having stricter policies will help with my classroom management.

4. Making Learning More Fun — While fun in the classroom is a controversial issue, I feel that students learn much more when they are absorbed and enjoying what they are doing. With proper planning, I think I can avoid the common pitfalls of having fun destroy any learning. There are ways to have both. I love the arts, especially music and drama, and I know many of my students do as well. By incorporating those things into the classroom, I can differentiate instruction to reach all learners and create lessons that truly engage students.

5. Decorating the Classroom — First impressions are very important, and although most of my students already met me last year, I want their first glimpse into my classroom to tell them that this is a new year and it is now their classroom. I didn’t do a great job last year of having essential questions around the room and using the posters that I did have in my lessons. This year, I want my walls to be completely covered with student work, vocabulary words, reminders and colorful posters to get kids excited about the classroom.

There is much more to do, but these are my top priorities. I hope all the other teachers out there are feeling confident about the upcoming year!

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