Articles tagged: Workers Defense Project
Again, Texas Republicans Fail to Gut Local Labor Protections
The win for worker advocates came unexpectedly—and may not last long.
In the waning hours of Texas’ 87th legislative session, House Democrats staged a walk-out to kill a sweeping Republican effort at voter suppression. Little-no...Read More
Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez Enters the U.S. Senate Race
In taking on Senator John Cornyn, Tzintzún Ramirez, a progressive organizer, hopes to build on Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 campaign, mobilize Latinx voters, and finally prove that Texas progressives can win a statewide election.
Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a longtime organizer of immigrant, worker, and Latinx communities, has pressured Texas politicians to enact progressive policies fro...Read More
‘Repository of Shame’: Will Texas Start Publicly Identifying Wage Thieves?
Wage theft is a quiet crisis in the Lone Star State. A bill that would publicly expose bad actors may have a chance at the Legislature.
Every year, the Texas Workforce Commission identifies thousands of employers who’ve engaged in wage theft, an offense that can range from outright denial of w...Read More
Handy Wanted to Disrupt Texas Labor Laws. It May Have Also Disrupted Texas Lobbying Laws.
After reporting from the Observer, two Texas lobbyists updated years of disclosures that show they had worked for Handy, “the Uber for Home Services,” to change state labor regulations.
by Justin Miller April 3, 2019 Silicon Valley startups fancy themselves bold disruptors of the status quo. As the mantra goes: Move fast and break things. But f...Read More
New Documentary Reveals the Deadly Cost of Texas’ Anti-Worker Agenda
As the Legislature ponders yet another crackdown on labor, Building the American Dream explores the stakes of labor policy in the country’s largest red state.
Roendy Granillo, 25, was installing hardwood flooring in a house near Dallas when the heat started getting to him. It was July 2015, and the temperature had hit...Read More
Activists Take Paid Sick Leave Fight to San Antonio with 144,000 Signatures
On Thursday, San Antonians turned in roughly twice the number of signatures necessary to get mandatory paid sick leave on November’s ballot.
San Antonio activists on Thursday submitted about twice the number of signatures necessary to get a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance on the ballot in Novembe...Read More
In Austin, Workers Score a Big Win
Austin City Council passed a resolution making Austin the first city to add comprehensive protections for workers into its corporate-incentive program....Read More
Hotel Developer Debate Raises Questions over Austin’s Incentive Program
Friday morning, Austin City Council upheld a decision to revoke a $3.8 million incentive deal with Indiana-based developer White Lodging. Labor groups say the c...Read More
El Paso Becomes Second City to Indict Employer for Wage Theft
In 2011, Austin-based Workers Defense Project successfully lobbied for the wage theft code amendment, authored by Senator Jose Rodriguez (D-El Paso), that made ...Read More