Amazon, pay living wage!

From Bex Hay of Change.org

This Christmas Amazon will make huge sales but people working in its warehouses report low pay and tough conditions. Join the movement calling Amazon to pay the living wage. Sign the petition “I would never work for this company again, I felt like a slave trapped in a big metal cage.” That's what one former Amazon employee told me about their experience working in one of Amazon's warehouses. This month Amazon hires thousands of temporary staff at it packing factories to fill millions of orders. But while Amazon rakes in huge sales, the people working hard in the warehouses face low pay and tough conditions. When I read about the conditions at Amazon factories last year I wanted to take action, so along with a few friends, we started a petition calling on Amazon to pay its workers a living wage. Despite billions in sales and expensive promotion campaigns such as sponsoring Downton Abbey, Amazon still have the majority of their staff on insecure contracts, paying a wage that doesn't meet the cost of living. I've spoken in confidence to some of the people working in Amazon's UK warehouses, and published their stories anonymously so the company's abuses can become more widely known. [1] As customers, or potential customers, we have huge power to let Amazon know what we expect of them as a responsible company - but only if enough of us come together. They claim to be "Earth's most customer-centric company", so let's put that to the test. Already 65,000 people have signed our petition and thousands have signed up to avoid shopping at Amazon this Christmas. [2]  Will you join us? This is Amazon's busiest time of year so it's the most crucial time to get our voices heard. Sign the petition to get Amazon to pay its workers the living wage and join our movement to get Amazon to become a responsible company. Thank you, Bex Hay [1] Amazon Anonymous: Worker Reviews [2] Guardian: Amazon Christmas boycott campaign gathers weight Sign the petition

Stop TTIP petition from 38Degrees

As the saying goes, the price of liberty is constant vigilance. Thus it seems there is little time for me to practice on my guitar today, despite having got up at about 7:30am. But I'll try and make this the last upload I make today.

Swheatie

A deal that could permanently privatise our NHS is being negotiated in secret right now. It's called the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership, or TTIP for short, and this EU-US trade deal is one of the most dangerous ever written. [1] Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have the power to scupper it. But first they need to feel the pressure from the people they represent - us, the public. Can you add your name to a huge EU-wide petition and help convince them? Click here to sign: [Swheatie adds: beware of request for a donation that follows your signing of the petition] SIGN THE PETITION Today, thousands of 38 Degrees members are out on the streets campaigning against TTIP and collecting signatures for this petition. The shady deal would allow big corporations to sue our government if they don't like our laws. Simply raising minimum wage could drag our government into a lawsuit that could cost taxpayers millions. [2] The same sort of deal is being negotiated with Canada called CETA. [3] Both of these massive deals have been negotiated behind closed doors. Now people across Europe are uniting to force them out into the open. If TTIP and CETA can be pushed to the top of the political agenda in the EU, then MEPs will be forced to say whether they support it or not. Your signature, along with hundreds of thousands of others from countries including Germany, France and Italy, can help move these dangerous deals into the spotlight. There are millions of 38 Degrees members in the UK alone, and there's millions more people across Europe who want to stop TTIP. Will you add your name? Please click the link to sign the petition: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/ttip-eu Working across borders which usually divide us can have a really powerful impact. This pettion is organised by 240 organisations and signed by people from all 28 EU countries. We may all live in different places and speak different languages - but together, we all stand against TTIP, and that sends a strong message. [4] Thanks for being involved, Belinda, India, James and the 38 Degrees team NOTES: [1] Independent: British sovereignty 'at risk' from EU-US trade deal: UK in danger of surrendering judicial independence to multinational corporations: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/british-sovereignty-at-risk-from-euus-trade-deal-uk-in-danger-of-surrendering-judicial-independence-to-multinational-corporations-warn-activists-9057318.html [2] Touchstone: Special courts for foreign investors have no place in trade deals: http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2013/11/special-courts-for-foreign-investors-have-no-place-in-trade-deals/ [3] Short briefing on CETA, by Nick Dearden, Director of World Development Movement: http://wdm.org.uk/trade/short-briefing-ceta [4] Stop TTIP: Supporting organisations: http://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/

Mega bucks business not good for NHS

From Megan Bentall of petitioning website 38 Degrees

Here’s a scary prospect:

The NHS being carved up by more and more private companies. Coke or other mega corporations taking our government to the cleaners because they don’t like how strict our laws are.

Sound far-fetched? A huge new trade deal is being negotiated right now between the US and the EU, that could make that scary prospect a reality. [1] The deal’s called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) - its a fancy name for a sinister trade deal.

Under the deal, US healthcare companies trying to provide NHS services could sue our government for passing a law to put a stop to privatisation. Or big businesses could sue the government for raising the minimum wage - if it hurts their profits. [2]

Business Minister Vince Cable’s department is in charge of TTIP in the UK. He’ll decide what we sign up to - he could make or break the deal. If he hears how important TTIP is to the public, he might do the right thing and fix or scrap TTIP.

A huge petition is the first step in showing Vince that we’re watching him closely. Can you take two minutes to add your name to a petition telling him to fix or scrap TTIP now? Click here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/petition-ttip

It’d be easy to fix this deal. Vince could take a stand against businesses being able to sue the government, like Germany has done recently. [3] Or he could call for the NHS and public services to be completely removed from the deal, like the French government did when they got some areas excluded. [4]

So let’s push TTIP into the spotlight and force Vince’s hand. Already thousands of us have chipped in and raised £100,000 for an ad campaign launching in the Autumn. [5] But we need to keep the pressure mounting. We need to tell Vince Cable to fix or scrap this deal.

Click here to add your name to the petition:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/petition-ttip


Thanks for being involved,

Megan, Susannah, Blanche & the 38 Degrees team


NOTES:
[1] The Independent: British sovereignty ‘at risk’ from EU-US trade deal: UK in danger of surrendering judicial independence to multinational corporations, warn activists:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/british-sovereignty-at-risk-from-euus-trade-deal-uk-in-danger-of-surrendering-judicial-independence-to-multinational-corporations-warn-activists-9057318.html
Open Democracy: On TTIP and the NHS, they are trying to bamboozle us:
https://opendemocracy.net/ournhs/john-hilary/on-ttip-and-nhs-they-are-trying-to-bamboozle-us
[2] Touchstone: Special courts for foreign investors have no place in trade deals:
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2013/11/special-courts-for-foreign-investors-have-no-place-in-trade-deals/
[3] ipolitics: Germany throws down gauntlet in CETA investor state negotiations:
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/07/27/germany-throws-down-gauntlet-in-ceta-investor-state-negotiations/
[4] Screen Daily: EU-US free trade talks under fire from filmmakers:
http://www.screendaily.com/news/eu-us-free-trade-talks-under-fire/5072471.article
[5] 38 Degrees blog: TTIP fundraiser:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/06/17/ttip-fundraiser/