Happy May!

To the members, supporters, and hangers-on of the JPMC Workers Alliance (or “JWA” for short), I bid you welcome to this, our first monthly newsletter! Whether you’ve just joined us or have been on board for a while, I hope you’ll find something useful, inspiring, and entertaining in each issue.

– Momma Beth

May 1st was May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day.

May Day marked a big accomplishment for the JPMC Workers Alliance. We coordinated and executed our first public in-person event: a pizza party in the 2J wing of the 1111 Polaris office, the McCoy Center. We selected this location due to a high concentration of software engineers, who represent a large portion of our active members.

Through this action, we hope to get to know more of our fellow SWEs, especially those who might help us to form our firm’s first bargaining unit.

We advertised ahead of time to garner interest and awareness of the upcoming event. We purchased and served 45 large pizzas, accompanied by approximately 300 tri-fold pamphlets (See front and back ) to our hungry colleagues. And most importantly, we had active, engaging, and agitating conversations with our peers, finding common ground and the beginnings of support.

In addition to the pizza party activity, we are still collecting testimonies of those who are struggling with the ADA/Reasonable Accommodations process, with several interested parties to speak to. Please feel free to tell us your experience via email or in the community linked at the bottom of this newsletter.

Also! We are looking to increase engagement in multiple locations, not just Polaris! You would be surprised how many different locations are represented in our JWA community. Come find your local activists, and join together to get some momentum going for your own site. The more we can cluster up our support, the closer we get to forming bargaining units.

– Jesse

Silly Things:

This section was originally a couple of image macros alluding to the discrepancy between record profits and stagnant wages.

– by way of BK

I worked at the JPMC Lockbox site in Monroe, Louisiana, for eight years. I never left a shift without being coated in a visible layer of dust and dirt - on my glasses, hair, and clothing. Masks were not provided, so if I wanted to protect myself from breathing in the dust, I had to pay for one out of pocket.

We worked 8-10 hour days standing on bare concrete floors. Workers repeatedly requested cushioned mats, but every request – through official channels – was denied. First, we were told it was too expensive; later, the excuse shifted to HVAC access. The only “compromise” offered was insoles for our shoes.

The building also leaked badly and had a serious spider infestation. The ceiling insulation was visibly discolored, bulging with water, and crawling with spiders.

Management dismissed our concerns, claiming the leaks were just condensation, the stains weren’t mold, and that the spiders weren’t poisonous, so we should simply work around them, even though they had made homes on the shelving.

Only after the roof was finally replaced (without replacing the moldy insulation!) was an exterminator brought in.

When I transferred to another location, the improvement in my quality of life was dramatic.

It’s disgraceful that the bank allows conditions like these to persist! If the company won’t do the right thing for its employees, then we must join together and make them treat us like humans.

– Matt

Polaris RTO Update:

The Polaris office in Columbus, Ohio has been in-office 5 days since April 21st.

Despite management’s claims to the contrary, the transition was not smooth: Desks and parking were both scarce. We’ve heard tales of vehement disagreements over these, but so far no solid evidence of any physical conflict.

There have been a couple of odd incidents so far: An automobile burned in the parking lot and there was a broken pane of glass in the 1C wing of the building, but so far no solid evidence has surfaced to confirm the true cause of either. (If you know of something, feel free to send a tip along with how you know. We’ll keep your identity confidential.)

The membership has raised an idea to orchestrate a car-pooling effort specifically as a union activity. So far, several people have submitted mock-ups for posters that might help drive awareness, but it’s not yet determined how exactly people can join the program.

Your ideas are welcome! Please feel free to send them in via email, or join the discussion directly in our community linked below.

– Momma Beth

What’s next?

If you would like to get involved, plan events and outreach, offer feedback, or simply air your Employee Opinion to an audience that actually cases what you have to say, please respond to this email and we will be in touch – or join our community directly, get vetted, and participate in the discussion live!

Remember: “The Union” is nothing more than people who work together agreeing to stand together for respect and a decent life. The union is us: you and me and he and she and they, right here in the workplace. There is no third party. There is only something larger than ourselves, composed of the workers by the workers and for the workers.

Change is coming. Be a part of it.

Excitedly Yours,

The JPMC Workers Alliance