Bernie Samders doesn't pay his organizers the min wage of $15.00. HYPOCRITE !!!

[trueblue2007]

SCOOP: For years, Bernie Sanders has traveled the country advocating for a $15 per hour minimum wage.

His campaign organizers say they aren’t making that much, and they're using his words to protest for higher wages.

Unionized campaign organizers working for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential effort are battling with its management, arguing that the compensation and treatment they are receiving does not meet the standards Sanders espouses in his rhetoric, according to internal communications.

Campaign field hires have demanded an annual salary they say would be equivalent to a $15-an-hour wage, which Sanders for years has said should be the federal minimum. The organizers and other employees supporting them have invoked the senator’s words and principles in making their case to campaign manager Faiz Shakir, the documents reviewed by The Washington Post show.

Sanders has made standing up for workers a central theme of his presidential campaigns — this year marching with McDonald’s employees seeking higher wages, pressing Walmart shareholders to pay workers more and showing solidarity with university personnel on strike. The independent from Vermont has proudly touted his campaign as the first presidential effort to unionize its employees, and his defense of the working class has been a signature element of his brand of democratic socialism and a rallying cry for the populist movement he claims to lead.

Details about the negotiations between Shakir and the union representing Sanders’s campaign workers have not been publicly reported until now. A review of emails, instant messages and other documents obtained by The Post show that the conflict dates back to at least May and remains unresolved. The documents were provided to The Post on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the private talks.



Via @WaPoSean https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/labor-fight-roils-bernie-sanders-campaign-as-workers-demand-the-15-hourly-pay-the-candidate-has-proposed-for-employees-nationwide/2019/07/18/3a6df9f4-a966-11e9-9214-246e594de5d5_story.html …

[trueblue2007]

1. Soooooooooooooooo sad

The draft letter estimated that field organizers were working 60 hours per week at minimum, dropping their average hourly pay to less than $13.
It said that “many field staffers are barely managing to survive financially, which is severely impacting our team’s productivity and morale.
Some field organizers have already left the campaign as a result.”

[quakerboy]

5. Is 60 the expectation?

60x13= 760. If the pay was structured based on an expectation of 40 hours a week, 760/40= 19.50/hr.

I'm curious how much other campaigns pay. And if 60 hours is the expectation (and if it is, why arent they hiring more people to bring it down to a more reasonable work week for everyone). And how the campaign can get away apparently paying them salary rather than hourly.

[George II]

45. Other campaigns haven't made $15 a cornerstone of their campaigns. No other campaigns...

...have railed against Amazon, Walmart, and others because they don't pay $15 an hour.

It looks like paying lower level staffers a "salary" rather than hourly was probably a dodge to get around the $15/hour concept.

Also, it looks like their workers are balking at health insurance coverage, too.

[brush]

58. Somebody pls, pls, pls, tell me this is not true. They don't make $15 an hour? One of...

his main platform planks? Come on. This can't be true. And on top of the sexual harrassment in the last campaign...WTF?

Is there a leg left to stand on?

[Cha]

2. We told BS to tend to his own campaign when

he was busy telling other candidates how to do theirs. And, this is a Prime Example of how he needs to fix his campaign before he even thinks of giving others' advice.

Glass Houses, BS!

Link to tweet

Mahalo, trueblue!

[crazytown]

3. Union is asking 15x60x52 - $46,800 + Health Insurance +58c / mile auto

Last edited Fri Jul 19, 2019, 05:02 AM - Edit history (1)

for field organizers.

[Cha]

4. Doesn't seem unreasonable..

Thanks, crazytown

[Celerity]

6. isn't anything over 40 hours per week paid OT at time and a half rates?

Or are the asking for a salary (in which case no overtime)

If it is a 15 USD per hour rate

then that equals out to

40 X 15 = 600
20 x 22.50 = 450

1050 pw

x 52

yields 54,600 USD per year, pre tax

[crazytown]

7. I was quoting the union demand to the dollar - $46,800

The union referred to 60 hour weeks - I did the math at $15 / hour. No overtime for field organizers I guess.

[George II]

46. I believe the $0.58 per mile is the IRS guideline for business expenses. To be honest, depending...

...upon the car and the location, fifty eight cents could be break-even when considering gas, insurance, and depreciation.

In only the first three months of the campaign, this is what he's paying others, first is 3-month paid, the second number is the annual salary:

JEFFREY WEAVER $18,999.99 $227,999.88
FAIZ R SHAKIR $15,972.10 $191,665.20
NINA TURNER $12,897.59 $154,771.08
JOSHUA M ORTON $12,676.86 $152,122.32
JOHN R ROBINSON $12,374.07 $148,488.84
ARIANNA JONES $11,972.77 $143,673.24
SARAH BADAWI $11,567.98 $138,815.76
JOE CAIAZZO $11,464.17 $137,570.04
CLAIRE SANDBERG $10,852.03 $130,224.36
SHEILA ANGELO $10,361.48 $124,337.76
DEREK GUMB $9,900.00 $118,800.00
SHANNON JACKSON $9,681.74 $116,180.88
ANALILIA MEJIA $9,337.81 $112,053.72
SARAH FORD $9,079.03 $108,948.36
DAVID SIROTA $8,693.85 $104,326.20

[Me.]

52. Any Money To Jane & Her Children?

[George II]

53. Nothing directly, but four of his top seven vendors are LLCs, who aren't required...

...to release any financial reports or identify personnel.

[Me.]

54. Like Old Towne Media?

[George II]

56. That was the big one last time. About $100M paid to them - Weaver worked for them....

....and Jane did the media buying.

[lapucelle]

8. This is the second time this year that BS campaign whistle blowers

leaked information to the press. Maybe the BS slogan needs to be retooled when it comes to paying workers a living wage.

Not me, you

[Cha]

9. Wow.. the 2nd time?

Refresh me, please.. what was the other time?

I can't imagine how they could not know this would be a thing.

lapucelle, Mahalo

[trueblue2007]

96. Why isn't he paying his workers what he "espouses" .......

[lapucelle]

98. I'm sure that questions will be asked at the debate. N/T

[thesquanderer]

16. The point of a $15 minimum is that 40 hours should give you a livable wage. It does not...

...guarantee that you get overtime for working more hours. Many salaried jobs come with some likelihood of working more than 40 hours, and provide no overtime pay. Guidelines:

the federal overtime salary threshold is $23,660 annually, calculating to $455 per week.

If Sanders were paying $600/week ($15 * 40 hours, for $31,200 annually), then he would be meeting the $15/hr "Sanders threshold" for providing a living wage for 40 hours of work, and the total provided would exceed being required to pay overtime in addition. And in fact, the article says the jobs in question pay more than that, a minimum of $36,000 annually. (The union is asking that these salaries be increased to a minimum of $46,800.) I think most people would say that, in general, $36k is a living wage. I suspect the union is trying to be clever by using Sanders' soundbite $15/hour rhetoric to help justify a pay demand that is actually above what the $15/hour proposals are intended to provide. I also wonder how many other campaigns pay even the $36k that Sanders' campaign pays.

My question would be whether these people are actually required to work more than 40 hours. AFAIK, salaried jobs would not specifically demand people work those hours, but the demands of the job and the desire to do it well can prompt people to do it anyway. Being required to work more than 40 hours is problematic, but I'd be surprised if that's the case here.

[mcar]

31. Salaried jobs do not generally have an expectation

of 60 hours per week. Some overtime, yes, but that's a second job. Pretty lame if this is Sanders' excuse.

[George II]

48. It should not be an expectation that low-level SALARY staffers ($31K is LOW level)....

....work 20 extra hours every single week. Some weeks, yes. Every week, no.

[thesquanderer]

62. It's $36k, not $31k. But regardless, we don't have all the info...

i.e. the article doesn't really tell us whether there are lots of staffers who do indeed, as you suggest, "work 20 extra hours every single week." Negotiations do tend to over-state each side's case at the outset. How many workers does this apply to and how often does it happen? We really don't know, there's no objective source available to us, just what appears to be leaked communications from one side.

The bigger point is that it is not as hypocritical as the OP suggests. The campaign does pay a living wage. Lots of candidates support $15.hr, I wonder how many of those are paying their field staff as well as or better than Sanders.

[thesquanderer]

70. p.s. it's $36k, plus it includes full health coverage, and vacation (n/t)

[George II]

71. And 60 hours a week. Read the article here:

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/07/19/bernie-sanders-campaign-staff-wage-15-hour-union-elizabeth-warren-campaign-wages/1781159001/

Now after the fact, apparently after it "went public", he's going to limit hours to 42 or 43 hours "to ensure they're making the equivalent of $15 an hour."

What exactly is "the equivalent of $15"? Fifteen dollars is fifteen dollars.

[thesquanderer]

72. Nothing in that article mentions the 60 hour figure. So...

...we still have no independent confirmation (or consistent information from both sides) that there are in fact a significant number of these salaried people working 60 hours a week, every week (at least as far as I've seen).

re:

What exactly is "the equivalent of $15"? Fifteen dollars is fifteen dollars.

They're not being paid on an hourly basis, therefore "the equivalent of $15 an hour" means that the weekly wage divided by the number of hours worked in a given week should be at least 15. Since the weekly wage is close to $700 (based on the $36k figure), they could actually work up to something near 46 hours and not have their income fall below what works out to $15 an hour.

[George II]

73. So then, why are they negotiating to get $15 an hour? If he's now saying he's going to "limit"...

....the hours to 42 or 43, chances are they're working a lot more. They wouldn't be quibbling over 3-4 hours a week.

Fact is, it's amazing some are bending over backward to explain away his workers getting paid less than $15 an hour.

One would think that a candidate would make sure he dotted all his I-s and crossed his T-s to make sure his own campaign complied with his campaign issues. Clearly, with all the dancing we're now seeing, he knows his campaign isn't doing so.

[thesquanderer]

76. There's a whole lot of space between 42/43 and 60.

Even an extra 5 hours a week,. i.e. an hour a day, is significant in a day with maybe 16 waking hours. And certainly 10 hours a week (2 hours a day) is quite a lot, i.e. for people who may be regularly working 52/53. But really, I'm not denying the 60 hour figure, I'm just saying we don't really know how many people are working it, and how often. Though it's clearly enough to be an issue. I mean, even if "only" half the people are regularly working that much in a given week, that still doesn't give Sanders a viable defense. Saying "hey, the press over-states it, only half my staff are being treated badly" isn't a stellar position either. And the fact that they are still being paid a decent living wage is also difficult from a PR perspective, because it's an explanation that will sound complicated and defensive. So yeah, the best move is probably to just try to minimize the overtime.

I do wonder if the other candidates who support the $15 min wage are doing any better for their staff. Have any other candidates made public the minimum salary or hourly wage they pay their field staff? In a bit of irony, the staff of a candidate who does not support the $15 wage might not be subjected to the criticism, even though his/her staff may envy what the Sanders staff makes. Though now that I think about it, do any candidates not support the $15 minimum wage?

[George II]

77. Have you ever been a paid staffer on a campaign, or even a volunteer?

[thesquanderer]

80. That's the kind of question that that leads to irrelevant anecdotal topic derailment. (nt)

[George II]

81. No it doesn't. It gives real life perspective on the discussion at hand. I guess you haven't.

[thesquanderer]

93. I'm just discussing the facts as presented, and they don't change with personal experience.

If someone has experience working 42-43 hours a week as a field operative in a campaign, and someone else has experience working 60, neither tells us about the circumstances of this particular campaign. Everyone tends to think their own experiences make them experts who can generalize that experience to others (it tends to lead to statements like "almost everyone works 60!" or "almost no one works 60!" ), but there's a reason anecdotal evidence is a poor foundation for discussion. No, I haven't done that work, but I was only discussing the statements and the math as presented in the articles, and no personal experience changes that.

[Gothmog]

120. sanders is cutting hours

Link to tweet

[Cha]

122. Yeah Yeah.. I'm sure BS is

"very proud"..

I'm not.

Thanks, Goth!

[silentEcho]

123. I gotta say, this sounds like any corp that rather than increase pay, making it comparable to other

to other campaigns, simply saying the will reduce hours.

[lapucelle]

10. The wage discrimination/ sexual harassment/ sexual violence

claims stemming from an earlier campaign. Did’t the letter also complain about a pervasive m predatory culture?

[SouthernProgressive]

11. It's great that they unionized.

We are seeing the impact a union can have when the corporate boss is concentrating on things elsewhere. First, the union forced the campaign to put protections in place to protect women from Sanders young and aggressive male base. Now we see them fighting for $15/hour.

Seeing how his campaign was ran in 16 it is the perfect place to put a union on display for all to see. They have their work cut out considering who the top manager is.

[Cha]

12. Well said! It's not like they

don't have the money.

[SouthernProgressive]

14. I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a part of the original negotiation.

It’s a cornerstone of most all union negotiations. I’m sure the union is going to be questioned about it. I wonder if part of the original contract is being broken.

[DasMadchen]

128. Me too. But who would've guessed

That Bernie, of all people, would try to screw his own staff?

[George II]

50. A couple of months ago he was boasting that his campaign was the first to unionize....

...now we're seeing why they felt the need to do so. Chickens coming home to roost.

[CTyankee]

105. If anything, I hope this will normalize union wages (if not union MEMBERSHIP) for Dem campaign

workers. You can't build your campaigns on the backs of poorly paid workers. Not if you are a true Democrat.

[silentEcho]

107. Putting union in place was not only about stopping the "young" and not so young men harassing

the women, but also addressing unequal pay which is a bases of Sanders responsibility in having a campaign.

[Nanjeanne]

13. Interesting way of putting this. Sanders pays more than any other

campaign and the issue appears to be the calculation is not by the hour. It’s that instead of a 35 or 40 work week - they are calculating on 60 hours. Now they may work 60 hours and if that’s so, they probably should get an additional pay for the hours they are working. But as it calculates to $13/hour for 60 hours or $780 a week - if they worked 40 hours their breakdown would be a generous $19.50/hour.

When I was an Event Producer I was paid an annual salary and many many weeks put in more than a 40 hr work week. I was salaried and not hourly and earned nothing more. On an event, when I had hired staff, we paid an hourly wage and they earned whatever they worked for the two or three weeks they were on the project. They were hourly staff. There’s always been a difference in the workplace.

Since this is a unionized shop now my guess is they will negotiate something - possibly a regular work week of 40 hours - or perhaps they will reduce their wage to $15/hr and on weeks when they only work 30 hours they will get less and on some weeks when they work 60 hours they will get more.

Either way to me this is a no story like Bernie’s a millionaire to create some bad press. Since the other candidates staffs do not receive anything as generous as Sanders staff - it isn’t a fight I would think other candidates want to get into.

[Princetonian]

17. Good post. Intellectual honesty is so refreshing.

Sanders pays more than any other campaign and the issue appears to be the calculation is not by the hour. It’s that instead of a 35 or 40 work week - they are calculating on 60 hours. Now they may work 60 hours and if that’s so, they probably should get an additional pay for the hours they are working. But as it calculates to $13/hour for 60 hours or $780 a week - if they worked 40 hours their breakdown would be a generous $19.50/hour.

When I was an Event Producer I was paid an annual salary and many many weeks put in more than a 40 hr work week. I was salaried and not hourly and earned nothing more. On an event, when I had hired staff, we paid an hourly wage and they earned whatever they worked for the two or three weeks they were on the project. They were hourly staff. There’s always been a difference in the workplace.

Since this is a unionized shop now my guess is they will negotiate something - possibly a regular work week of 40 hours - or perhaps they will reduce their wage to $15/hr and on weeks when they only work 30 hours they will get less and on some weeks when they work 60 hours they will get more.

Either way to me this is a no story like Bernie’s a millionaire to create some bad press. Since the other candidates staffs do not receive anything as generous as Sanders staff - it isn’t a fight I would think other candidates want to get into.

I can attest to the latter.

[lapucelle]

130. Biden pays more.

“I think so, yes,” Biden told reporters when asked whether $15 an hour should be the minimum wage for campaign staff. Asked whether his field organizers are being paid that wage, the former vice president replied, “The answer is, I think that’s true but I gotta double-check it.” He then glanced at a nearby aide.

Asked for more clarity, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said interns on the campaign are paid at a rate of $15 an hour and that field organizers are paid a salary of $4,000 a month. The latter comes out to $48,000 a year.

The hours that organizers work each week vary, Bates said. During a 60-hour workweek, which is not atypical for presidential campaign organizers, they would be making the equivalent of $16.67 an hour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-says-he-agrees-with-a-15-minimum-wage-for-campaign-workers/2019/07/20/d2c239f8-ab51-11e9-a3a6-ab670962db05_story.html?utm_term=.222b35ed2d4f

[Princetonian]

131. When I made my post, I was referring to Biden's summer internship volunteer pay in Philly.

The story you are referencing came out after I posted. That kind of information was not public knowledge. I do know what they are paying summer interns.

[lapucelle]

132. Perhaps if one doesn't know what other candidates are paying,

one should refrain from making assertions like:

Sanders pays more than any other campaign

and

Since the other candidates staffs do not receive anything as generous as Sanders staff - it isn’t a fight I would think other candidates want to get into.

[Princetonian]

133. Aim your schooling to Nanjeanne, whom I quoted.

But that wouldn't scratch your itch, would it?

[lapucelle]

134. One should use quotation marks when quoting others, even if one is quoting misinformation.

It's the intellectually honest thing to do.

[Princetonian]

135. One should read a thread before commenting. It's the intellectually obvious thing to do.

Try it the next time you want to pounce on me.

[lapucelle]

136. My comment was to you, not a reply to the OP.

Given your celebration of intellectual honesty, it never occurred to me that the post was a direct quote without attribution.

Mea culpa for having assumed the best.

[Princetonian]

137. I forgive you.

Try harder next time to get it right.

[ehrnst]

138. You're forgiven your punctuation error and subesquent

pique you displayed when it was pointed out that your ommission of appropriate quotation marks was the cause of misunderstanding of your posts, and not ill intent.


Try harder next time to get it right.

[Princetonian]

141. Hahahaha!

That was cute.

[ehrnst]

145. Hit the nail on the head, did it?

[lapucelle]

139. ...

[Princetonian]

142. ....

[Clash City Rocker]

29. And if any of them are calling for the same standard, they are also hypocrites

But that doesn’t make Bernie not a hypocrite.

[Nanjeanne]

33. There is no hypocrisy. He is paying a weekly or

yearly salary. Typically that’s based on 40 hour weeks which is over $19 an hour. Salaried employees do not get overtime in any workplace. As I said, if they are going to negotiate a 40 hr wk then they are making $19.50 hr. If they are going to negotiate a $15 hr salary, then some weeks they work 60 hours they will get $900 week which is more. But on weeks when they work 40 hrs they will get $600 which is less.

The question really is are they salaried and therefore the number of hours is meaningless or are they hourly which would determine an hourly wage against a set number of hours. $780/wk is over $40,000 a year. The union will work out the status - salaried or hourly and go from there.

So no I don’t find it hypocritical if Sanders if the expectation of salary is based on salaried employer at a 40 hour work week.

[BannonsLiver]

110. Nice Spin

[George II]

143. The annual salary BS is paying is $36,000 which, for a 40-hour work week is $17.30, not over $19....

....and being salaried employees they will wind up working 50-60 hours a week, typical of a campaign work week.

At 50 hours that's $13.84
At 60 hours that's $11.53.

The $15 threshold is met at 46 hours per week.

Also built into the contract is that if salary is increased above the $36,000 the 100% healthcare insurance coverage drops on a sliding scale.

[kcr]

34. Sorry, but that kind of math magic doesn't make it ok

First of all, a salary wage isn't automatically exempt from overtime. Salaried positions are paid overtime unless they are exempt, usually because they're management. By using 60 hours to calculate their hourly, Bernie's campaign is effectively exempting them from overtime.

[Nanjeanne]

37. As I said we have no idea what the contracts

Read. were they guaranteed 40 hr wks or were they guaranteed overtime beyond that? You can’t write an article without those actual facts to determine what the actual wage is.

Just because someone is asked to put in a 60 hour week doesn’t mean their weekly salary becomes less if there is no expectation that they are on a salary plus overtime. Believe me when I took my
First event planning position I wouldn’t dream of breaking out my salary during a three week onsite event. It would make a grown girl cry. But it’s the job i accepted. On normal weeks my salary was just fine.

I’m not worried about how this will be resolved. I find this article to have a very obvious slant when not all facts are presented. But hey it’s Sandersso I expect nothing less from Wash Post.

[kcr]

42. We don't have to know what the contract reads. Math is math.

Unless you don't believe them when they say they work 60 hours. And regardless of what it says, Bernie's campaign workers unionized, which means they have an organization of workers behind them to help them on their side in negotiations with management. Just because they accepted the job doesn't mean they have to roll over and take whatever their boss gives them.

[Nanjeanne]

49. Oh for crickey sake. If they work 6o hours

Every single week then we absolutely need to know if they are exempt salaried employees or not. Not one of them states they agreed to an hourly wage or they would say what that wage was they agreed to. They say their salary breaks down to $13 hour. So? If they work one week at 5o hours that’s over $15. So do they never work ever ever less
Than 60? If so then we absolutely need to know what they agreed to when they took the job. It makes a huge difference. And if they agreed to a salary position exempt from overtime expecting a 40 or 50 work week they need to renegotiate based on new parameters. To say we don’t need to know is silly.

And no where did I say they should roll over. I said many times in every post they will work it out with the union to reach an appropriate Contract. It’s the assumption
That Sanders is a hypocrite and paying his people starvation wages that is absurd.

But it’s obvious once again that for some all
The facts don’t matter. As long as it fits the narrative some want. No point in me trying to make sense of it so just enjoy your day!

[kcr]

85. Golly gosh ding dong! They're negotiating a contract.

I would have thought Bernie supporters would understand that. You know, labor and all.

[MichMan]

92. Are they still negotiating or have they already ratified one?

I can't tell

[trueblue2007]

63. you say NO STORY? I say Hypocrite !!!! He won't even pay 15 bucks an hour & you support him?

YUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His actions totally piss me off.
You say NO STORY .... you will forgive Bernie anything huh?

[Nanjeanne]

65. Oh dear God. Forgive him? For paying $780/week. For paying $40,000+ year. For being the only

candidate that pays his interns.

Yeah. I forgive him.

But you just keeping on doing what you are doing. It makes you happy and that is all that matters to me!

[BannonsLiver]

111. Bernie could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and that poster would defend him

There is literally nothing that wouldn’t be excused or rationalized.

[trueblue2007]

114. I agree and that is a very sad observation.

[Lordquinton]

119. When I say people have been comparing Sanders to trump

Here is an example, thank you.

[ehrnst]

99. What do the other candidates pay their staff?

Do you have a link?

[silentEcho]

108. I understand Beta pays ove 50k, Biden over 48k, Warren and Bittigieg 42K and Sanders 36K.

How do you get that Sanders pays staff the most?

[Nanjeanne]

112. I stand corrected. Obviously everyone pays more than Sanders.

[silentEcho]

113. I don't know everyone's number so I do not know that is a correct statement, but these 4 pay more.

[BannonsLiver]

109. Of course it's not a story.

What a surprise.

[BannonsLiver]

144. Everything that doesn't cast Bernie in gleaming white light is a non story to you.

He could literally do anything and it wouldn’t matter.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. Huh.

[Autumn]

18. Nome of the others do either!!!!

[SouthernProgressive]

19. The list of "but look over there" is now so long. At this point this is...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287185511#post18

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=182318

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287185504#post81

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287192639#post29


How much longer can his dwindling support keep going "but look over there?"

[Autumn]

20. So deflect to his supporters instead of the discussion that none of the candidates pay 15 an hour.

but the hypocrite media and others will slam Bernie for it.

[SouthernProgressive]

21. There it is again.

But look over there.

Huge benefit that his campaign was forced to unionize over the fear of the continued abuse of women and his lack of action in addressing it.

This is going to be an excellent display of the benefits of a union when management has little to no concern for the people doing the work.

But again, look over there. That is the cornerstone of his campaign today. Rules for you, not me.

[Autumn]

22. And there you are again. Doing what you complain of.

Which candidates pay 15 an hour?

[SouthernProgressive]

23. I'm commenting on the article.

Staying on point. You simply keep going "look over there."

You just keep deflecting.

Side with Trump in support of Putin? Time to deflect.
Rampant abuses against women within the campaign? Time to deflect.
Fight with Republicans to block a pathway to citizenship? Time to deflect.
Not supporting his own workers doing the heavy lifting? Time to deflect.
Rape essay followed up by a seriously questionable history of sexism? Time to deflect.
Unwavering support for one of the MIC's most failed projects? Time to deflect.
Fight to send nuclear waste to minority communities? Time to deflect.
Comparing democrats proposals to terrorist organizations? Time to deflect.
Long career as a politician with almost no accomplishments? Time to deflect.

He no longer has supporters. He has worshipers.

[Autumn]

24. Here. Just like you I'm commenting too! Since I'm done with your deflections about Sanders

supporters you have a nice day. Nothing you posted has anything to do with what any of the candidates pay. None of them pay 15 an hour. So look to yourself for your "look over there!"
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287205646#post13

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287205354#post35

[SouthernProgressive]

25. Yes. You are commenting. The nature of your comments is to deflect.

Have a great day. We are all more comfortable knowing his people are being protected by a union. Specially the women.

[Autumn]

27. Same old same old and keep a spare. Somethings never change no matter how new they are.

[SouthernProgressive]

28. More deflection.

Again, it's good they are unionized for protection. The union will continue to fight for wage increases and to force them to put policies in place to protect women. The last go around was horrible.

Keep making it about other things.

He has gone so far off the rails, specially considering his campaigns recent and horrific comparisons of a Democrat to terrorists, that I sense a strike in the near future. They can't keep working under the deplorable conditions and situations Sanders keeps putting them in.

And I think some are missing what could be the really big bombshell.

“As union members, the Bernie 2020 campaign staff have access to myriad protections and benefits secured by their one-of-a-kind union contract, including many internal avenues to democratically address any number of ongoing workplace issues, including changes to pay, benefits, and other working conditions,” the statement said.

That is the kicker. Considering Sanders last campaign, and his outright dismissal of the women who traveled to Washington to discuss it with him, I imagine they aren't even following the initial protections outlined in the contract. It won't be long before the union is forced to use public relations as a way to shame him into doing whats right for the women in his campaign. It's clear from this piece that is starting to happen.

[LanternWaste]

38. Ironically enough, that you allege so in others.

However, irony will be lost... as it rarely fits within the width of a bumper sticker.

[Autumn]

43. Here's a bumper sticker for you. "None of the candidates pay 15 an hour."

As I linked above

Sanders pays more than any other campaign and the issue appears to be the calculation is not by the hour. It’s that instead of a 35 or 40 work week - they are calculating on 60 hours. Now they may work 60 hours and if that’s so, they probably should get an additional pay for the hours they are working. But as it calculates to $13/hour for 60 hours or $780 a week - if they worked 40 hours their breakdown would be a generous $19.50/hour.

[mcar]

32. Whataboutism runs rampant here at times

[Amimnoch]

36. ROFLMAO.. "Hypocrite media"?? No, Hypocrite Bernie.

BS is the one who made this a central issue.

HE's the one who, through 2 national campaign cycles now, made the $15 minimum wage a front page issue of his campaign.

It's right here.. #1 in his list for years now:
https://berniesanders.com/issues/fight-for-working-families/

If the other candidates had made such a huge stink about it, then failed to produce it for their own staff, yes, your argument would hold some water. but.. He did, they didn't, he's the hypocrite. He's the one that deserves the exposure for it.

[trueblue2007]

95. He's DOES the one that deserves the exposure for it. I posted the news & I'm glad it is out there

[ehrnst]

40. Have other candidates recommended that the work week be extended to six days?

According to the agreement made between Sanders campaign and the union, which began on May 2, field workers were to be paid $36,000 annually rather than by hours worked. However, on May 17, the Post states that Shakir recommended that field organizer pay be raised to $42,000 during a staff meeting. In the same meeting, he also suggested that the work-week be extended to six days a week the union's letter said.

According to the Post, the union rejected Shakir's plan, in part because of the healthcare costs that would fall to the campaign workers to pay.

This month, workers used Slack — an instant messaging service utilized by many companies and organizations, including the Sanders' campaign — to express distress at not being paid a "living wage."

"I am struggling financially to do my job, and in my state, we've already had 4 people quit in the past 4 weeks because of financial struggles," one worker told Shakir via the service, according to the Post.

https://www.newsweek.com/sanders-campaign-battles-staff-demanding-15-hourly-pay-which-candidate-says-should-federal-1450103

[George II]

59. None of the others have made $15/hour a cornerstone of their campaigns, and none of the others....

.....have demanded that Amazon and Walmart pay their employees $15/hour.

"None of the others" doesn't work when the self-proclaimed champion of $15/hour doesn't even do it himself.

[ehrnst]

39. [phone].

[George II]

57. Hmm...I see a pattern there.

[oasis]

26. Bernie's mouthpiece, Nina Turner, needs to do some explaining. nt

[trueblue2007]

64. Bernie's mouthpiece, Nina Turner, needs to BE FIRED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gothmog]

30. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[myohmy2]

35. boy...

...they're really coming after Bernie...he must be doing something right...

...or saying things the establishment corporatists don't want said...

...doesn't that make you love him more?

...

[DesertRat]

41. No. nt

[Cha]

44. That's Ridiculous.. It's BS' Workers who

are complaining.. did you even read what they had to say about their working conditions?

[R B Garr]

47. They are really exposing Sanders! Interesting.

Although we’ve seen these double standards from him for years.

Hi Cha!

[Cha]

51. Yes, BS' own workers are exposing

these working conditions.. I read it was leaked to the media. They are the ones who wanted the spotlight on this.. and I think they deserve it.

Hi RB!

[R B Garr]

55. Agreed! They did deserve it. This is disqualifying

for Sanders if he can’t even meet his own standards set forth for others.

[Cha]

60. If only!

[myohmy2]

67. maybe...

...Bernie's trying to form a 'Team Bernie Organizing Fellowship'?

...I'm not sure if this applies,

The Daily Beast, 7-12-2019

" Unpaid interns are practically non-existent among Democratic presidential campaigns in 2019. But some top-tier candidates appear to be finding a creative way to tap unpaid talent: offering vague “fellowship” opportunities as volunteer positions. "
………..

“Volunteers are asked to do something, workers are told,” Renée Hagerty, an executive council member for the Campaign Workers Guild, said. “Everyone who’s performing work on a campaign should be paid.”

For Biden’s campaign, the “Team Joe Organizing Fellowship” consists of an eight-week program that includes weekly online trainings in grassroots and digital organizing, according to the listing, which closed this week. Unlike the internship program, which is paid $15 per hour, the fellowship program makes no mention of wages, academic credit, or time commitments.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elizabeth-warrens-and-joe-bidens-presidential-campaigns-appear-to-find-loophole-around-paid-internships
…………………

"...the fellowship program makes no mention of wages, academic credit, or time commitments."

...do you know what/if Joe pays his fellowship 'volunteers'?...I might want to apply...

...thanks...

[Cha]

75. Tell it to BS' workers.

[Nanjeanne]

61. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[Cha]

66. The Workers are the ones who leaked

this.. they want more pay and benefits.

[Gothmog]

68. sanders is unhappy

Link to tweet

[Lordquinton]

69. So much for civility that has been called for

Speaking of hypocrisy...

[Cha]

100. "..Civility.."? Yes "..hyocrisy.."

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

115. Thank you for posting this

[Lordquinton]

118. "Civility" no

Not in this thread.

[Cha]

121. BS and BdB not civil smearing other Dems

[Lordquinton]

125. Who and who?

[Cha]

126. Keep kicking the thread.

[Gothmog]

116. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[Lordquinton]

117. And people are not being civil

like has been cried for again and again.

[Gothmog]

74. sanders is grumpy and unhappy

Link to tweet

[trueblue2007]

94. sanders is ALWAYS grumpy and unhappy

I see his attitude as really negative. He doesn't have a good thing to say about anything. Where is the WARMTH and encircling us with goodness and cherishing our country? I need someone also who shows love to our country!!

[Cha]

101. That's what I want too, trueblue..

And, it looks like we're not the only ones!

[betsuni]

78. He was a little bit busy running around the country doing revolution to notice.

[Eric J in MN]

79. The hourly workers are being paid at least $15 per hour.

Some of the other workers, who are salaried, are getting less because they're working 60 hours a week.

The campaign manager offered to give them a raise. The union is instead demanding that raise plus additional benefits.

[TomCADem]

82. Bernie Sanders responds to complaints staff don't earn $15 an hour

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-sanders-responds-to-complaints-staff-dont-earn-dollar15-an-hour/ar-AAEA5vW

"I'm very proud to be the first presidential candidate to recognize a union and negotiate a union contract," the Vermont senator and presidential candidate told the Des Moines Register in an interview Friday. "And that contract was ratified by the employees of the campaign, and it not only provides pay of at least $15 an hour, it also provides, I think, the best health care benefits that any employer can provide for our field organizers." He also expressed frustration that staffers had taken their complaints to the media.

"It does bother me that people are going outside of the process and going to the media," he said. "That is really not acceptable. It is really not what labor negotiations are about, and it's improper."

Sanders said, ahead of a weekend Iowa campaign swing: "We are disappointed that some individuals have decided to damage the integrity of these efforts. We are involved in negotiations. And some are individuals that have decided to damage the integrity of that process before they were concluded."

Sanders said field organizers, who are the lowest-ranking members of a presidential campaign and are typically in their 20s, make $36,000 a year with 100% employer-paid health care, as well as paid vacation and sick leave.

[comradebillyboy]

83. By comparison look at Hillary's treatment of her workers in 2016:

https://blog.completepayroll.com/lets-explore-the-payrolls-of-the-clinton-and-trump-campaigns

​

"Clinton pays her Press Secretary, Brian Fallon, $93,000 and similarly, her Digital Director, Jenna Lowenstein, receives $92,000. Her Operations Director, Marisa McAuliffe, makes $85,000 a year. And $43,542.72 is the standard salary for one of her field employees."

​

Individuals self-reporting their salaries on glass door:

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Hillary-Clinton-for-President-Salaries-E234961.htm

​

Not only did she pay health insurance, she kept paying it with the remaining money in her campaign account all the way through the end of the year.

​

https://www.glassdoor.com/Benefits/Hillary-Clinton-for-President-US-Benefits-EI_IE234961.0,29_IL.30,32_IN1.htm

​

"Health insurance policy was amazing. Had all my benefits worked out and we retained insurance until the end of the year."

​

"401K program is rare to have for ANY campaign"

Now that's treating one's staff well.

[betsuni]

86. Thank you for posting this!

[spooky3]

104. Ditto! Nt

[oasis]

87. ImWithHer

[MichMan]

88. Having trouble understanding this

Has the Sanders campaign and the union ratified an agreement or not?

If so, the contract is what it is, and both sides need to live up to the terms. Otherwise they shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place.

Is the union complaint that the Sanders campaign is violating the terms of the labor contract? Or that they dont like what they had already ratified?

If the former, then there is a process to file a grievance with the NLRB and get a ruling forcing the campaign to adhere to the contract as written. They could also picket the debates in Detroit( a very union friendly town) and embarrass Bernie.

If they just dont like the contract they signed, then that ship has sailed. They still have to follow it whether they have second thoughts or not. How overtime is handled is fundamental in every single labor contract. You dont get a do over

[Hortensis]

89. Bigger issue to me: WHY has he chosen the KIND of people he has?

We know that even far left candidates for president have long lines of applicants eager to kick start or boost their careers, heck to get any involvement, experience, excitement at all, paid or not.

So what I really don't get is why he doesn't insist on the basic qualities employers usually do and that most of us want to see in our candidates themselves. Both this election and last he's surrounded himself with agents I literally wouldn't hire to stock shelves.

I've never understood his choices, not meeting the standards he insists others should just more of the same. I'm sure he has a reason, though, maybe something about we have to stop the capitalists from exploiting workers...?

[Gothmog]

90. From my twitter feed

Link to tweet

[MichMan]

91. If they want media attention they could always picket the Detroit debate I suppose

Detroit is a very labor friendly city and they would get a lot of support.

Wonder if the other candidates would cross the picket line ?

[Gothmog]

97. Yeah for Beto

Link to tweet

[Mike Nelson]

102. Yikes!

… he's one of the front-runners, too! I hope the others (Biden, Warren, Harris workers) are making a living. Unless, you're independently wealthy, you need money while working on a campaign. I would think those working for Bernie and the front-runners would be making the most money.

[Cha]

103. KICK!

[Gothmog]

106. sanders is not paying $15 a hour

Link to tweet

[Cha]

129. Thanks for that, Goth!

[corbettkroehler]

124. Bureaucracy, Not Hypocrisy - Sanders Offered To Fix This Months Ago - Problem Now Solved

Some agitators decided to try to make a mountain out of molehill. Once Sanders engaged the union with a fresh round of discussions, the issue was resolved quickly and to everyone's satisfaction.

Today's CNN report is

Bernie Sanders says campaign has reached agreement with staffers for higher pay

http://cnn.com/2019/07/23/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign-union-salary-offer-cnntv

Veteran journalist Jon Margolis stated

In this case, Bernie Sanders is neither a hypocrite nor a heartless employer. He and his campaign honored the contract they signed. The complaints, it seems, came not from the union, but from a segment – small or large we do not know – of field workers who were dissatisfied with the agreement.

http://vtdigger.org/2019/07/22/margolis-sanders-staff-complaints-about-poverty-wages-fall-short

and the official statement from UFCW Local 400, which calls out the campaign for its efforts, is

[Go Vols]

140. Yep

$17 per hour

[democratisphere]

127. That's what millionaires do.