Two Things Which Must be Changed

Don't the big banks Already have enough money?  This looks to me like an attempt to Control poor workers.

And Is this Truly the "age of color blindness?"  I never thought so.

Two Situations Which Must Be Remedied

This is the age of color blindness?

Change.org

wf/click?upn=1mmeex-2FjZn-2FwcNsRwSa6VYoFB62phX1wASdBX2-2BsR6urnJ-2Fma-2BmS8lGYBYNbSr61stXkY-2BBvo5vALu1R-2FYxwBhpasdh59Fx9aon80eu7UZgp27eFvL01nGcNmN0DsLHehkKbtXrX54e-2Bb09sCX6h2d6LxwGEu70D77YkJyUzKhManX9-2FfmJB06IlclOLlnJRzwqfKA1K04J7fXr6FkaxGjJuGCwH5oq8Umpp46y92Q8ttZ-2FkZ99hIhsGDHVg3bd9I0AKer5EzXLBay1J-2FuIdDb6syqqO1i24KhbFKdwtj1pULjUyvF9f7-2BFWeKWfksil0Ccf2olo9YEEbVIrk5P42Q-3D-3D_M97dK4ppjqAUhQa03OdsxnXFjwvZVp-2BcPZpDEKfq2Ds60Pfo03Nj9IryL-2FsRbqMQ8qv-2BrdfZU1n1OefhQ-2BNzy7IUgw4EREBW9dza8qRrosGL5lesVxOyeUuvXbIeG4xiHRwQhnCqoY3aUsUlzBaH1gByCjPymkVm7euag2h-2BE-2FP7VNTp-2BHbLNGbtxnzFYeeVB-2FVXj3MQJ6fSk15bz-2FhMcpgJuEu1MJC87eRGLa7JkfxBLkHQCPnjzh-2FsM0cKbPO5

NYC Chancellor Dennis Walcott: Help Us Terminate Principal Minerva Zanca of Pan American International High School

By BK Nation

Sign the Petition

Two teachers that were preparing for tenure this year were denied and subsequently

fired by a principal that referred to them as “having big lips” and “nappy hair.”

John Flanagan, a Spanish Language teacher, and Heather Hightower, an ESL-Science

teacher, were the targets of these remarks by Minerva Zanca, principal of Pan American

International High School in Elmhurst, Queens, New York.

These two teachers, as well as tenured Theatre teacher Lisa-Erika James, have filed

a discrimination claim against Principal Minerva Zanca within the Department of Education—Office

of Equal Opportunity—for poor performance ratings and undue budget cuts that they

feel were racially motivated.

Assistant Principal Anthony Riccardo, who is also filing a harassment claim against

Ms. Zanca, uncovered these comments in a written statement that discloses, in vivid

detail, the targeting of these three teachers over the course of the 2012-2013 school

year. In Post-Observation Conferences with Mr. Riccardo, Zanca states that Ms. Hightower

“looked like a gorilla in a sweater with nappy hair” and asked, “Did you see his

big lips quivering?” in reference to Mr. Flanagan.

"It is not only important to have high standards for our public school teachers,”

says Kevin Powell, President of BK Nation. “But we must also support the good ones,

like these teachers, who are completely dedicated to their young people. I find it

unacceptable that a principal can engage in this kind of conduct without any repercussions.

We are not going to stop until due justice and process is served here. We are calling

on the school district and the DOE to review this matter thoroughly, to deal with

the facts fairly, and to make it clear that racial bias and mistreatment of teachers

in any form is not tolerated in New York City.

The New York City Department of Education’s Chancellor's Regulation A830 is a strict

antidiscrimination policy that protects its employees from discrimination based on

race/color/ethnicity/gender and sexual orientation. The three teachers feel their

Civil Rights have been violated and in return are pursuing their complaint in the

hopes of getting their jobs back. Ms. James is asking that Ms. Zanca be held fully

accountable in compliance with the Chancellor’s Regulations. Ms. James states “It

is deeply disappointing that Ms. Zanca has made such hurtful racial epithets and

is allowed to run a school where many of the children are of Afro-Latino descent.”

There are currently no African American teachers left at the school.

Sign the Petition

The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org.

Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content.

Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025

Change.org

McDonald's: Stop paying employees with debit cards loaded with fees

By Natalie Gunshannon

Dallas, Pennsylvania

Sign Natalie's Petition

I was looking forward to my new job when I started working at a McDonald’s location

in Pennsylvania in April, but

I was disappointed to find out that in order to be paid, I would have to activate

a JP Morgan Chase debit card with heavy fees attached.

I’m a young single mom. When I started my job at McDonald’s, I knew that I would

only be making slightly more than minimum wage. I didn’t expect that the only way

I would be paid would be on a debit card that would dock pay that I earned through

lots of different fees. When I asked if McDonald’s could pay me through direct deposit

to my local credit union, which doesn’t charge withdrawal fees, I was told that the

debit card was the only option.

These cards come with a lot of fees: from fees for cash withdrawals to balance inquiries

to lost or stolen cards to overdrafts and even inactivity fees. The federal government

has helped reduce fees on credit and debit cards that most consumers use, but those

protections don’t apply to the kinds of cards companies like McDonald's are using

to pay employees. In the end, I feared that

once all of the fees from getting my own hard-earned wages through this card were

taken out, my pay would go below minimum wage.

I decided to leave my job at McDonald’s not because I didn't like the people, but

because I think it's only fair that I get paid for all of my work there. Since I

quit, I’ve found out that paying employees through these cards with fees attached

is a growing trend among dozens of major employers. The New York Times reported that

last year roughly 4.6 million active payroll cards were issued by companies like

McDonald’s.

Like millions of other workers, I deserve to get fairly paid for my work. When I

stood up and spoke out against the lack of choices for employees, the local franchise

in Pennsylvania that I worked for announced that it would offer employees more options

for payment. But I’ve seen that

 employees at other McDonald’s franchises as far away as Milwaukee are still dealing

with the same problems and that's not fair.

I think everyone should be given the choice of what they want to do with their hard-earned

money.

I think

McDonald’s should be a leader nationwide in ensuring that employees get to keep their

own wages

 in full and I'm concerned for other McDonald's employees who don't have that option.

Will you join me in calling on McDonald’s to ensure that all employees nationwide

can keep their wages and chose to say no to fee-heavy cards?

Sign Natalie's Petition

The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org.

Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content.

Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025