Stand Up and Be Counted

Standing Up for Workers’ Rights Zinash Fereja

BEFORE YOU READ: wage cuts. In 1890, the carpenters union went on 1. What workplace rights do we have in the U.S.? strike for the eight-hour day. In 1903, the labor How do you think people won those rights? organizer “Mother Jones” led children in a march 2. What workplace rights do people have in your from Philadelphia to New York. They wanted bet- country of origin? How did people win them? ter child labor laws. How do they compare to U.S. labor rights? 7KHÀJKWIRUDIDLUZRUNSODFHFRQWLQXHVWRWKLV day. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a In the U.S. law that said working women could sue over pay I like that U.S. workers have rights in the work- discrimination. Recently, people have fought for place. If your employer discriminates against you, a higher minimum you can protect yourself under the U.S. labor law. wage. Over time, Men and women We have these workers have won rights in the U.S. many things, includ- are equal under In the U.S., if your because of the labor ing health and safety Ethiopian law, but employer discrimi- movement, which has laws, higher wages, women still face nates against you, DORQJKLVWRU\RIÀJKW- and other protections. discrimination in you can protect ing for protections for U.S. workers. For And in Ethiopia the workplace. yourself under the example, in 1834 mill In Ethiopia, where U.S. labor law. girls in Lowell went I am from, we have on strike to protest some labor laws, but most of them have failed. For example, men and women are equal under Ethiopian law, but women still face discrimination in the workplace. Women cannot get equal op- portunities. They don’t have equal access to edu- cation and scholarships, and it’s hard for them to advance in their careers. Women experience sexual harassment at work, but the law does not punish the men who are responsible. In some cases, if a woman wants a better job, she has to satisfy her boss’s sexual interest, and that is really embarrass- ing for women in the workplace. Since I grew up in a family business, I did not have personal experience of discrimination. But my women friends in Ethiopia have shared their stories with me, and I have read about the problem. Fortunately, the current Prime Minis- ter of Ethiopia, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, is taking the country in the right direction. For example, in his Ethiopia supports women entrepreneurs by giving them loans and training. Photo: World Bank. FXUUHQWFDELQHWRIPLQLVWHUVDUHZRPHQDQG

54 The Change Agent —March 2020 — changeagent.nelrc.org Stand Up and Be Counted

Photograph shows Mother Jones with children and adults beginning their walk from Philadelphia to New

6DKOH:RUN=HZGHLVWKHÀUVWIHPDOHSUHVLGHQWRI (WKLRSLD0DQ\(WKLRSLDQSHRSOHDUHÀJKWLQJIRU Take It Further women’s rights at work and in society, and I feel that, over time, we can establish more freedom for After reading the article and the caption women in Ethiopia. under the photo on p. 54, discuss the In conclusion, discrimination in the work- SRVVLEOHEHQHÀWV DQGOLPLWV RIVXSSRUWLQJ place not only hurts the person who has been women entrepreneurs. How might it work targeted, but it hurts the whole society. People in as a strategy for addressing discrimination WKH86DQGLQ(WKLRSLDDUHVWLOOÀJKWLQJIRUZRUN- against women in the workplace? ers’ rights. Learn more about Mother Jones and AFTER YOU READ: According to the author,what WKHPDUFKWR1HZ.

Zinash Fereja is a student at the Com- Share a time you have stood up for your munity Learning Center in Cambridge, MA. ULJKWVRQWKHMRE:HUH\RXE\\RXUVHOIRU She is married, has two beautiful children, ZLWKRWKHUV":KDWKDSSHQHG" 6HHWKH and is interested in arts and design. “Good Jobs...” issue of The Change Agent.)

changeagent.nelrc.org — March 2020 — The Change Agent 55