Get your 10th anniversary tee-shirt at Faith & Labor Picnic

Maybe I'm biased, but I love our new 10th anniversary tee-shirts, featuring the "Justice Served" logo by Collins Dillard. They're union-made in the USA, and we have regular tee-shirts as well as ladies' cut tees. We've only ordered 100 and I expect them to go fast. They'll be available for $15 at the Faith and Labor Picnic on Labor Day, so be sure to bring your cash, check, Visa or MasterCard.

Sneak preview of silent auction items at the Faith and Labor Picnic

Want to do a little early Christmas shopping? Or just get something for yourself? Take a look at some of the great items we'll have at our silent auction at the Faith and Labor Picnic on Labor Day.

With these nesting "plarn" bags, you can be a double environmentalist. They're knitted from plastic bags, so they're super strong. Take them to the grocery store, the beach, or anywhere else you need to haul stuff.

 

 

Have a child in your life that you want to share Bible stories with in a way that's easy for them to relate to? Check out Elaine Blanchard's book and CD Help Me Remember: Bible Stories for Children.

 

Several artisans have donated some beautiful jewelry, including this Swarovski pearl and sterling silver necklace, earrings, and bracelet made by Anne Walton Garrison.

 

 

And this handblown glass "dream" pendant by Marjorie Levy.

 

Marjorie has also donated a beautiful pair of glass earrings.

 

I know I'm always a little stumped about what to give to the guys in my life. This handmade walnut pen and case made by Ken Burnette might be a good choice!





I love the Majestic Grille, and was so excited when they donated a $50 gift certificate.

 

By now you've problem seen the fabulous 10th anniversary "Justice Served" logo that Collins Dillard designed for our new WIN tee-shirts and our Picnic flyer. He'll be donating a framed print of it for the auction.

 

Do you (or a lady in your life) love Avon? Christine Booker has donated this Avon basket full of bath items and a jewelry set.



 

Potter Melissa Bridgman donated a honeypot last year, but I think this year's is even cuter! It includes a wooden honey dipper.

 

 

For all you hardcore Midtown folks, Jaime Winton has donated this Midtown Memphis print, along with matching notecards. All the letters are made from pictures she took in Midtown.

 

 

If you're a WIN activist, you might be interested in this photo book I made about our last 10 years.



 

 

Bring a little fair trade home with you with this set of 2 mugs, coffee, and chocolate from the St. John's United Methodist Church Artisan store.

 



 

If that's not enough coffee for you, we'll also have a $25 Starbucks gift card.

 

If you've heard John Kilzer perform at last year's Picnic or around town, I know you'll be interested in the three CD set he's donated: The Way Live (just released!), The Journey, and The Travelling Cokesburys.

 

If you see something you're interested in, be sure to bring some extra cash, your checkbook, or your Visa or MasterCard to the Picnic.

 

And just a reminder: this Monday, August 27th is the last day to get your discounted Picnic tickets on our website.



 

Ways you can make the 10th annual Faith and Labor Picnic a success

This year's Faith and Labor Picnic will be like no other because it's WIN's 10th anniversary and our 10th Picnic! I'm so excited about celebrating your successes in upholding workers' rights, and about where your Workers Interfaith Network is headed in the next 10 years.

Here are some things you can do to make sure the Picnic raises the funds - and fun - that our movement for worker justice needs.

1) Become a Picnic sponsor. Whether you sponsor at the $1,000 or $10 level, your gift will support workers who are organizing to win living wages and to stop wage theft. If you want your name to be included in our Picnic program guide, we must receive your Picnic sponsorship by August 20th. You can sponsor online, or call (901) 332-3570.

2) Volunteer the day of the Picnic. From running the MoonBounce to serving food, it takes a lot of volunteers to keep things running smoothly. Contact me if you're willing to volunteer.

3) Get your tickets today, and get a 15% discount. Advance tickets are just $10 for adults, $5 for kids, or a maximum of $30 for families. Discounted tickets are available online until August 27th. You can can also buy discounted tickets from a WIN volunteer.

4) Bake WIN a batch of birthday cupcakes. We'll be celebrating WIN's birthday with cakes and cupcakes. If you can make homemade cupcakes for the Picnic, please contact me.

5) Have a gift card you don't plan to use? Donate it to WIN for our auction and doorprize give-a-ways at the Picnic. Mail your gift card to WIN, 3035 Directors Row, B - 1207, Memphis, TN 38131. Also, be on the lookout for our auction preview, which I'll post the week before the Picnic. This year we'll have a bigger variety of items to bid on.

6) Post a Picnic flyer at your congregation, union hall, business, or community organization. You can download an English flyer here or a Spanish flyer here.

7 things you can do to help pass the Shelby County wage theft ordinance

Two out of three low-wage workers are affected by wage theft. It's time for a local wage theft law!

     People all across Shelby County are sending our County Commissioners a clear message: all workers should be paid for their work. And when you aren't paid, you should have an easy way to recover your stolen wages.

     That's why we're calling on the Shelby County Commission to pass a local wage theft ordinance. They'll only pass the law if enough of us press them to do so. I hope you'll join other workers, people of faith, students, and activists in our campaign to stop wage theft.

Here are 7 things you can do to help get the wage theft ordinance passed:

1) Learn more about what wage theft is and why the local wage theft ordinance is needed. Want the quick version? Download our one page summary of the wage theft ordinance. Want to go more in-depth? Read our report "The Epidemic of Wage Theft in Shelby County." It has stories of workers like Cynthia Marquez, who took a waitressing job to put herself through college and was only paid in customer tips.

2) Sign the electronic petition to County Commissioners, calling on them to support the ordinance, and meet with members of the Stop Wage Theft Coalition to talk about the proposed law.

3) Collect petition signatures on our printed petitions from your friends, co-workers, members of your congregation or union, or your neighbors. We'll deliver these to Commissioners at a rally in September. Contact Kyle Kordsmeier to get petition forms.

4) Invite a WIN staff member to come speak about the wage theft campaign to your group. This is our most powerful way to spread the word about the campaign! We'll speak to Sunday School classes, Bible studies and women's groups; student organizations; union meetings; neighborhood associations; political organizations, and more. We can do something short or a longer (30 minutes or so) presentation. If you'd like a speaker, let Kyle Kordsmeier know.

5) Ask your congregation, union, community group, or business to endorse the wage theft campaign. Again, Kyle Kordsmeier can give you endorsement forms or additional info about this.

6) Of course, it also takes money to run this campaign. Become a sponsor of our Faith and Labor Picnic to help raise the funds needed to pass the wage theft ordinance.

7) Sign up to be a volunteer with Workers Interfaith Network. We need folks to do everything from being part of lobbying delegations to calling our members about actions they can take. Fill out our volunteer form here, and under the "special skills I'd like to share" be sure to indicate you'd like to help with the wage theft ordinance campaign.