Right-wing commentator of the Baltimore Examiner Dan Gainor trashed the Camden Yards cleaners who are have announced that they will hunger strike starting Sept 3 in to secure a living wage at the publicly owned stadium.

The great labor battles are written in large type across American history — the Haymarket riots, the railroad strike of 1877 — even the battles between miners and mine owners in Harlan County, Ky. But Camden Yards?Yes. The new great battleground for the labor movement is the stadium, and the rallying cry isn’t some Depression-era slogan about dimes. It’s the far pricier “living wage.”

Days until the Living Wages Hunger Strike begins: 14
Days until the hunger strike ends: Strike ends when Camden Yards stops paying cleaners a poverty wage

Yesterday the hunger strikers protested outside of the Maryland Stadium Authority's Ocean City Convention Center.  This wrapped up an intense week that started with the announcement press conference on Wednesday and included time for reflection and planning and conducting outreach to state leaders and policy makers.  We were able to directly make our case to the state's political leaders while they met for the MACO conference.  And we were also able to focus on the steps ahead as we prepare for the Living Wages Hunger Strike to start on Sept 3.

Days until the Living Wages Hunger Strike begins: 16
Days until the hunger strike ends: Strike ends when Camden Yards stops paying cleaners a poverty wage

Immediately afterWednesday's hunger strike announcementthe eleven workers who will strike started on the Step Up for Living Wages Tour.  The tour started at St. John's in Mt Pleasant with a lunch and planning session put on by the striker health and well being committtee.  We then headed to St Paul's by the Sea in Ocean City for retreat and planning.  Today we visited Harriet Tubman's region of birth and met with state leaders and policy makers.

Tomorrow workers will protest outside of the Maryland Stadium Authority convention center in Ocean City.

Strikers meet with health and well-being coordinator Iris to talk about health issues relating to hunger striking.

The announcement press conference will be held at Camden Yards (gate F) tomorrow at 10:30 AM.  We will leave from the press conference directly to Ocean City for the Step Up to Living Wages Tour.  The tour concludes with a protest demanding that the cleaners at Camden Yards be included in Maryland's living wage legacy.  More info: http://UnitedWorkers.org

Check out the latest news stories:

You are a cleaner at Camden Yards, a publicly owned baseball stadium. You will work all night - but first you must arrive at least 2 hours before your scheduled time. You get in line and wait.  When a shift is assigned to you, a barcoded wristband is attached to you and you are loaded onto a van.  

The loaded van waits with you and the rest of the crew waiting.  Others are still waiting in the temp agency lobby, in limbo and hoping for a job tonight.  Nobody is on the clock yet, this all unpaid wait time.  Unpaid, but required to wait - if you leave you will be taken off the shift and most likely blacklisted. The unlucky will be sent home, but must wait and lose out on finding another job someplace else.  You are all required to wait, either with your barcoded wristband or with any word.  You wait in the van or in the lobby.  You unpaid for up to two hours for each game you work.

Calling all activists, organizers, and anyone and everyone who cares about the welfare of Baltimore's day laborers!

We need YOU to help stand beside the Camden Yards workers as they fight for a Living Wage!

Since 2004, temporary workers at Camden Yards have been struggling to receive the living wage that they deserve. After almost 3 years of hard work and demanding a living wage, resulting only in broken promises, the workers are fed up. They initiated face to face talks with the Maryland Stadium Authority and set a Sept 1 deadline for a binding living wage policy. The MSA has informed the United Workers that they will miss the deadline. The United Workers will be announcing their plan for ramping up pressure on August 15.

The contractors who clean the publicly owned Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore violate the human rights of workers. Not only are workers treated as trash and not with dignity, but they are also paid poverty wages.  When illegal wait times are added into a worker's shift, cleaners make less than the state's minimum wage, far below Baltimore's living wage rate.  

Even worse are outright instances of underpayment for work done.  Here is Devin's story (1 min. YouTube video of Devin introducing himself and talking about not getting paid for work done below the fold)...