Our Mission
The Religion and Labor Network of Austin is a network of people from faith, labor and the community who call upon our religious values to educate, organize and mobilize the people of Austin to support initiatives that advance justice for workers and improve wages, benefits and working conditions, especially for low-wage workers.
“Collectively, we are the City of Austin, we have enormous purchasing power, and we can take steps to ensure that the people who manufacture the garments our city employees wear are not manufactured in conditions that lack dignity or justice.”
- Reverend Tom VandeStadt, RLNA
RLNA News
RNLA Seeks Justice at Target
Target Stores prides itself on maintaining high employment standards and enjoys a reputation as being the ethical alternative to Wal-Mart, which has a long history of injustice against workers. However, in numerous cases it has been discovered that Target contracts with custodial and security companies for workers to clean their stores and guard their national headquarters, but requires the workers to perform over-time work without compensating them. When their hours and pay are averaged, it leaves hundreds of workers earning less than a minimum wage.
Additionally, Target wrote into its contract with at least one of these companies that, should they ever be sued by the workers, they could withhold payment from the company. In the Spring of 2006, Target learned a little over 100 workers in Houston and 29 workers in Austin and San Antonio were planning to sue for the pay they were owed. As a result, Target withheld approximately a HALF-MILLION DOLLARS from the custodial company, which immediately went bankrupt and could not afford to pay the workers who had cleaned Target’s stores.
The court cases continue, but in the mean time RLNA is taking part in a local and national campaign to call Target to live up to its own ethical employment standards and pay the workers money withheld from them which they deserve for work they have already performed.
Click here to read the “White Paper” prepared by RLNA’s own Rev. Tom VandeStadt for the national campaign.
Click here to send an e-fax to Target, calling them to treat all workers in their stores fairly!
Click here to e-mail Carla for more information about the Target campaign and to get involved.
Sustainable!
Food, Environment, Economics,
Spirituality and Activism Conference
March 28-29
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
14311 Wells Port Drive (off Wells Branch near I-35)
Austin, Texas 78728
251-0698
Friday, March 28
7 PM "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." An entertaining grassroots story of how one farmer went organic. The film was screened in January at the Alamo Drafthouse. Discussion following led by UT Professor Robert Jensen. Free.
Saturday, March 29, 11:30 AM - 5:30 PM
11:30 Registration $10 donation requested.
12:00 noon Opening Presentation: "The Science and Politics of a Sustainable Future." Justin Podur, York University professor of environmental studies. Podur teaches landscape ecology and geographic information systems, focusing on managing resources in light of climate change, urban forestry, and ecological restoration. He also is a writer and editor for ZNet, part of Z communications, an alternative-media organization dedicated to political analysis and support for movements for social change.
1:00 – 5:30 PM Workshops by Envision Central Texas, Livable Cities, SOS, Sustainable Food Center, Texas Interfaith Power and Light, Center for Public Policy, UT Professor Dick Richardson, Edible Austin, Religion and Labor Network and others.
Website Still in Construction
Welcome to our new website. We are still finishing all the content for the rest of the site. Check back soon for updates and new content.
RLNA in Action
Demand Justice at Target
Send an e-fax to demand Target pays all workers in its stores fairly
RNLA's Turning 4!
RSVP to RLNA’s Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser April 25, 2008 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. at the AFL-CIO Hall on 11th and Lavaca.
Donate Today
Suport the work of RNLA by making a donation to our work. Please follow the following directions to donate online to RLNA:
- Open the Donations Page.
- Scroll down to the box that says, "This gift is being made in honor of..."
- Type in RLNA. Otherwise we will not receive your donation.