the bagpipes, i just breakdown. i'll take this to my grave. labor unions, they give us weekends, child labor laws, and the guaranteed minimum wage. they virtually created the american middle class but a lot of people are asking, what have they done for us lately. in the united states, union membership has been on the decline for half a century. nowadays, fewer than 12% of americans belong to a union and lately they have come under attack. >> the union has to be broken. >> being blamed for everything from the failure of our school system to the death of the twinkie. but if the american middle class disappear, the middle class could go with them. income and equality into this

country is already nearing record highs and the worker is on the losing side of the equation. we know workers still need protection. the question is, are unions still the best way for them to get it? these days, there are a lot of people who question whether labor unions are even necessary. according to a 2012 gallup poll, just 52% of americans consider themselves pro-union versus 48% who don't. today, not only have unions been villainized but now people just don't even feel like they are necessary. some people feel like unions have been their own worst enemy for many years. a couple years back i was doing

a job at the consumer electronics show and i was working for this company and we had a booth and i couldn't plug a switch into the wall without having a union guy do it for me. i was like, no wonder nobody wants to work with these guys or support them. you know, have unions kind of seen their time come and go and are we like in a new era? i'm here in new york city, a union stronghold trying to figure out what a successful union might look like so i'm meeting with chaz rynkiewicz. >> so what's the plan for today? >> we're going to a financial building. they reneged on a promise to build their next building union so we're going to inform the

public, the tenants and make a little noise. >> okay. >> all right. how long have you been in the union now? >> i've been in the union 19 years now. >> what was the difference between like the -- like a nonunion job site and a union job site? >> oh, it's night and day. the safety is what i remember. i remember when i would work nonunion, it was like, okay, kid, get up on that ladder. it was like they didn't care if you fell. the equipment was horrendous. the pay was terrible. the nonunion live ten people to an apartment. they have no medical coverage. just no way anybody can make a living like that long term. it's just not going to happen. and then i landed on a union job and i knew that was for me. and i went with it. i've given back to the union ever since. kicking ass for the working class. out there doing our thing. yes. >> today's protest is on

manhattan's west side, where plumbers, iron workers and laborers are drumming up support for union workers. >> gather around. a lot of you were probably here a year ago when this building was going up, being build nonunion, they promised they would built the next three jobs union. the first one went nonunion. the second one just started, he took it away from one of our union contractors and gave it to the same piece of dirt that built this building. so we're going to make a lot of noise today guys? >> yeah! >> all right. all right. we're going to blow up one, two, three, about four racks. >> okay. >> there you go. >> if you want to get the public support, you've got to get the public's attention and chaz says a unique way of doing it.

>> okay. >> giant rat that stands more than 12 feet tall on the side of the protest. >> ah! >> are we ready to fight? are we ready to fight for decency? are we ready to fight for respect? are we ready to fight for union wages? are we ready to fight? >> yeah! >> just when he's gaining some momentum, new york's finest show up to shut the whole thing down. >> how are you doing? >> do you have a permit for this? >> we're giving you five minutes. >> we don't need a permit to demonstrate. we have the right to demonstrate. >> people are walking in the street. you have five minutes to clear. >> we'll make sure the sidewalk is clear. >> no noise. you don't get a permit for the noise. >> we don't need a permit for the noise. we have a right to assemble. we have a right to the freedom of speech and assembly.

>> okay. he says we don't have a right to protest but he's wrong. we do have a right to protest. a lot of times the first police officer on the scene really has no clue what he's talking about. a sergeant will probably come along that know as little more. by the time it gets to the lieutenant and captain, we'll be all right. we'll figure something out. all right? >> this is a man who's had years of protesting on the streets in new york city. there are three different unions represented here today. these are the laborers who built the buildings. these are the plumbers, the welders and they are all out here to protest this one contractor. >> are we ready to fight? are we ready to fight? >> that means i've got to move away. >> okay. all right. we'll maintain the sidewalk maybe an hour tops. >> we're going to be here a while, all right? >> no problem. we'll be hear and peaceful.

>> workers like chaz didn't always have a voice. before america's labor movement began in the late 1800s, workers were subject to astonishing abuses. men and women worked in sweat shops and lacked civil rights on the job. they worked seven days a week with days 12 hours or longer. sometimes they were locked in the factories and there was no such thing as a sick day or a fair wage. there was only one thing for workers to do. organize for better working conditions, safer job sites, and better pay. when workers did try to organize, they were physically attacked, even shot at and killed. >> open warfare rages through the city. picketers battle 700 police. brings injuries to more than 80 persons and causes the death of two. >> workers literally paid for

their rights with these rights that so many of us take for granted. the united auto workers, the international brotherhood of teamsters, united mine workers of america. >> without an organization, you're a lone individual. without any recognition of any kind. >> while most can agree on the importance of unions in the past, many believe that unions are now an obstacle to corporate growth and job creation in america. >> businesses have to compete on quality of the product and the price of the product. unions make companies less competitive. >> union contracts help workers for a while but then they hurt even union workers. >> because their cost or the rigid rules, slow growth and growth is what's best for workers. >> i'm always proud to say, we don't have unions in south carolina because we don't need unions in south carolina. >> unions have been making a habit of saying, okay, we'll keep a pay raise down to a slightly outrageous minimum but

we want a big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for when we retire. this is what killed the auto industry. >> how much of this corporate spin is people being told they don't need unions to more empower corporate interests? and how much of it is true? my turn daddy, my turn! hold it steady now. i know daddy. [ dad ] oh boy, fasten your seatbelts everybody. [ mixer whirring ] good thing we've got bounty. bounty select-a-size. it's the smaller powerful sheet, that acts like a big sheet. look! one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. [ humming ] [ dad ] use less with the small but powerful picker upper. bounty select-a-size. and try bounty napkins. bounty select-a-size. here we honor the proud thaccomplishmentsss. of our students and alumni. people like, maria salazar, an executive director at american red cross. or garlin smith, video account director at yahoo.

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for more than 50 years, union membership has been on the decline. some people say it's because

unions achieve what they set out to do a long time ago when many worker protections became laws, like the 40-hour work week and the federal minimum wage. they think that nowadays unions do workers more harm than good. others, however, blame it on the anti-union movement, deliver on a play of large corporations to systematically destroy workers rights initiatives by educating their employees on what they perceive to be the problems with unions. >> i'm speaking as a vocal home depot associate. to me, the idea of a union at home depot, that just doesn't seem right. >> they deduce money outs of my paycheck before i ever saw it, just like taxes. >> when a union becomes a team member's representative, that team member loses the right to deal directly with the management team. >> bottom line, at target you don't need to pay dues to a third party to have a workplace where team members work together, listen to each other, and treat each other with

dignity and respect. >> alfred is a lawyer who specializes in union busting and there's no shortage of demand for her services. for 35 years, alfred has been helpi helping companies keep unions out of their corporations. >> we closed this plant down, man. we closed this plant down. >> i've made a career out of union avoidance. some labor union people might call that union busting. >> you will learn the most effective ways to remain union-free. >> management lawyers, me, we conduct intense unfair labor practice training. when a company comes to me and has a campaign, we teach the supervisors and managers what they can say and can't say in

compliance with interlobby rules. >> he believes that they are not interested in helping the workers and that the unions that benefit are the workers themselves. >> unions have a product to sell. actually, it's a service that they are selling. you give me your monthly fee and i'll do x for you. the problem is, what can they actually guarantee you. you sign a union card and pay $500 a year in dues, you don't have any guarantee. >> he also tells clients that the best way to avoid a union is to create an environment where workers will be happy. he believes if you gave workers a fair shake, fair pay, decent benefits and an open-door policy to address their concerns, workers won't feel like they need union representation. when companies still fail to treat their workers well, dimaria tells them what to expect. >> i have a statement up front i

tell my clients. i say, if you get a union here, you get the union you deserve. >> and dimaria says if someone wants someone to blame for the unions, they need to look no further than themselves. >> labor starts to make a bad name for themselves. if they go to organizers and employees and see them picketing and see what they are shouting and see them with the flyers, that's not a good base to come back to employees and say, sign my card, i'll help you get an increase. >> with the help of lawyers like alfred dimaria, corporations have become much more savvy in efforts to organize their companies. for many reasons, recent attempts to unionize companies have been unsuccessful in places like target, starbucks, co coca-cola, nissan, apple, and

the world's largest retailer, walmart. walmart is a giant. they have more than two million employees, a presence in 27 countries around the globe and took in nearly $447 billion in revenue just in 2012. they are the largest private employer in the world with sales greater than microsoft, google, and apple combined. their annual income is greater than the entire country of argentina. they are at the top of the retail game, which is one of the reasons why they set the standard for how the entire retail industry decides to treat its workers. and walmart workers have made some shocking claims against their employer. walmart's faced everything from lawsuits and allegations of wage theft to unsafe working conditions to racial and gender discrimination. >> there are now 1.6 million plaintiffs alleging walmart jim nated against women. >> but it's when workers try to improve conditions that things get ugly. walmart is widely viewed as

aggressive anti-union and they organize their co-workers say they have been ostracized, threatened, and even terminated for exercising their rights in the workplace. on black friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, workers at walmart were joined by members of the united food and commercial working union in a nationwide protest. if you want to draw attention to a retailer, there's no better time to do in. >> shoppers are having to walk through a bit of a protest. what you are seeing at this southern california walmart is a large group of workers as well as union members walking a picket line. this is a protest that's happening in the states of texas, maryland, georgia, wisconsin, trying to make the point to the company that they need to figure some of these issues out. >> i try to get a representative from walmart to go on camera and talk to the allegations against them but they refused. they said it's a very small number of employees that actually have grievances against

the company. what they did say we should do is come here to this walmart in new jersey and talk to hand-picked associates that they say are very happy to be working for them. hey, how are you? >> hi, how are you. >> i'm morgan. >> i'm jocelyn. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. >> how long have you worked for walmart? >> i've worked for walmart for 3 1/2 years now. >> do you have benefits? >> yes, i do. >> full health and everything? >> yes. >> are you a part-time employee? >> no, full time. >> have you been able to work out a schedule that works for you? >> yes, definitely. >> so you feel like you have a voice? >> yes. i like the managers i work with, with the associates that i work with. >> why do you feel people have grievances against the company? >> i don't know. all i can say from my experience, great and positive experience. >> great. thank you. wonderful to meet you. hey, i'm morgan. >> hi, how are you, i'm jessica. >> jessica, nice to meet you. how long have you worked here at the walmart sth.

>> i've worked for walmart for about 4, 4 1/2 years now. some of the folks that we've heard from, one of the grievances that they say is it's not a grieving wage. >> it's not just about the base pay. my store has a really good performance, that's extra money. if factors into everything. it's definitely a living wage. >> so you're happy? >> i am. >> so why are folks so unhappy? >> i don't know. not everyone's experience is the same. >> fantastic to meet you. pleasure. >> all right. >> one thing's for sure, the next group of workers i talked to definitely had a different experience with walmart. >> hi, i'm morgan. >> morgan. mary. >> nice to meet you. >> how can we stand up as proud as we should in the united states when we're letting a billion dollar company treat their associates with disrespect? and it happens every day. >> our walmart is an organization dedicated to improving conditions for workers

at the retail giant. they protested on black friday and in spite of what they say is tactics from their employer, they are standing their ground. >> if they pay for nothing of our health care. >> we should be allowed to call in when we're sick. we shouldn't be threatened if we can't come in. >> people need to understand that these are morality issues, to not respect unless there is living wage and all of that included to not give the associates you're saying that you're indispensable. at any moment, once they are done using you, they are going to get rid of you. >> how many employees are there? >> a million three. >> how many people are in the organization? >> thousands. >> is that why people are afraid of joining, out of 1.4 million, they could be gone like that? >> they can be replace grad they scare these people. they scare the hell out of them.

>> i'm curious, without the help, look at here. the reason we went on strike was to make a point for every associate across the country and we in the united states, we got freedom. if we want to organize, that is our right. we have people who have died and we have movement to make it better to make it better for neighbors in the country. we are part of what makes america go around. >> you have to admire their dedication and passion. you also have to wonder how in the world will a small group of sales associates like this take on the largest corporation in the world and win? and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ [ crowd cheering ] [ male announcer ] for sensitive skin,

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whether you're for unions or against them, there's no denying that wealth distribution is changing. the american middle class is shrinking and some people believe that shift is directly correlated to the demise of the unions. >> i'm here to talk to three of the biggest leaders of the unions to try and find out. >> in the past few years, there continues to be a delineation of

the middle class in america that kind of parallels the decline of the middle class movement. >> to the day i die i'll argue that the vehicle to the middle class was organized labor because the importance issues of good wages, good health care, representation in the workplace, those were all of the things that we stand for in organized labor. the three of us as labor leaders, nobody here has a problem with developers or corporations making money. our issue is, don't fill your pockets by taking money out of our pockets. >> from 1978 to 2011, the annual compensation of a typical private sector worker grew a mere 5.7% but a typical ceo's compensation increased more than 725%. the huge economic gains that have been made over the past 30 years have consistently gone to the wealthy, which only increases the income gap and pushes people further down the economic ladder. >> this disparity of wealth that exists today, this is the

largest gap between the haves and have-nots that's ever existed here before and it's unsustainable. there's been such a deterioration in the job base in this country because of offshoring. what we're left with is an economy of service jobs. >> between 1980 and 2009, the u.s. lost 38% of its manufacturing jobs. most of these were what might be considered solid middle class jobs. the type that haven't come back during the economic recovery. but there's been a new source of job growth, the service industry. responsible for an astounding 97% of the job growth in the u.s. while not all of these were low-paying jobs, lower wage occupations represent half, about 58% of job recovery growth since the recession. the glut of low-paying jobs means that employees often need one to make ends meet which may be 17.1 million americans hold

two jobs. minimum wage jobs that provide just $7.25 an hour prevail. >> we have to make good jobs out of retail, fast food, service workers. these jobs can be good, middle class paying jobs. >> these are arguments that these are not skilled labor positions. a 16-year-old can come in there and get a be jo. you don't need special training. >> have you been into a fast food store lately? >> you're not seeing 14 and 15-year-old kids working in fast food. you're seeing people work as a second job to try and support a family. all right? we're fighting to create an environment with dignity of work that is respected and people can thrive, not simply survive. >> in new york city, the fast food workers have had enough. they are banding together to

demand what they say is a living wage of $15 an hour and a union of their own. >> we can't survive on 7.25! we can't survive on $7.25. >> here's gregory. he's worked for domino's pizza for about a year and a half. he and his wife make 1650 combined. their rent is $1,000 a month. they depend on food stamps to feed themselves and their 3-year-old daughter. it's a constant struggle just for them to stay afloat. according to the miriam webster diktary, a living wage is a wage sufficient to provide the necessities and come efforts essential to an acceptable standard of living. what does that mean? a resident of brooklyn, new york, if gregory were single, his living wage would be $12.57 an hour. but as a husband and father of one child, gregory would have to

make $20.93 an hour to make a living wage. certainly where you live depends and but that's a $13 increase from what he makes now. >> what about my future? what about my daughter? >> gregory became a leader at his store, encouraging his fellow employees to join a union and seek a $15 an hour wage. according to gregory, domino's wasn't pleased. >> domino's, they retaliated. they started scaring my co-workers, setting up meetings saying that the union is not good for you. union is going to take money, you know. they -- and finally they fire me. >> here we are again, someone tries to get unionized and they get fired. today we're going to send domino's a loud and clear message that the injustices against fast food workers has to

stop now. >> today, rallying fast food workers from all over the city have gathered to support gregory and his struggle against domino's and a protest in front of the branch where he worked. >> and the ceo of domino's makes $4,327 an hour. the ceo of don't nose has had an 800% raise in the past four years. gregory and his friends and brothers and sisters have had no raise. >> we contacted domino's for a statement about gregory's firing and he says what he claims he was terminated for and what he was actually terminated for are entirely different things. the company said that they received reports about gregory's serious workplace misconduct and took immediate action to ensure that neither our team members or customers would be exposed to this inappropriate behavior any longer. they didn't explain what the inappropriate behavior was. >> if we don't get it -- >> gregory maintains that he was

fired because of his attempts to organize his fellow employees. the type of retaliatory action that gregory describes is common, even though it's against the law and it's one reason why so many employees of large corporations are afraid to unionize. >> why is it a corporation's job to make sure that everyone who works there is taken care of and has all of these benefits? >> corporations who care because at the end of the day they ultimately will be at the short end of the stick just like everybody else because there will be no money to spend on anybody. without a vibrant strong middle class, there is no future. >> the problem is, most companies in the u.s. aren't worried about the future because they are too busy worrying about today and trying to stay competitive in the global economy. companies today need to stay very, very lean to stay alive. they've got shareholders to pay

and compete and it's understand to cut the costs wherever they can. one of the biggest cost burdens on any company is its workforce, which is why most companies that can find a way to pay workers less will. either by eliminating jobs in the united states or shipping american jobs overseas. if a corporation can stay competitive, they just might be able to keep the edge that they need to stay alive and in the world of global capitalism, that edge makes all the difference.

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all right. treat your workers like you should. >> if you're going to take on one of the most powerful corporations in the world, you're going to need some powerful allies. so today the workers of our walmart are heading to washington where they are taking their case to politicians. >> why did you decide to get involved? why bother? >> nothing is positive in this country without people saying, hey, that's wrong. it's like a snowball effect because the smaller companies follow the major companies like walmart and coke. i feel like if my generation doesn't step up and do something about it, this is the direction that america is going to go because nobody is going to stop

it. >> yeah. we're at the capitol and the our walmart workers are going to meet with representatives in the hopes that not only will the representatives listen but that they will also help push for change within the organization. i'm going with a group from florida meeting with representative allen grayson. >> hi, how are you doing? >> how are you doing? >> very good. >> what you're doing is you're setting an example. it's you against this enormous huge institution that employs over a million people and has a billion of dollars of its pocket. it's you against all of that and you just have to be brave, keep summoning that courage because if everybody like you in your position comes topths, then you'll all be better off. >> exactly. >> so congressman, do you think

unionization has got a place for walmart? >> yes. they get a better wage. >> are your fellow congressmen and senators afraid of the same thing? >> i knew about the events of thanks giving and, you know, it was a clear-cut decision to show my support. i was kind of surprised when i heard that there were only two of us in the whole country, 100 senators, only two of us decided to show our support. this is something that obviously needs to happen. it's got to change not just for the benefit of the specific workers but for the benefit of the middle class america. people need to be paid more for their work. so it's got to end and the only way that it can end is to show people that there is a future and a future is better if they organize. >> but the elation of support didn't last long because the

workers we were filming with, walmart informed it is workers including cindy and barbara that their black friday protest was not a federally protected action. that means that every worker who participated in the protest is in serious danger of losing their jobs. >> they believe what we did isn't right. >> an emergency meeting is called. >> we were taken to the corn path, each and every one of us individual today. >> what happened? >> our managers took each one of us, three of us individual out to the corner where nobody else was. he brought his other co-manager, a big guy. >> they took me first. >> and what did he say? >> he read a sheet of paper that was saying that we were

destructing walmart. what he considered a work stop was that we didn't come to work on october 9th and 10th and black friday. so he said under their guidelines if you miss three absences in six months they can terminate you. so if we participate in a work stoppage, they can take action against us. >> they said you weren't protected by federal law? >> yeah. he said they didn't consider that as federal protection. >> they said the same thing to you as well? >> okay. and i think you guys know a lot of this but you have a right to engage in concerted activity and the strike actions that you took back in october and on black friday were protected strikes. you were protesting the retaliation that the people who spoke out were receiving. >> right. >> and that is absolutely protected activity. it's protected by the law, the federal law, the national labor

relations act and you have a first amendment right of freedom of association. you're allowed to conduct this kind of activity. >> good. >> yeah. >> these workers believe their rights have been violated and they want to do something about it but it's still a tough choice for anybody to take a stand to put your own livelihood in jeopardy. >> i've decided to take a strike because i'm supposed to be at work tomorrow but because of the statement that they released to other stores and what happened to y'all directly, i'm going to take a strike because it's wrong. >> yeah. actually, i hate to say it but i really do think we shouldn't wait. >> i'm willing to stand with colby. now is when they are doing it to the people in our stores. now is when we have to stand up and say, you haven't made us walk the other way. we are still here. i'm not going anywhere. i mean, come on. changing walmart can change the way that other people treat their employees. it has to start somewhere and if it's us that has to do the stopping, we're committed to doing that. >> if you guys do this tomorrow, do you think other people from

the store will come out and be a part of this? do you think you'll get other people? >> some of them are scared to death. >> even if they don't necessarily come outside, they will at least see that we continuously take action and we come back to work every time we take an action. eventually it will help them get over their fears. >> right. >> they are scared but they are not letting that stop them. >> just let me know what time it is. >> they believe that someone has to take a personal risk for the greater good and scared or not they are going to be the ones to do it. e being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can. but with advair, i'm breathing better.

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allegra-d d-congests, d-pressurizes so you can breathe. a fast, non-drowsy antihistamine plus a powerful decongestant. allegra-d. d-fense against allergy congestion. they told us we can't strike or they would hold it against us. so right now i'm going to go over and i'm going to hand them a letter and tell him i'm going on strike right now. [ applause ] >> cindy, barbara, and the other embattled workers of walmart have made a decision. they've decided to take a strike. >> how are you feeling, cindy? >> nervous, but i know i'm doing the right thing. >> i know i'm doing the right thing, too. if we don't do it, who will do it? >> and right now is the time if ever there was. >> can i speak to frank?

>> frank's not here today. >> can we speak to you or jake? may we speak with you? we the walmart associates whose signatures appear below are not working today to protest walmart's tenth assignment to associates. we have spoken out of things like walmart's low take-home pay, unpredictable work schedules and walmart's retaliation against the associates that have spoken out. these associates are members of our walmart and they will not be silenced. it is illegal for walmart to retaliate against them. today we say no to walmart's retaliation in an attempt to silence our walmart who have spoken out to walmart. any adverse action that walmart takes against us for not reporting to work, including actions like cutting our hours, bemoaning us, transferring us to a different department or

permanently replace us will constitute a violation of the national retaliation act and retaliatory unfair labor practice. thank you. >> barbara and cindy, they gave a letter that basically read that said they are going on strike and now they are going to hand out flyers and hold posters and a lot of other workers have come to join them, a lot of other people from different stores, supporters in the km community. looking like there's going to be 20 some people here today. hey, i'm morgan. you walked off the job today? >> yes. >> you walked off the job today and decided to join the strike? >> yes. >> so what made you decide to do that? >> i guess i'm tired of the retaliation, the way i'm treated, cutting my hours, messing with me totally. they can't push you around.

>> passing out flyers may not be glamorous. >> good evening, ma'am. >> according to worker advocates, it works. because the worker unions often boils down to this. making the public affair of their feeling that even today american laborers are being treated unfairly and that we can come together to fix it. >> we would love you to read our flyer. >> of course, not everyone agrees. >> do these people not know what unions do? when you pay union dues, you know where that goes? >> we want different things to change for us. we have no health care. does anybody know that we have no health care? >> then go to a job that gives you health care. >> see, that's the big problem. when you run away and get another job, you're causing the next person to keep going through those things. >> right. >> sir, can i ask you a couple of questions? yeah, i'd love to ask you a couple of questions. so what are your thoughts on the people who are out here striking today? >> i think if they don't like their job here, they should go

get another one. if you want health care and they are not going to give it to you, go to some place that does. >> they are just a group that has no right. they are just stirring up nothing for nothing. this is a made-up contrived situation. >> when you start working here, you know it's a minimum wage job, number one. you know that there's no benefits. no health benefits. that's why they have the low price. if you want them to have health benefits, than the price of everything is going to go up. who is that going to hurt? the consumer like me. i'm on a fixed income, retired. it's going to hurt me. >> according to a study done by the uc berkeley center, if every single walmart worker were paid a living wage of $12 an hour, the cost would increase prices about 1%. if they passed the entire cost on to consumers, it would add $12.50 to a customer's annual bill, a an average of 46 cents a

trip. that may not seem like a lot. the perception of consumer is hard to overcome and these companies want to keep it that way, even if the workers don't. >> do you feel like today was a success? >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. we knew it wouldn't be an overnight process but we're going to be here however long it takes. we're in it for the long run until things change. >> the odds are awfully long for workers like colby but these guys aren't giving up. they believe they are right and they have the heart that keeps them in the fight and that's something that no company on earth can take away. i get a lit♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ [ crowd cheering ] ♪

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after assessing the current landscapes of unions in america, i have to admit, they face a real test in the years to come. and maybe the numbers aren't lying and the times of the unions in the u.s. have come and gone. ultimately it's too soon to tell. regardless of your stance on unions, it's clear that in the 21st century, workers need to keep fighting to get the protections they deserve.

but how? a step in the right direction might be a higher minimum wage. >> tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full time should have to work in poverty and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. >> and to that effect, some good news came early this year. >> happy new year new york. >> new york state passed legislation increasing the state minimum wage to $8 per hour starting in 2014. the wage would continue to rise incrementally to $9 by 2016. >> current minimum wage is unliveable. it's only $14,616. >> new york will join 19 other states in d.c. with minimum wages above the federal minimum. connecticut and california passed similar laws in may and campaigns to raise the minimum wage have kicked off in several more. in iowa, the minimum wage would

be increased. >> it's for workers earning at or near the minimum wage who are falling further and further behind each day. these workers fill essential and often difficult jobs. they clean our offices, wait on us in restaurants and stores, and provide daycare for our children or take care of our parents and our grandparents. >> still not reinstated at his job, greg continues to speak out on behalf of workers rights and has brought charges against dominos that are being investigated by the national labor relations board. >> i work hard to provide for my family. minimum wage is not enough. >> not much has changed for our walmart workers either, but they are still going to work, hoping for a better future. it's very likely that income and equality will be a problem in

this country for the foreseeable future but if unions continue to use their influence, something will need to take their place to ensure our rights to americans to life, liberty, and the pursuit of a living wage. the kennedys were almost morbidly afraid of this march. >> they closed the bars. they put the national guard on standby. >> i was terrified that people weren't going to show up. >> they just come from all over the place, like somebody threw something into a bed of ants. >> i still have a dream.