We’ve heard a lot about ways to protect yourself during this particularly nasty flu season. Here are the basics: Get a flu shot. Wash your hands frequently. And if you’re sick? Stay home.

But for the 1 million workers in Massachusetts who lack access to sick time, staying home isn’t an option. These employees have to go to work when they’re sick or risk losing their jobs, exposing customers and coworkers to illness in the process. For many low-wage workers at chains like Dunkin’ Donuts, a missed paycheck due to the flu is something they simply cannot afford.

That’s why dozens of activists braved the cold today to rally for the Earned Paid Sick Time bill. In the shadow of the State House, protestors picketed outside Dunkin’ Donuts to call attention to the lack of paid sick leave for many Bay State workers.

Michael Habib, Dunkin' Donuts worker, hasn't has a single sick day in 5 years of employment

Among the protestors was Michael Habib, who has been working at Dunkin’ Donuts for almost 5 years. In all that time, Habib has never taken a sick day — even when he had a 102 degree fever. It isn’t just a matter of sacrificing a paycheck, Habib says, taking a sick day can mean losing your job or facing retribution.

Access to sick leave isn’t just a public health issue — it’s also an economic one. A recent study revealed that earned sick time would save Massachusetts employers $26 million annually as a result of lower turnover, increased worker productivity and reduced spread of contagious disease in the workplace.

In the midst of the worst flu season in a decade, it’s more critical than ever that we focus on achieving paid sick time for working families in Massachusetts. After all, no one wants flu germs in their morning coffee.

To learn how you can take action, visit the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition.

With the fiscal cliff looming, Congressmen Mike Capuano (D-Boston) and John Tierney (D-Salem) yesterday kicked off a major rally against potential cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall. The event, which drew a crowd of more than 500 Bay State seniors, workers and healthcare advocates, marked a nationwide day of action calling for new revenue and investments in job creation as key components of a potential deal on the fiscal cliff.

Following remarks from Capuano and Tierney, Massachusetts residents amongst the most likely to be impacted by cuts to vital federal programs spoke out about what these cuts would mean in their lives. Among them were local seniors, healthcare providers and unemployed workers.

There’s a lot at stake for the people of Massachusetts in the upcoming debates, and the vital services that many seniors and working families depend on are on the line.

“These services are so critical to helping people like me get back to work, and they’re also incredibly important to the people I now work with every day,” said Charlene Saulnier, a West Medford nurse who serves low-income seniors. “That’s why we’re here today, calling on our senators to preserve funding for these programs. We need champions for our families and seniors.”

It’s up to all of us to keep up the pressure on our elected officials over the coming weeks, and ensure that we have those champions on our side. Call 1-888-979-7518 to be connected to your member of Congress TODAY.

Holiday tradition aside, Black Friday seems to have become a display of the worst aspects of American consumerism in recent years — complete with huge mobs, long lines and violent clashes over “door-buster” discounts put on by Big Box retailers. But this year, thousands of community leaders and everyday shoppers gathered at Walmart locations across the country with a different purpose in mind: supporting workers’ rights.

Community groups came together to protest a pattern of serious abuses at Walmart — from poverty-level wages and huge spikes in healthcare costs to unsafe working conditions and illegal retaliation against workers when they speak out. They made their voices heard through marches, protests and other demonstrations at Walmart stores across the country, standing arm-in-arm with the Walmart Associates who are under attack.

Here in Massachusetts, dozens of current and former Walmart workers, labor leaders and community allies gathered outside the retail giant’s store in Quincy to send a message that was impossible to miss. With hundreds of Walmart customers and workers gathered outside, advocates projected a series of 30-foot illuminated images onto the store’s façade to highlight the Associates’ fight for respect at the workplace.

Check out this video of community leader Darrin Howell leading activists in a “mic check” in support of Walmart workers in Quincy:

The local actions, staged at all 48 Bay State Walmarts, came as striking Walmart workers walked off the job in more than 100 cities nationwide to highlight the company’s continued attempts to silence employees’ voices . Community, faith and labor leaders stood in solidarity with the workers at over 1,000 Walmart warehouses and retail locations throughout Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, generating hundreds of stories in newspapers, radio and television stations across the country.

One thing is for certain: the call for meaningful change at Walmart rang loud and clear Black Friday, and soon the retail giant will have no choice but to listen. The ranks of workers’ rights organizations like OUR Walmart and Warehouse Workers United continue to grow each and every day, not to mention the groundswell of community support. At MassUniting, we’re proud to stand with them in the fight for justice at Walmart!

To learn more and take action in your community, check out: http://forrespect.org/ or http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/.

More than 100 student, labor and community leaders descended on Boston’s Copley Square this week for a civil disobedience training in support of New England janitors. The hands-on coaching session featured live demonstrations of non-violent protest tactics, including sit-ins, pickets, street blockades and arrest protocol – giving participating leaders the tools to prepare thousands of their own members and activists in the coming days.

Led by a corps of seasoned leaders in non-violent civil disobedience tactics, the training capitalized on a growing groundswell of community support for the 14,000 New England janitors facing a potential strike in the coming week. Though affected workers hope to avoid a strike, a large divide remains between janitors and cleaning contractors on healthcare access, paths to full-time work and other key issues. Should the two sides fail to reach a fair agreement before existing contracts expire Sunday, a strike could begin as early as Monday, October 1.

The janitors, represented by SEIU Local 615, voted September 22 to authorize a strike – and reports of worker intimidation and illegal threats have been mounting ever since. Hundreds of labor, faith and community allies have vowed to stand in solidarity, and Thursday’s civil disobedience training served as the first step in a promised escalation.

Stay up to date on the janitors’ strike at www.seiu615.org or on Twitter at #nejanitors.

ROXBURY, MA – Nearly 200 local residents joined City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Tito Jackson at Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall Thursday to speak out against what they call failed Romney-Bain economics. Just hours before Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered his official acceptance speech in Tampa, the sizeable delegation of working families and seniors back home in Boston told the real story of Romney’s record as Massachusetts governor and CEO of Bain Capital.

From seniors and healthcare workers worried about Romney’s attempts to end Medicare and Medicaid to workers from Bain-owned companies, the [NO!]mination Convention featured a parade of former constituents and employees painted a dark picture of what a Romney-Bain economy could mean for the rest of the country.

“My co-workers and I have first-hand experience with the Romney-Bain economy. They do everything they can to keep us close to minimum wage with no benefits – and when that’s not enough, they just refuse to pay us for the hours we work,“ said Simara Martinez, a Dorchester who works for Bain-owned Dunkin’ Donuts. “It’s like modern-day slavery, and if we don’t speak out now it could be too late.”

Mitt Romney has built his presidential candidacy on a host of claimed successes in government and business. But his record as Governor of Massachusetts paints an entirely different picture – one where constituents were saddled with more than $2.6 billion in new debt and saw the state fall to 47^th in job creation. Massachusetts lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs during Romney’s tenure, in addition to call center and other state jobs he outsourced to India. Those who toiled under Romney’s Bain Capital fared even worse, as thousands were sent to the unemployment lines as their jobs were shipped overseas to China and India. The few employees that remained were subjected to a ‘worker-exploitation-for-profit’ model that slashed pay and benefits, reduced hours, forced off-the-clock work and committed outright wage theft.

“He may talk a big game, but when it comes to jobs, it would be hard to find someone with a worse record than Mitt Romney,” said Olivé Hendricks, a Roslindale ironworker who has had a tough time finding consistent work since the economic downturn hit the construction industry. “When Romney was governor, we were almost dead-last in job creation – and now he’s trying to kill all the bills that create jobs at the federal level. We just can’t afford a Romney-Bain economy.”

Thursday’s [NO!]mination Convention followed days of protests at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where Fitzpatrick, Martinez and other local Bain workers joined hundreds of others in speaking out against the harmful effects of the Romney-Bain economic agenda.

$1.90 may not sound like much money. It won’t buy a loaf of bread, a gallon of gas, or a jar of peanut butter. But for hundreds of thousands of low-income workers in Massachusetts, raising the minimum wage by $1.90 – to $9.90 an hour – would make a huge difference.

An increase of just $1.90 would help take the edge off budgets that account for every penny, allowing parents to buy clothes for their kids, fix their ars and put food on the table. But it’s not just low-income workers who benefit – raising the minimum wage would boost the entire economy.

According to a new report published by the Economic Policy Institute, raising the federal minimum wage would increase the national GDP by $25 billion. Right here in Massachusetts, the wage increase would generate nearly $545 million in additional income for more than 463,000 workers. The increased buying power of those workers will create an estimated 1,700 new jobs statewide – putting to rest critics’ claims that fair wages might slow economic growth.

We’re not just talking about high school kids working summer jobs, either. Educated adults with high school and even college diplomas, single parents and married couples relying on each other to help make ends meet will all benefit from an increase in the minimum wage. Each full-time Bay State worker would take home an additional $658 per year under the new plan. For thousands of parents and seniors making $16,640 a year, that means a lot.

We need an economy that helps people lift themselves up – one where employees are paid fairly for their hard work. It’s beyond time for congress to take action and raise wages for working families, and we’re calling on our elected officials to do what’s right for Massachusetts workers.

 Help us spread the word by sharing this graphic with friends and family today.

It doesn’t happen often, but Mitt Romney came back to Massachusetts on Thursday to talk about his “vision” for small business in America. Unfortunately for Mittens, more than 50 area residents were on hand to provide a reminder of the truth about his terrible job record, both as Massachusetts Governor and CEO of Bain Capital.

Mister Romney tends to avoid talking about his time at the top of Bay State government and business — and for a good reason. Under Romney’s leadership, Massachusetts was #1 in debt — over $18 billion in the red. At the same time, the commonwealth ranked close to last in job creation, clocking in at #47.

Romney’s private sector footprint was even more destructive. On his watch, Bain Capital made billions in profits by systematically slashing wages and benefits, shuttering plants and shipping thousands of jobs overseas. Romney and fellow executives got rich by destroying the livelihoods of workers, families and even entire towns.

Romney clearly bet on Massachusetts residents forgetting his abysmal record on jobs and the economy. But judging from the less-than-warm welcome Romney received at his impromptu campaign stop Thursday, his luck ran out.