Workers Defense Project

About this original series

WDP is a worker center, part of a national movement of organizations that seek to provide low-wage workers with the resources they need to fight to eradicate hazardous and unsafe working conditions. WDP provides a source of power and hope for many low-wage workers who have access to few resources to improve their living and working conditions. WDP is one of the few organizations in Texas working to address workplace abuse faced by low-wage workers. Additionally, WDP is the most established worker center in the region. Workers Defense Project / Proyecto Defensa Laboral (WDP) is a membership-based organization that empowers low-wage workers to act collectively for racial and economic justice in the workplace through leadership development, education, organizing and collaborating with strategic allies. Please sign our petition at: http://buildaustin.org/compact.php

Episodes of Workers Defense Project

    • Play Speeches from Day of the Fallen - 3/2/11 - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Speeches from Day of the Fallen - 3/2/11

      Cardboard coffins lined Congress Avenue until all 138 of them filled the front lawn of the Texas Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. The coffins were painted black and represented the 138 Texas construction workers and laborers who lost their lives on the job in 2009. Their memories served as the rallying cry for the roughly 600 people who gathered at the Capitol in support of new legislation on workers’ rights and safety. The Workers Defense Project organized the rally and gathered lawmakers, cle...

      • Release date
        Mar 8, 2011
      • Runtime
        14:52
    • Play Day of the Fallen 3/2/11 - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Day of the Fallen 3/2/11

      Protesting a tragedy state Sen. Eddie Lucio says often hits Hispanics hardest, construction workers and workplace safety advocates marched on the Capitol carrying 138 coffins, one for each construction site death in Texas in 2009. Stacked beneath a podium where Lucio and other state legislators spoke, the coffins provided a sobering reminder of a construction sector that Cristina Tzintzún, executive director of the Workers Defense Project, called the deadliest in the country. “We have to bring...

      • Release date
        Mar 5, 2011
      • Runtime
        09:16
    • Play Workers Defense Project Protests Against Gov. Rick Perry - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Workers Defense Project Protests Against Gov. Ri...

      Gov. Rick Perry and employees within the state insurance building did not meet the typical sound of 5 p.m. traffic Wednesday. Instead, some encountered signs adorned with criticism of Perrys policies, drums keeping protestors in rhythm and the voices of construction workers along with members of Austins Workers Defense Project and Californias Laborers International Union of North America chanting, Workers rights are under attack! What do we do? Stand up, fight back! Project Director Cristina T...

      • Release date
        Dec 20, 2010
      • Runtime
        06:25
    • Play Press Release - Thirsting for Justice - Vigil & Hunger/Thirst Strike in Austin - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Press Release - Thirsting for Justice - Vigil & ...

      The Dreadful Truth: 1/3 of Austin's construction workers are denied drinking water at work. 41% of construction workers do not receive rest breaks on the job. We are asking City Council to pass an ordinance to guarantee construction workers the right to rest breaks and clean drinking water. Last summer in Austin, Jeffrey Louis Willenborg died from heat exhaustion after working several days in construction. "These deaths are absolutely preventable, there is no reason why we should have anyone w...

      • Release date
        Jun 28, 2010
      • Runtime
        07:32
    • Play Eliza Gilkyson - Vayan al Norte - Thirsting for Justice - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Eliza Gilkyson - Vayan al Norte - Thirsting for ...

      Eliza Gilkyson plays Vayan al Norte at the Vigil & Hunger/Thirst Strike for Justice in Austin, organized by the Workers Defense Project/ Proyecto Defensa Laboral.We (The Workers Defense Project) are asking City Council to pass an ordinance to guarantee construction workers the right to rest breaks and clean drinking water. Last summer in Austin, Jeffrey Louis Willenborg died from heat exhaustion after working several days in construction. "These deaths are absolutely preventable, there is no r...

      • Release date
        Jul 10, 2010
      • Runtime
        06:03
    • Play Eliza Gilkyson - Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Thirsting for Justice in Austin - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Eliza Gilkyson - Slouching Towards Bethlehem - T...

      Eliza Gilkyson plays Slouching Towards Bethlehem at the Vigil & Hunger/Thirst Strike for Justice in Austin, organized by the Workers Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral. We (The Workers Defense Project) are asking City Council to pass an ordinance to guarantee construction workers the right to rest breaks and clean drinking water. Last summer in Austin, Jeffrey Louis Willenborg died from heat exhaustion after working several days in construction. "These deaths are absolutely preventable, ...

      • Release date
        Jun 22, 2010
      • Runtime
        03:08
    • Play Dramatic Presentation - Thirsting for Justice - Vigil & Hunger/Thirst Strike in Austin - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Dramatic Presentation - Thirsting for Justice - ...

      The Dreadful Truth: 1/3 of Austin's construction workers are denied drinking water at work. 41% of construction workers do not receive rest breaks on the job. We are asking City Council to pass an ordinance to guarantee construction workers the right to rest breaks and clean drinking water. Last summer in Austin, Jeffrey Louis Willenborg died from heat exhaustion after working several days in construction. "These deaths are absolutely preventable, there is no reason why we should have anyone w...

      • Release date
        Jun 28, 2010
      • Runtime
        10:00
    • Play May Day 2010 in Austin - Music/Photography/Videography - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      May Day 2010 in Austin - Music/Photography/Video...

      On May 1st 2010, millions of activists across the country pushed for immigration reform in the streets for May Day rallies, expressing anger about the controversial Arizona immigration law. The new law, SB 1070, requires police to question people about their immigration status. Several thousands joined the AIRC march at the Texas State Capitol building to protest the law and to call for just and humane immigration reform. May 1st is celebrated all over the world as labor day, May Day started i...

      • Release date
        Jun 22, 2010
      • Runtime
        08:08
    • Play May Day 2010 *March & Rally* in Austin, TX - International Workers Day - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      May Day 2010 *March & Rally* in Austin, TX - Int...

      Austin’s first May Day demonstration focused on immigrant rights was in 2006. I was stunned then by an Austin crowd as large as any I had ever seen -- 30,000 -- massive numbers, snaking through downtown streets to the federal building. That was the year of the first national mobilizations for comprehensive immigration reform. There were unprecedented turnouts occurring in every major U.S. city, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Other Texas cities -- Houston, Dallas, El Paso and San ...

      • Release date
        May 6, 2010
      • Runtime
        19:56
    • Play Direct Action Against 21 Rio & Gables Park Plaza for Wage Theft! *Entire Protest* - Workers Defense Project on Blip Workers Defense Project episodes on Blip

      Direct Action Against 21 Rio & Gables Park Plaza...

      AUSTIN -- Luxury condos were the backdrop for two protests yesterday, April 28, in Austin. The Workers Defense Project, also known as Proyecto Defensa Laboral, brought 120 workers and supporters into the streets at two different sites demanding wages and safe working conditions.“Three of my co-workers were killed, and the rest of us are still owed our money. When is it enough?” said Gumercindo Rodriquez, who performed plaster work at 21 Rio and Gables Park Plaza. Gumercindo, along with two doz...

      • Release date
        May 3, 2010
      • Runtime
        17:50
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