Thread by @RachelDeutsch6

New report from @EconomicPolicy and @PopDemoc: by 2024, more than 80% of private sector, non-union workers will be unable to sue their bosses due to forced arbitration clauses. #RipOffClause #EndForceAarbitration on.epi.org/2WMA5yb /1

That’s right: almost none of us will be able to take our employers to court. How did we get here? Corporations have been scheming for years to shield themselves from accountability when they violate the rights of workers and consumers. /2

In the late 1990’s, a coalition of Wall Street companies strategized to block class actions, one of the only tools working people have to challenge corporate abuses. nytimes.com/2015/11/01/bus… /3

In 2011 & 2013, by 5-4 votes, SCOTUS ruled that corporations can use forced arbitration clauses to block consumer class actions. Scalia said it didn’t matter that individuals could never afford to bring those cases alone. #EndForcedArbitration /4

But workers have a federal right to join together to improve working conditions. In 2012, Obama’s NLRB decided that arbitration clauses that forced workers to waive their right to collective legal action weren’t allowed. apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.… /5

SCOTUS took up the case. Then in 2017, the new Administration had a different interpretation of workers rights, and announced it was reversing its position.
huffpost.com/entry/trump-ar… /6

Elections have consequences. One year ago today, Justice Gorsuch wrote Epic Systems, the SCOTUS opinion ruling that employers can force employees to go into arbitration one-on-one against their employers, instead of joining with other workers. /7

This month SCOTUS ignored settled legal doctrine to rule that even if an arbitration clause doesn’t clearly waive class actions, you’ve waived it anyway. slate.com/news-and-polit… /8

Why do corporations love forced arbitration so much? Corporations set the rules and stack the deck against individuals in arbitration. The goal, and the effect, is simple: to suppress claims. #EndForcedArbitration #RipOffClause /9

In forced arbitration, corporations have created such a biased system, one scholar estimates 98% of employment claims you’d expect to see in court vanish into arbitration’s “black hole.” scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol96/iss… /10

#Forcedarbitration allows companies to steal from working families. Like Claudio who was conned into buying a janitorial “franchise” from @JANPROInt. Instead of launching his own business, he worked long hours for little pay. Blocked from suing by an arbitration clause. /11

Working people have been demanding change - like the Google employees @endforcedarbitration who forced Google to back off forced arbitration clauses and are campaigning for the #FAIRAct #EndForcedArbitration /12

We need bold action. States are leading the way. @MaketheRoadNY @PCUNoregon @workingwa @mainepeople @ufcw555 @Worker_Justice @MEAFLCIO and many others are fighting for a 21st century mechanism to enforce workers rights. Read more: on.epi.org/2WMA5yb /13

To recap: corporations have waged a war on working people, aided by SCOTUS. But more and more of us are fighting back for #corporateaccountability #endforcedarbitration join us @popdemoc @CPDAction /14