Labor Updates (1/11/08)

CSA Receives National Harbor Grant: The Community Services Agency (CSA) announced yesterday that it is the recipient of a grant from the National Harbor Community Outreach Grant Fund. These funds are provided to Prince George’s County from the developers of the National Harbor Project and are now administered by the Community Foundation. “This grant will help us reach Prince George’s County residents and place them in union building and construction trades apprenticeship programs,” says CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. “More At Stake” in CWA Negotiations With Verizon: “We have more at stake in this round of negotiations than perhaps any other in the history of our bargaining relationship with Verizon,” says CWA Local 2108 in the local’s January newsletter. CWA suspended early bargaining talks with Verizon last month after Verizon demanded health care givebacks (LABOR UPDATES 12/21/07 UC). “Verizon is changing from a telephone company to a telecommunications company,” says Local 2108’s newsletter. “If we don’t look at the direction Verizon is moving and position ourselves to remain viable as a bargaining unit…it will be too late…Verizon is doing everything it can to wall off the Union and Union-represented jobs.” DC Council Moves to Implement Affordable Housing Bill: In the wake of delays by the Mayor’s office to implement year-old Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) legislation (COUNCIL OKAYS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BILL 12/11/06 UC), the DC City Council overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to sponsor a bill to implement IZ under its own power. “Inclusionary Zoning is one of the many important tools this Council has supported to achieve” affordable housing for DC residents says DC City Council Chairman Vincent Gray. “It is time to move forward on this law.”