Labor Updates (6/16/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Victory for DC EMS Workers on Shift Changes Battle: District EMS workers defeated DC government officials' attempts to unilaterally impose changes to shifts, reports the Fire Fighters Local 36 website. The new agreement, reached between Local 36 and the City earlier this week, "preserves [workers'] current work schedules," reports Local 36. The defeated changes would have been a "flagrant disregard" of previously negotiated terms that require all changes to shifts to be approved by the City Council, said a Local 36 letter sent to DC Fire and Emergency Management Services Chief Dennis Rubin. For more info, click here. - Reported by IAFF 36 State Fed Legislative Conference Looks Both Ways: Last Thursday's Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO Legislative Conference featured a detailed report by Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Donna Edwards on all the labor bills submitted, passed or failed in the '08 Maryland General Assembly, a briefing by Sean Malone from Governor Martin O'Malley's office on the governor's role in legislative actions, along with tips on how to get bills passed in the Maryland General Assembly. Upcoming initiatives the State Fed plans to tackle include protecting workers' rights by lobbying key legislators on issues such as misclassification of employees as independent contractors, fair share for state employees, prevailing wage enhancements, apprenticeships, and health care. - reported by Alya Mbamba