Nov 12, 2013In Memoriam: IUE's Gary Wise; MEBA's Jesse Calhoon
Gary Wise , longtime national organizing director for the International Union of Electrical Workers, now a CWA sector, died Oct. 25 at his home in Silver Spring, MD., following a 2-year battle with lung cancer. He was 64. A Cincinnati native, Wise served as a forward radio operator with...
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Nov 12, 2013CSA's News You Can Use: Philippines Disaster Donations
Here are some possibilities for financial donations to help those affected by last week's typhoon in the Phillipines. United Way : In an effort to support the immediate and long-term needs of those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines, United Way has reactivated the United Way Worldwide...
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Nov 12, 2013UFCW Locals 400 and 27 Extend Contract with Giant and Safeway
United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 400 and 27 today
agreed to extend their members' collective bargaining agreement with Giant and
Safeway through December 20th. The contract originally expired on October 31st.
It was extended through November 15th and now will continue for...
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Nov 12, 2013Hospital Center Layoffs Worry Nurses
The layoff of hundreds of staffers at MedStar Washington Hospital Center announced Monday have local nurses worried about the impact on patients, even though none of the cuts involve bedside nurses. “No one here is excess,” said Stephen Frum, a nurse on the MWHC burn/surgical intensive...
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Nov 8, 2013MontCo Taxi Drivers & BWI Super Shuttle Drivers Hit Streets for Justice
Fed-up Montgomery County taxi drivers and BWI Super Shuttle drivers took to the streets yesterday. In unrelated actions, the drivers staged protests in Rockville in the morning and at BWI airport in the afternoon. Dozens of taxi drivers circled through rainy Rockville town center...
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Nov 8, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Peru Textile Workers Demand Factor Obey Labor Ruling
Peruvian textile workers are standing firm in their demands that a textile company obey a recent Labor Ministry ruling requiring the company to transition more than 1,000 workers to permanent job contracts. Since November 1, members of the Hialpesa Workers’ Union have been reporting to work...
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Nov 8, 2013Operating Engineers 77 Rejoins Council
Operating Engineers Local 77 has re-affiliated with the Metro Washington Council. Local 77 represents skilled equipment operators in the construction industry. “I’m looking forward to working with the Metro Council to better the lives of working people, says Business...
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Nov 8, 2013Labor Briefs: Guild Members OK Post Deal; What Do YOU Think of Union City?
Guild Members OK Post Deal: The Washington Post Guild contract ( Guild And Post Reach Tentative Agreement On One-Year Pact 11/6 UC) was overwhelmingly ratified by Guild members yesterday. What Do YOU Think of Union City? Just one week left to tell...
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Nov 6, 2013UC Readers Want More
Respondents to the UNION CITY Annual Reader Survey say they want more.
"More Video and Audio. More Cultural Labor stories, the arts and
labor," says JH Flores. "More profiles on local organizers, and
local labor leaders. Also maybe add a question and answer section....
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Nov 6, 2013Labor Turnout Key to Wins in Virginia
"We said from the very beginning that turnout was the
key," said a weary but jubilant Dan Duncan (at right) last
night just after Terry McAuliffe's victory as Virginia's next governor was
announced. "We did our part in Northern Virginia and I'm just so proud of
everyone who...
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Nov 6, 2013Guild And Post Reach Tentative Agreement On One-Year Pact
The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild
Local 32035 (WBNG) and the Washington Post have a tentative agreement on a
one-year collective bargaining agreement. Under the pact reached Nov. 1, all
Guild-covered employees would receive a raise, and critically important job
protections would be...
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Nov 6, 2013Turnout Urged for Patient Protection Act Hearing Friday
A months-long
campaign has finally resulted in a DC City Council hearing being scheduled on
the Patient Protection Act on November 8. “This occurred only because of
the relentless campaign by nurses and the 40 community, religious, and labor
groups that have endorsed this vital piece...
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Nov 4, 2013Stepping Up For Holiday Basket Project
AFSCME staffer Diane Brown (right) is among those who have donated food and funds to the Community Services Agency’s Holiday Basket Project. Other responses so far include food drives, family adoptions and contributions from the National Electrical Benefits Fund, AFGE, two departments at the...
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Nov 4, 2013VA Labor Vote Tomorrow "Key To Victory"
More than 100 union members door-knocked labor families across Northern Virginia from Stafford County to Winchester on Saturday, urging them to vote Tuesday. After hearing from Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams (right), ARA President Barbara Easterling, Union Veterans Council...
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Nov 4, 2013Action Urged To Pass Paid Sick Days
With a law to extend paid sick days to all DC workers in danger of being delayed again, supporters have mounted a letter-writing campaign targeting the DC City Council’s Committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs. Jews United For Justice (JUFJ) and its allies are pushing for a law...
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Nov 1, 2013Nurses Lead Lobbying For 'Robin Hood Tax'
Spurred on by rousing speeches and favorable opinion polls,
National Nurses United delegates led hundreds of activists into D.C. this week
to lobby for a tax on financial transactions. The “Robin Hood Tax” would impose
a tiny tax on each financial transaction – the buying and selling...
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Nov 1, 2013Labor Taking No Chances in VA Election
With some polls showing a dead heat in the governor’s race
next Tuesday, labor is mounting a massive door-knocking effort tomorrow across
Northern Virginia. Starting at 9a, NoVA’s Labor-to-Labor Precinct Walks will
occur in Annandale, Fredericksburg and Winchester (click here for...
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Nov 1, 2013CSA's News You Can Use: Still Time to Apply for 9/11 Health Benefits
Union members exposed to the stew of toxins released when
the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11 can still apply for health benefits.
The October 3 deadline for those seeking money from the Victims Compensation
Fund has passed. But that only applies to financial compensation. Tens of...
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Oct 30, 2013NLC Offers Arbitration Brief Writing Class
Learn how to write and research a polished brief in
Arbitration Brief Writing, offered by the National Labor College Bonnie Ladin
Union Skills Program November 3-8. Students will get an opportunity for group
work and personal feedback and editing by instructor Katherine Sciacchitiano....
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Oct 30, 2013Labor Says Turnout "Key" to Victory in VA
Union members from 16 internationals knocked on doors in
Northern Virginia last Saturday from Prince William County to Winchester to
remind labor households to vote on November 5 for pro-worker candidates.
Congressman Gerry Connolly told the volunteers to ignore the polls because
voters...
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Oct 30, 2013Giant and Safeway Workers "Ready for Battle" as Contract Expiration Looms
As the clock ticks toward Thursday’s midnight expiration of their contract, supermarket workers at Giant and Safeway are standing strong in solidarity. “We need to stand shoulder to shoulder, arms locked together,” said Michele Hepner, a UFCW 400 bargaining committee member who works at...
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Oct 30, 2013Halloween Treats, No Tricks!
When the little ghosts and goblins come a-knocking on
Halloween night, why not supply them with union treats made right! Here’s a brief
list supplied by UnionPlus with choices of candy products made by members
of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International...
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Oct 30, 2013DC Taxi Drivers Organize
DC taxi drivers
chanted "We will win! We will win!" at yesterday's first meeting of
the Washington DC Taxi Operators Association, which formalized its affiliation
with Teamsters Local Union 922. “We need our rights and our association with
Local 922 will give us our rights,” said...
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Oct 30, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Organizing Women Workers in Palestine
By 4 a.m., Tamam Abdel Hafiz is already at the Qalqilia border crossing, talking with some of the more than 4,000 workers who head for jobs each day from Palestine to Israel and the West Bank. Hafiz and three other members of the organizing team of the Qalqilia branch of the Palestinian General...
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Oct 30, 2013Supermarket Workers Blitz Stores as Contract Is Extended
"Come on, sign this card," said the customer at the White Oak Giant in Silver Spring. "Everyone line up and sign up to support these workers!" Thousands of Giant and Safeway customers yesterday signed cards supporting workers there as members of UFCW Local 400 leafleted more than 30 area...
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Oct 29, 2013Workers, Potomac Disposal Reach Contract Agreement; Unity Workers Return To Work
Potomac Disposal's sanitation workers voted yesterday to accept a three-year agreement, while Unity Disposal and Recycling Workers will return to work today. LiUNA! Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager Dennis L. Martire called the Potomac agreement “an excellent example of what...
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Oct 28, 2013MontCo Strikers Near Agreement
Striking Montgomery County sanitation workers are holding a brief community rally early this morning before meeting with Potomac Disposal this afternoon to try to reach an agreement. They'll deliver petitions at the 8a rally (19050 Woodfield Rd. Gaithersburg, MD); click here to join the...
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Oct 28, 2013Building Futures Graduate Completes Bridge Construction Training Program
Shortly after completing the Building Futures class in March, 2011 Marveall Gibson (left) began a new chapter in her life as a STEP UP apprentice with the IBEW. While she enjoyed learning the electrical trade and even co-facilitated Building Futures (a program of the Community Services...
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Oct 28, 2013Working America Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, is celebrating its first 10 years tomorrow night with an ambitious look toward the next five years. The launch of “50 in 5”—the dynamic drive to bring Working America to 50 states – and the District -- in five years—has “taken...
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Oct 25, 2013Minimum Wage Campaign Begins
The push to increase minimum wages across metro Washington began last night.
Metro Council president Jos Williams, Progressive Maryland and the Restaurant
Opportunities Center testified at a hearing by the Montgomery County Council
Committee on Health and Human Services in favor of increasing...
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Oct 25, 2013Giant/Safeway Contract Battle Highlights Metro Council Meetings
While celebrating the victory by their new members at Bestway, UFCW Local 400
president Mark Federici emphasized the looming battle for contracts with Giant
and Safeway at Monday’s meetings of the Metro Council Executive
Board and Delegates .
“Giant has been making money off our...
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Oct 25, 2013Potomac Disposal Strikers Garner Political Support
Montgomery County Council President and District 4 Representative Nancy Navarro and At-Large Council Member Hans Riemer met yesterday morning with striking workers at Potomac Disposal headquarters. “The company cannot treat you like
you’re disposable,” Riemer told the workers ,...
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Oct 25, 20134th Location Added for Saturday's NoVA Walks
The NoVA Labor countdown clock continues with just 12 days to Election Day in Northern Virginia. “This election is about turnout,” says NoVA president Dan Duncan. “We need to get out the vote for the pro-worker candidates all across Northern
Virginia.” A fourth location for...
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Oct 25, 2013Union Plus Loads Up for CSA's Holiday Basket Project
CSA’s
Holiday Basket Project is off and running as the staff of Union Plus (right) -- some of them
members of OPEIU Local 2 – “have already adopted two families and are starting
their collections for them for Thanksgiving and Christmas!” reports Community
Services Agency...
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Oct 25, 2013DC Labor Map Highlight: National Union Building
The historic National Union Building on F Street NW actually has nothing to do with unions. The fire proof steel frame brownstone was built for the National Union Fire Insurance Company. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, it was designed by Glenn Brown in 1890 and is an example of...
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Oct 25, 2013Labor Video: Men at Lunch
If you missed the recent DC Labor FilmFest screening of Men at Lunch , the documentary about the immigrants in New York
who were forever immortalized in the classic photo of a eleven ironworkers
sitting on a beam high above the Manhattan skyline, you can click here to see the...
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Oct 23, 2013Three Easy Ways to Support CSA
Give. Encourage. Promote.
It’s that easy to support the Community Services Agency through your worksite
United Way, Combined Federal, DC One Fund and Maryland Charity Campaigns, says
CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. “CSA depends on contributions from
individuals during these...
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Oct 23, 2013Striking MontCo Trash Haulers Launch Petition to Increase Pressure
Despite support
and encouragement for striking trash haulers from the Montgomery County Council,
Maryland State Delegates and county residents, Potomac Disposal says “they
don’t have to compromise with us because they aren’t feeling any pressure from
our strike,” reports striker...
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Oct 23, 2013Area Unions Endorse MGM National Harbor
The Gaming Employment Opportunities
Coalition for National Harbor (GEOC) yesterday endorsed MGM National Harbor’s
bid to develop and operate a casino (left)
in Prince George’s County. UNITE HERE Local 25, the
Washington DC Building Trades Council, Teamsters Local 639, Operating...
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Oct 23, 2013Contract Bargaining Begins for Bestway Workers
Workers at the Falls Church, VA
Bestway celebrated Monday morning as their employer recognized UFCW Local 400
as their union during a card check at the store. A week after being fired
for organizing, the workers got their jobs back and received full back pay.
Bargaining between UFCW...
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Oct 23, 2013"Better Transit" Campaign Continues
ATU Local 689 members and allies from the
District Coalition for Better Transit continue to collect petitions asking DC
Mayor Vincent Gray to halt efforts to outsource non-regional bus service and
expand the privatized Circulator bus service. To help with the petition drive
or to get...
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Oct 23, 2013Real "Rosies" Star at Labor FilmFest Screening
Three actual “Rosies” were
the surprise stars of the recent screening of “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter” at the DC
Labor FilmFest. 88-year-old Wilma Foster worked at Fairchild Aircraft in
Hagerstown MD during World War II, 87-year-old Lorraine Miller was at the USO
in...
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Oct 23, 2013Labor In The News: Council's Vital Role in Contracting
The D.C. Council’s “vital role in protecting D.C. taxpayers and workers from
irresponsible contractors should not be underestimated,” wrote Jaime Contreras in a letter to The Washington Post on
Monday. “Close scrutiny by the council was crucial in ending an era of...
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Oct 21, 2013Metro Access Drivers Ponder Strike
Metro Access drivers are seriously considering striking Veolia Transportation and the MV Transportation Call Center, reports ATU Local 1764, which represents drivers, maintenance workers, reservationists, schedulers and dispatchers there. Key issues at stake include working hours – drivers now...
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Oct 21, 2013Bestway Workers Win Union, Pay & Jobs
Striking workers at Bestway in Falls Church, VA (Bestway Workers Rally at Shuttered NLRB 10/17) have reportedly won recognition of their union, back pay and reinstatement for all 31 workers, who are expected to return to work today.
Oct 21, 2013MontCo Political Leaders Urge "Fairness" for Striking Trash Haulers
The Montgomery County Council is urging Potomac Disposal and Unity Disposal and Recycling to reach an agreement with striking trash haulers. All nine Councilmembers signed letters late last week saying that they have received calls from residents concerned that the two companies are “not living...
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Oct 21, 2013Candidate Forum Tonight to Focus on Rental Issues
Labor leaders and activist groups are urging their members to demonstrate their political strength by attending the Renters Alliance Maryland state candidates forum tonight. More than 16 candidates for state delegate, senator, attorney general and governor have committed to attending the...
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Oct 21, 2013Labor Photo: Shopper Solidarity
Sunday-morning shoppers across metropolitan Washington were greeted yesterday by Safeway and Giant workers -- members of UFCW 400's bargaining committee -- and their community allies, who urged them to show their support for good local jobs by signing support cards as contract negotiations...
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Oct 21, 2013Cohen, Weingarten & Wise Rally VA Labor Vote
More than 120 union members fanned out across Northern Virginia Saturday to remind labor households to vote for pro-worker candidates on Nov 5. Demonstrating the solidarity among private sector, public sector and building trades members, CWA President Larry Cohen, AFT President Randi Weingarten...
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Oct 21, 2013CSA News You Can Use: Catholic Charities Seeks Volunteers
Last year, Catholic Charities of DC’s 66 programs in 48 locations across the District of Columbia and the surrounding Maryland counties served more than 126,000 men, women and children of all economic, religious and social backgrounds. You can help bring compassion to the most vulnerable...
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Oct 18, 2013McAuliffe, Weingarten, Cohen & Wise at Saturday’s NoVA Labor Walk
CWA President Larry Cohen, Iron Workers President Walter Wise and AFT president Randi Weingarten will be joining Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe tomorrow to kick off NoVA Labor’s weekly walk. Doors open at 8a sharp. "The choice couldn't be starker," Weingarten told Union City....
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Oct 18, 2013Latest Local Labor News at Monday's Council Meeting
Get the latest local labor news at Monday’s Metro Council meeting, including reports on the recent government shutdown, the trash-hauler’s and Bestway worker strikes, worksite United Way, Combined Federal, DC One Fund and Maryland Charity Campaigns, political endorsement plans and more. 6:30p...
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Oct 18, 2013Striking Trash Haulers Fired, File Complaints with NLRB and MontCo
After Unity Disposal and Recycling fired striking workers yesterday, the Laborers’ union filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board and Montgomery County Council. “Striking workers have certain legal protections that the Company violated when it fired the strikers -- a total of...
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Oct 18, 2013Safeway & Giant Members Reach Out to Community
As contract negotiations with Giant and Safeway continue, UFCW Local 400 members hit the streets in D.C. last Saturday to encourage customers to show their support for good jobs in the District. Sharing their concerns that big box stores like Walmart will drive down wages in the city, hundreds of...
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Oct 18, 2013Bricklayers Star in Building Museum Show
“Ask a mason what he wants to build and he’ll say ‘An arch,’” says Bricklayers Local 1’s Matthew Redabaugh in the video that accompanies the “Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces” show currently at the National Building Museum. The show –...
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Oct 17, 2013Guild Launches Network for Freelancers, Bloggers & More
Writers, freelancers, bloggers, authors, photographers, and multimedia
specialists looking for professional and peer support as well as financial
benefits will want to check out the new network being launched by the
Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. For details contact Calvin G. Zon at...
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Oct 17, 2013Longshoremen Strike, Shut Down Baltimore Port Operations
All cargo operations at the Port of Baltimore's public marine terminals ground
to a halt Wednesday after a local longshoremen's union failed to ratify a
contract agreement with port operators Tuesday night. Crowds of International
Longshoremen's Association Local 333 members stood...
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Oct 17, 2013Cleaners Battle Wage Theft at GW
This past summer, Julia Hidalgo worked overtime cleaning dormitories at George
Washington University after students left for the summer. She was looking
forward to the extra money to pay for child care for her 15-month-old daughter.
But when it came time to be paid, BRAVO! Building Services...
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Oct 17, 2013Trash Haulers Strike Spreads
The
trash haulers strike spread on Wednesday, as workers from two Montgomery County
contractors struck for fair working standards. Click here to send an email to Montgomery County Council members urging
their support. Workers at Potomac Disposal joined those at Unity Disposal and...
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Oct 17, 2013Labor Photo: Bestway Workers Rally at Shuttered NLRB
Dozens of Bestway workers – fired last week because
they’re organizing a union -- rallied yesterday in front of the NLRB, unable to
file a complaint because the Board was still closed due to the government
shutdown. They were joined by labor, religious and community allies who pledged...
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Oct 17, 2013DC Labor FilmFest Wraps Tonight with Screening of "Kinky Boots"
The inspiration for this year's
Tony-winning musical, tonight’s film – which wraps up the 2013 DC Labor
FilmFest (5:15p at AFI) -- is based on the true story of a traditional
Northampton shoemaker who turns to producing fetish footwear in order to save
the failing family business and...
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Oct 16, 2013NoVA Ramps Up Efforts as Election Day Nears
With just three Saturdays left
before Election Day, NoVA Labor is ramping up labor-to-labor efforts in
Northern Virginia. “Phone banking is scheduled every Monday through Thursday
evening,” reports NoVA President Dan Duncan. “And we can use help during the
day from those who have been...
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Oct 16, 2013In Memoriam: AFSCME 2477's James Bradford
Jim Bradford, who died Sept. 13 at
84, spent much of his life in quiet obscurity at the Library of Congress as an
assistant bookbinder and a researcher. But he was a most unusual library
employee — a 6-foot, 287-pound weightlifter and two-time Olympian. In the
heavyweight category, Mr....
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Oct 16, 2013Trash Haulers Strike for Fired Worker
Trash in parts of Bethesda, Chevy Chase,
Wheaton, and Columbia went uncollected yesterday when Montgomery and Howard County
residential trash haulers struck for the reinstatement of a worker who was
fired after speaking up during a union-busting meeting Friday evening. Unity
Disposal and...
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Oct 16, 2013Government Shutdown Shuts Out Area Striking Grocery Workers
Area Bestway grocery store workers will rally for justice at 11a this morning in front of National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) headquarters after the government shutdown enabled their employer to
escape the consequences of illegally firing workers last week. “As the effects
of the...
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Oct 16, 2013EPA Workers Demand End to Shutdown
Their chants of “We want to work” and “End the shutdown”
echoing off the stone walls of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
headquarters, more than 50 federal workers marched and rallied yesterday to
demand an end to the government shutdown, now in its third week. “We’re...
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Oct 16, 2013Union Leaders Welcome End of Shutdown, Lifting of Debt Limit
Union leaders welcomed Congress’ end of the 2-week partial federal shutdown and the decision to suspend the nation’s debt limit, thus avoiding what would have been a first-ever default by the U.S. But one, AFGE President J. David Cox, also warned we could be right back in the same partisan...
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Oct 15, 2013Students Encouraged to "Respect Your Ride"
Anacostia High School students got a first-hand look last week at the impact of throwing a rock at a bus. When Metro held a Respect Your Ride assembly at Anacostia High School on October 1, the school wide assembly not only heard about the criminal consequences, but participated in an interactive...
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Oct 15, 2013EPA Workers Rally Today to "Shutdown the Shutdown!"
Federal workers will rally at the EPA headquarters today at 11a (14th & Constitution NW, Federal Triangle Metro stop) to protest the ongoing government shutdown. "Every day that we are shut down is a polluters holiday," says AFGE 3331 President Nate James. "We need to get back to work!" AFGE...
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Oct 15, 2013Cleaning Workers to Rally Against Wage Theft Thursday
A rally is planned for Thursday to support eleven former George Washington cleaning workers who have charged their former employer with wage theft. The workers -- employed by GW cleaning contractor BRAVO! Building Services -- say they worked for nearly three weeks in May cleaning GW dormitories,...
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Oct 14, 2013EPA Workers Rally Tuesday Against Shutdown
"No Government, No Peace!" says AFGE 3331, which represents employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and which is organizing a rally tomorrow at 11a at EPA headquarters (14th & Constitution NW, Federal Triangle Metro stop). "We're rallying for our jobs, our families, and our...
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Oct 14, 2013Bestway Workers Rally in Falls Church
Bestway workers and their supporters rallied Friday in Falls Church, VA to protest management's refusal to recognize their union and ongoing harassment and retaliation. Some 30 of the workers had organized a one-hour work stoppage on Wednesday after Bestway workers were told that they were...
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Oct 14, 2013Job Training Students Tour Washington Hilton
Students in the Hospitality Express 4 Success job training program for Prince Georges County young workers toured the Washington Hilton last week. The union hotel's workers are represented by five unions and provided a "stellar tour" said Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen...
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Oct 11, 2013AFGE 17 Hosts Noontime Rally at Capitol Today
AFGE Local 17 -- which represents workers at the Veteran's Administration -- is organizing a rally at the U.S. Capitol today to protest the government shutdown. The rally starts at 12 noon at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building and runs until 3p. "Bring any homemade signs to express...
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Oct 11, 2013Federal Workers Rally in the Rain to Demand House Vote on Reopening Government
The chant rang out over and over again, despite pouring rain.“We want to work!” “We want to work!” Hundreds of locked-out federal workers defied the elements yesterday to voice a simple demand: That the House GOP, and specifically Speaker John Boehner, allow an up-or-down...
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Oct 11, 2013AFL-CIO EVP Gebre to Walk in NoVA Tomorrow
At tomorrow's NoVA Labor Walk "We are excited to have AFL-CIO EVP Tefere Gebre (right), direct from his recent engagement getting arrested at the Immigration Reform Rally," says NoVA Labor Federation President Dan Duncan. "We are so proud of him! Going to jail for justice, what a wonderful...
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Oct 11, 2013Support Your Local Labor FilmFest
If you live anywhere in metro Washington DC, or are planning to visit the area, this is a bad time to visit any of our nation’s monuments or museums – shuttered by the shutdown — but it’s a great time to catch a labor movie. The 13th annual DC Labor FilmFest kicks off today with a free...
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Oct 11, 2013CSA Golf Tournament Team Photos Posted
Team photos from this year's Community Services Agency Golf Tournament have now been posted online. Click here to see the album and download your local's team photo. "These golfers not only had a great day of union golf but helped raise thousands of dollars to help needy families throughout...
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Oct 11, 2013Metro Council Files Complaint in Support of Local Taxi Drivers
Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams met with Prince George’s County taxi drivers yesterday after filing a formal complaint against Veolia affiliates Washington Shuttle, ExecuCar, and Express Transportation, which the MWC says have been violating Washington Metropolitan Area Transit...
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Oct 11, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Migrant Workers Among Most Exploited
At age 22, N. Naga Durga Bhavani left her small village in India for Bahrain, where she hoped a job as a domestic worker would help pay for her young daughter’s heart surgery. But when she arrived, after paying labor recruiters the equivalent of nearly two months’ wages, she was trapped in...
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Oct 10, 2013Area Political Leaders Push for Regional Minimum Wage
Local political leaders yesterday announced a collaborative effort between Montgomery County, the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County to establish a regional minimum wage of $11.50 per hour over the next three years. “Maryland’s minimum wage at $7.25 per hour is the...
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Oct 10, 2013Federal Workers Rally Today for End to Shutdown/Lockout
AFSCME President Lee Saunders, AFGE President J. David Cox, Representative Keith Ellison and other members of the House Progressive Caucus, Reverend Jessie Jackson, and MSNBC commentator Van Jones have all been confirmed to speak at today’s 11a
Government Lockout Rally at the U.S....
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Oct 10, 2013"Tourist's Guide to Shutdown DC" Updated
The Federal Worker's Tourist's Guide to Shutdown DC has been updated with two new open attractions, the National Geographic Museum (open daily 10am—6pm; free admission to government workers with valid IDs through the remainder of the government shutdown) and the traveling half-scale...
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Oct 10, 2013RespectDC to "Redouble Efforts to Fight Poverty Wages"
"The rejection of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) by a minority on the council and the Mayor was only the beginning of the fight for a living wage," the RespectDC Coalition said in a statement last week. "We will not stop until all District workers are paid fairly." A recent survey...
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Oct 10, 2013D.C. Labor Film Fest: In Search of Solidarity
"This year’s D.C. Labor Film Fest — Oct.11–17 — at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Md—is taking place at a time when even a normally impervious establishment press has noticed that most Americans’ economic lives are in a long-term decline,"...
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Oct 9, 2013Conference on the State of the Black Worker in America
The State of the Black Worker in America, a day
and a half long conference at Georgetown University this Thursday and
Friday, October 10-11, will delve into the history of black workers and their
organizing efforts, the current state and vision of black leadership within
unions, innovative...
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Oct 9, 2013Feds Plan Rallies Thursday & Friday
Federal workers will stage back-to-back anti-shutdown
rallies on Capitol Hill this Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s will be at 11a in Upper
Senate Park (Constitution Ave. & Delaware Ave NE) and Friday’s will be at
the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. “Over the weekend the...
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Oct 9, 2013DC Labor FilmFest Preview: Sunday Screenings
Here’s the schedule for this Sunday; click here to see movie trailers of all the FilmFest
screenings, order tickets online and download a flyer.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSIE THE RIVETER: Oct 13, 12p
documentary film by Connie Field about the American women
who...
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Oct 8, 2013More Shutdown Casualties
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it would not be sending
investigators to the scene of last weekend’s Metro accident because of the
staff furloughs. One man was killed and two transit agency workers were
seriously injured in the accident. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P....
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Oct 8, 2013AFSCME Wins $900K Pay Raise for FMTs
AFSCME
3 members worked in close partnership with Maryland Department of
Transportation management to secure more than $900,000 in annual pay increases
for Facilities Maintenance Technicians working in MDTA. AFSCME and MDOT
conducted a review of the pay structure and found a disparity within...
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Oct 8, 2013DC Labor FilmFest Preview: Saturday Screenings
THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT (Sat, Oct 12, 11a): Alec Guinness
is an inventor who discovers a fabric that can't wear out or soil, and dismayed
garment manufacturers set out to buy or destroy his formula.
SIGN PAINTERS (Sat, Oct 12, 1p): Will open viewers eyes to a
trade that many are...
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Oct 8, 2013Furloughed HUD Worker: "I Feel Like A Pawn"
Most HUD employees are among over 800,000
federal workers who want to do their jobs in support of America but have been locked
out. The Washington Post
quoted AFGE Local 476 steward Sandy Krems (right) ,
who said, "I used to be really proud to work for the federal government. I
used to...
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Oct 8, 2013Working Families Rally Today for Citizenship on the National Mall
Tens of thousands of
people from across the country will gather in the nation’s capital starting at noon today to demand the House Republican leadership
pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. The Camino Americano:
March for Immigration Reform will feature...
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Oct 8, 201320,000 Rally For Comprehensive Immigration Reform; 200 Arrested in Civil Disobedience Action
For several years now, Lisa Bergmann of New Haven, Conn., has been anxious about many of her Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors. The former Unite Here member was one of more than 20,000 people – including thousands of unionists -- who marched down the Washington, D.C., Mall yesterday to...
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Oct 7, 2013Quick Books Training Offered
Quick Books Training for Secretary-Treasurers and Union Bookkeepers is being
offered by the National Labor College, Bonnie Ladin Union Skills Program at
MITAGS in Linthicum, MD, October 21-23. “Having the books in order is crucial
for a union’s operation and will minimize headaches down...
more...
Oct 7, 2013"We Want to Work"
Johnny Zuagar (photo)
just wants to go back to work. “I’m afraid I might lose my
house. I don’t know how it got to this.” The U.S. Census Bureau worker (and
President of AFGE Local 2782) is profiled in "12
Federal Jobs That Are Vital to the Lives of America's...
more...
Oct 7, 2013Walmart's Ripple Effect Hits Brentwood Giant
Pre-packaged meat at the Brentwood Giant could be a sign of
the ripple effect of Walmart’s arrival in the District, say local activists.
“Pre-packaged meat means getting rid of meat cutters, some of the most highly
skilled and highly-paid grocery store workers,” says Mike Wilson of...
more...
Oct 7, 2013DC Labor FilmFest Preview: Brother Outsider, Brooklyn Castle, The Waiting Room
Tickets are going
fast for this year’s DC Labor FilmFest, which kicks off this Friday with a free
noontime screening of “BROTHER OUTSIDER” at the AFL-CIO. Bayard Rustin’s
passionate belief in Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence drew Martin Luther King
Jr. and other leaders to him in...
more...
Oct 7, 2013Federal Shutdown/Lockout Update: Capitol Rally; Send a Letter
Hundreds of federal
workers and their supporters turned out Friday for a rally on Capitol Hill.
“FAA Aviation Safety Inspector and Local 1653 Shop Steward Dan Ronneberg spoke
about the dangerous situation created by the furlough of 800 FAA workers who do
the same job as him,” reports...
more...
Oct 4, 2013DC Labor FilmFest 1 Week Away
This year’s DC Labor FilmFest launches in just a week, leading off with a free
screening of the classic film "Brother
Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin" at noon Friday at the
AFL-CIO. Click here for the complete FilmFest line-up and CLICK
HERE to see movie trailers &...
more...
Oct 4, 2013Government Shutdown: The Mixtape!
Washington, D.C.,
DJ Kid Cannibal, whose father Chris Garlock works for the Metropolitan
Washington Council , created a hip-hop mixtape to have a
little fun with the House Republican shutdown of the federal government. While
the shutdown is serious business that hurts real...
more...
Oct 4, 2013Why "Elysium" Could Have Helped Prevent the Government Shutdown:
“According to ancient Greek religious
cults, Elysium was the afterlife for mortals related to the gods. Later, it was
expanded to include those chosen by the gods. But with the federal government
shut down over the Tea Party’s antipathy for Obamacare, I was thinking about a
different...
more...
Oct 4, 2013NoVA Labor Walks Continue Saturday
More than 50 union
members - some from as far as Baltimore and New York - carried Labor’s election
message across Northern Virginia Saturday. “Once again, IUPAT provided the most
volunteers among the 15 internationals present,” reports NoVA’s Dan Duncan.
“SEIU Local 512 member...
more...
Oct 4, 2013IBEW 1900 Gets Out The Word
The 1,600 members of IBEW
Local 1900 – who work for PEPCO –will soon receive a letter from their
President and Business Manager, Jim Griffin, encouraging their support of
labor’s community services agencies. “These agencies (CSA in metro DC, the
Baltimore Labor Agency and the...
more...
Oct 4, 2013MoCo Council Supports Raising Minimum Wage
The Montgomery County Council voted 9-0 Tuesday in favor of a resolution that
supports a strong minimum wage bill for Maryland, reports Jews United for
Justice, which helped run a press conference about the resolution. Speakers
included State Senator Jamie Raskin, Delegate Anne Kaiser, County...
more...
Oct 4, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Women Take Ownership of Their Unions
A Solidarity Center conference in Morocco is bringing together women from the
Middle East and North Africa to share strategies for strengthening women’s
voices in their unions, their workplaces and in society. Eteri Matureli knows
how difficult it is for women to rise through the ranks of...
more...
Oct 4, 2013Federal Shutdown/Lockout Update
Today’s Events
11a: Stand Against the GOP
Shutdown
U.S. Capitol, House Triangle, Independence Ave SE and First St SE (near the
House steps to the Capitol Building).
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and furloughed federal workers
rally.
2p:
"What the...
more...
Oct 3, 2013Furloughed Feds Would Rather Work
Aviation
Safety Inspector Dan Ronneberg could have been home having a second cup of
coffee. But instead Ronneberg joined several dozen fellow furloughed
federal workers outside the Museum of Natural History yesterday morning to talk
to the media and pass out flyers to passing tourists...
more...
Oct 3, 2013Out of Office: The Art of the Auto-Reply
Many Union City
readers work for the federal government so we got a lot of auto-replies to
yesterday’s edition of Union City, most of which were pretty standard “Due to a
lapse in funding, certain government activities have been suspended and I am
unable to respond to your message at...
more...
Oct 3, 2013Bestway Workers Demand Union Recognition
On the morning of
Sept. 25, in Falls Church, VA, 25 Bestway Supermarket employees stood together
to present their boss with dozens of signed authorization cards, and request
that UFCW Local 400 be recognized as their union. Members of UFCW Local 400,
SEIU Local 512 and the Virginia New...
more...
Oct 3, 2013In Memoriam: Injured Worker Champion Joe Koonz
“Champion of injured workers” Washington DC injury attorney
Joseph H. Koonz, Jr. (at right in photo) died September
26; he was 78. “Joe fought tirelessly to ensure that injured workers received
all the benefits they were entitled to,” said Metro Washington Council...
more...
Oct 2, 2013DC RNs Picket Hospital Powerbroker's Fundraiser for Alexander
Registered
nurses from District of Columbia hospitals, joined by community allies,
picketed a fundraiser for DC Councilwoman Yvette Alexander hosted by a hospital
industry powerbroker last night to step up the call for the DC City Council to
move forward on a critical patient safety bill....
more...
Oct 2, 2013GOP Shutdown Blasted as "Lockout" and "Misguided"
As the first day of the government shutdown rolled out
across the metro area, labor and political leaders blasted the GOP for the
nation’s first government shutdown in 17 years. AFGE President J. David Cox Sr.
called it a “lockout.” AFSCME’s Lee Saunders blasted the GOP’s...
more...
Oct 1, 2013Free Labor FilmFest Screening Tonight
Don’t miss tonight’s free screening of "Black and White and Dead All Over” at the 5th & K
Busboys and Poets. The 6:30 screening is the unofficial kick-off of the 2013 DC Labor FilmFest ; the main FilmFest runs October
11-17 at the AFI and provides “an in-depth look at the...
more...
Sep 30, 2013How You Can Make A Difference
With the United Way,
Combined Federal and DC ONE Fund Campaigns now in full swing, area workers and
union members have an opportunity to support labor’s Community Services Agency
(CSA) through payroll deduction at work. Activists and local labor
leaders can support CSA – whose...
more...
Sep 30, 2013Free Labor FilmFest Screening Tuesday Night
The 2013 DC Labor FilmFest unofficially kicks off tomorrow night with a free screening at Busboys and Poets. "Black and White and Dead All Over" -- showing at 6p on Tuesday, October 1 at the 5th & K Street Busboys -- is “an in-depth look at the
newspaper industry as it struggles to...
more...
Sep 30, 2013Labor Photo: EJC Labor Partner of the Year
Metro Washington Council Assistant Legislative/Political Coordinator Alya Solomon received the Labor Partner of the Year Award at the DC Employment Justice Center’s annual Labor Day Awards Breakfast last Monday, September 24. Restaurant Opportunities Center...
more...
Sep 30, 2013Federal Workers Protest Government Shutdown
Here are AFGE’s planned informational pickets
as of late last night; watch our website for updates.
Annapolis MD
(informational picket): Naval Academy, Main St, date/time TBD; Cynthia Ennis
410-965-5566
Baltimore, MD
(informational picket): VA Hospital, 10 Green St N, date/time...
more...
Sep 27, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Child Labor Down, Still Deplorable at 165 Million
The number of child laborers has declined by one-third globally, from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million in 2012, according to an International Labour Organization (ILO)
report released this week. Yet despite the reduction, the worst forms of child labor will not be eliminated by 2016,...
more...
Sep 27, 2013Iron 5 Apprentices Sweep Mid-Atlantic Competition
Members of Ironworkers Local
#5 earned the three top spots at the September 14 Apprenticeship Competition
for the Mid-Atlantic Region, held at Local #79's headquarters in Norfolk, VA.
Ryan Eshelman (center)
took first place, Andrew Hernandez (left)
was second and Nick Demino (right)...
more...
Sep 27, 2013AFGE Mobilizes Against Federal Government Shutdown, Again
Here
we go again. With the federal government facing yet another politically inspired
shutdown on midnight Sept. 30, the American Federation of Government Employees
has had to mobilize against it yet again. And this time there’s an added
threat, according to a recent news story: When the...
more...
Sep 27, 2013NoVA Labor's Dan Duncan Arrested During UMWA Rally for Justice at Peabody
NoVA Labor President – and Maritime Trades Department
(MTD) Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Duncan (left)
was one of 15 people arrested earlier this week during a peaceful
march and rally outside the Peabody Energy headquarters Tuesday in St. Louis as
MTD-affiliated United Mine Workers of...
more...
Sep 27, 2013Low-Wage Federal Workers Call on Obama for Living Wage Executive Order
Federal workers employed by contractors at low wages to operate concessions and clean federal buildings walked off the job Wednesday to urge President Barack Obama to use his executive authority to establish a living wage requirement for contractors that do business...
more...
Sep 27, 2013Film: "Inequality For All"
As the U.S. economic crisis grinds on, the
widening gap between the rich and the poor has gained unprecedented public
awareness. In the new, award-winning documentary “Inequality For All” – opening tonight at the E Street Cinema, Bethesda Row Cinema and Angelika Mosaic Fairfax...
more...
Sep 27, 2013"Federal Worker's Guide to Shutdown DC" Released
With dozens of capitol-area museums and monuments preparing to close their doors Tuesday if Congress fails to approve a new budget, federal workers – who will be involuntarily furloughed during a government shutdown – have issued a guide to area attractions for visiting tourists and area...
more...
Sep 27, 2013The Federal Worker's Tourist's Guide to Shutdown DC
Based on the best information available at press-time; send updates to streetheat@dclaborarchives.org African American Civil War Museum and Memorial : OPEN (free) 1925 Vermont Avenue, NW; 202 667-2667, U Street/10th Street Exit – Green Line The Basilica of the...
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Sep 24, 2013Corrected Link for LRAA Thanks
Here’s the correct
link to thank council members Marion Barry, Jack Evans, Jim
Graham, David Grosso, Kenyan McDuffie, Phil Mendelson and Vincent Orange
"for supporting working people and a living wage for retail workers in the
District.” ( Thanking the 7 Who Stood Up for DC Workers...
more...
Sep 24, 2013Labor FilmFest: Compelling Stories Offered, Hosts Wanted
“More and more, it seems the studio
movies that make their way to multiplex theaters are about fantasy and special
effects,” writes Rachel Gorlin. “But some of us go to the movies for compelling
stories about the way real people live, play -- and work. Those films are what
the DC...
more...
Sep 24, 2013Marshals Needed for 10/8 Immigration Rights Mobilization at US Capitol
Local marshals are
needed for the upcoming Camino Americano large-scale mobilization on Tuesday,
October 8 at the U.S. Capitol. Locals or individuals interested in helping
marshal can email streetheat@dclaborarchives.org .
The concert and march will feature a "Concert for Immigrant Dignity...
more...
Sep 24, 2013Doyle Leads Winners at CSA Golf Tourney
Doyle Printing’s team took first place at
Monday’s Community Services Agency Golf Tournament, coming in ten under par and
beating out the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust/Musicians 161-710 team (7 under)
and Laborers Local 657 (7 under) to earn $150 gift certificates to the
all-union...
more...
Sep 23, 2013Labor Quiz: Weingarten Rights
This
Week's Quiz: Workers
have a right to ask for the presence of their union steward when:
They want to talk to the boss about vacation scheduling; They think
they’re in trouble with the boss and may face discipline or firing;
They’re being told to work overtime;...
more...
Sep 23, 2013Federal Contract Workers to March on White House Wednesday
They’ve
struck, they’ve demonstrated and now low-wage federal contract
workers are taking their grievances directly to the White House.
This Wednesday,
September 25th – starting at 10:45a – they’ll
march from Freedom Plaza to the White House for a prayer...
more...
Sep 23, 2013Convention Videos Posted
Missed
the recent AFL-CIO convention or just can't get enough? Visit
the AFL-CIO
YouTube Channel , which is a great way to see complete video
coverage of the AFL-CIO 2013 Convention. Once on the channel,
you will find several convention playlists just below the Feature
Video...
more...
Sep 23, 2013Thanking the 7 Who Stood Up for DC Workers
“Seven
D.C. Council members stood with us,” said Metro Washington Council
President after last week's failure by the DC Council to override DC
Mayor Gray's veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act. “Six
stood with Walmart. And Walmart, again, was able to strong-arm...
more...
Sep 20, 2013The Labor Reader: Must-Read Articles for Local Activists
There Is Glower in a Union D.C. City Council Defeats Living Wage Bill Obama to extend wage law to cover 2 mln home care aides S.E.C. Proposes New Rule on Pay Disclosure Labor Department Adds Protections for Home-Health-Care Workers House GOP Plan To Defund Obamacare...
more...
Sep 20, 20132013 DC Labor FilmFest Schedule Released
From The
Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter to Kinky Boots, Brother Outsider, The Organizer
and Men at Lunch ,
the 2013 DC Labor FilmFest brings the inspiring stories and
gritty lives of workers to the big screen for the 13th year. The main Labor
FilmFest runs October 11-13, with a...
more...
Sep 20, 2013Noontime Rally Today Opposes "Fast Track" Renewal
Activists are urging Congress not to renew
"fast track" trade agreement authority, with a noontime rally today at the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative and an online petition . Fast track would allow
trade agreements like the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership to leapfrog...
more...
Sep 20, 2013Federal Unions Working to Avert "Disastrous" Shutdown
Unthinkable but entirely possible. That’s what AFGE President J. David Cox, Sr.
calls the looming government shutdown, which could happen as soon as October 1.
“Over a dozen Senators and eighty Representatives are pushing for a scenario
that should be unthinkable,” Cox warned yesterday....
more...
Sep 20, 2013Super Shuttle Drivers Organize With UFCW 1994
Drivers from the Super
Shuttle at BWI and National Airports filed for union recognition at the National
Labor Relations Board earlier this month. The drivers, mostly African
immigrants, are "exceptionally organized," said Amy Millar,
coordinator of growth and strategic planning for Local...
more...
Sep 20, 2013The Big Weekend: NoVA Saturday Canvass Continues; Free Tix for Green Festival;
NoVA Saturday
Canvass Continues: With just 47 days until elections in
Virginia for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and House of
Delegates, “We need your help now to elect the labor-endorsed candidates for these
positions” says NoVA President Dan Duncan. The NoVA...
more...
Sep 17, 2013Labor On The Move: AFT's Abby Mills Moves to ILRF
AFT International Affairs Department Senior Associate Abby
Mills is moving over to the International Labor Rights Forum where she'll be
Director of Campaigns. "The ILRF and AFT have long worked together on
labor rights issues," Mills said, "and as I move into this exciting
new opportunity,...
more...
Sep 17, 2013Full Dance Card for Local Activists
There’s no shortage of activities for local labor
activists, with events scheduled every day this week, including an author
reading, political phonebanks, walks and meetings and a concert. Click here
to check the local labor calendar’s latest postings and be sure to let us know
if...
more...
Sep 17, 2013New Exec-VP Drops By Council
A surprise appearance by newly-elected AFL-CIO Executive
Vice-President Tefere Gebre (left)
highlighted Monday’s Metro Washington Council meetings. Gebre – who
previously headed up the Orange County (CA) Labor Council – told the Executive
Board members that “everything happens...
more...
Sep 17, 2013Judge Rules Washington Hospital Center Broke Federal Labor Law
In a rebuke to
MedStar Washington Hospital Center (WHC) management, an administrative law
judge ruled last week that WHC broke federal labor law when it refused to
provide information about hospital staffing patterns and patient safety survey
information to registered nurses. National Nurses...
more...
Sep 17, 2013LRAA Override Fails; "We'll Be Back," Supporters Vow
Living wage supporters promised to hold
District leaders accountable at the ballot box after they failed to override DC
Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA)
yesterday. “We’ll be back!” chanted dozens of activists who had crowded the Council...
more...
Sep 16, 2013Last Chance to Support the DC Labor FilmFest
With this year’s DC Labor FilmFest less than a month
away, this is your last chance to get your ad in for the 2013 FilmFest Program
Guide. Email cgarlock@dclaborarchives.org or
call Chris at 202-974-8153 today.
more...
Sep 16, 2013Action-Packed Agenda for Tonight's Council Meeting
Tonight’s Metro Council meeting – 6:30p at the NEA -- will be jam-packed with reports on
the metro-area labor movement, including the latest on the LRAA campaign,
upcoming events like the CSA golf tournament and the DC Labor FilmFest, as well
as political updates from the DC and...
more...
Sep 16, 2013LRAA Supporters Make "Final Push"
Saying that “the fight to prevent poverty wages in the District
is far from over,” supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act are
lobbying DC City Council member Tommy Wells to provide the critical 9th vote to
override DC Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the LRAA. The DC City...
more...
Sep 16, 2013Pagano's Life Celebrated Today
Jules Pagano – who died earlier this summer -- will
be remembered today at a celebration from 2-4p at CWA headquarters (501 3rd
Street NW, Lobby Conference Room). Pagano's career included stints at the New
York Unemployment Appeals Board, the Peace Corps, CWA's Education Director and
20...
more...
Sep 13, 2013Local Voices at the Convention: Commitment & Hope
"It's good to see all the unions here and to know that
we're not alone in the fight," said Aona Jefferson, CSO
Local 4 President. "The election of Tefere Gebre as Executive Vice
President speaks volumes," said George Farenthold, OPEIU 277 (AIL).
"To have an immigrant worker in one of the...
more...
Sep 13, 2013Service for Avis Buchanan to be Held Tuesday
A Celebration
of Life Service will be held for Avis Buchanan on Tuesday, September 17, at
Israel Baptist Church (1251 Saratoga Avenue NE). "Avis was a dear
friend and a pioneer of justice," said Eric Bunn Sr., AFGE District 14
National Vice President. Buchanan's union activism spanned...
more...
Sep 13, 2013Location Change For Metro Council Meeting Monday
It's been an active summer for the local labor movement and the fall
season will officially kick off at the Metro Council's meeting next Monday,
September 16 at 6:30p. Because of ongoing green retrofitting at the
AFL-CIO, the September meeting will be held at the National Education...
more...
Sep 13, 2013McAuliffe to Speak at Saturday NOVA Walk
Terry McAuliffe (right) ,
the labor-endorsed candidate for governor in Virginia, will be speaking to NOVA
Labor volunteers this Saturday . "We hope to have a huge
turnout to show Terry our labor support for his campaign for jobs and working
families!" says NOVA Labor's Dolores...
more...
Sep 12, 2013Local Voices at the Convention: Energy, Diversity, Next Generation
"The energy in the room was just wonderful," said Doris Reed (ASASP, at right in photo), who took time off from her vacation to stop by the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles on Tuesday. "People were really feeling it. We came out of the room knowing that we're all in the same movement, we know...
more...
Sep 12, 2013LRAA Supporters Call for Override of Gray's Veto
Supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) reacted to yesterday's veto by DC Mayor Vincent Gray with disappointment, anger and a call for City Council to override the veto. “I am incredibly upset, disappointed, and angry that Mayor Gray has decided to stand with Walmart and...
more...
Sep 11, 2013Emails Show Walmart Back-Channel to DC Mayor; LRAA Supporters Target Wells
Recently-released emails reveal that Walmart lobbyists have been covertly collaborating with the mayor’s office to kill the Large Retail Accountability Act (LRAA). "It's outrageous that Walmart's back-channel whispers are being given more weight by the Mayor than the voices of thousands of...
more...
Sep 11, 2013Labor to 'Play Heavily' in State Races Next Year
Organized labor, with its community allies, will “play heavily” in state gubernatorial and legislative races next year, its top two political operatives say. Briefing reporters earlier this week at the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles, fed Political Committee Chair Lee Saunders...
more...
Sep 11, 2013MontCo Trash Workers to Return to Work Today After Lockout Wednesday
When striking trash workers tried to return to work at Potomac Disposal Wednesday morning they weren't allowed back on the site and signs announced the company had no work for employees on strike. After news media reported the lockout, Potomac Disposal contacted the Laborers union, which...
more...
Sep 10, 2013Montgomery County Trash Collectors Strike
Trash in parts of Montgomery County went uncollected Monday and Tuesday when county residential trash haulers struck to protest the use of an immigration enforcement threat by Potomac Disposal against the employees -- who are mostly Latino -- currently negotiating for affordable health...
more...
Sep 10, 2013Deal Inked to Build DC Soccer Stadium Union
Different game, same rules. DC Mayor Vincent Gray, DC United Co-Owner Jason Levien and Washington Building and Construction Trades Council (WBCTC) Executive Secretary Treasurer Vance Ayres on Tuesday signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the new soccer stadium to be built in southwest DC....
more...
Sep 10, 2013Labor Sec. Perez Rouses AFL-CIO With Pro-Worker Stemwinder
New Labor Secretary Tom Perez pretty much tossed out his script at the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles on Tuesday, bringing cheering delegates to their feet with a rousing and heartfelt speech pledging worker protections, promising that labor and the administration would do it together and...
more...
Sep 10, 2013Trumka, Shuler, Gebre Elected to Lead AFL-CIO
Delegates to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention on Tuesday elected a trio of top officers to lead the labor movement to become, said re-elected AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, “the movement America needs us to be and we must be.” Click here for a complete report .
more...
Sep 10, 2013Local Voices at the Convention: Solidarity, Unity & Struggle
"We feel a sense of solidarity at this convention" said ATU 689's Roland Jeter, "and now it's time to take it home and get our union and our members to embrace that fire that's been stirred up in everybody here." Labor lawyer -- and DC Labor FilmFest Advisory Committee member -- Jules Bernstein...
more...
Sep 9, 2013New AFL-CIO Exec. V.P. Gebre: "We Have A Different World"
Tefere Gebre is not your father’s – or your grand-father’s – labor leader, and he says of the labor movement that “we have a different world” to confront. “We need to think differently,” he adds. And that’s a big reason why the 44-year-old former Ethiopian refugee will...
more...
Sep 9, 2013AFL-CIO Makes It Official: Labor Movement Opens Itself to Non-Union Workers, Too
The labor movement has made official what federation officers forecast for months: It’s opening itself to non-union workers, too. In resolutions and speeches Monday morning at the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles, the federation’s delegates unanimously decided organized labor would...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Young Activists Take to LA Streets in Solidarity Action
As delegates to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention began arriving in Los Angeles, several dozen young union activists gathered Saturday afternoon for the "Hunt for Justice: Young Workers' Solidarity Action" outside the LA Convention Center where things will officially kick off on Sunday. Wearing...
more...
Sep 8, 2013"Our Chance to Make a Difference"
The 2013 AFL-CIO Convention unofficially got under way Saturday morning with pre-convention committee meetings at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles. "There's an attack on labor around the globe and it's being driven by the one per centers," said United Steel Workers of America President Leo...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Labor Photo: "A Story In Every Face"
"When I look across this room I see a story in every face," said retiring AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker in an emotional address Saturday afternoon at the State Federation, Area and Central Labor Council meeting. "We've been in this struggle a long time together. You are the...
more...
Sep 8, 2013AFL-CIO Leadership Pledges Support for Local Movement
"I've got your back," new State Federation/Central Labor Council Advisory Committee Chair Randi Weingarten (President of the AFT) promised a packed room of local activists at Saturday's "Building a Movement for Shared Prosperity" meeting with hundreds of state federation, area and central labor...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Labor Photo: NOVA Labor Walks
Veteran walkers Florence (@AFGENational) and James (@Ibew666) planned out their packets before heading out on Saturday's NOVA Labor Walk. "We will have walks every Saturday until November 5th, reports Dolores Gerber. "Next week will be special, with (VA gubernatorial candidate) Terry McAuliffe...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Walmart Workers & Allies Arrested at Hyattsville Protest
Saying that " we cannot wait any longer" for Walmart to "do the right thing for American workers," Cindy Murray joined hundreds of her fellow Walmart workers and supporters outside the Hyattsville Capital Plaza Walmart last Thursday to call on the company to reinstate illegally fired and...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Domestic Workers Worldwide Covered by Labor Laws
Millions of domestic workers worldwide now have basic labor rights, as the International Labor Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention officially came into force last week. When it passed in June 2011, Convention 189 marked a major milestone, signaling the global community’s...
more...
Sep 8, 2013AFL-CIO Convention to Debate Next Steps for Labor
Fast food workers across the nation walk off the job to demand a wage of $15 an hour. Domestic workers descend on the state Capitol in California calling for overtime pay and breaks on the job. Car wash workers in New York City go to court to stop their exposure to toxic chemicals. Union leaders,...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Trumka Strongly Defends Including Outside Groups In Labor Movement
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is strongly defending his plans to include outside groups – environmentalists, civil rights groups, women’s rights advocates, immigrants’ groups and more – in the labor movement, despite criticism from many unions. A group of unions, led by the Building...
more...
Sep 8, 2013Diversity Forum Sparks Talk About Change at the AFL-CIO Convention
Building a labor movement that is inclusive to young workers, people of color and the LGBT community is more than just holding a meeting or attending a conference, said Tahir Duckett, national young worker coordinator at the AFL-CIO, at a pre-conference diversity summit Sunday morning at the...
more...
Sep 8, 20132013 AFL-CIO Convention Highlights
"We're home" said UFCW President Joe Hansen (photo) after leading a huge delegation of gold-shirted delegates through hundreds of cheering delegates welcoming them back to the AFL-CIO..."In every fight for working families, we have been on the front lines, because our agenda is...
more...
Sep 5, 2013Golf Tourney Update
It's not too late to sponsor this year's Community Services Agency's Golf Tournament. Sponsors thus far include IBEW, United HealthCare, Teamsters 639, Laborers Local 657, Kaiser Permanent and Ashcraft and Gerel. Washington’s professional football team tickets to be raffled off among other...
more...
Sep 5, 2013Pressure Mounts on DC Mayor to Sign LRAA
Supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act on Tuesday delivered over 36,000 petitions and emails to DC Mayor Vince Gray asking him to sign the bill. In related news, area Walmart workers will stage an action at the big-box retailer's Capitol Plaza store today (see On The Line) as part...
more...
Sep 5, 2013Trumka On Expanding Membership Beyond Unions
Calling the labor movement in crisis, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he will push far-reaching changes at the federation's convention next week, including forging closer partnerships and even accepting as members such outside groups as the Sierra Club and the NAACP. The changes, some of...
more...
Sep 5, 2013In Memoriam: Robert Ades
Labor lost a longtime brother and ally when Robert Ades (right) died Sunday night. The 65-year-old labor lawyer had been battling leukemia. "Rob was a friend and a champion of workers," said Metro Council President Jos Williams. "He was a wonderful and caring man and he will be sorely missed by...
more...
Sep 3, 2013Rodman 201's McVeigh Retires
Rodmen 201 Business Manager Kevin McVeigh, whose retirement takes effect today, celebrated last Friday night at a reception at the Embassy Suites DC Convention Center. A member of Local 201 for 36 years, McVeigh started as an apprentice making $5.25 an hour, "wondering what I would do with all...
more...
Sep 3, 2013LRAA Petitions To be Delivered to Gray Today
Living wage supporters will gather at the Wilson Building at 11a today to deliver tens of thousands of petition signatures they've collected in support of the Large Retailer Accountability Act from around the city. "More than 9 out of 10 people we have talked to have signed our petition in...
more...
Sep 3, 2013Roanoke-Area Kroger Workers Ratify 3-Year Deal
Members of UFCW Local 400 working at Kroger in the Roanoke area last week ratified a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement that raises their living standards and maintains their health and retirement benefits. “This agreement is as good as any in the country,” said Local 400...
more...
Aug 30, 2013Nurses Make House Calls
Nurses are making house calls in DC’s Ward 7 to
discuss “some very unfortunate statistics with residents,” reports NNU on its Nurses
for a Healthy DC Facebook page. “Department of Health statistics show that residents of
Ward 7 are dying of cancer at a rate 22% higher than...
more...
Aug 30, 2013Labor On The Move: Bessie Hubbard Makes Her Last Delivery
After a quarter of a
century at the AFL-CIO -- 17 years in the IT department and the last 8 in
Support Services -- Bessie Hubbard (right) stopped by the Metro Council
earlier this week to let us know she’s retiring. Other than a cross-country
trip, Hubbard cheerfully told Union City...
more...
Aug 30, 2013Made In America By Union Labor
As we celebrate labor’s holiday on Monday, it’s a good
time to remember that we save money and support thousands of fellow union
workers when we buy products and services from unionized companies. Find out
how to save on everything from AT&T wireless service to autos and pet food...
more...
Aug 30, 2013Labor Reader: Detroit, Labor Day and a Hard Day's Night
"The Beatles first visited
Detroit just before Labor Day in 1964, and they gushed with admiration for the
Motown sound. Detroit hummed with industry then, like the Beatle’s own
Liverpool, England with its bustling ports and pop music scene. Both
industrial cities would soon...
more...
Aug 28, 2013Labor Voice/Readers Write: Retired But Still Reading UC; Greenhill, Corrected
Retired But Still Reading UC: “Great newsletter,” writes Union City reader Regis Kingera,
a retired IBEW Local 26 member now living in State College, PA. “I have been
forwarding it to everyone I can because of the wealth of information.”
Greenhill, Corrected: It...
more...
Aug 28, 2013JUFJ's Vision for a "Big Step Forward"
Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) has grown dramatically in
the last five years, quadrupling its staff, budget, and activist base while
developing a strong reputation and track record. “We’ve developed from a
scrappy little organization to an established voice in the local political
world...
more...
Aug 24, 2013Why We Marched
Tens of thousands – many of them union members and their families -- turned out for the August 24 50 th Anniversary March on Washington. Here are the faces and voices of some of the local participants. – interviews/photos by Chris Garlock Alma Wigfall, Laborers 657 I’m here with my...
more...
Aug 24, 2013NoVA Labor Precinct Walks Kick Off
Nearly two dozen union members kicked off the 2013 NoVA Labor precinct walks on Saturday, contacting about 200 union households in Fairfax County. "All reported very positive reactions for the labor-endorsed candidates from almost all locations," reports NoVA President Dan Duncan. Unions...
more...
Aug 24, 2013Unionists Bring Variety Of Causes To M.L. King Commemoration March
Raymin Diaz
wants to “break this counterrevolution” that takes away workers’
rights. Bob King wants to “honor the same principles” Dr.
Martin Luther King stood for, while “fighting suppression of the
right to vote.” Larry Greenhill Sr. wants to energize his...
more...
Aug 23, 2013Echoing '63 DC March, Walmart Workers Sit-In
Walmart workers staged a peaceful sit-in outside Walmart’s DC offices on Thursday, connecting their struggle for justice with the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for jobs and civil rights being celebrated this week. Ten were arrested, along with two supporters. Singing “We Shall...
more...
Aug 23, 2013Dressed for Successful Careers
Training Manager Dionne Travis (in white shirt) provided a front-and back-of the house tour recently at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor for students in the Hospitality Express 4 Success (HE4S) program. A project of The Training Source, Prince George’s...
more...
Aug 23, 2013Labor College Offers Teaching Techniques Class
The National Labor College Bonnie Ladin Union Skills Program is offering a class in Teaching Techniques from September 14-20 at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute (MITAGS), in Linthicum, MD. Register online . The introductory course “is ideal for union staff members who teach...
more...
Aug 23, 2013March on Washington Update, Plus Follow Us on Twitter
Area Fire
Fighters and Letter Carriers are among the recent additions to the list of dozens
of participating area local unions – AFGE to UFCW -- in tomorrow’s big 50th
Anniversary March on Washington: click here to see who’s coming, as well as where and when they’re meeting. Follow...
more...
Aug 23, 2013CSA's News You Can Use: Power Company Scam Alert
Pepco and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative are warning customers of phony calls aiming to scam customers out of their money. Pepco says scammers are calling customers claiming to be with the power company and telling customers they need to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak pre-paid card to...
more...
Aug 21, 2013March on Washington Update
Marshals Needed : With crowd estimates for
this Saturday’s 50th Anniversary March on Washington swelling by the hour, organizers
have put out an urgent request for marshals to help keep everyone safe and the
event running smoothly. If you or your local can help, please email...
more...
Aug 21, 2013Video: "LiUNA! and the Civil Rights Movement":
The LiUNA! Mid-Atlantic
Region’s “Profiles in Courage: LiUNA! and the Civil Rights Movement” takes a
close look at LiUNA! members in the civil rights movement, and the legacy of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. among workers in the Washington D.C. Metro area.
The first in a series of five...
more...
Aug 21, 2013NoVA Precinct Walks Kick Off Saturday
While urging area
activists to “honor Dr. King, Brother Randolph and the others who bravely set
the proper course 50 years ago” this Saturday, NoVA Labor Federation President Dan Duncan asks
“those who can, please come to Annandale and honor those who marched in 1963 by
knocking on...
more...
Aug 21, 2013Fired Walmart Workers' Anti-Retaliation Campaign Heats Up DC Tomorrow
Walmart’s going to
feel some of that infamous Washington, D.C., summer time swamp heat Thursday
when 10 recently fired Walmart workers will be joined by community, faith and
union supporters outside the low-wage retail giant’s D.C. federal lobbying
offices. The noon demonstration (701...
more...
Aug 19, 2013Labor On The Move: Ari Schwartz New DC JWJ Solidarity Organizer
Ari Schwartz has been hired as the new
Solidarity Organizer at DC Jobs with Justice. Schwartz has been JwJ’s Workers’
Rights Education Coordinator and an AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps fellow
since September 2012 and has previously worked with the DC Wage Theft
Coalition,...
more...
Aug 19, 2013Labor In The News: Amalgamated Bank Sets Sights on DC
Amalgamated Bank – “labor’s bank” – got a nice write-up in The
Washington Post recently ( Bank owned by a union, for unions,
sets its sights on Washington 8/4) . Founded in New York in
1923, Amalgamated “has begun beefing up its Washington presence,”...
more...
Aug 19, 20131199 Reveals Risky Financial Scheme, $180 Million Debt at UMD Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), which
receives 58 percent of its revenues from public funding, has a more than $180
million debt due to a complex financial scheme that Robert Chrencik
executed when he was CFO, and which continued after he became CEO of the
statewide...
more...
Aug 19, 2013Labor Scholar, Youthful Organizer Challenge Unions To Organize African-Americans, Millennials
Unions are not targeting organizing campaigns to African-Americans, one of the nation’s more pro-union groups, or to millennials, two pro-union panelists contend. And they should do so because diversity is the future of the labor movement, like that of the workforce, they add. The two,...
more...
Aug 16, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Bangladesh Reinstates Garment Worker Rights Group
The Bangladesh government has re-registered the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), a move that means the organization can fully function again and pursue its mission of educating workers about their rights. The government last month dropped charges against two worker leaders—all...
more...
Aug 16, 2013Labor FilmFest Ad Deadline Extended
The
deadline for ads in the 2013 DC Labor FilmFest program book has been
extended to Friday, August 30. Click
here to
download the FilmFest ratesheet, or email cgarlock@dclaborarchives.org .
“Don’t miss this chance to support one of the only...
more...
Aug 16, 2013Union Wins As HUD Cancels Last 2 Furlough Days
Workers
at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) won’t be
furloughed on August 16 and 30, thanks to their union. AFGE Council
222 had filed a grievance against HUD for spending money on buy-outs,
relocations and field office reconfigurations, while furloughing
employees...
more...
Aug 16, 2013More Area Locals Join Historic Rally/March
Local
support continues to build for the August 24 rally commemorating the
50th anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington.The latest locals to
confirm their participation are AFGE locals 12, 32, 383, 727 and
3331, IBEW Local 26 and OPEIU Local 2. All the way from Mount Holly,
NC, Union...
more...
Aug 14, 2013Union Veterans, Members Clean Vietnam Veterans Memorial
In the early hours of August 3, the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council organized a group of national union leaders and activists to participate in the washing of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. As the sun rose over the Three Service Members Statue, volunteers received a welcome from the Vietnam...
more...
Aug 14, 2013Local Unions Step Up Participation in 8/24 March
Local
unions are ramping up plans to participate in the upcomingAugust
24 50th
Anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington ( Unions
Plan Mass Presence at 50th Anniversary of King's 1963 March 8/12
UC) .
If your local is planning to participate,...
more...
Aug 14, 2013Labor Photo: UFCW & AFL-CIO; Powerful Together
Metro Council President Jos Williams (center) with UFCW Local 400 President Mark Federici (left) and UFCW 1994 MCGEO President Gino Renne at the UFCW’s convention in Chicago, which began yesterday. Inspired by the theme “Blue. Gold. Bold. Powerful Together,” convention...
more...
Aug 14, 2013Gray Urged To "Listen to Voters, Not Walmart"
"We
still haven’t heard from Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray on
if he plans to sign a living wage bill for workers in big-box stores
like Walmart that operate in the District of Columbia," reports the
AFL-CIO Now blog. “So let’s give him a call and urge him...
more...
Aug 12, 2013Berger-Marks Award Nominations Due
The labor-backed Berger Marks Foundation has set an August 16 deadline for
nominations for its annual Edna Award , honoring a young woman leader “who has made an extraordinary contribution to social justice early in her career.” The nominations are online only . The Edna Award...
more...
Aug 12, 2013Good Time for "Hands-On" Union Training
"Fall is a great time for hands-on union training," according to the National Labor
College. Courses include Organizing I, an ideal course for staff new to organizing, and Contract Negotiations in the Private Sector, which explores the unique challenges posed by private sector contract...
more...
Aug 12, 2013Unions Plan Mass Presence at 50th Anniversary of King's 1963 March
The nation’s unions plan a massive presence at the upcoming 50th commemoration
of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous 1963 March on Washington. The new march will
be August 24, at the Lincoln Memorial and then to the memorial to the
assassinated civil rights leader, unions have told members...
more...
Aug 12, 2013Pressure Mounts On Gray to Sign LRAA
The campaign to urge DC Mayor Vincent Gray to sign the Large Retailer
Accountability Act has gathered steam over the past month, as more than 20,000
have signed a petition, called or emailed the Mayor. "He has been
feeling the pressure, but still has not said that he will sign the bill...
more...
Aug 9, 2013UFCW Rejoins AFL-CIO
Local and national union leaders welcomed yesterday's announcement that the UFCW is re-affiliating with the AFL-CIO. "A stronger, more unified grassroots movement of working men and women is exactly what’s needed to raise wages for workers and rebuild an American middle class," said AFL-CIO...
more...
Aug 9, 2013Hispanic Workers Win Major Sexual Harassment Case Against L&M Construction
Federal contractor L&M Construction has agreed to settle allegations that it permitted sexual harassment, retaliated against workers who complained about a hostile work environment, and interfered with a federal investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor announced last week. LiUNA’s...
more...
Aug 9, 2013PG County Hospitality Express 4 Success Program Now Recruiting Young Women
Are you a young woman 18-26 living in Prince George’s County and interested in a career in hospitality? Know someone who is? The Hospitality Express 4 Success 15-week training program will provide you with three industry-recognized certifications and Office Automation certification. The program...
more...
Aug 7, 2013UFCW 400 Contract Updates
Takoma Park Police voted overwhelming for wage increases in this year’s wage reopener. Wage reopeners happen annually to discuss percentages based on tax and economic structure of the county, while the rest of the contract remains unchanged. On July 28, Bloomingdale’s members unanimously...
more...
Aug 7, 2013CSA Golf Tourney Save The Date
Mark your calendar now for the Community Service Agency's 18th annual Golf Tournament, set for Monday, Sept 23 at the Enterprise Golf Course. The event benefits CSA’s Emergency Assistance Fund; opportunities to support include sponsorships, foursomes, ads, tee signs, donation of items for...
more...
Aug 7, 2013CLUW-ing in the Younger Generation
“Starting with a video created by singer Bev Grant about women in the labor movement entitled ‘We Were There’ that covered those in the room with goosebumps, and ending with an equally powerful overview of the current state and future of the labor movement, six women, representing the...
more...
Aug 7, 2013Newspaper Guild Looks Forward to Working with Bezos at Post
The Newspaper Guild-CWA and the Washington-Baltimore local joined its members at the Washington Post yesterday in welcoming Jeff Bezos as the newspaper’s new owner. “This is potentially an entirely new era for the Post,” International Guild President Bernie Lunzer said. “Our members have...
more...
Aug 5, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: The Struggle Continues
“I so enjoy reading Union
City every morning,” writes reader Cindy Boccucci. “My life is
enriched each day by reading the current local labor news, catching up on
upcoming Labor events and most of all, reading about Today in Labor History.
The connection between the struggles for a...
more...
Aug 5, 2013Labor Quiz: Dance, Dance, Dance... but You’re Fired
This Week's Quiz: Fifteen
women were fired by the Curtis Publishing Co. in Philadelphia in 1912 because,
on their lunch break, they danced which of the following? The Turkey Trot; The
Shimmy Shimmy Shake; The Rhumba; The Cake Walk; All of the above. Click here and you could be next...
more...
Aug 5, 2013Mid-Atlantic Laborers Launch New Website
The Laborers International Union of North America Mid-Atlantic Region (LiUNA!
Mid-Atlantic) recently launched their revised website . “This new
website, its content, and social media tools will empower not just construction
workers, but also potential future signatory contractors who want...
more...
Aug 2, 2013Labor Books & Movies Just a Click Away
Looking for great books or movies about the issues you care about? Here are two
great sources: TheWorkSite.org and FilmsForAction . TheWorkSite.org offers book
and music reviews as part of its “free, adaptable tools for grassroots education and organizing.” Also...
more...
Aug 2, 2013Stormwater Law Will Mean New Maryland Jobs
Nine Maryland counties and Baltimore City met a deadline last month to comply
with a state law requiring local governments to create a stormwater maintenance
fee. “Once implemented by the counties, the law will raise hundreds of millions
of dollars for Bay cleanup, and will create tens of...
more...
Aug 2, 2013"It Still Feels Like Family Here"; IAFF 36’s Smith Recalls Seafaring Father
As a child, the old Seafarers
(SIU) hall on East Baltimore Street “almost seemed like a big playground” to
Edward C. Smith, who occasionally went there on weekends with his dad, the late
SIU Representative Ed Smith. “When you’re a little kid, it was fun to go to
work with your...
more...
Aug 2, 2013Elizabeth Davis Takes Helm at Washington Teachers
Thanking Washington Teachers Union Local 6 members for their support, newly
sworn-in President Elizabeth Davis (at right in photo) reminded those
attending the ceremony that “the challenges facing DC’s teachers will require
the hard work and support of everyone,” pledging that the...
more...
Aug 2, 2013Tri-County COPE Hosts MD Gov Candidates, Reviews Endorsement Timeline
Tri-County COPE hosted Maryland gubernatorial candidates
Heather Mizeur and Doug Gansler at last week’s meeting, along with Aisha
Braveboy, who’s running for Attorney General. COPE members also reviewed the
proposed timeline for the endorsement process. Questionnaires for the local...
more...
Jul 31, 2013"Norma Rae" Still Organizing
AVODAH staff and alumnae joined Jews United For Justice for a "paid sick
days for all" canvass at Monday's Screen on the Green showing of
"Norma Rae." The crowd -- full of labor folks eager to see the
movement classic on the big screen -- cheered as Norma Rae (Sally Field)
proudly held up...
more...
Jul 31, 2013$25K AFGE 476 Donation to Help Members Hurt by Sequestration
To help its
members affected by sequestration, AFGE Local 476 has donated $25,000 to the Community
Services Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund (EAF). “Any Local 476 member who’s
experiencing financial difficulty because of sequestration, and has past due
bills for emergency needs, is...
more...
Jul 31, 2013Respect DC Says "It's Time to Get in the Street"
With the calls on
DC Mayor Vincent Gray to sign the Large Retailer Accountability Act growing louder and stronger , thousands of
residents have signed petitions, made phone calls, and sent emails to the
Mayor. “With wealthy corporations pouring money into DC in an attempt to...
more...
Jul 31, 2013Local 99 Wins Contract at GWU
Engineers and maintenance workers
employed by ARAMARK at the GWU power plant voted overwhelmingly on July 26 to
join the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 99. The final
election results were 11-3 in favor of joining Local 99. “I’m always encouraged
to see engineers stand...
more...
Jul 30, 2013Upcoming Conventions: AFL-CIO; ILCA, CLUW
The 2013 AFL-CIO
Convention will be held September 8-11 in Los Angeles, CA. Saying
“We're all in this together,” the AFL-CIO is conducting a series of
conversations “about the future for America’s working men and women and the
future of the labor movement.” Click
here for...
more...
Jul 30, 2013CA Labor Official Gebre To Succeed Holt Baker As AFL-CIO Executive VP
California labor official Tefere
Gebre, once a teenaged political refugee from Ethiopia, a member of Laborers
Local 270 and a politically savvy operative from the nation’s largest state,
will succeed Arlene Holt Baker as Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO, at
the federation’s...
more...
Jul 30, 2013AFL-CIO Convention To Enact Labor Movement Revamp
Leaders of the AFL-CIO will ask delegates at its convention, scheduled Sept. 8-11 in Los Angeles, to enact a massive revamp of the labor movement, the federation’s Executive Council learned on July 24. The revamp is a result of hundreds of forums and discussions unions have hosted for months,...
more...
Jul 29, 2013PG County School Workers Win 5% Raise
Some
1,200 Prince George’s County school district workers have won their
first raise in four years. The members of SEIU Local 400 –
custodians, auditorium techs and engineers -- approved a
deal Saturday that gives them a 5% raise; 3% raise
effective July 1, 2013 and another...
more...
Jul 29, 2013Metro Workers OK New Contract
By a nearly 3-1 margin, Metro workers represented by ATU 689 last
week ratified a new 4-year contract. The new deal calls for an
11.4% pay raise over the next four years, while Metro workers
will pay into their pensions for the first time in 30 years. The
Local 689 members...
more...
Jul 29, 2013Labor On The Move: AFL-CIO Special Projects Coordinator Kathy Smith Retires
AFL-CIO
Special Projects Coordinator Kathy Smith retired July 26 (a
celebration will be held at the AFL-CIO today from 2–4p in the
Gompers Room at the AFL-CIO). Smith, who hails from the coalfields on
the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, landed a job as
Executive...
more...
Jul 29, 2013After Long Struggle, Downtown SAMs Finally Achieve First Contract
After four long years, Downtown SAMs finally have a union. The
Downtown SAMs -- short for safety, hospitality, and maintenance
employees -- ratified their contract earlier this month, and are now
full members of the National Federation of Federal Employees. Under
the new contract,...
more...
Jul 29, 2013Guild Rallies for Fair Contract at Post
A spirited group of Newspaper
Guild members at The
Washington Post spent
their lunch hour last Thursday marching in front of the Post building,
carrying balloons and hand-lettered signs demanding that management
bargain...
more...
Jul 29, 2013PG County Says Gaylord Cabbies "Not Legal"
While Prince George’s County is now admitting that the
out-of-county taxis broke county law when they picked up fares at
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center recently, it’s
unclear whether Gaylord or the law-breaking taxis will be penalized.
Gaylord called in Arlington and...
more...
Jul 26, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Gender Equality Conference, Zimbabwe Elections
Nearly
100 gender equality and worker rights activists from more than 20
countries will share strategies for addressing gender equality and
worker rights at a July 30-31 Solidarity Center conference
in São Paulo, Brazil. In Zimbabwe, unions are planning for ongoing
worker...
more...
Jul 26, 2013Local Updates: Laborers' Rehfeld Promoted; Saunders Appeals WTU Election
Laborers’
Rehfeld Promoted :
Ed Rehfeld (left) has
been promoted from Communications Manager at the Laborers-Employers
Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET) to the Office of the General
President at the Laborers’ International Union of North America...
more...
Jul 26, 2013Building Futures Helps Graduate Rebuild Life
Anthony, behind on his child support payments, was facing jail time.
That’s when he turned to Jennifer Gajdosik, Case Manager for the
Community Services Agency’s Building Futures construction
pre-apprenticeshipprogram. Anthony (not his real name) had
successfully completed the program...
more...
Jul 26, 2013Iron 5 Cycle Club Raises $16K for Diabetes Research
The Iron Workers Local 5 Motor Cycle Club presented a check for
$16,000 to Dollars Against Diabetes at the local’s July union
meeting, the proceeds of their 2013 DADS Day Poker Run. The club has
raised nearly $200,000 for diabetes research in its 11-year history.
In other Local 5...
more...
Jul 26, 2013AFL-CIO Executive Council Urges DC Mayor to Sign LRAA
The AFL-CIO’s Executive Council yesterday issued a statement
supporting the Large Retailer Accountability Act, saying it “would
lift thousands of working families inWashington, D.C., out of poverty
and support decent wages across the retail industry” and calling on
D.C. Mayor Vincent...
more...
Jul 24, 2013Teamsters Call On Gray To Sign DC Living Wage Bill
Metro Council President Jos
Williams applauded Teamsters 639 for being the first Council affiliate to send
a letter to Mayor Gray calling on him to sign the Living Wage bill. “We should
recognize the arguments made by Wal-Mart for what they are, nothing more than
efforts to keep wages...
more...
Jul 24, 2013DC Joins Push to Boost Minimum Wage
Today marks the fourth year since the federal minimum wage
was raised. Low-wage workers and their supporters are marking the anniversary
by holding rallies and actions around the nation, calling on large U.S. corporations
and members of Congress to raise wages for millions of the country’s...
more...
Jul 24, 2013Labor Photo Collage: Labor Night at the Nats 2013
“Thanks to everyone who bought
tickets -- over 6400 tickets sold! -- and turned out for this year’s Labor
Night at the Nats,” says Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen
McKirchy. “Very special thanks to Union Plus, which sponsored the July 19
evening with the Nats and...
more...
Jul 24, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: Johnstown's Union Connection
“I think Henry Clay Frick might be
the answer to the Johnstown Flood quiz last week,” writes AFGE’s Peter Winch,
“but I thought you might be interested to know that AFGE Local 3034 represents
the National Park Service employees at the Johnstown Flood National Park as
well as those at...
more...
Jul 23, 2013AFL-CIO Charges Gaylord With Using Illegal Taxis
The AFL-CIO has filed a formal complaint about illegally-operated taxis at the
Gaylord National Resort with the Prince George's County Department of Public
Works and Transportation. On July 17, AFL-CIO organizers witnessed taxis from
Arlington County and Washington Flyer picking up passengers...
more...
Jul 23, 2013Young Democrats Hold Panel Discussion About Labor Tonight
The Montgomery County Young Democrats (MCYD) will hold a
panel discussion about the role and importance of labor to the region, economy
and the Democratic Party tonight at 7p in the Silver Spring Civic Center. The
panel features Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC)...
more...
Jul 23, 2013Labor On The Move: Weisbard Promoted to EJC Deputy Director; EJC’s Kavanaugh on WOW Board
The DC Employment Justice Center's Ari Weisbard (left) has been promoted
from Advocacy Manager to the role of Deputy Director. “In addition to leading the
EJC's advocacy work, Ari is taking on more responsibility for the financial
management of the office,” reports EJC Executive...
more...
Jul 23, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: Not Too Busy to Oppose Walmart
"As you all know, I'm too damn busy to do much writing
outside of the news service and the Washington/Baltimore Newspaper Guild (WBNG)
minutes," writes Mark Gruenberg, WBNG Secretary and editor of Press
Associates. "But when it comes to opposing Wal-Mart, I make an exception.
Attached...
more...
Jul 22, 2013D.C. Federal Judge Orders Hospital to Roll Back Huge Health Care Hikes for Nurses
A federal judge in D.C. has ordered management at the Washington
Hospital Center, the capital’s biggest hospital, to roll back
health insurance deductible increases and coinsurance maximums
for its 1,850 unionized nurses. The deductibles tripled for 40% of
the nurses at the...
more...
Jul 22, 2013Labor Photo: Labor Night at the Nats is a Hit
6400
union members joined an almost sell-out crowd at the 7th annual Labor
Night at the Nats on Friday; more pictures and a full report to
follow. -
photo courtesy Unite Here 23
more...
Jul 22, 2013Hundreds Help Kick Off District Coalition for Better Transit
More than 200 transit workers and community members celebrating the
new District Coalition for Better Transit last week at a
community forum in Anacostia. The new coalition is dedicated to
"keeping public transit in the District safe, reliable,
affordable and in public hands"...
more...
Jul 22, 2013Solidarity Center Update: Death Threats Against Honduran Union Activist, Radio Host
Over
the last two weeks, anonymous callers have threatened the life of
long-time Honduran union leader and radio talk show host José María
Martínez, whose vocal support for the rights of banana and other
agricultural workers has made him a target. Click
here to...
more...
Jul 19, 2013In Memoriam: Jules Pagano
"It is with deep sadness that I share the news of Jules Pagano's passing," reports American Income Life's Roger Smith...
more...
Jul 17, 2013Busy End to DC City Council Legislative Session
The Council’s passage of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) was not the only victory for DC workers in the City Council’s final meeting before their recess...
more...
Jul 17, 2013Tomorrow is Mandela Day
Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday is being celebrated across the globe today. With the world closely watching for news on the health of the former South African president...
more...
Jul 15, 2013Peapod Workers Ratify Four-Year Agreement
On July 3, UFCW Local 400 members working at Peapod ratified a four-year collective bargaining agreement that improves the lives of 213 members working at the Maryland facility...
more...
Jul 15, 2013District Coalition for Better Transit Kick-Off
Facing the possible privatization of DC's metro buses, local transit union ATU 689 and transit advocates and riders are teaming up to create the District Coalition for Better Transit...
more...
Jul 15, 2013Labor Quiz: The Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown flood of 1889 was caused when a dam holding back a private resort's lake failed, sending water cascading into the town and drowning more than 2,200 men, women and children...
more...
Jul 12, 2013Good Jobs Nation Strikes Hit the National Mall
Just a week after workers went on strike at the Reagan Building, low-wage workers at the Air and Space Museum and American History Museum went on strike
more...
Jul 10, 2013Wal-Mart Threat to Cancel DC Stores Called "Economic Blackmail"
Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams blasted
Wal-Mart’s threat to cancel three DC stores as “economic
blackmail.” With the DC City Council poised to vote on a bill today
requiring large retailers to pay a living wage, the giant retailer
preemptively announced...
more...
Jul 10, 2013DCNA Wins Wage Increases for RNs at DC Department of Mental Health
After three years without raises and more than two years of
bargaining, RNs at the DC Department of Mental Health (DMH) are
poised to receive overdue pay increases. The DC City Council is
expected to vote today on approving the contract between the District
of Columbia Nurses...
more...
Jul 10, 2013Kroger Workers Worried About Impact of Harris Teeter Deal
Kroger
announced yesterday that it’s buying Harris Teeter in a cash deal
that includes taking on $100 million in Harris Teeter debt. The deal
will allow supermarket giant Kroger “to enter new markets which
will overlap with our UFCW Local 400 retailers including Giant and
Safeway in...
more...
Jul 10, 2013Labor Photo: NoVA Labor Celebrates Independence
Led
by the roar of a dozen bikes from the IBEW Local 26 Motorcycle Club,
nearly two dozen union members from Northern Virginia marched in
the annual Dale City (VA) Independence Day Parade last week. Among
the unions represented were AFT, CWA, IUOE, IUEC, NFFE/IAM, OPEIU,...
more...
Jul 10, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: Sharing "Today in Labor History"
“ I
enjoy ‘Union City’ every day,” writes Jim Griffin,
President/Business Manager/Financial Secretary for IBEW Local Union
1900. “The ‘Today in Labor History’ section is my favorite. At
each membership, Executive Board and Steward meeting I read that
day's ‘Today in Labor...
more...
Jul 8, 2013UFCW 400 Members at Metropolitan Poultry & Macy’s Ratify Contracts
Workers at Metropolitan Poultry and Macy’s have ratified new contracts, reports
UFCW 400, which represents them. “It’s a tribute to our members’ involvement and
activism that we were able to negotiate such strong collective bargaining
agreements,” said Local 400 President Mark...
more...
Jul 8, 2013DC City Council Committee Okays One License for All
The DC City Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment voted
unanimously on Tuesday, July 2, to amend legislation introduced by Mayor Gray
to allow undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses. The amendment
removed the provision that driver’s licenses would be...
more...
Jul 8, 2013Hands-On Union Training at NLC This Summer
“Summer is a great time for hands-on
union training,” says the National Labor College, which is offering several
classes that may be of interest to area union leaders, staff or members. New Union Staff (August 11-16) “is
valuable for those newly appointed or elected to a...
more...
Jul 3, 2013CWA 2108 & SEIU 400 Win CSA Nats Baseball Drawing
CWA Local 2108 and SEIU Local 400 were the lucky winners of the autographed Nats baseballs in yesterday's drawing. “Congrats to both locals and thanks to everyone for making CSA's Emergency Assistance Fund the winner by buying tickets for the upcoming Labor Night at the Nats” said Community...
more...
Jul 3, 2013JUFJ Paid Sick Days Campaign Heats Up
“Our summer of action on Paid Sick Days is off to a hot start,” reports Jews United for Justice (JUFJ). “We've already recruited three new businesses to support the campaign - Flava in Shaw, Pleasant Pops in Adams Morgan andWydown Coffee on U Street - all of whom support the Paid Sick Days...
more...
Jul 3, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: Where's LRAA Coverage?; Love the Union Shop
Where’s
LRAA Coverage? :
“I'm an avid reader of your newsletter,” writes Keshini
Ladduwahetty. “I was, however, shocked that you didn't mention the
passage of the LRAA (last) week. This was an important victory
for workers.” See
our June 27...
more...
Jul 2, 2013Viewing and Services for Kathryn Grooms-Bard July 5-6
Funeral viewing and services for Kathryn Grooms-Bard, daughter of
Tri-County COPE Chair Bill Grooms and his wife Mary, will be this
Friday, July 5, 2-4p and 6-8p at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home,
6160 Oxon Hill Road in Oxon Hill, MD. Mass will be held this
Saturday, July 6, 10a, at...
more...
Jul 2, 2013Reagan Building Food Court Workers Strike
Food court workers in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center walked out on strike on Tuesday, July 2 to protest wage theft and low wages,taking over Pennsylvania Avenue. “The federal government is by far the largest employer of poverty-wage jobs in the country, with many of...
more...
Jul 1, 2013DC Council Passes Stronger Protections Against Wage Theft
DC workers scored a major victory last week when the DC
Council passed the Wage Theft Prevention Act as part of this year’s District
budget. The Act contained unprecedented protections against wage theft,
including allowing for damages up to triple the unpaid wages when businesses
steal...
more...
Jul 1, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: How to Dine Union in DC
“I’m looking for current list of union restaurants in DC,”
writes local labor lawyer Wendy L. Kahn.
Our online Union
Shop listings include Dining/Restaurants as well as a number of other categories,
including union catering, groceries, hotels and more.
more...
Jul 1, 2013Labor Photo: DCNA Seminar
Dozens of area nurses signed up for Union City on Wednesday,
June 26 at DCNA’s annual Labor Relations Seminar, as Union Cities
Coordinator Chris Garlock and Community Services Agency Executive Director
Kathleen McKirchy explained how the Metro Council’s various programs and...
more...
Jul 1, 2013Labor in the News: UMD Cleaning Staff Calls for Better Working Conditions
“At 4 a.m every
workday, Vicenta Reyes starts cleaning classrooms, labs and halls at the
University of Maryland in College Park,” reported the Washington Post last Thursday. “At 8 a.m., she
goes inside a janitorial closet and sits next to cleaning supplies to eat her
lunch. The...
more...
Jul 1, 2013Rally Doubleheader Tomorrow
Saying that it would reduce Social Security
benefits, the Maryland/DC Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), AFGE Local 1923
and their allies will rally tomorrow against the proposed “Chained CPI.” The ARA warns
that the seemingly arcane change in cost-of-living adjustments to Social...
more...
Jun 28, 2013DC Jobs with Justice Celebrates Local Activist Heroes
Special honoree Roger Newell brought down the house last
night at DC Jobs with Justice's "I'll Be There Awards" when the
impassioned activist led the fired-up attendees in a chant of "I'm not
afraid!" at the AFL-CIO. "Together we can build the kind of city we
want!" Newell (right)...
more...
Jun 28, 2013Labor Photo: PG Taxi Drivers Protest Grows
Prince George’s County taxi drivers were out again in force
picketing the Gaylord National Hotel and Resort at National Harbor
yesterday. “Cabs that honk in solidarity w/ Gaylord protest get ticketed,
but not every car,” tweeted TheFightBack .
“Not ticketed: car w/ diplomat...
more...
Jun 28, 2013Senate Passes Immigration Reform Bill
The
U.S. Senate late yesterday afternoon voted 68-32 (with 14 Republicans
joining all 54 Democrats) to approve immigration reform legislation that
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says will move the nation “a big step closer”
to building a commonsense immigration system that...
more...
Jun 28, 2013Labor Calendar Highlights: A Full Weekend
The 35th annual Great Labor Arts Exchange starts today
out at the Maritime Institute Conference Center and runs through Sunday; the
gathering of union and community activists focuses on using songs, art, poetry,
theater, skits, posters, cartoons, and film to strengthen the labor...
more...
Jun 27, 2013Labor Photo: Fred Allen Sworn in on March on Washington Commemorative Committee
Metro Council Executive Board member and DC COPE Chair Fred Allen (GCC/IBT) (center in hat) was
among those sworn in yesterday as members of the 50th Anniversary of the March
on Washington Commemorative Committee by DC Mayor Vincent Gray. On August 28
citizens from across the country will...
more...
Jun 27, 2013PURRfect Pet Pix
You know that your pet is the cutest, of course. Now, Union Plus is giving you
a chance to prove it. Submit your pet's photo to the Union Plus Pet Photo
Contest at UnionPlus.org/Contest
for a chance to win one of five grand prizes, including free year-long
memberships to Union Plus Pet...
more...
Jun 27, 2013Post "Drops a Bomb" On Workers as Contract Talks Open
The Washington Post ’s
publisher “dropped a bomb” on its Newspaper Guild (TNG) members on the first
day of bargaining talks on Tuesday. “Moments after saying that the company
would not be seeking drastic changes in a proposed two-year contract, the
publisher’s labor lawyer...
more...
Jun 27, 2013This Just In: Large Retailer Accountability Act Passes 1st Reading
This Just In : The Large Retailer Accountability Act ( LRAA ) passed first reading at the DC City Council late yesterday afternoon, with an 8-5 vote. The bill would cover companies that do more than a billion dollars in business and whose stores are 75,000 square feet or more. The 8 yes votes...
more...
Jun 26, 2013Sheet Metal's Norberg Named NLC Alumni of the Year
Marc Norberg -- Assistant to the General President of the Sheet Metal Workers -- has been named Alumni of the Year by the National Labor College’s Alumni Association
more...
Jun 26, 2013Labor-Management Partnership At Kaiser Improves Health & Jobs
Metro Council Executive Board members toured Kaiser Permanente's Capitol Hill Medical Center prior to the June 17 Council meetings, which were held next door at Kaiser's Center for Total Health...
more...
Jun 26, 2013This Just In: Large Retailer Accountability Act Passes 1st Reading
The Large Retailer Accountability Act ( LRAA ) passed first reading at the DC City Council late Wednesday afternoon, with an 8-5 vote. The bill would cover companies that do
more than a billion dollars in business and whose stores are 75,000 square feet
or more. The 8 yes votes were...
more...
Jun 25, 2013DC Paid Sick Days Law A Success, Report Says
Washington DC’s local paid sick days law is a success, according to a report released last week by the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor...
more...
Jun 25, 2013Union Plus Scholarship in honor of Dr. King's March
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Union Plus and the AFL-CIO are offering one-time $5000 scholarships...
more...
Jun 25, 2013Labor Quiz: Fastest-growing Job?
What is the fastest-growing occupation in the United States? Click here and you could be next week's winner of a labor music CD!
more...
Jun 24, 2013Union Summer Students Join PG Taxi Driver Struggle
Dozens of Union Summer recruits joined Prince George's County taxi drivers at a high-spirited demonstration Friday in front of -- and inside -- the Gaylord National Hotel and Resort at National Harbor...
more...
Jun 24, 2013Safeway Workers School Congress on Hunger
It's not easy living on thirty dollar's worth of groceries a week. That's what some two dozen members of Congress learned when they stopped by a Safeway...
more...
Jun 24, 2013Labor On The Move: Street Named to New WTU Community Organizer Position
David Street has been appointed to the newly created position of Community Organizer for the Washington Teachers' Union. Street will be responsible for building relationships and collaborative activities with a diverse group of organizations throughout Washington...
more...
Jun 21, 2013UFCW 400 & 1994 Lobby on Immigration Reform, ACA (2)
Leaders and members of UFCW locals 400 and 1994 were on Capitol Hill
this week, lobbying on key issues, including immigration reform,
fixing the Affordable Care Act and opposing the Agricultural
Guestworker Act. The UFCW supports “principled, comprehensive
immigration reform that treats...
more...
Jun 21, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Auto Parts Plant Violated Mexican Worker Rights
An international
auto parts production plant has violated worker rights numerous times
with actions that include a retaliatory mass firing and interference
with union elections, according to a new report by the Worker Rights
Consortium (WRC). In December, the Finnish-owned PKC fired more...
more...
Jun 21, 2013Movies We Love about Workers, Work, and the Workplace
From
“Bee Movie” to “Office Space,” the definition of labor movies
has come a long way from “Salt of the Earth” and “Norma Rae.”
Dozens of Labor
Notes
readers responded to a call for their favorite recent feature films
about workers, work, and the...
more...
Jun 20, 2013Nats Stadium Food Workers & Allies Rally
Well over 100 Nationals stadium
food workers and their supporters rallied last night for a new contract.
"We're all in this struggle together," ATU's Anthony Garland told Union City , as a dozen
ATU local 689 members joined the food workers cheering speakers -- including
Metro Council...
more...
Jun 20, 2013Labor Photo: Bikeshare Workers Deliver
Capital Bikeshare employees delivered a petition yesterday to the District Department of
Transportation in hopes of recovering missing wages. The delegation included
former driver and supervisor Anibal Apunte
(at right) , who spoke out at Monday’s Metro Council meeting about
the plight...
more...
Jun 20, 2013Safeway Workers Win Arbitration Victory
Day shift employees working nighttime
hours at Safeway stores won an important victory earlier this month when an
arbitrator ruled in UFCW Local 400’s favor. The arbitrator’s award confirmed
that “Day shift employees who work between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. must be paid time
and a half,”...
more...
Jun 20, 2013Newell & Hoffman Among DC JWJ Honorees
Longtime local labor activists Roger Newell
and Ann Hoffman are among those being honored at DC Jobs with Justice’s “I’ll Be There” awards next week. Newell (right) (Teamsters) has
chaired DC JWJ for a decade, and Hoffman (National Writers Union) “has volunteered tirelessly on...
more...
Jun 19, 2013Building Futures Grads Demonstrate Appreciation
The June Building Futures graduates turned the tables on the program's instructors and staff when they bestowed "Certificates of Appreciation" on each of their instructors...
more...
Jun 19, 2013Nationals Stadium Workers Rally Today
“I love my job
and I love the fans,” Pearl Bailey – a grill cook at Nationals Stadium -- told
delegates at Monday night’s Metro Council meeting. “But
we’re fighting for training on the job,” said the Unite Here Local 23 member.
“I don’t want to...
more...
Jun 18, 2013Labor Quiz: Union Busting
Polling shows that more than half of all working Americans would like to be represented by a union...
more...
Jun 17, 2013Exciting Labor Council Meeting Tonight
Reports from striking low-wage DC workers, Nationals Park stadium food service employees fighting for a contract and Prince George's County taxi drivers highlight tonight’s meeting of the Metro Washington Council...
more...
Jun 14, 2013Solidarity Center Report: Catalysts for Change Spotlights Workers’ Innovative Tactics
A new Solidarity Center series spotlights working
people, their unions and civil society activists who are advancing worker
rights and greater equity in their societies. Some of the examples in the Catalysts for Change series include women in Tunisia, who helped spur protests...
more...
Jun 14, 2013Labor On The Move: Kann Moving On
After nearly two years at the Metro Washington
Council, Assistant Mobilizer Julia Kann will be leaving at the end of June.
Kann plans to stay in DC and continue doing social justice work, she says,
adding “don’t be surprised if you see me out on the picket line!” Kann brought...
more...
Jun 13, 2013Studying for a Future in Hospitality
The latest
batch of Hospitality Express 4 Success students gathered for a group shot last
week. The Metro Washington Council Community
Services Agency partners with The Training Source and Prince George's Community
College to run the 15-week program for 18-26 year olds in the county....
more...
Jun 13, 2013Williams and Kann on El Salvador Then and Now
One slipped out late at night to meet with trade unionists, the other marched
in broad daylight through the center of the city with 80,000 union activists
and their supporters. That was just one of the manydifferences between the 1984
visit to El Salvador by Metro Washington Council...
more...
Jun 13, 2013Friday Deadline for Labor Pix Contest
There's still time to enter your best shot in the Great
Labor Arts Exchange's Photo Contest . Photos will be accepted through
this Friday,
June 14 . The winning photographer representing the theme, “Gonna Take Us All: Labor and
Community United!” will win a...
more...
Jun 13, 2013Federal Workers Stage "Eat-In" to Show Sequestration Impact
Dozens
of area federal workers carrying bag lunches staged an "eat-in"
yesterday to demonstrate the
financial impact of sequestration on workers and on the businesses they
patronize. "Sequestration
affects us all, families and communities alike," said AFGE 3331 President
Nate...
more...
Jun 13, 2013Nurses, Allies Demand Swift Action on Patient Protection Act
“Every day this bill is delayed puts more patients at risk,” said John Estenor,
“it’s quite literally a matter of life and death.” Estenor, an operating room
nurse at Washington Hospital Center (WHC), spoke at Thursday morning’s rally by
area nurses supporting the Patient...
more...
Jun 12, 2013June Council Meeting Location Change
The June Metro Council meeting, the last before the summer break, will be at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Total Health...
more...
Jun 12, 2013Union-Made Father's Day
Celebrate your dad in solidarity style this Father's Day by getting him a gift that sports the union label...
more...
Jun 10, 2013Fletcher Speaks Today On "Myths About Unions"
Longtime racial justice, labor and international activist, scholar and author Bill Fletcher Jr. tracks the history of negative myths about the labor movement...
more...
Jun 10, 2013Labor Quiz: Working Themselves to Death
Nearly 5,000 workers die as a result of workplace accidents every year. How many die every year as a result of cancers and other illnesses brought about by their work?
more...
Jun 10, 2013"One City, One License" Say Activists
A mother who couldn't take her her ill child to the hospital. A young woman who struggles to find and hold a job because of transportation issues...
more...
Jun 7, 2013HUD Reorg Plan Violates Furlough Agreement, Union Says
The union representing employees of the Department of Housing and Urban Development says the agency's reorganization plans violate an agreement it made concerning employee furloughs...
more...
Jun 7, 2013Fort Belvoir Janitors Win Back Pay
70 janitors at Fort Belvoir will get more than $300,000 in back pay and benefits because the private contractor that employs them failed to pay the correct hourly wage...
more...
Jun 6, 2013Labor Movement Supports PG Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers in Prince George's County have turned to the National Taxi Workers Alliance in their fight to continue serving visitors to National Harbor...
more...
Jun 4, 2013Graduating IBEW Apprentices Celebrate Excellence
"Excellence is not an abstract
idea but a way of life for us,” said IBEW 26 Inside Wireman program graduate
Jason Wright last Saturday. “Our consistently striving for excellence sets us
apart as union electricians." Wright -- who had a 97.17% academic score
and only missed one day in 5...
more...
Jun 4, 2013Coalition Rallies in Support of "One City, One Market" DC Health Exchange
The coalition supporting the the DC Health Benefit Exchange (HBX) rallied
yesterday on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building. The coalition -- which
includes the Metro Washington Council -- urged support for the “Better Prices,
Better Quality, Better Choices for Health Coverage...
more...
Jun 4, 2013Engineers Launch New Website
Sporting a cleaner look and easier navigation, IUOE Local
99 has announced the launch of their new
website , designed to help members get involved and stay up-to-date with the
latest information. “Our new site is designed to make it easier for our members
to quickly get the information...
more...
Jun 3, 2013Large Retailer Accountability Bill Moves Forward
The
Large Retailer Accountability Act took a big step forward last Friday
when the DC City Council’s Business, Consumer and Regulatory
Affairs Committee voted to move the bill out of committee. Rev. Dr.
Edwin Jones of Forward 7 called the vote “a victory for the
citizens of the...
more...
Jun 3, 2013Union History Continues To Be Made At The Washington Monument
Twenty-seven experienced members of Carpenters Locals 132, 1078 and
1145 (DC), 101 (Baltimore) and 1556 and 1846 (New York) recently
completed the assembly of the structural scaffolding now surrounding
the 555-foot tall Washington Monument. This is the first stage of
repairs to the...
more...
May 31, 2013Firefighter Memorial Day Honors Local Heroes
Symbolizing the job done and eternal reward earned, the silver bell was rung 99 times Wednesday night, once for each of the DC Fire Fighters Association Local 36 members who have died in the line of duty...
more...
May 31, 2013DC JwJ To Celebrate Board Chair Roger Newell
A highlight of this year's DC Jobs with Justice "I'll Be There" Awards – set for June 27 -- will be a special youth tribute for DC JwJ Board Chair Roger Newell...
more...
May 30, 2013Workers Stand Together for Nationals Stadium Contract
Coming off
victories at campuses across the District ( Food
Service Worker Rally Celebrates Howard Contract Win UC 3/1/2013) ,
Unite Here 23 members are gearing up for their next contract fight, this time
at Nationals Stadium. On Memorial Day, Unite Here 23 members from other
workplaces...
more...
May 30, 2013Walmart Workers: "We Are One"
With OUR Walmart-green T-shirts and beads, local labor and community activists
gathered Wednesday to wish Walmart workers good luck in their trip to the national
shareholder meeting ( Local Walmart Workers Head to Shareholder Meeting UC
5/24/2013) . “We are one. We stand as one,” OUR...
more...
May 29, 2013IBT 730 Organizing in "No-Man's Land"
Almost seventy working foremen at DC Water are "stuck in no man's land" says Teamsters Local 730 President Ritchie Brooks...
more...
May 29, 2013Day of Action to Save the Tribune
With the Koch brothers eyeing the Tribune newspapers, labor activists are calling on the Tribune Company to refuse to sell the paper to "radical right-wingers"
more...
May 28, 2013Labor College Campus Set to Sell
The NLC announced last week that they will sell their Maryland campus to a partnership of Reid Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Housing Opportunities Commission...
more...
May 28, 2013Garlock Hits the Road [Part 3]: Swaledale's Heavy History
It's green and pastoral along the river in Swaledale, where my Coast to Coast walk took me last Tuesday, but in the blasted hills above, it's a very different, and far uglier story...
more...
May 28, 2013Labor Quiz: Union Mergers
Which of the following union mergers never took place? Click here and you could be next week's winner of a labor music CD!
more...
May 24, 2013Local Walmart Workers Head to Shareholder Meeting
Walmart workers from across the country and the globe will converge on Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, AK for the company's annual shareholders meeting in the first week of June...
more...
May 23, 2013Guild Win Major Gains in Contract with Bloomberg-BNA
After 17 hours of continuous bargaining that ended in the wee hours of a Friday morning, the Guild unit at Bloomberg-BNA has achieved major gains in a new contract...
more...
May 22, 2013CSA News You Can Use: Labor Cares, Labor Shares
With Oklahoma residents struggling in the wake of the latest natural disaster to hit this country, the United Way of Central Oklahoma has activated its disaster relief fund...
more...
May 22, 2013Garlock Hits the Road [Part 2]: Keeping A Craft Alive
"In a hundred years there may not be any of us left." We came across stonecrafter Rob Willan Saturday in Orton, where he was teaching a handful of students how to build the dry stone walls...
more...
May 21, 2013AFL-CIO Capital Area Sporting Clays Shoot Friday
Promising "a fun-filled day of busting clays," the 5th Annual AFL-CIO Capital Area Sporting Clays Shoot is set for this Friday, May 24 in Queenstown, MD...
more...
May 21, 2013Low-Wage DC Workers Strike
Hundreds of low-wage workers from across DC walked out on strike today, calling for a living wage and benefits. The workers walked out of food-service and janitorial jobs in the first major action of the newly-formed Good Jobs Nation campaign...
more...
May 20, 2013IBEW 26 Apprenticeship Club Gives Back
In just a short amount of time, the IBEW Local 26 Apprenticeship Club has become one of the most active groups within the local...
more...
May 20, 2013Labor Quiz: Washington Monument
Which of the following unions placed a commemorative stone in the Washington Monument shortly after construction began in 1848?
more...
May 17, 2013Plumbers 5 Apprentices get High Marks
Fifth-year Plumbers local 5 apprentices Joseph D. Sargent and John C. Puckett Jr. took home gold and silver at this year's Regional Apprenticeship Contest...
more...
May 17, 2013No One Should Die for Fashion
In light of the recent deaths of workers at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, activists are calling on companies that source their items from such factories to sign a binding safety agreement...
more...
May 17, 2013Council Meeting Monday
Featuring a report-back from last weekend's boycott and picket at the MCDCC Spring Ball, this Monday's Council meeting will include updates on local and national campaigns...
more...
May 16, 2013Get The Union Bug
With over a dozen union printers in the DC area, it's easy to make sure everything you put out has a union bug on it...
more...
May 16, 2013Labor Photo: Garlock Hits the Road
Union Cities Managing Editor Chris Garlock stopped by the Working Mens Club -- a pub and social club for local workers -- in the town of Moors Row in Northern England...
more...
May 15, 2013Labor in the News: Keeping Transit Public in DC
The fight to stop the privatization of public transit is gaining steam. Last week ABC Channel 7 reported on the District government's proposed expansion of the Circulator...
more...
May 15, 2013Local Unions Dig Deep for Labor Night at the Nats
Three local unions have each purchased 500 tickets to Labor Night at the Nats and earned themselves the honor of picking someone to throw out the first pitch, meet with the managers, or call "play ball."
more...
May 14, 2013Community Stands Behind LRAA
Cheers echoed across Freedom Plaza this morning as labor and community activists called on the DC City Council to pass the Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013 (LRAA)...
more...
May 13, 2013Do Real Democrats Cross Picket Lines?
Heavy rain couldn't stop the festive mood Saturday evening as labor activists from all over the DC metro area picketed the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee Spring Ball
more...
May 9, 2013Federally Contracted Low-Wage Workers Launch "Good Jobs Nation"
Union Station rang with chants of "Si se puede!" and "Minimum wage now!" yesterday as low-wage workers from across the country employed under federal contracts, loans and leases joined Members of Congress, faith leaders and community groups to launch Good Jobs Nation...
more...
May 9, 2013Union Cities Mobilizer Closing in on Walk Goal
"Great idea; walk, vacation and fundraise all at once!" says CWA's Carrie Biggs-Adams about Union Cities Mobilizer Chris Garlock and his wife Lisa's upcoming 200-mile walk...
more...
May 9, 2013MCDCC Ball Boycott/Picket Focus is Solidarity
Saturday’s picket at the MCDCC Spring Ball “is about
solidarity, pure and simple,” says Metro Washington Council president Jos
Williams. The boycott and picket were sparked by the MCDCC’s support last year
for the Question B referendum, which took away the police union’s right to...
more...
May 8, 2013Labor Heritage Foundation Announces Photo Contest
The Labor Heritage Foundation has announced a contest for the photo that best represents this year's Great Labor Arts Exchange theme, "Gonna Take Us All: Labor and Community United!"
more...
May 8, 2013Political Support Building for MCDCC Spring Ball Boycott/Picket
All four
Democrats reportedly seeking the Maryland Governor's office in 2014 are now supporting
the Metro Washington Council’s boycott/picket of Saturday’s MCDCC Spring Ball.
Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman
have joined Lt. Governor Anthony...
more...
May 7, 2013What's Next for Iraq?
"Iraq remains one of the most violent countries in the world, the U.S.-backed Iran-oriented government remains as corrupt as ever, and the sectarian legacy of the U.S. occupation remains powerful"
more...
May 7, 2013Series Honors Nurses During Their Week
Surgery can be a scary thing for many people. But thanks to the pioneering work of UFCW Local 400 member Sara Lane Grothe, Kaiser Permanente patients can rest assured...
more...
May 6, 2013Labor Support Builds for Baltimore-DC Poor Peoples Campaign March
Labor support is building for the
May 10-13 Poor Peoples Campaign March from Baltimore to Washington.
The march has been endorsed by both the Metro Washington and Baltimore labor
councils, as well as a number of local unions, including UFCW 400. “We view
this occasion as an opportunity...
more...
May 6, 2013Free Screening of "War on Whistleblowers" Tonight
In the new
documentary "War on Whistleblowers," – screening free tonight at 6:30p at Busboys & Poets -- there's a moment
where one of the men featured in the movie wonders, "If not me, then
who?" If Franz Gayl, a Marine Corps science advisor, hadn't exposed the
delays in getting...
more...
May 3, 2013MontCo Park & Planning Workers Win 6% Raise
Workers at Montgomery County’s Park and Planning
Commission have won 6% raises in a wage-reopener for FY 2014, reports UFCW 1994
MCGEO, which represents 650 MCPPC members. The tentative agreement reinstates COLAs
and increments; most workers will see wage increases totaling 6%. “Congrats...
more...
May 3, 2013Where Does Nationals Player Bryce Harper Get His Work Ethic?
Washington Nationals wunderkind outfielder Bryce Harper
works hard. Where does he get that work ethic? His father, a union ironworker from Las Vegas , who installs rebar on
construction sites in sometimes extreme conditions. Click here to check out this clip from ESPN's "Bryce
Begins."...
more...
May 3, 2013DC Students Join Campaign Against DC Bus Privatization
Students from the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School
joined the call to oppose privatization of DC bus lines at an April 26 DC City
Council committee hearing on the issue. Chavez students wearing badges that
said "Please Don't Privatize My Ride" testified at the hearing, along
with...
more...
May 3, 2013Solidarity Center Report: A Union Could Have Prevented Bangladesh Tragedy
More than 430 people have now been confirmed dead in last
week’s building collapse in Bangladesh, the country’s worst industrial disaster
on record. A 16-year-old garment worker whose right hand was amputated after
she was pulled from the wreckage told the Solidarity Center that the...
more...
May 3, 2013Union Voice/Readers Write: "We Are Wisconsin" DVDs Going, Going...
“Thanks for offering a way to
purchase (' We Are
Wisconsin' )” writes Felicia Brown Tarber. “I saw it a few weeks
back, and was blown away by it. I’m happy that I can own it and show it at the
office.” The DC Labor FilmFest has a few copies of the "We Are Wisconsin"...
more...
May 2, 2013MontCo Residents and Councilmembers Concerned About Impact of Proposed Aspen Hill Walmart
“Why would you fill one hole only
to dig another?” wondered Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich. Elrich
and fellow Councilmember George Leventhal on Tuesday morning accepted petitions
bearing signatures from more than 2,000 county residents opposed to a proposed
Walmart in...
more...
May 2, 2013Free Tickets for Labor Chorus Concert
Five pairs of free tickets to
Saturday’s DC Labor Chorus Spring Concert are being raffled off, thanks to a
generous donation from the Amalgamated Transit Union. Click
here by 5p today
to enter the drawing. "We sing to honor all who labor and to lift
spirits through...
more...
May 2, 2013Labor Photo: Opposing Privatization in El Salvador
With working people across the globe
getting ready for yesterday’s May Day celebration, Union City Assistant
Mobilizer Julia Kann reports that CISPES labor delegates visited the
headquarters of the Frente Sindicato Salvadoreno (Salvadoran Union Front) on
Monday, where activists painted...
more...
May 1, 2013Guild & CWA Call on Tribune to Protect Newspapers' Integrity
Noting that “Recently you’ve seen
many petitions asking that the Koch brothers not be allowed to buy the Tribune
Company’s newspapers,” the Newspaper Guild and CWA yesterday instead called on
the Tribune “to make a pledge that they’ll only sell to a buyer that will
protect the...
more...
Apr 30, 2013OPEIU 2 Young Workers Committee "Steps Up"
The young union activists of OPEIU Local 2 are taking on the challenge of energizing and motivating their fellow young union members. The local’s “Step Up” Young Workers Committee (at right, at their April 24 meeting) was formed after several members attended the AFL-CIO Next Up...
more...
Apr 30, 2013Labor on the Move: Solomon to Lead IAM’s Legislative Department
IAM Assistant Legislative and Political Action Department Director Hasan Solomon (photo) has been tapped to head the legislative duties of the department, which involves working to pass legislation on Capitol Hill and in state governments that benefits working...
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Apr 30, 2013Labor Photo: El Salvador's "Monument To The Memory and the Truth"
A delegation of labor activists from across the United States – including Metro Council Assistant Mobilizer Julia Kann -- visited the Monumento a La Memoria y La Verdad (the “Monument To The Memory and the Truth”) in El Salvador on Sunday, April 28. The wall of 30,000 names...
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Apr 30, 2013Guild: Don't Sell the Sun to Koch Brothers
The Newspaper Guild is circulating an online petition calling on the Baltimore Sun CEO not to sell the paper to the “union-busting, election-buying, climate-change-denying Tea Party-funding Koch brothers.” Workers at the Baltimore Sun are represented by the ...
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Apr 30, 2013DC May Day: Celebrations, Marches, Movies & Music
As millions of workers around the world celebrate International Workers' Day today, here’s what’s happening in DC. Celebrate May Day at the AFL-CIO : Area activists and allies are invited to join the AFL-CIO’s May Day celebration (link) on Wednesday, May 1st from 6-8pm. “We are...
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Apr 30, 2013MontCo Council Approves County Worker Contracts
Sustained
applause from county workers greeted the 8-1 Montgomery County Council vote
approving their contracts Tuesday morning. “We sincerely appreciate your
service and all your hard work,” Council President Nancy Navarro told the
county workers, fire fighters and police officers...
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Apr 29, 2013Council Urges Boycott of MontCo Democratic Central Committee Spring Ball
The Metro
Washington Council is is urging all affiliated locals and allies to boycott the
upcoming 2013 Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) Spring
Ball. "This action has been taken as a result of the Committee’s decision
last year to actively support Question B, the...
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Apr 29, 2013Labor Photo: Worker Appreciation Day at GW Cafeteria
Cafeteria
workers at George Washington University's Mount Vernon campus receive a pile of
“thank you” notes from students during Pelham Commons Worker Appreciation Day on April 21. The workers are
members of Unite Here local 23. - photo courtesy GWU Progressive Student
Union
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Apr 29, 2013Virginia Labor Celebrates Wins, Looks to Future
More than 500 Northern Virginia
labor leaders, friends and allies turned out to socialize, dine and dance with
area politicians, union members and community supporters at Friday's
Annual Tribute to NoVA Labor Dinner. IBEW President Ed Hill received the
Excellence in Leadership Award,...
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Apr 29, 2013"Night at Camden Yards" Features Metro Baltimore Unions:
Baltimore-area union members and their families share in
the spotlight at the May 31 AFL-CIO Night at Camden Yards, when the
Orioles will host the Detroit Tigers. The annual event is great for raising
union members' visibility in the city, says Baltimore AFL-CIO president Ernie
Grecco....
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Apr 26, 2013VA Grocery Workers Confront Boss in Amsterdam
Earlier this week, two grocery store workers from Richmond, VA traveled all the way to Amsterdam in the Netherlands in the name of workers' rights...
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Apr 26, 2013Local Updates
Religious Leaders Announce Support for DC Patient Protection Act; Sheet Metal 100 Smells a Rat at Balfour Beatty and Hess; MontCo GovOps Committee OKs MCGEO Contract
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Apr 24, 2013Labor Photo: DC Special Election
NNU members Rajini Raj and Deidra Beckford were among the many union members who helped get out the vote for Tuesday's Special Election...
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Apr 24, 2013Songs to Fuel a Movement
The Charm City Labor Chorus' upcoming April 27 concert features "fuel the movement and get people motivated to action"...
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Apr 23, 2013Casino Workers Win
Workers and community members at Saturday's Rally for Fair Development in downtown Baltimore had reason to be jubilant
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Apr 22, 2013Labor Photo: Nurses Rally for Safe Staffing
Last Friday, hundreds of nurses and community members rallied in support of the Patient Protection Act, a bill that would mandate staffing ratios for nurses in DC hospitals...
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Apr 22, 2013"Bee Movie" a Labor Film?
From "Bee Movie" to "Zeitgeist" and "Matewan" to "Office Space," labor film buffs have been weighing in with their favorite recent movies about workers...
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Apr 22, 2013Labor Quiz: Minimum Wage
The U.S. minimum wage today is $7.25 per hour, where it's been stuck since 2009. In what year did the minimum become $1 per hour?
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Apr 18, 2013"We Are Wisconsin" DVDs Available
If you missed the recent screening of "We Are Wisconsin" at the AFL-CIO, it's not too late to see the new version of this "inspiring testament to the power of citizen activism and our movement."
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Apr 16, 2013AFSCME 3 Wins 3% Pay Raise for State Employees
Streetheat -- even drenched -- works. Members of AFSCME 3 celebrated last week after the Maryland Assembly closed out its session with a vote to fully fund the 3% pay raise...
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Apr 15, 2013Council Meeting Sneak Preview
Tonight's Metro Council meeting features updates on the impact of the Sequester, the ATU's Public Transit campaign, Labor Night at the Nats, Large Retailer Accountability Act, DC Budget Autonomy and more exciting local labor news...
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Apr 15, 2013Labor Quiz: Firefighter Deaths
Three hundred and forty three firefighters were among the casualties when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. Up until then, what was the deadliest day for firefighters?
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Apr 12, 2013USPS Delays End of Saturday Delivery
Saturday mail delivery won a reprieve this week, after postal employees, other union members, community supporters and others rallied last month in hundreds of rallies in large cities and small towns...
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Apr 12, 2013AFL-CIO PayWatch Website Tracks CEO Pay on Tax Day
Today is Tax Day, and while working families gathered around the country to highlight growing wealth inequality and to call for a fair tax system, the AFL-CIO launched its annual Paywatch site...
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Apr 11, 2013DC COPE Report: DC Special Election
Early voting has already begun in the DC Special Election on April 23. There are only two items on the ballot...
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Apr 10, 2013Immigrant Citizenship Demanded at Major Rally Today
Tens of thousands of immigrants from across the Washington region will rally this afternoon on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol "to fix our broken immigration system."
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Apr 10, 2013In Memoriam: Perry Queen
Perry Queen, the former longtime president of Insurance Workers Local 2 -- which merged with UFCW Local 400 more than two decades ago -- passed away...
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Apr 9, 2013Obama's Really Bad Idea
The AFL-CIO is circulating a petition calling on President Obama to reject cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and to repeal the sequester...
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