Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO

LABOR CALENDAR

7/10/2020

Union City Radio: 7:15am daily
WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report

Women in the COVID-19 Economy: Fri, July 10, 2pm – 3pm
Via Zoom; AFL-CIO; RSVP here

Coalition to Repeal Right to Work: Fri, July 10, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Metro Washington Council and Community Services Agency staff are teleworking; reach them at the contact numbers and email addresses here.

Union City Summer Schedule: UC appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday in July/August, with special editions as necessary. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for latest local labor news updates.

On this week's Your Rights At Work show: SF Mime Troupe’s “Tales of the Resistance”
Latest labor news updates, including what’s happening with the proposed East End Hospital and the NLRB says the boss can search your car! Plus: Tales of the Resistance, an original radio serial from the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Today’s episode: JADE, FOR HIRE! Looking for work during a race and class war ain’t easy, But why was "Derrick" fired in the first place? And what is the secret of...Jamazon.com?

Coalition notches DC budget wins

7/10/2020

The DC City Council’s first vote on the DC 2021 budget on Tuesday included $9 million for Excluded Workers, thanks to a hard-fought campaign by a powerful, multi-racial, multi-lingual, international coalition of unions, immigrant organizations, service providers, sex workers, returning citizens, congregations and more. “For the first time (we) won DC-funded cash assistance to those locked out of unemployment and federal stimulus,” reports DC Jobs with Justice Executive Director Elizabeth Falcon. The city’s budget affects the lives of over 700,000 DC residents, and “this year, we are in the midst of the COVID pandemic and its economic impact as well as an uprising against White supremacy and for Black life,” said Falcon. “The decisions made in the budget have immense weight on the lives, health, livelihood, and housing security of DC families. And the weight of using the budget as a tool for racial equity is even more urgent.” While the vote fell short of the coalition’s goal of $30M, “we are proud that DC will put funds in the hands of DC residents that the federal government has abandoned during the crisis,” said Falcon, crediting Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmembers Nadeau, and Councilmember Allen for leading efforts to commit the funds.

Amalgamated Foundation grant “right on time" for hard-hit area workers

7/10/2020

As businesses slowly re-open throughout the region, workers are not only bearing much of the economic brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will likely continue to struggle for months to come. That struggle will be eased somewhat by a $10,000 grant from the Amalgamated Foundation to the Metro Washington Council’s Community Services Agency. "Food and housing insecurity are major problems for local workers who are laid off and ineligible for unemployment." said CSA Executive Director Sonte DuCote. "This generous grant is right on time," she added. “The Amalgamated Foundation is proud to contribute to the COVID-19 response efforts of the Metro Council’s Community Services Agency,” said Anna Fink, executive director of the Foundation. “Amalgamated Bank and Amalgamated Foundation are proud of our legacy rooted in the labor movement working on behalf of union members across the country, including this opportunity to provide resources to frontline workers. We believe that workers on the frontline are what is holding our country together right now and they deserve our strongest support.” The grant to CSA was part of an $85,000 first round of donations through Amalgamated’s Frontline Workers Fund.
Click here for details from CSA on how to help workers facing hunger or eviction due to COVID.

Today's Labor Quote: Sidney Hillman

7/10/2020

“We want a better America, an America that will give its citizens, first of all, a higher and higher standard of living so that no child will cry for food in the midst of plenty.”

Hillman, who died on this date in 1946, led the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and was a close advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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