Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO

LABOR CALENDAR

1/24/2022

Click here for latest listings:

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

MD/DC AFL-CIO Monday Lobbyists’ Meeting: Mon, January 24, 5pm – 7pm
The Maryland General Assembly is moving at a rigorous pace. Several bill hearings affecting labor have been heard and many more scheduled in the next two weeks. This meeting is not for paid lobbyists and we reserve the right not to include everyone that registers for the meeting.
REGISTER HERE!

Metro Washington Council Delegate meeting: Tue, January 25, 5pm – 7pm
RSVP here. Nominations for MWC officers; latest local labor reports.

Navigating the Future of Work in the Age of Pandemics and Social Movements: Wed, January 26, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Register here.

Research webinar: “Worker Surveys: A Strategic Organizing Tool”: Wed, January 26, 2pm – 3pm
Please register before Monday, January 24.

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, January 27, 1pm – 2pm
WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online.

FILM: With Babies and Banners (with filmmaker Lyn Goldfarb): Thu, January 27, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
FREE (online screening); RSVP here.

Missed last week’s Your Rights At Work radio show? Catch the podcast here. Longtime union organizer Bob Muehlenkamp has written an introduction to a new “activist” edition of Confessions of a Union Buster, Jim Russell on The Labor Guide to Retirement Plans, and a brand-new song from “the singing elevator constructor.”

Brandy Brooks campaign staff signs contract

1/24/2022

The campaign staff of Brandy Brooks, At-Large candidate for Montgomery County Council, has signed a union contract governing wages, benefits, and working conditions. The contract establishes both compensation and benefits for staff, including health insurance stipends, travel and meal supports, and a guaranteed leave policy. The staff have joined the Campaign Workers Guild (CWG), which offered critical representation through the bargaining process. “We believe all workers deserve a union and a voice at the table. These workers raised theirs and won protections, wage increases, and better working conditions,” said Tyler Wilkinson, a CWG Representative. “I strongly support the right of my staff and all workers to form a union and believe wholeheartedly in the duty of employers to recognize that right and to bargain in good faith,” said Brooks.
photo: Brandy Brooks (center) with campaign staff.

Today’s labor quote: Marty Levitt

1/24/2022

“We were just thugs for the employers, we were just tools of the employer class.”

Levitt wrote "Confessions of a Union Buster," just re-issued with an introduction by legendary union organizer Bob Muehlenkamp, who discussed the book on last week's Your Rights At Work radio show (WPFW 89.3 FM, Thursdays at 1p ET).

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY

1/24/2022

This week’s Labor History Today podcast: MLK at the AFL-CIO in 1961. Last week's show: Who was Zelda D’Aprano?

January 24
Krueger Cream Ale, the first canned beer, goes on sale in Richmond, Va. Pabst was the second brewer in the same year to sell beer in cans, which came with opening instructions and the suggestion: "cool before serving" - 1935

Federal minimum wage increases to 75¢ an hour - 1952

January 25
Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights convention - 1851

The Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) is founded in Toledo, Ohio as the Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers’ International Association - 1888

United Mine Workers of America founded in Columbus, Ohio. The union’s constitution barred racial, religious and ethnic discrimination - 1890

200 miners are killed in an horrific explosion at the Harwick mine in Cheswick, Pa., Allegheny County. Many of the dead lay entombed in the sealed mine to this day - 1904

The Supreme Court upholds “Yellow Dog” employment contracts, which forbid membership in labor unions. Yellow Dog contracts remained legal until 1932 - 1915

16,000 textile workers strike in Passaic, N.J. - 1926

- David Prosten. photo: Passaic strikers and their children picketing outside the White House in Washington, DC.

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