Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO

LABOR CALENDAR

9/13/2019

click here for latest listings

Union City Radio: 7:15a M-F; WPFW-FM 89.3

Baltimore Symphony Musicians picket line: Fri, September 13, 9am – 11am
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, 1212 Cathedral St, Baltimore, MD 21201

Arise! Labor Edition: AFL-CIO's Trumka (right) on the Pittston strike: Fri, September 13, 9am – 10am
WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online

NoVA Coalition of Labor Union Women Happy Hour: Fri, September 13, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
4536 B John Marr Drive, Annandale, VA

Film: Helmet Heads [Cascos Indomables] (Costa Rica): Fri, September 13, 9:30pm – 11:00pm
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
AFI Latin American Film Festival; screening co-presented by the DC LaborFest/DC Labor FilmFest; show your union card and get the AFI member discount (if ordering online, choose the “AFI Member (LAFF)” option)!

Canvass and Phone Bank for Dan Helmer: Sat, September 14, 9am – 1pm
NoVA Labor, 4536 B John Marr Drive in Annandale, VA

Film: Waiting For The Carnival [Estou Me Guardando Para Quando O Carnaval Chegar] (Brazil): Sat, September 14, 2:30pm – 4:00pm
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Play: "The Moment Was Now": Sat, September 14, 3pm – 5pm & Sun, September 15, 3pm – 5pm
Emmanuel Episcopal Church Theater 811 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD

Music: Baltimore Symphony Musicians present a Free Concert: Celebrate Baltimore, Community and the Power of Music: Sat, September 14, 4pm – 6pm
New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N Monroe St, Baltimore, MD 21217

Film: Setting The Bar: A Craft Chocolate Origin Story (Peru): Sat, September 14, 4:30pm – 6:00pm
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Area supermarket workers and allies rally and march for contract

9/13/2019

Hundreds of supermarket workers and their allies rallied and marched through downtown Washington Thursday, demanding fair contracts with Giant and Safeway. Negotiations officially start today. “Why now?” asked UFCW 400 president Mark Federici. “Why not!” After seeing New England supermarket workers forced out on strike earlier this year, and with both Giant and Safeway reaping hefty profits, local supermarket workers “are rightly expecting a fair contract,” Federici told Union City. “Our members make Giant and Safeway profitable and the dominant grocery chains in the Washington, D.C. area,” Federici said, noting that “It speaks for itself that we’re out here today with such big numbers and such enthusiasm before there’s even a crisis.” A number of other area unions and allies turned out for the rally and march, including a major contingent from AFGE. “We’re experiencing some of the same issues in contract negotiations as UFCW Local 400,” AFGE District 14’s Eric Bunn told Union City, “That’s why we’re here in solidarity, supporting them.” AFGE’s “Fed UP! Rise UP! AFGE Rally and Lobby Day” is set for Tue, September 24 at 12 noon (see Calendar).

10,000 immigrant janitors start contract talks

9/13/2019

32BJ SEIU janitors, who maintain nearly all of the region’s commercial office buildings, began negotiations yesterday for a new union contract with the Washington Service Contractors Association. The current contract expires on October 15. Notably, hundreds of janitors in Loudoun County, VA will bargain their first-ever union contract with 32BJ SEIU. Nearly 134,000 commercial janitors nationwide are bargaining for their livelihoods as part of what will be the nation’s large private sector contract bargaining of the year. “The economic development around the commercial real estate boom means there is more than enough wealth to ensure these workers are provided their fair share of the profits they help create,” said 32BJ SEIU Vice President Jaime Contreras. “This contract will prove whether the region’s prosperity will ever trickle down to move low-wage workers into the middle class.” Cleaners -- most of whom work part-time, forcing them to take multiple jobs and still often not getting employer-paid health care -- will be looking to expand full time jobs with benefits during this bargaining. photo: SEIU32BJ janitors in Miami

Solidarity Center Report: Turkmen Labor Activist Released from Prison after 3 Years

9/13/2019

Gaspar Matalaev, a labor and human rights activist who monitored and reported on the systematic use of forced adult labor and child labor in Turkmenistan’s cotton fields, was released after serving three years in prison on spurious charges stemming from his reporting. Matalaev was arrested in October 2016, two days after Turkmen.news published his extensive report on state-sponsored forced labor. He reportedly was tortured and held incommunicado while in prison, according to the Cotton Campaign, a coalition of organizations, including the Solidarity Center, working to end state-organized forced labor in Central Asian cotton field. Find out more at the Solidarity Center

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