Sojourner Truth addresses first Black Women’s Rights convention - 1851 The Sheet Metal Workers Int'l Association (SMWIA) is founded in Toledo, Ohio, as the Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers’ Int’l Association - 1888 Two hundred miners are killed in a horrific explosion at the Harwick mine in Cheswick, Pa., Allegheny County. Many of the dead lie entombed in the sealed mine to this day -1904 (The novel Sixteen Tons carries the reader down into the dark and dangerous coal mines of the early 1900s, as Italian immigrant Antonio Vacca and his sons encounter cave-ins and fires deep below the earth’s surface. Above ground, miners battle gun thugs and corrupt sheriffs at Virden, Matewan and Ludlow in an epic struggle to form a union and make the mines a safer place to work. Historian Kevin Corley’s depiction of miners’ lives is based on his own interviews with mining families.) The Supreme Court upholds “Yellow Dog” employment contracts, which forbid membership in labor unions. Yellow Dog contracts remained legal until 1932 - 1915 Some 16,000 textile workers strike in Passaic, N.J. – 1926 The federal minimum wage rate rises to 75 cents an hour - 1950 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services The coalition supporting the $15 minimum wage in Montgomery County blasted County Executive Ike Leggett last night for vetoing the bill. "Leggett has chosen to yank back a critical lifeline and leave working families only a payday away from poverty," said the coalition in a statement. "Ironically, Leggett's veto only hurts local business as working men and women will have less to spend. Taxpayers will also feel the burden as they foot the bill for families who are forced to rely on public assistance to survive. Working families have nowhere left to turn to now but their Councilmembers, who can act responsibly by supporting a mainstream Democratic position and override the veto." The Coalition includes 32BJ SEIU, CASA, Jews United for Justice, Progressive Maryland, UFCW Local 400, UFCW Local 1994 (MCGEO) and the Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO. photo courtesy JUFJ Donald Trump is backtracking on campaign pledges to create American jobs and cut wasteful government spending by issuing an executive order to freeze federal employee hiring across the country, which will result in more work being outsourced to more expensive contractors, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said Monday. “President Trump’s action will disrupt government programs and services that benefit everyone and actually increase taxpayer costs by forcing agencies to hire more expensive contractors to do work that civilian government employees are already doing for far less,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "We're disappointed but not surprised by President Trump's attack on federal workers," said AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman. AFSCME said the freeze will make federal agencies less effective, hurting people and communities that depend on efficient public services. “You can’t make America great by undermining those who’ve dedicated their careers to serving America," said AFSCME president Lee Saunders.
by Mayra Alaniz Is the Women’s March for me? Would I go to the march as a woman? A student? A Latina? A child of immigrant parents? These were the questions that ran through my mind last Saturday morning. As a student at Georgetown University, questioning is part of our daily discourse. Discussions about female empowerment turn into debates about the suffragette movement's struggle to be more inclusive. Despite my hesitation, I decided I had to experience the march for myself. A group of eight Latino friends left Georgetown together; if nothing else, we agreed that at least this would be a time to be in solidarity with one another. We arrived at the Mall to find it flooded with a sea of people holding signs. “Build Bridges not Walls.” “No hate. No fear. Immigrants are Welcome Here.” Under each sign was a different person and that difference legitimized my own differences – woman, student, Latina -- and the importance of not only being in this march, but in this country. Around me I saw a Muslim mother, an African American family, a retired teacher. They were there for me and I was there for them. I – we -- belonged. The solidarity at the march was not in spite of differences, but an embrace of them. I’m looking forward to continuing those debates back at school but somehow the issues don’t seem so academic any more. Si se puede has become more than just a slogan. Because I was there on Saturday. Alaniz is a Union Cities intern. |