Click here to check out this week's Labor History Today podcast. On this week’s show: William P. Jones on “The Tribe of Black Ulysses: African American Lumber Workers in the Jim Crow South,” plus a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to the AFL-CIO urging the formation of a “Committee on Inquiry Into the Administration of Justice in the Freedom Struggle.” Interviews by Chris Garlock and Alan Wierdak. Congress OKs the Contract Labor Law, designed to clamp down on "business agents" who contracted abroad for immigrant labor. One of the reasons unions supported the measure: employers were using foreign workers to fight against the growing U.S. labor movement, primarily by deploying immigrant labor to break strikes - 1885 Bethlehem Steel workers strike for union recognition, Bethlehem, Pa. - 1941 A coal slag heap doubling as a dam in West Virginia’s Buffalo Creek Valley collapsed, flooding the 17-mile long valley. 118 died, 5,000 were left homeless. The Pittston Coal Co. said it was "an act of God" - 1972 A 20-week strike by 70,000 Southern California supermarket workers ends, with both sides claiming victory - 2004 Labor history courtesy Union Communication Services. Tonight's meeting of the Metro Washington Council features the latest local labor updates and Nominations of Officers and Executive Board Members for the 2019-2021 term: Monday, February 25, 6:30p, AFL-CIO, 815 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20006.
Vivian Obijekwu is a registered nurse who has worked at The Johns Hopkins Hospital her entire career. As a bedside RN, Vivian has always spoken up on behalf of co-workers and to improve patient care. On January 31st, she was blamed for a mistake that was not hers, and on February 4, she was fired. Rather than take responsibility for its practices, the hospital is scapegoating Vivian, and leaving a woman who is seven months pregnant with no insurance for herself or her unborn child.
This is just the latest example of Hopkins’ extensive culture of fear that silences front-line caregivers, says National Nurses United, which is organizing the nurses there. Vivian is one of many nurses of color who have been disciplined or terminated by Hopkins in the past few months. Click here to sign a petition to reinstate Vivian, who says, “Hopkins terminated me in an attempt to silence me and to provoke fear among fellow nurses who are also trying to create change. I will not be silenced, because advocating for my patients is my highest priority and should be Hopkins’ as well." The first drink* at Saturday’s 42nd annual Evening with Labor is on reception sponsor Koonz, McKenney. The local lawfirm has been a longtime major sponsor of the annual gathering, set for March 2 at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt. A limited number of dinner tickets are still available; click here to reserve yours now. This year’s awardees include Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) DC Chair Herb Harris (J.C. Turner Award for Outstanding Trade Unionist of the Year); SEIU local 722 (Thomas M. Bradley Community Services Award), AFSCME/NUHHCE 1199 (DC COPE Award and Golden Picket Sign), The Washington-Baltimore News Guild (Organizing Award), IATSE 22 (Organizing Award), and National Nurses United (Golden Picket Sign). This year’s event will also feature a brand-new award, the Joslyn N. Williams Vanguard Award, which “recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the ability to impact labor’s future beyond traditional means,” said EWL Chair Doris Reed. The first recipient will be former MWC president Jos Williams “who embodies all of the characteristics of this award,” said Reed. *wine, beer or soft drink |