“Back in the day when I was driving, Lucky Brewery in San Francisco had a free tap for the truck drivers (Labor History, 3/26 UC), writes Dave Richardson, AFGE (ret). “Whatever the effect of the beer on the safety of the 18-wheelers, at least the drivers didn't break into the cases to drink the cans.”
“You will not be serfs, you will march, march, march on from milestone to milestone of human freedom, you will rise like men in the new day and slavery will get its death blow. It has got to die.” This quote is from a 1912 speech to striking coal miners in Charleston, WV Click here to check out this week's Labor History Today podcast. On this week’s show: Robert Cherney on Victor Arnautoff, the Russian-born artist who reigned as San Francisco's leading mural painter during the New Deal era. And on this week’s “Cool things from the George Meany Labor Archives,” Alan, Chloe and Ben explore the AFL-CIO’s long push for national health insurance, with some fascinating documents from the Archives’ pamphlet collection. Interviews by Patrick Dixon and Allan Wierdak. Mother Jones is ordered to leave Colorado, where state authorities accuse her of “stirring up” striking coal miners - 1904 U.S. Supreme Court rules that undocumented workers do not have the same rights as Americans when they are wrongly fired - 2002 Labor history courtesy Union Communication Services. A California labor struggle comes to the Politics & Prose bookstore tonight when members of AFSCME Local 3299 and their local supporters will protest at an appearance by Janet Napolitano, former DHS secretary and current Chancellor of the University of California system. Local 3299 represents 25,000 UC clerical and service workers, who have been in contract talks for two years and recently staged a 1-day strike, their third strike in two years. Wages and pension are major sticking points, as well as contract language around being a sanctuary campus and retaining Black workers. “We need to be there to support our sisters and brothers,” said Robert Hollingsworth, president of AFSCME Local 2776, which represents workers at the DC Office of Tax & Revenue. |