 The DC LaborFest is a month-long celebration of labor arts in the nation’s capital. Work, workers and their lives and issues are explored through films, music, art, literature and history throughout the month of May. Click here for the complete line-up. Please post widely on Facebook, Twitter and other social media!
FRIDAY, April 29 9a: ARISE! INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ DAY SPECIAL 5p: WPFW’s LIVE@5 LABOR EDITION: DC Labor Chorus & Not What You Think 7p: TRUMBO (2015) 7p: THE TEMP(EST) Coming up tomorrow: THE TEMP(EST); TRUMBO (2007) FREE TICKET RAFFLE! Click here for a chance to win a pair of free tickets to tonight's screening of "Trumbo"! Read more below for complete details on today's line-up...  Saying that “It is unconscionable for a company that made more than $4 billion dollars in profits in the first quarter of 2016 alone to cut off health care benefits for the workers who created those profits,” CWA yesterday pledged that “no striking member or family member will go without medically necessary health care, no matter what Verizon chooses to do.” Each local has a relief fund coordinator and a community service committee that works with CWA union members to ensure that all workers get the care they need throughout the strike. “This heartless move by Verizon shows why the strike is so important,” said CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney and CWA District One Vice President Dennis Trainor in a statement. “Workers are taking a stand against Verizon's corporate greed and fighting to protect middle class jobs.” As the strike by nearly 40,000 CWA and IBEW members stretched into its third week, AFGE Local 12 voted to donate $1,500 to the CWA strike fund; Contributions can also be made through the Community Services Agency; click here to donate securely online. photo: CWA president Chris Shelton (right) & AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka at K Street picket Tuesday; photo by Chris Garlock/Union City
 The third annual DC LaborFest launchestonight with a screening of Trumbo at the AFI Silver Theater at 7 pm. Bryan Cranston gives an Oscar-nominated performance as the legendary author and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Red-baited and blacklisted, Trumbo fought back against a witch-hunt that has lessons for anyone battling intolerance and oppression today. Then on Sunday, don’t miss the Mother Jones Memorial Wreath-Laying at noon on Powder Mill Road in Silver Spring. The legendary labor organizer claimed May Day as her birthday and after a lifetime fighting for unions and the rights of workers, the spot where she died in what is now Adelphi, Maryland is now the site of the annual commemoration. Also on Sunday, there will be a Mayday March and Rally starting at 2PM at Malcolm X Park, followed by a march to the White House as local activists join millions of workers across the globe as they express international solidarity. There are a number of other LaborFest events this weekend; check out the whole line-up here.
 The DC Democratic Party honored former Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams last night with the Edward Kennedy Legacy Tribute Award at the annual Kennedy-King Dinner at UDC.
photo: (l-r) DC Dems Chair and At-Large DC City Council member Anita Bonds, Williams, and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen; photo by Kathleen McKirchy |