The AU Staff Union (members of SEIU Local 500) has just authorized a 5-day strike starting August 22nd, to coincide with AU’s student move-in week. Hundreds of staff have been involved in pushing American University (AU) for more than 18 months to get their first contract settled, and 91% voted in support of the strike. “All along we’ve been fighting for livable wages and to establish pay structures that promote retention by focusing on equity,” the union said. Meanwhile, AU has unilaterally denied merit raises “and stuck to its too-little-too-late proposals month after month.” The union is urging support via their link tree and is accepting donations to their hardship fund. At the Dulles Airport Job Fair on Wednesday, contracted airport workers wearing shirts that read “Jobs with no benefits, are you sick?” peppered Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority reps with questions about why they don’t receive the same benefits as MWAA employees. As National Airport ranks #3 among U.S. airports and #8 worldwide with the most summer cancellations, contracted workers report that they believe they are understaffed and that they think lack of paid sick leave and employer-paid health care is behind the shortage. In 2018, MWAA enacted a policy that requires contractors to provide a living wage for service workers including, baggage handlers, cleaners and wheelchair agents. Likewise, says SEIU 32BJ, “MWAA also has the power to enact a policy requiring contractors to provide paid sick leave and health care benefits, which workers have been pushing for over two years.” In July, a prevailing wage law went into effect at Philadelphia International Airport that mandates $4.80 in healthcare benefits and a minimum of 11 days of paid holidays or time off. A dozen airports have requirements for healthcare or other supplemental benefits currently or will soon apply. “Those who lack health insurance can’t afford to go to the hospital, often dying as a result,” said DCA skycap Almaz Abera. “If I got hit by a car or a stray bullet, I’d tell the ambulance to take me to work, otherwise, I won’t have a job when I come back,” said Paul Blair, 71, Dulles terminal cleaner. Longtime local labor leader Roscoe Ridley Jr. died on August 6 at the age of 71. His funeral is set for Tuesday, August 16 – Viewing at 10a, Service at 11a – at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church, 1600 Morris Road S.E., Washington, DC 20020. Ridley celebrated his retirement in January, 2014 after more than three decades in the federal government. Ridley’s 34-year career included stints with the Department of Labor and the Federal Aviation Administration where he served as a Labor and Employee Relations Specialist. Former president of AFGE 631, Ridley was also active with the Metro Washington Labor Council, CBTU, and a host of other local organizations. Read more here. A union contingent is being organized for the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival Parade on Monday, September 5. The parade, which began in 1956, runs from 10a to 12p, along Crescent Road, from Greenhill Road to Southway. Union locals and/or individual union members or supporters are invited to join the labor contingent; if interested contact Susan Flashman at [email protected]. |