Drivers from Instantwhip – a company that delivers dairy products around the area – voted to join UFCW 1994/MCGEO over the summer and are now in the process of negotiating a first contract. - photo of Instantwhip bargaining team; credit Amy Millar Hundreds of union members and labor activists met in Baltimore November 16 – 18 for the 31st Biennial Convention of the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO. Highlighting the event was the election of the organization’s first-ever woman president, Donna S. Edwards. “I am honored, humbled and privileged to be elected president of this great labor organization,” said Edwards, who served as Secretary-Treasurer for sixteen years. “As a union leader and activist, I’m proud to work every day to help working families and to fight back against the increasing assaults on workers’ freedom, wages, safety, and ability to negotiate with corporations. I’m dedicated to serving as a strong labor leader and a unified voice for all workers, and our communities throughout the region.” Gerald Jackson was elected Secretary Treasurer of the MD/DC AFL-CIO. Read more here.
A group of armed civilians calling themselves the “Tonalapa Community Police,” attacked striking workers at the Media Luna gold mine in Mexico on November 18, killing two workers. “This is an outrageous and unacceptable attack on freedom of association and fundamental human rights,” says Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau. “The perpetrators must be found and held accountable. “We stand with Los Mineros and workers everywhere who seek to peacefully form unions of their choosing.” The two men killed were brothers, Víctor and Marcelino Sahuanitla Peña. Find out more at the Solidarity Center. |