A group of building trades unions from the Midwest meet in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences - 1897 Twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards. By the time the fire was extinguished, 26 hours after the first alarm, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities - 1910 Amid a widespread strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare” - 1919 (Mobilizing Against Inequality: Unions, Immigrant Workers, and the Crisis of Capitalism: Are immigrant workers themselves responsible for low wages and shoddy working conditions? Should unions expend valuable time and energy organizing undocumented workers? Unions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have taken various approaches to confront the challenges of this significant segment of the workforce. As U.S. immigration policy is debated, readers will gain insight into how all workers benefit when wages and working conditions for immigrant workers are improved.) Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services After a dramatic day of lobbying, the DC City Council on Tuesday passed the Universal Paid Leave Act with a veto-proof 9-4 vote. Supporters packed the Council chambers to hear moving testimony about the need for paid leave and witness a cliffhanger vote on a last-minute effort by business interests to scuttle the payroll tax to fund the historic program. The voluntary "employer mandate" failed 8-5 and the original bill passed, making DC just the fifth jurisdiction in the country with a paid leave program. “We won because more than 200 organizations worked in harmony, representing diverse community groups, labor, service providers, small businesses, and national advocates," said Jews United for Justice. "This is a major, major win for the more than half a million DC workers who will benefit from paid family leave," added Metro Washington Council Executive Director Carlos Jimenez. The Council also approved the Rail Safety and Security Amendment Act Tuesday, 10-3. "We now have the framework for a proactive rail safety program,” said Herbert Harris Jr., State Chairman of the DC Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. While the new law will enable “proper oversight of the railroads in the District of Columbia," Harris warned that it lacks “a key component of rail safety," which would have required two trained rail professionals on every freight train. photo courtesy JUFJ National Nurses United spoke out against fracking at an Annapolis press conference of public health advocates outside the Maryland General Assembly and testified before a joint House/Senate committee. “As a Registered Nurse, I don’t want myself or my patients to breathe the same chemicals that are used to embalm bodies or make pesticides,” said NNU member Beth Landry. “Just a few days ago, the EPA published what we’ve known for a long time – that fracking contaminates drinking water. Nurses recognize that hydraulic fracturing is an extreme and unsafe method of extracting fossil fuels that negatively impacts our environment and is a danger to public health. Maryland nurses declare fracking a clear and present danger to public health. The General Assembly should follow the lead of several counties and municipalities and ban fracking statewide to protect our patients, our environment, and our communities.” photo by Korey Hartwich Hundreds of social justice professionals, activists and community leaders will join together in Washington, D.C. January 13-16 for the AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Awards Luncheon and Community Service Weekend. More details and how to RSVP and/or register here. |