Click here to check out this week's Today in Labor History, a new podcast produced by Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Delegates to the AFL convention in Salt Lake City endorse a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote - 1899 The first group of 15 Filipino plantation workers recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association arrive in Hawaii. By 1932 more than 100,000 Filipinos will be working in the fields - 1906 Thousands of workers began what was to be a 2-day strike of the New York City transit system over retirement, pension and wage issues. The strike violated the state’s Taylor Law; TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint was jailed for ten days and the union was fined $2.5 million - 2005 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services "We voted to strike because we want to improve our lives. We will not let Huntleigh stand in the way," said Atmapu Hunde, an airport worker at Dulles. The SEIU 32BJ member rallied at Dulles yesterday with Huntleigh workers and supporters -- including other unions and local politicians -- to announce plans for a 2-day strike against the Irving, Texas-based company. Huntleigh workers have walked off the job on strike twice at both Reagan National and Dulles Airports. The predominantly immigrant workforce is entering their third year of a campaign for $15 an hour and a union. It's not too late yet to find that perfect holiday gift that carries a union label. Click here for a wide range of gift possibilities, from clothes to games to sports equipment and more, made by union members across the country.
Solidarity, that old union byword, is getting a big boost on the radio. Veteran labor radio journalists Doug Cunningham and JoAnne Powers are joining “The Union Edge: Labor’s Talk Radio,” which features live reports from DC every Monday and Friday with Union Cities Coordinator Chris Garlock. Cunningham and Powers were both producers at Workers Independent News, which recently shut down. "Talk radio convinces the public to call Congress, to register to vote, to apply for naturalization and to join a union,” said host Charles Showalter, adding that “We expect to be on close to 300 radio stations within the year.” - Berry Craig, AFT Local 1360 |