LABOR
UPDATES
New Job Cuts at Baltimore
Sun Could Cause ‘Irreparable
Damage’: Baltimore Sun workers
are facing another round of job cuts less than
five months after 100 jobs were slashed in July
(Sun
Workers Protest Job Cuts 7/21/08 UC),
reported the Washington-Baltimore
Newspaper Guild last week. "We have pleaded
with the company not to cut any more jobs for
fear that the newspaper will sustain
irreparable damage,” said Angie Kuhl, Guild Unit Chair at the
Sun. “We have argued that cutting more
employees is not a successful strategy: Every
business owner knows that you can’t make
money and grow by cutting staff." The latest
cuts – expected to be announced soon by the
Chicago-based Tribune Company, which owns the
Sun – will likely be felt throughout the
company, including the newsroom. And unlike the
last round of cuts, workers will be laid off
without being offered buyouts. "Tribune's
dangerous business strategy has saddled the
newspaper with billions of dollars in debt and
now employees in Baltimore are bearing the
brunt of these decisions,” said WBNG
Executive Director Cet Parks. Since the Tribune
Company took over the Sun in 2000, the
newspaper’s workforce represented by the
Guild has shrunk by more than 50 percent.
“The Baltimore Sun is still a significant
employer, but it is quickly being diminished by
a thoughtless group
in Chicago who care little
about the Baltimore community,” Parks
added.
FENTY SLAMMED
FOR
CREATING
“HOSTILE”
ENVIRONMENT
Just a few
floors below his office, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty
was roundly criticized by over a dozen DC
residents who testified at Thursday night's DC
Workers' Right Board hearing about the
“hostile” environment he’s created
“through fear and intimidation.” Hundreds
of workers and community activists packed the
hearing, which explored Fenty’s ongoing
attack on public sector workers and its
negative effects on the DC community. The
hearing included testimony from teachers,
parents, students, mental health and social
workers, lawyers and labor leaders. Watch the
website and UNION
CITY Monday for a full report.
WEEKEND LABOR
HISTORY
Six miners striking
for better working conditions under the IWW
banner were killed and many wounded in the
Columbine Massacre at Lafayette, CO. Out of
this struggle Colorado coal miners gained
lasting union contracts
(11/21/1927); The United Auto
Workers Union strikes 92 General Motors plants
in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30
percent raise. 200,000 workers
are out (11/21/1945); Congress
approves the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), to take effect January 1 of
the following year
(11/21/1993); 20,000 female
garment workers are on strike in New York;
Judge tells arrested pickets: “You are on
strike against God”
(11/22/1909); The district
president of the American Federation of Labor
and two other white men are shot and killed in
Bogalusa, AL as they attempt to assist an
African-American organizer working to unionize
African-American workers at the Great Southern
Lumber Company (11/22/1919);
History’s first recorded strike, by Egyptians
working on public works projects for King
Ramses III in the Valley of the Kings. They
were protesting having gone 20 days without pay
– portions of grain – and put their tools
down. Exact date estimated, described as within
“the sixth month of the 29th year” of
Ramses’ reign in “The Spirit of Ancient
Egypt,” by Ana Ruiz
(11/23/1170BC); Troops were
dispatched to Cripple Creek, CO to control
rioting by striking coal miners
(11/23/1903); Mine Workers
President John L. Lewis walks away from the
American Federation of Labor to lead the
newly-formed Committee for Industrial
Organization. The CIO and the unions created
under its banner organized six million
industrial workers over the following decade
(11/23/1935); More info &
ammo for unionists is available online from Union
Communication Services.
News Articles
Labor Art: Chicana Art and Experience: Mujeres con Garbo (Women with Attitude):
A colorful, stylized portrait of labor leader Dolores Huerta; a Chicana interpretation of Rosie the Riveter; these and more will be on display at the AFL-CIO as part of a new exhibit that examines the struggles of working Chicana women and celebrates the contributions of Chicana artists. Chicana...
news article · Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO · Nov 21, 2008
CSA's News You Can Use: Gift Cards: Use ‘Em or Lose ‘Em?
"If you have any 'gift cards'" from stores declaring bankruptcy, "make sure you use them, or you will lose them!" warns an email making the rounds. But before you rush out to shop, be aware that rumor-checker Snopes.com says this is a "a mixture of accurate, inaccurate and outdated...
news article · Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO · Nov 21, 2008
Events
Wage Theft in America
Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice, discusses her new book Wage Theft in America
· Nov 25, 2008
2009 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Conference
All local unions are encouraged to send a representative to this legislative strategy and planning session
· Dec 9, 2008
How DC Government Works
Free training on the basic structures of DC government and how a bill becomes a law through interactive activities and dialogue
· Dec 9, 2008
Southern Maryland AFL-CIO COPE Holiday Party
Cocktail and dinner party with Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's County elected officials
· Dec 12, 2008

