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Oct 9, 2007 '07 Labor Filmfest Highlights A U.S. premiere, free screenings and the main FilmFest line-up highlight this week's 7th annual DC Labor FilmFest, one of the only such film festivals in the world. GW students, faculty and workers are sponsoring a screening this afternoon of " I'm On Strike Because... " about graduate student... more...
Oct 9, 2007 Baris Honored at EJC Lunch Mackenzie Baris, Coordinator of DC Jobs with Justice - a strong Metro Council community ally -- is being recognized as an "Outstanding Community Partner" at the DC Employment Justice Center's (EJC) Annual Labor Day Luncheon Thursday at noon . The EJC is dedicated to securing, protecting, and... more...
Oct 5, 2007 Burma Freedom March Saturday Protest and march with the US Campaign for Burma in support of the Burmese peoples' struggle for freedom this Saturday, a Global Day of Action for a Free Burma called by the International Trade Union Confederation. "We need to show the Burmese people that we will not tolerate this bloody... more...
Oct 5, 2007 Labor Updates (10/5/07) The Coalition of Labor Union Women is co-sponsoring the " 2nd Annual Girlfriends Retreat " to raise awareness about cervical cancer. Guest speakers include Dr. Estelle Whitney, motivational speaker and founder of WeSpeak Loudly, Jacci Thompson-Dodd and Nancy R. Berman, one of the nation's... more...
Oct 5, 2007 CSA Golf Tourney Photos Now Online Photos from Monday’s Community Services Agency Golf Tournament are now available online . more...
Oct 5, 2007 Ken Loach's World "They call it flexible labour," said director Ken Loach in a recent interview. "What that means is it’s good for the employers but not good for the people who work. And I think this shift from stable employment to casual labour has not been explored significantly yet." The U.S. premiere of... more...
Oct 4, 2007 Wash Gas Forced to Open Books Washington Gas blinked. A months-long campaign by gas company workers paid off when the utility was forced to turn over a copy of a contract this week that will outsource hundreds of workers at the gas company's call center. "What are they hiding?" OPEIU Local 2 President Dan Dyer asked... more...
Oct 4, 2007 Labor Updates (10/4/07) Negotiations have broken down concerning the use of representational time by stewards and officers at the Library of Congress (LOC), reports the LOC Professional Guild, AFCSME Local 2910. "The parties are headed for the Federal Services Impasses Panel," the Guild's Saul Schniderman tells UNION... more...
Oct 4, 2007 Labor Filmfest Updates The good news: the '07 FilmFest t-shirts and cups are in and they look great! The bad news: director Ken Loach has had to cancel his Opening Night appearance due to unforeseen personal circumstances. "While we're disappointed," said FilmFest Director Chris Garlock, "we wish Ken the very best and... more...
Oct 4, 2007 New Exec VP to Door-Knock in VA Saturday Newly-appointed AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker will join Northern VA CLC President Dan Duncan, AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman, Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams and other area labor leaders and activists this Saturday, October 6th to knock on labor... more...
Oct 3, 2007 AU Bus Drivers Win Union Shuttle bus drivers at American University (AU) have won recognition at AU, report Teamsters Local 922, which will represent the workers. AU agreed to recognize the union after the NLRB rejected the school’s appeal of the representation election won by the local, and “the school and its top... more...
Oct 3, 2007 Golf Tourney Updates Monday's CSA Golf Tournament raised a much-needed $19,000 for CSA's Emergency Assistance Fund, "Thank you! To all our sponsors, golfers and volunteers" said CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. McKirchy reported that the leftover banquet food was donated to DC's Central Union Mission... more...
Oct 3, 2007 CSA Pack & Drop Rescheduled The Community Services Agency’s (CSA) annual “ Pack & Drop ” – originally scheduled for today – has been rescheduled for next Friday, October 12 from 9:30A-11A at the United Way, 1725 Eye St NW. Volunteers are still needed. “Packers should meet at the United Way office at... more...
Oct 3, 2007 DC Green Festival Honors Workers At this weekend's DC Green Festival , you can learn how to reduce your environmental impact at home and in the workplace, enjoy live music from local bands, kick back in the organic beer and wine garden, network with others from groups such as DC Jobs with Justice and the DC Employment Justice... more...
Oct 3, 2007 Filmfest Opening Night Screening Benefits DC EJC Next Thursday's Opening Night of the 2007 DC Labor Filmfest -- featuring the U.S. Premiere of the newest film from award-winning director Ken Loach, "It's a Free World..." -- will benefit the work of the DC Employment Justice Center . "We're thrilled to be able to honor Ken Loach this... more...
Oct 2, 2007 Filmfest Adds New Screening! A film about the NYU grad student strike -- "I'm On Strike Because..." – has been added to the DC Labor FilmFest line-up, screening on Tuesday, October 9. The short documentary film will be followed by a discussion about part-time faculty’s campaign for respect at GWU. Co-sponsored by the... more...
Oct 2, 2007 Just the Fax Got an old fax machine you’re not using any more? The DC Labor FilmFest wants it! We’ll be raffling off chances to take a baseball bat to a fax machine onstage at the upcoming screenings of the ever-popular Office Space and need a couple of sacrificial fax machines for the cause. If you’ve... more...
Oct 2, 2007 Golf Tourney Recharges Emergency Fund Eighty-three golfers turned out Monday for a perfect fall day on the course at the 12th annual Community Services Agency’s Golf Tournament. The tournament raised urgently-needed funds for the CSA’s Emergency Assistance Fund, which is out of money and has had to seriously curtail direct... more...
Oct 2, 2007 Door-Knocking for Paid Sick Days The DC Employment Justice Center (EJC) is coordinating a door-knocking campaign to spread the word about the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act now in DC City Council. Volunteers will circulate petitions beginning tomorrow, October 2 and continuing on October 5, 10 & 12. Currently, no State or... more...
Oct 2, 2007 Ingleside Workers Finally Get Contract Almost 200 workers at the Ingleside nursing home finally have a contract. “This contract gives us power to take better care of our patients, to advocate for us and them,” said Aliette Bastien, a Certified Nursing Assistant who’s worked at Ingleside for 12 years and was instrumental in the... more...
Oct 1, 2007 Kids Demand Healthcare As part of a demonstration in support of health care for kids, dozens of children will pull red wagons overflowing with petitions to the White House gates today at 11A. Hundreds of healthcare workers, consumers and kids will gather at McPherson Square at 10A to protest President Bush’s... more...
Oct 1, 2007 Labor Filmfest Tickets Now Available Tickets to the biggest and best DC Labor Filmfest -- October 7-17 -- are now available! Don't get left out in the October chill; order your tickets online now and enjoy films like "Outsourced,” "Strike," and "Which Side Are You On?" Order online and get the union discount by... more...
Sep 28, 2007 Death in the Forest A brand-new film about the loggers of British Columbia will be screened this Friday at the AFL-CIO as part of the National Day of Action to support 7,000 striking loggers and mill workers, members of the Steelworkers union. The film, Death in the Forest -- part of the DC Labor FilmFest... more...
Sep 28, 2007 Labor Updates (9/28/07) "How does one go about organizing like GAO has done?" asked a poster from Arlington, Va. "What union do you call, or do they come see you?" Click here for more of WashingtonPost.com columnist Steve Barr's online discussion about organizing government workers today, which includes a mention... more...
Sep 28, 2007 Women at Work on Sunday Three documentaries at the National Museum of Women in the Arts this Sunday -- Maid in America , Nalini by Day Nancy by Night and Work and Respect -- are part of a "Women at Work" program that traces the transnational pathways of modern labor, complemented by an experimental... more...
Sep 26, 2007 MD Child Care Providers Vote in Union Home-based child care providers in Maryland have voted overwhelmingly to form a union. "Now we have the strong voice we need to stand up for affordable, quality child care in Maryland," District Heights provider Madie Green said at a press conference on Tuesday announcing the results of the... more...
Sep 26, 2007 CSA's Annual Pack & Drop The Community Services Agency's annual "pack & drop" is set for next Wednesday beginning at 10:30A. "If you can volunteer for an hour or so it makes a huge difference," says CSA's Kathleen McKirchy. Volunteers will help package up and deliver Labor Division United Way materials to national... more...
Sep 26, 2007 Rally for State Children's Health Insurance Mark your calendar for Monday's " Healthcare NOT Warfare " Rally at McPherson Square. SEIU is organizing the rally and press conference to deliver petitions to the White House demanding better access to healthcare for children. If you're able to bring your children to this event, email... more...
Sep 26, 2007 Just the Fax Got an old fax machine you've been meaning to get rid of? The DC Labor FilmFest wants it! We'll be raffling off chances to take a baseball bat to a fax machine onstage at the upcoming screenings of the ever-popular Office Space (readers who have seen the film know why) and need a couple of... more...
Sep 25, 2007 PG Hospital Update County and hospital officials moved closer yesterday to ending the deadlock over the fate of the Prince George's Hospitals, which has kept healthcare workers and patients in limbo for months. Dimensions Healthcare Systems - which manages the Prince George's County hospitals - announced it... more...
Sep 25, 2007 Questioning the Economy What's the economy for, anyway? Is it just about having the biggest GDP or the highest Dow Jones Average? Or is it about providing for a healthy, happy, fair and sustainable society? If you think quality of life matters, and wonder how the United States compares to other countries when it comes... more...
Sep 25, 2007 Desperately Seeking Older Women If you're a woman still working past retirement age because you need the health insurance and extra income, Swedish television wants to talk to you! This trend - one out of three 65 to 69-year-olds are still working in the U.S. - is starting to spread to Sweden and they're interested in finding... more...
Sep 24, 2007 Playing Favorites with New Teachers New teachers are being favored over veteran teachers throughout DC schools says the Washington Teachers Union Local 6 (WTU) in Friday’s Examiner. WTU is focusing particularly on favoritism of new teachers at Frank W. Ballou Senior High School but the union sees this as a growing problem... more...
Sep 24, 2007 Holt-Baker Elected New AFL-CIO Exec VP The AFL-CIO Executive Board Friday elected long-time union and grassroots organizer Arlene Holt-Baker as the new Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO. Holt-Baker is the first African-American to hold one of the top three positions in the AFL-CIO. Holt-Baker fills the unexpired term of Linda... more...
Sep 24, 2007 2 Free Filmfest Screenings Films about longshoremen and loggers highlight this week's free noontime DC Labor FilmFest screenings. The dramatic 2002 showdown between longshoremen, shippers and the Bush Administration is depicted in Eye of the Storm, which screens Thursday, while a brand-new film about the loggers of... more...
Sep 24, 2007 Labor Day Only Beginning for Area Congregations September was the month for labor for dozens of congregations throughout the Metro DC region, reports DC Jobs with Justice Organizer MacKenzie Baris. “Altogether, 55 congregations participated in this year’s Labor on the Bimah and Labor in the Pulpits program,” says Baris. “This year’s... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Workers Aren't Bosses This just in: workers aren't bosses, after all. At least that's what the House Education and Labor Committee said yesterday, when it voted to overturn the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) "workers are supervisors" decisions. The NLRB, in what are called the Kentucky River decisions, named... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Workers Hail DC Hospital Sale Healthcare workers hailed this week's agreement between Specialty Hospitals of America and the District of Columbia to sell and revitalize Greater Southeast Community Hospital (GSCH). "We are pleased that our workers, the community and the patients of Greater Southeast can look forward to... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Chavez-Thompson Tends Her Roots After she retires today, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson says she plans to do something she has not been able to do for a very long time -- grow a garden. Chavez-Thompson informed AFL-CIO President John Sweeney Sept. 10 that she planned to retire effective Sept. 21 and... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Labor on the Air Today (9/21/07) Gloria Minott discusses the recent payday lending victory and the defeat of the DC Voting Rights Act in the US Senate with Metro Council President Jos Williams at 9:35A on WPFW radio's "Metro Watch" show. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's health care plan and the upcoming AFGE Hispanic... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Driving for Help Golfers can drive, chip and putt while helping raise much-needed funds for the Community Services Agency's (CSA) Emergency Assistance Fund. Proceeds from the October 1 CSA Golf Tournament benefit the Fund, which is out of money. "This year's event is critical to maintaining the important... more...
Sep 21, 2007 Labor Filmfest Updates The 9/26 screening of Morristown is being rescheduled; stay tuned for updates. Meanwhile, GW's Progressive Student Union will host a screening of a title to be announced on Tuesday, October 9. Volunteer slots are still available! Help staff the FilmFest and get a free pair of tickets! Email... more...
Sep 20, 2007 Transit Workers Battle Assaults With assaults on transit workers increasing dramatically in recent years, ATU Local 689 members are demanding stiffer penalties for such crimes. The local is backing the “Transit Operator Protection Act” and seeking to extend the DC City Council bill to Metro station managers. “Crimes such... more...
Sep 20, 2007 Dirty Tricks Come Up Short Stealing a page from anti-union campaigns, DC's payday lenders pulled out their bag of dirty tricks Tuesday, siccing the cops on former employees who blew the whistle on their exorbitant practices. After Check 'n Go issued a press release yesterday falsely accusing whistleblower Michael Donovan... more...
Sep 20, 2007 Labor on the Move (9/20/07) DC Employment Justice Center (EJC) Executive Director JUDI CONTI is joining the staff of the National Employment Law Project (NELP). Conti, who co-founded the DC EJC seven years ago with Kerry O'Brien, will help open the DC office of NELP, which does much the same type of work as the DC... more...
Sep 19, 2007 DC Voting Rights Killed, Payday Loans Capped Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate killed DC voting rights Tuesday, while DC City Councilmembers overwhelmingly approved caps on predatory payday loans. In what Metro Council President Jos Williams called "an appalling act of political dishonesty and moral bankruptcy," the DC Voting Rights... more...
Sep 19, 2007 Pride at Work Explores Immigration Issues Pride At Work members will get reacquainted and revitalized at tonight's meeting, which features a screening of the film "Dangerous Living - Coming Out in the Developing World." The one-hour film examines the struggles and triumphs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the... more...
Sep 19, 2007 Council Delegates OK Teamster, CWA Campaigns The Fall labor season kicked off with a flurry of reports and actions at Monday night's Delegate's Meeting. Tommy Ratliff of Teamsters Local 639 reported on his local's campaign against union-busting by Waste Management (WM), and the delegates approved supporting this campaign by asking area... more...
Sep 19, 2007 Filmfest Adds Screenings A free screening of “Eye Of The Storm” and a second screening of “Morristown” have just been added to the Labor FilmFest, which has already offered four free screenings this month, including Monday’s “The Great Pretenders” with director Jeremy Cohen (right in photo below)... more...
Sep 18, 2007 Women at Work Women workers' role in the labor movement and immigration debate is the focus of three events today and tomorrow organized by STITCH - an organization of women united for worker justice in the Americas. A panel discussion on the need to include Latina women in the labor movement and immigrant... more...
Sep 18, 2007 Laboring Folk There were a number of labor singers at the Takoma Park Folk Festival this year, held yesterday. Pam Parker, Joe Uehlein and the U-Liners, and Emma's Revolution all had hour-long sets and from 12 to 2P there was a special tribute to Labor's Troubadour Joe Glazer, which included the DC Labor... more...
Sep 18, 2007 AFSCME Council 26 Launches Website "Congress approves student loan forgiveness for public servants" and "Congress Looks Ready To Approve 3.5% Raise" are just two of the news items on AFSCME Council 26's brand-new website . Calling it "a work in progress," Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman tells UNION CITY he expects to... more...
Sep 18, 2007 Labor Filmfest Online A number of UNION CITY readers have written to ask for more details about the films in the DC Labor FilmFest. The complete calendar of FilmFest screenings is now available online, as are detailed descriptions which include what the film’s about and who directed it. Tickets to the... more...
Sep 17, 2007 DC Says No to Loansharks "Lenders have finally got religion, but I think the church doors are closed," declared Metro Council President Jos Williams after the community Town Meetings last week on curtailing payday lender rates. At the Town Meetings, hosted by the Washington Informer and Washington Afro-American,... more...
Sep 17, 2007 Filmfest Starts Week with a Laugh Join director Jeremy Cohen at today's free noontime Labor FilmFest screening exploring the dubious joys of the outplacement office, where everyone just looks like they're working. In Cohen's darkly comic short film "The Great Pretenders," laid-off manager Scott Matter (Kelly Miller) desperately... more...
Sep 17, 2007 Metro Council Meets Tonight The first Metro Council Delegate meeting of the season is jampacked with local labor updates, including the latest on the CWA Verizon campaign and the Teamsters fight to unionize the waste-hauling industry. Plus, the CSA golf tournament and pick up DC Labor Filmfest stickers and discount passes!... more...
Sep 17, 2007 CSA Golf Tourney Spots Filling Up Fast Only a few spaces remain for the 2007 Community Services Agency (CSA) Golf Tournament , reports CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. “We still have a few spots for foursomes and sponsorships,” say McKirchy. “But you better hurry!” All proceeds benefit the CSA’s Emergency... more...
Sep 17, 2007 Labor Updates (9/17/07) NLRB Union Protest Cancels Anniversary Event : An event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the NLRB was cancelled last week. NLRB workers – members of the NLRB union – announced they would picket outside the event, reported James Parks on the AFL-CIO Blog. The picket was in response... more...
Sep 14, 2007 Predatory Loan Vote Set for Tuesday Loansharks are "swarming all over" DC City Council on the eve of Tuesday's vote to cap rates by payday lenders in the District, says Councilmember Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), one of the sponsors of legislation that will limit the annual percentage rate charged for such loans. While the D.C.... more...
Sep 14, 2007 Sunday in Morristown The 2007 DC Labor Filmfest continues its free screenings this Sunday with "Morristown: In the Air and Sun" hosted by SEIU. Anne Lewis' Morristown tackles the issues of immigration, capital flight, and the organized demand for economic justice from a working class perspective. Lewis shot the film... more...
Sep 14, 2007 Council Meetings Resume After Summer Break Updates on local campaigns, including the CWA campaign against Verizon and the Teamsters fight to unionize the waste-hauling industry, the latest on the CSA golf tournament, and more will be on the agenda at the first Labor Council Delegate Meeting of the fall on Monday at 6:30P. PLUS! Get... more...
Sep 14, 2007 Joe Glazer Tribute at TP Folkfest Catch the DC Labor Chorus, Joe Uehlein, Laurel Blaydes, Emma's Rebellion and more Sunday at the September 16 Joe Glazer Tribute at the Takoma Park Folk Fest. Songs include "Too Old To Work," "Corporate Stomp," "The Horse With the Union Label" and of course Glazer's classic "The Mill Was Made of... more...
Sep 14, 2007 Filmfest Volunteers Wanted Volunteer at the upcoming DC Labor FilmFest and get free FilmFest tickets and a t-shirt (not available for sale)! A limited number of volunteer slots are available for the October 7-14 FilmFest; email FilmFest Volunteer Coordinator Andy Richards at arichard@dclabor.org for details. more...
Sep 13, 2007 Union Women Urge Cancer Awareness this Month A new campaign, "Know the Facts About Cervical Cancer Prevention," has been launched in conjunction with Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month this September, reports the Coalition of Labor Union Women. "No women should suffer or die from cervical cancer, since this disease is preventable," notes... more...
Sep 13, 2007 Labor Updates (9/13/07) Library of Congress management is up to its unionbusting tactics again. Now the target is the confidentiality and privacy rights of employees seeking assistance from their union, reports the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910, which represents the workers. After a major... more...
Sep 13, 2007 AFGE 12 Celebrates 75th Anniversary "Three cheers for Local 12, happy anniversary!" exclaimed a beaming Senator Barbara Mikulski (D, MD) as she greeted the cheering crowd in the Department of Labor's Great Hall Wednesday. Mikulski was the featured speaker at AFGE Local 12's luncheon celebrating its 75th anniversary. Recognized by... more...
Sep 12, 2007 State of Working Maryland in Decline Recently the US Census Bureau announced Maryland has the highest median income in the US. But this may come as a surprise to hundreds of thousands of Maryland workers whose wages have remained stagnant, according to a recently released report by Progressive Maryland. The report – “State of... more...
Sep 12, 2007 Linda Chavez-Thompson Steps Down as AFL-CIO Exec VP Long-time union leader and activist Linda Chavez-Thompson will step down as AFL-CIO Executive Vice President next Friday for personal and family reasons. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney made the announcement at yesterday’s Executive Council meeting. “Since coming to DC, Linda Chavez-Thompson... more...
Sep 12, 2007 Union Leaders Scholarship Deadline Next Friday Union Plus has launched a new scholarship to help increase the number of women and people of color in union leadership positions. The “Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship” offers annual awards to recipients of $500-$3,000 to use towards educational and training costs for leadership and... more...
Sep 12, 2007 $2 Nats Tix Check out the last Nationals games at RFK stadium for as little as $2! Click here and choose tickets for any of the three games between September 21st and September 23rd and type “ Brian ” in the “ Enter Discount Code Here ” box. more...
Sep 11, 2007 Payday Loans Topic of Two Town Hall Meetings This Week As the DC City Council gets set to vote next week on reeling in payday loan sharks, two town hall meetings this week will focus on the debate over payday lending in the DC. The Washington Informer will host a meeting on Wednesday night and the Afro-American Newspaper will hold a forum on... more...
Sep 11, 2007 DC Hotel Workers Ratify Contract An overwhelming majority of hotel workers voted to ratify a new three-year master hotel contract Friday, reports the workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 25. The contract includes a $1.70 wage increases over two years, continued employer-paid healthcare coverage, progress on key demands, such as... more...
Sep 11, 2007 Baltimore Stadium Workers Win Living Wage Camden Yard workers have hit a grand slam. After weeks of negotiations with the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) and a threatened hunger strike, workers received confirmation Thursday that the MSA would increase workers' wages to $11.30 an hour - the new state living wage - reports James Parks... more...
Sep 11, 2007 Spots Still Open for 2007 CSA Golf Tourney The Community Services Agency (CSA) is looking for a few good golfers to ‘tee-off’ at this year’s Annual Golf Tournament fundraiser on October 1, reports Kathleen McKirchy. “There are still spots open to join national and local labor leaders and friends of labor for this fun event,”... more...
Sep 10, 2007 Screeners Win in Free Speech Ruling Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners won a big victory last Wednesday when a San Francisco appeals court ruled in their favor. The court ruled unanimously that a TSA screener who was fired in 2004 after receiving a warning about his union activities can sue TSA for violation of... more...
Sep 10, 2007 Another Brick in the Wal-Mart "A presentation of business ethics and international development became a confrontation over Wal-Mart's business practices when students protested a lecture by a Wal-Mart executive on Wednesday," reports Louisa Aviles in The Georgetown Voice. "Rajan Kamalanathan, the Vice President for Ethical... more...
Sep 10, 2007 Whistle While You Lunch The DC Labor FilmFest sneak previews continue today with a free lunchtime screening of Whistle While You Work beginning at 12 noon at the AFL-CIO. Ryan Claypool directs this brief (20-minute) critique of capitalism that highlights the problems that it has created within the working class.... more...
Sep 10, 2007 Fall Labor Political Season Kicks Off The DC COPE and Prince George's County COPE kick-off the fall labor political season this week. Tuesday's DC COPE meeting will review current legislation before the DC City Council, including the upcoming votes on the Paid Sick Days and Payday Loans bills, as well as the Retail Standards... more...
Sep 10, 2007 With the Banana Workers "It takes several hot and bumpy hours to drive to the town of Morales more than 128 miles from Guatemala City," writes Denise Riley, Political Director of the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO. "It is the home of the banana workers" union, Sindicato de Trabajadores Bananeros... more...
Sep 10, 2007 Be a Friend of the Labor Filmfest! Let folks know you support labor culture with an ad in the popular DC Labor FilmFest Program Guide! Distributed to all FilmFest attendees and featuring an essay by populist Jim Hightower, rates start at $100 for a Friend of the FilmFest listing, $250 for a quarter-page, $500 half-page and $1,000... more...
Sep 7, 2007 Hotel Workers Reach Tentative Agreement DC hotel workers have reached a tentative 3-year agreement, sources tell UNION CITY. The workers won significant pay and benefit increases -- including a 70-cent wage increase for the first year, a $1 increase over the following two years and continued employer-paid healthcare -- as well as... more...
Sep 7, 2007 "No Sweat" with Your Lunch Today! The 2007 DC Labor Filmfest unofficially kicks off TODAY with a free noontime screening of "No Sweat" at the AFL-CIO. Grab your lunch and join us for this hour-long documentary following American Apparel and Sweat X and their workers for one year as they grapple with trying to maintain... more...
Sep 6, 2007 AFL-CIO Launches Healthcare Drive The AFL-CIO launched a nationwide drive for healthcare on Labor Day, pledging "to put the full force of its 10 million members and nearly 3 million union retirees behind winning secure, high-quality health care for all by 2009." A new website provides the latest health care news, videos... more...
Sep 6, 2007 "No Sweat" Screens Friday The 2007 DC Labor Filmfest unofficially begins this Friday with a free noontime screening of "No Sweat" at the AFL-CIO. The hour-long documentary follows American Apparel and Sweat X and their workers for one year as they grapple with trying to maintain "sweat-free" practices in the... more...
Sep 6, 2007 Credit Mistakes & Managing Debt Did you know that collection or charge-off accounts can be reported for 7 years from the date you first fell behind? Find out more about common mistakes with credit on the Union Plus "How To Manage Your Debt" page which reports that American households are carrying an average of more than... more...
Sep 5, 2007 Wal-Mart 'Ethics VP' Protested at G'Town Today Georgetown students and faculty will rally this afternoon against a visit by Wal-Mart's Vice-President of Ethical Standards. "We won't be distracted by smooth talk and empty promises about 'ethical standards,'" says the Georgetown Solidarity Committee (GSC) - which organized the rally. This... more...
Sep 5, 2007 Balto Hunger Strike Delayed Preaching the importance of respect, dignity and justice for low-wage workers at a Labor Day prayer service and rally, the men and women who clean Camden Yards called off a planned hunger strike yesterday to give the Maryland Stadium Authority a few more days to sign a binding "living wage"... more...
Sep 5, 2007 Nannies on a Quest for Rights They'll change the diapers, wash the clothes and cook the dinner. But nannies want a little respect. They don't need "Nanny Diaries" luxuries. But a contract would do. So would minimum wage, paid vacation, sick leave and overtime pay. And notice before firing. That's the message a group of... more...
Sep 5, 2007 Court Blocks Flawed Immigration Rule A federal judge issued an order last Friday temporarily blocking the government from implementing a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that would cause U.S. citizens and other authorized workers to lose their jobs, and which would illegally use error-prone social security records as a... more...
Sep 4, 2007 Free Screening Friday Kicks-Off 2007 DC Labor Filmfest The 2007 DC Labor Filmfest unofficially begins this Friday with a free noontime screening of "No Sweat" at the AFL-CIO. The hour-long documentary follows American Apparel and Sweat X and their workers for one year as they grapple with trying to maintain "sweat-free" practices in the cutthroat... more...
Sep 4, 2007 Hotel Workers Chart Own Future Drama. Thrills. Laughs. Suspense. The best show in town is free to anyone with a union card. A UNITE HERE 25 union card. Hundreds of UNITE HERE Local 25 members turned out last week at the latest round of contract negotiations with local hotels. The current contracts - which cover over... more...
Sep 4, 2007 Smithfield Workers Take Battle to Streets of Williamsburg The quaint, quiet streets of historic Williamsburg, VA reverberated with noisy chants of "Hey, hey, ho, ho, unionbusting has got to go!" on Wednesday as hundreds of workers, clergy, and activists - including a busload from the Metro DC area - protested Smithfield's unionbusting tactics outside... more...
Sep 4, 2007 Labor Updates (9/4/07) Prince George’s County officials and representatives of Dimensions – operator of the Prince George’s Hospital System – both asked last week for the postponement of hearings on a $2 million payment to Dimensions, reports Daniel Fowler of The Examiner . Hearings were scheduled to begin... more...
Aug 29, 2007 Deal Keeps Greater Southeast Hospital Open, For Now Workers at Greater Southeast Hospital - which avoided shutdown last week - are not quite ready to break out the Champagne. The potential closure of Greater Southeast was averted last week when the Specialty Hospitals of America agreed to a tentative purchase of the facility, reported Susan... more...
Aug 29, 2007 Dozens Participate in Labor in the Pulpits, Labor on the Bimah Programs More than 50 churches and synagogues across the DC Metro area will be holding special programs and services this weekend and later in September as part of the Labor in the Pulpits and Labor on the Bimah programs. Congregations will honor labor and raise awareness about workers' struggles by... more...
Aug 27, 2007 Get on the Bus for DC Voting Rights Activists will be “getting on the bus” in mid-September to support DC voting rights. The three-day DC Freedom Ride will move from DC to Kentucky with stops in West Virginia and Virginia to pressure Senators to support the DC Voting Rights Act. “We expect to leave Washington with 100... more...
Aug 27, 2007 Activists Rally Against Rite Aid Unionbusting More than 100 Baltimore-area activists rallied Tuesday to demand that Rite Aid stop its unionbusting tactics at newly-acquired stores. The action at a Rite Aid industry event in Baltimore was the second time in a week that the company was targeted at a industry function for cutting workers’... more...
Aug 27, 2007 Major Rally for Smithfield Workers Wednesday Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon will add their voice to hundreds at a demonstration this Wednesday in Williamsburg, VA to support Smithfield workers fighting for the right to organize. Despite 12 years of employer opposition – including assaults, intimidation,... more...
Aug 27, 2007 CSA Raises Over $400 For New Orleans Teachers The Community Services Agency (CSA) raised over $400 in office supply gift cards from Metro DC union members to help New Orleans teachers purchase school supplies for their students, reports CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. The CSA donation drive was part of a larger national drive... more...
Aug 22, 2007 NLRB Employees Picket NLRB Union members held a rally last Wednesday outside the National Labor Relations Board's Washington headquarters to protest the refusal of Ronald Meisburg, the board's general counsel, to negotiate with a consolidated bargaining unit, reported Anika Gupta on the GovernmentExecutive.com website.... more...
Aug 22, 2007 Labor Updates (8/22/07) 'CAN WE BUST A UNION': ABC'S NEW REALITY SHOW? More than 150 ABC employees, members of NABET-CWA and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), rallied outside ABC headquarters in New York City last week to call attention to their need for new contracts and protest the recent loss of 17 union... more...
Aug 22, 2007 Working America's "Bad Boss" Winners Announced A cancer victim cheated out of paid leave and a worker forced to stay - and work - in a burning building are this year’s winners in the 2nd annual “My Bad Boss” contest , sponsored by the AFL-CIO’s Working America. “Of the hundreds of stories we received, virtually all left you... more...
Aug 22, 2007 All Welcome at NoVa Labor Day Picnic "Come join your union brothers and sisters for an old-fashioned Labor Day picnic!" urges NoVa CLC President Dan Duncan. The Northern Virginia Central Labor Council's Annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday, September 3 features plenty to eat and drink, a large covered pavilion, softball,... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Customers Hang Up on Verizon Union-Busting Nearly a hundred wireless customers posed with union cell phone mascots Cingy and Flippy at lunchtime on Friday, pledging to "hang up" on Verizon Wireless for their union-busting practices. Chinatown pedestrians -- many of them Verizon customers -- initially wanted to know "why they should hang... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Ban on Iraqi Unions Protested Under overcast skies Thursday afternoon, dozens of activists chanted "Iraqi unions under attack; what do we do, stand up, fight back!" and "Hands off Iraqi oil" outside the Iraqi Embassy in northwest Washington. The rally was a response to a ban on unions by the Iraqi Oil Minister, who... more...
Aug 20, 2007 MD Childcare Providers Win Breakthrough Almost 6,000 family childcare providers in Maryland won a major breakthrough this month when Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order that will give providers the chance to vote to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Kids First. "With a united voice for all Maryland... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Latest Loach Film to Premiere in Labor Filmfest Ken Loach's latest film, "It's a Free World…" will get its U.S. premiere at the DC Labor FilmFest, report FilmFest organizers. "We're tremendously thrilled," said FilmFest Director Chris Garlock, "This is the proverbial icing on the cake and tops a terrific FilmFest line-up that includes a... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Filmfest Extends Ad Book Deadline To accommodate the increased demand for participation in this year's DC Labor FilmFest popular Program Guide, organizers have extended the deadline for ads to Friday, August 31. All Program Guide sponsors receive FilmFest tickets and - depending on sponsorship level - also receive invitations to... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Labor Updates (8/20/07) Nothing says Labor Day like a " Kicking Ass for the Working Class " T-shirt! Bright red letters on a 100 percent cotton, black, short-sleeve T-shirt available now from the Union Shop Online (or pick one up at the Union Shop at the AFL-CIO). Or show that you're ready for the 2008... more...
Aug 20, 2007 Labor on the Move (8/20/07) MALCOLM AMADO UNO is the new Deputy Director at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). Uno will develop and manage APALA's organizing and political programs and participate in executive level management of the organization. Uno previously worked as the National Organizing... more...
Aug 15, 2007 Lessons From Across the Border By Jack Mahoney "When we are together we are stronger, because alone we are easier to exploit." Not what you'd expect to hear from a 16-year-old middle-schooler. We were sitting in the grass beneath the green mountains of southern Mexico discussing the worker-run cooperatives that sustain... more...
Aug 15, 2007 Labor Updates (8/15/07) "I am glad that my community will no longer suffer a disadvantage against Arlington and Alexandria in the competition to attract and retain quality public workers," says Clayton Sinyai, Political Director of Laborers' Local 11 and Chairman of the Campaign for a Living Wage, congratulating the... more...
Aug 13, 2007 AFL-CIO Holds Off On '08 Endorsement Following its Presidential Forum attended by 17,500 union members, the AFL-CIO Executive Council Wednesday chose to hold off making an endorsement of a single candidate for President. The 47-member top leadership body left the door open for an endorsement at a later date, leaving each of the... more...
Aug 13, 2007 Turning Up the Heat On Wal-Mart More than two dozen labor activists leafleted the Germantown Wal-Mart in the midday heat Thursday, as part of a national "Send Wal-Mart Back to School" protest this week. The activists – most from UFCW locals 400 and 1994, along with several from Progressive Maryland – distributed hundreds... more...
Aug 13, 2007 Washington Gas' $20 Million Dollar Secret What kind of papers are worth a cool $20 million? Washington Gas’ contract with Accenture, apparently. The utility’s $20.5 million rate increase was put on ice this week when Washington Gas refused to provide the outsourcing contract demanded by DC’s Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC)... more...
Aug 8, 2007 Wal-Mart Doesn't Make the Grade School is a month away but Wal-Mart has already received a failing report card. Local community leaders, activists, teachers and students will hold a "Send Wal-Mart Back to School" protest on Thursday at the Germantown Wal-Mart. The local protest is one of dozens of events over the next two... more...
Aug 8, 2007 Labor Updates (8/8/07) Two out of three Iraqis want the government to maintain control of Iraq’s vast oil reserves, reports John Hilary in an editorial Tuesday on the Guardian Unlimited blog website . In related news, the Iraqi oil minister recently banned “trade unions from participating in any discussion... more...
Aug 6, 2007 Labor Breaks Ground for Historic High School Revitalization Breaking ground with golden shovels at the Hilltop Campus in Northeast DC last Tuesday, labor leaders and city and school officials celebrated the rebirth of the Phelps High School Architecture, Construction and Engineering Academy (PACE). The event marked the start of a $48 million project to... more...
Aug 6, 2007 Tenant Support Builds for Security Officers Thursday afternoon, the Economic Policy Institute hosted a brown-bag lunch on working conditions for service workers in their large H Street office building. More than a dozen tenants from throughout the building sat down with downtown security officers, SEIU local 32BJ organizers and DC Jobs... more...
Aug 6, 2007 AFL-CIO Pres Forum Moderator Olbermann Discusses Labor and Politics Keith Olbermann (r) – host of MSNBC’s “Countdown” and the moderator for next Tuesday’s AFL-CIO Presidential Forum – says he is not surprised by the overwhelming response to Tuesday’s forum, in an interview with Mike Hall of the AFL-CIO Now Blog . “An informed audience like... more...
Aug 6, 2007 Wal-Mart's Failing Grades Exposed Thursday Workers, students, teachers and activists will be outside the Germantown Wal-Mart Thursday to inform back to school shoppers about Wal-Mart’s failing grades on treatment toward workers, children, and taxpayers. The action is part of a larger national “Send Wal-Mart Back to School” campaign... more...
Aug 6, 2007 Got a Bad Boss Story? Send it in to the Working America’s “My Bad Boss Contest” and you could win a free weeklong vacation. Hundreds of bad boss stories have already been submitted to the second annual contest, including semi-finalists stories about a waitress whose boss hired her stalker and a woman whose boss... more...
Aug 6, 2007 Labor Updates (8/6/07) DC hotel workers – members of UNITE HERE Local 25 – and employers began contract negotiations last Thursday , reported Gillian Gaynair Wednesday in the Washington Business Journal . Major contract issues are healthcare, retirement benefits, living wages, and establishing rules for... more...
Aug 1, 2007 Electricians Light Up Medical Shelter Volunteer electricians – members of IBEW 26 -- replaced shower and bathroom fans and lights, put in new fluorescent light fixtures and ballasts and installed several exit signs and exterior lights last Saturday at Christ House, a homeless medical shelter in Adams Morgan. "This has been... more...
Aug 1, 2007 House Passes Fair Pay Bill The House passed a measure Tuesday that would overturn a recent Supreme Court decision to revoke the rights of workers to sue over pay discrimination, reports Mike Hall of the AFL-CIO Now Blog . “Working people in America are one step closer to having their civil rights restored, thanks... more...
Aug 1, 2007 Union Membership a Sign of Terrorism? Your union membership will be the newest information stored in a terrorist database, reports Mike Hall of the AFL-CIO Now Blog . Starting in August, airlines with flights from Europe to the US must turn over personal information of passengers to the Department of Homeland Security, including... more...
Aug 1, 2007 Presidential Candidates Take on Worker Issues Democratic presidential candidates will gather in Chicago Tuesday night to answer questions relevant to working families at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidate Forum. The event – being held at Stadium Field – will air on MSNBC from 7-8:30P and will be hosted by Keith Olbermann. Candidates... more...
Aug 1, 2007 Labor Updates (8/1/07) The most recent developments in the Washington Gas outsourcing situation is the topic of Sunday night’s “Radio Inside Scoop.” Host Mark Levine, OPEIU Local 2 President Dan Dyer and others will discuss the fight to keep the company from outsourcing 300 jobs in the Metro DC area. As of... more...
Jul 30, 2007 DC PSC May Shut Off Washington Gas Rate Increase Request In a rare move last Monday, the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) gave Washington Gas (WG) a day to provide evidence showing why the Commission should not dismiss the company’s case for a rate increase. Hearings were scheduled throughout last week but the PSC recessed them on Monday after the... more...
Jul 30, 2007 Frederick County Workers Say ‘Yes’ to Union Over 100 correctional officers at the Frederick County Sheriffs Department won a card check victory conducted last Monday, reports their union, UFCW Local 1994. The win comes on the heels of a bill passed in April, by the Maryland State Legislature that granted the correctional officers... more...
Jul 30, 2007 New Women in the Trades Group Gets ‘Into the Mix’ Taronda “Joy” Graham is a DC resident working hard to turn her life around and support her mother. She and 14 other women have found a new start with the Washington Area Women in the Trades Program , (WAWIT). The 15 women recently finished a two week apprenticeship training with Operative... more...
Jul 30, 2007 A New Day for Liberian Firestone Workers Fresh off the Stop Firestone Call-In Day, representatives of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center and United Steel Workers (USW) will participate in a brown bag lunch discussion Tuesday on the recent union election victory at the Firestone Liberian rubber plantation. The July election marks the first... more...
Jul 30, 2007 DC JWJ Gets Wired DC Jobs with Justice (JwJ) is the newest group to be added to our e xpanding list of local labor websites ! Now the latest DC JwJ news and events, including info on the Workers’ Rights Board and the Greater Washington Interfaith Worker Justice Committee, Building Benefits, and Student Labor... more...
Jul 25, 2007 LOC Workers Beat Unionbusting Efforts Library of Congress (LOC) workers won a major victory last week when a federal abitrator rejected a grievance filed by management against union officials of the LC Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910. In his decision, Arbitrator James M. Harkless found union officials properly reported their... more...
Jul 25, 2007 Hundreds Celebrate Wage Increase and "New Direction for America" A crowd of hundreds flocked to the Upper Senate Park Tuesday to celebrate the minimum wage increase and a "new direction for America." The federal minimum wage -- previously at $5.15 -- was raised to $5.85 Tuesday and will be raised to $7.25 in two stages over the next two years. The increase is... more...
Jul 25, 2007 PG Hospitals & Healthcare Forum Wednesday Workers and communitymembers will come together TONIGHT to discuss supporting healthcare and the Prince George's County hospital system. "The system is sinking deeper into debt and is in danger of closing," says 1199/SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Political Coordinator Samuel Epps. "This... more...
Jul 25, 2007 Labor Updates (7/25/07) The Montgomery County Council Health and Human Services Committee held its first hearing on the Worker Health and Safety Initiative on Monday, reports CWA member Jim Grossfeld. Grossfeld testified on behalf of the Metro Washington Council at the hearing. George Leventhal -- chair of the... more...
Jul 25, 2007 Labor Steps Up to the Plate "A special thanks to Iron Workers Local 5 for their major support of this year's First Annual Labor Night with the Nats. In addition to the 1000 tickets they purchased, they also raised an additional $626 for the Community Services Agency at their recent raffle for the chance to throw out the... more...
Jul 25, 2007 MD Union Members Receive Labor Scholarships Two Maryland union members were among five winners of this year's Union Plus National Labor College (NLC) Scholarship. Shannye Carroll, of AFSCME Local 2380, and AFGE Local 32 member Mazzie Simmons received the scholarships for the 2007 spring semester. "We are dedicated to the continued growth... more...
Jul 25, 2007 Stop Firestone Call-In Day Thursday Hundreds of activistsaround the US will participate in a Stop Firestone National Call-In Day Thursday to ring in Liberia's 160th anniversary. "While Firestone rubber workers celebrate their nation's independence, they continue to fight for their own independence from Firestone's 80 years of... more...
Jul 23, 2007 Walter Reed Workers Get Union Despite two cancelled elections and intense employer opposition , workers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) voted last Wednesday to approve union representation. The 160 workers voted by a 2 to 1 margin for the union in the National Labor Relations Board monitored election, reports... more...
Jul 23, 2007 Labor Night With Nats a Homerun Thousands of union members filled the upper levels of RFK Stadium Friday, on a perfect summer night, for the First Annual Labor Night with the Nats. With over 5,700 tickets sold, the first annual event -- sponsored by the Metro Council and the Northern Virginia Central Labor Council -- received... more...
Jul 23, 2007 Victory Rally for Minimum Wage Increase Tuesday Hundreds of union members and advocates will join AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and other elected officials Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the first federal minimum wage increase in ten... more...
Jul 23, 2007 Call to Arms for MD Child Care Workers Maryland childcare workers and SEIU are looking for volunteers to assist over the next two weeks in preparation for an upcoming union election. "For the past three years, Maryland childcare workers have been working to organize their union to improve the quality of childcare in Maryland and... more...
Jul 23, 2007 On the Phone and in the Streets for DC Voting Rights Advocates for DC Voting Rights will be making calls and rallying this week to pressure the Senate to pass legislation that would give District residents their first-ever vote in the House of Representatives. On Tuesday, DC Vote will hold a National Call-In Day in the hopes of flooding Senate... more...
Jul 18, 2007 21 Congregations to Celebrate Labor Twenty-one churches and synagogues throughout the Metro DC area have already signed up to participate in the annual Labor in the Pulpits, Labor on the Bimah, and Labor on the Minbar programs. The annual programs celebrate worker justice during weekend Labor Day services. Participating... more...
Jul 18, 2007 DOL Workers Want Chao to Come Clean on Comments Fresh from their victory over the attempted outsourcing of 250 Department of Labor jobs, DOL workers turned their attention today to cleaning up Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s recent comments about American workers. The workers – members of AFGE 12 – handed out bars of soap saying... more...
Jul 18, 2007 Labor Night With the Nats This Friday Over 5,500 workers and their friends and family will fill the seats of RFK Stadium Friday night for the First Annual Labor Night with the Nats. The event is one of the largest Nationals group ticket sales program ever. “We are also asking people to bring a new unwrapped toy for the Nationals... more...
Jul 16, 2007 NoVA Janitors Strike More than 30 janitors walked off the job Tuesday in Arlington, VA after being harassed for organizing a union. "Hardworking janitors in the Capital area are making their voices heard and standing up for the American Dream, just as DC janitors did in the late 1990s," said Jaime Contreras, SEIU... more...
Jul 16, 2007 Chao Urged to Clean Up Her Act Workers at the Department of Labor (DOL) will have some good clean fun this week when they pass out bars of soap saying "Chao Thinks You Stink" and "Get Clean with Local 12". The workers, members of AFGE Local 12, are responding to DOL Secretary Elaine Chao's recent comments in Parade... more...
Jul 16, 2007 Post Says Unions "Best Thing Since Sliced Bread" Sorry, that's a fake news headline, like those found in 'The Onion', an independent weekly newspaper that The Post publishes in Washington. Actually, the Post was accused last week of violating federal labor laws. The National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) General Counsel filed a formal... more...
Jul 16, 2007 Labor Updates (7/16/07) Looks like we may need a watchdog to keep an eye on the government's "watchdog," the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In what mirrors private-sector union-busting tactics-but paid for with our tax dollars-the GAO has hired private counsel to help the agency fight a unionizing drive by... more...
Jul 11, 2007 Noise Bill Gets Silent Treatment In a spirited Noise Bill hearing Monday, the most effective testimony came from UNITE HERE Local 25 Executive Secretary Treasurer John Boardman, who simply left the microphone off, making it impossible for DC City Council members to hear what he was saying. Local labor leaders, residents, legal... more...
Jul 11, 2007 Labor Updates (7/11/07) Iraqi Union Leaders Call for an End to the Occupation ; labor photojournalist David Bacon talks to Faleh Abood Umara, general secretary of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, and Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the Electrical Workers Union of Iraq, in the July 6 American Prospect... more...
Jul 11, 2007 AFGE Blocks DOL Outsourcing The Department of Labor (DOL) has canceled plans to outsource 258 administrative support jobs after well-organized opposition by AFGE Local 12, which represents employees in the DOL, and a strong lobbying effort by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). "We always knew that... more...
Jul 11, 2007 DC Homecare Workers Join Union More than 200 DC homecare workers voted to join 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East on Tuesday, the first time such workers have organized in the District. "As homecare workers we are a positive force in the world," said Nursing Unlimited homecare worker Nicole Floyd. "We provide love and... more...
Jul 11, 2007 New Orleans: Still Hurting, Still Helping Here's a chance to help rebuild the New Orleans school system shattered by the horrific Gulf Coast storms of ‘05. Many schools are closed and others struggling to re-open, while desperately poor and displaced families lack the resources to even purchase school supplies for their children. The... more...
Jul 11, 2007 Beat the Heat in a Cool Union Tee With the dog days of summer here, it's time to beat the heat in union-made short-sleeved t-shirts from The Union Shop Online. Just $10 each, these T-shirts not only are affordable--they also let everyone know you support working families. Supplies are limited, and some sizes are already... more...
Jul 9, 2007 Speaking Out for Freedom of Speech Is it really free speech if you can't hear it? "The ability to be heard goes hand in hand with the right to speak," Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams will testify today at the DC City Council hearing on the Noise Bill introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells. Calling it the... more...
Jul 9, 2007 Paid Sick Leave Overdue The Paid Sick and Safe Days Act - introduced in DC City Council earlier this year - would give hundreds of thousands of DC workers a minimum of ten paid days per year. Workers who have been penalized for taking time off will testify at this afternoon's hearing. "This legislation would provide all... more...
Jul 9, 2007 Protection for Payday Loan Consumers The DC Council Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs will vote TODAY on whether to institute stronger protections for District residents seeking short-term “payday” loans. The Payday Loans Consumer Protection Act of 2007 would set a ceiling on payday loan interest rates. “The... more...
Jul 9, 2007 Workers Celebrate 4th with VA Governor More than 150 union members, their families, elected officials and candidates enjoyed a July 4 picnic at the Northern Virginia Central Labor Council’s (CLC) hall with Governor Tim Kaine. With just 4 days advance notice, the CLC’s officers and trustees organized the event and got the word out.... more...
Jul 5, 2007 DC Council Takes Up Free Speech, Paid Sick Leave & Payday Loans DC City Council has a full day Monday of hearings and votes on free speech, paid sick leave and "payday" loan protections. "The ability to be heard goes hand in hand with the right to speak," says Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams, who will testify Monday at the DC City Council... more...
Jul 5, 2007 Social Forum Looks to New U.S. Under the slogan, "Another world is possible, another US is necessary" thousands of activists marched through Atlanta last week to open the first-ever United States Social Forum, stopping at rally points to connect national issues to local Atlanta campaigns around fair housing and a union... more...
Jul 5, 2007 Bottom of the 9th for Labor Baseball Tix This Friday, July 6 is the absolute final deadline for tickets for the July 20 Labor Night with the Nationals! "It'll be a sea of union colors at RFK on the 20th," says Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy, "with over 5,000 tickets sold so far." Proceeds from the... more...
Jul 2, 2007 Baltimore Nursing Home Workers Win Contract Workers at the Catonsville Commons and Long Green Commons nursing homes approved a new contract on June 27. "We made a tremendous move, especially with the health insurance," said Cassandra Williams, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Catonsville Commons. "We pay out of our pockets and it was very... more...
Jul 2, 2007 Council Directory Updated The 2007 Metro Council Directory of Affiliates - just released in May - has been updated in a brand-new PDF available online now . Entries have been updated for APRI, AFGE 12, AFSCME Locals 3925 and 3870, Progressive Maryland, and SEIU 500. New entries include AFSCME Locals 953, 1509, 2478,... more...
Jun 29, 2007 Justice Again Denied at Walter Reed For the second time in two weeks, workers at The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) have been denied an opportunity to decide if they want to join a union. Late Wednesday afternoon, WRAMC Garrison Commander Col. Peter Garibaldi once again unilaterally cancelled a union vote scheduled... more...
Jun 29, 2007 Custodial Workers Keep PG Schools Clean & Safe They’re the folks who keep Prince George’s County’s 230 public schools clean, safe and running smoothly. They clean and wax the floors, cut the grass, vacuum and shampoo the carpets, wash the windows, and clean chewing gum and graffiti off desks. SEIU Local 400’s 1,200 custodial workers... more...
Jun 29, 2007 "Unworkable" Immigration Bill Fails Saying that the failed Senate's draft immigration plan – voted down Thursday morning – was “in need of major reconstruction work from the get-go,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said Thursday afternoon that “Hard-working immigrant workers in this country deserve a real path to... more...
Jun 29, 2007 Labor Updates (6/29/07) Baltimore Sun workers approved a four-year contract on June 14. The contract was ratified by Guild members in a voice vote and includes signing bonuses, annual salary increases, retention of current pension, 401(k), and sick leave benefits, full protection of union rights, and the creation of a... more...
Jun 29, 2007 Can the Boss Do That? Now you can find out with a click of your mouse. " Ask a Lawyer " is Working America's new free online service to help workers understand their rights and what the boss can - and can't -- do. Read answers from lawyers, browse topics and send in questions about your job, from "Can I get... more...
Jun 28, 2007 Katrina Workers Abused Workers who headed to New Orleans in 2005 to help rebuild the Hurricane Katrina-devastated city were abused and exploited, according to a report by Interfaith Worker Justice and testimony from worker groups at a House hearing Tuesday. The IWJ report, Working on Faith: A Faithful Response to... more...
Jun 28, 2007 Diversity Dialogue Rolls Into Detroit Close to 200 union leaders and activists met Saturday in Detroit for the AFL-CIO's third of four "Power in Diversity" dialogues, reports James Parks of the AFL-CIO Now Blog . Participants "looked at concrete ideas on how to increase diversity in the leadership of their unions" and determining... more...
Jun 28, 2007 Labor Updates (6/28/07) International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) - a new organization to combat corporate worker and human rights abuses - holds a launch party Friday from 4-8P . IRAdvocates is currently representing the families of the three Colombian union leaders assassinated by paramilitaries hired by the... more...
Jun 27, 2007 Washington Gas Outsourcing Draws Second Protest Despite the blazing sun and wilting humidity, two dozen activists picketed Washington Gas' Constitution Avenue headquarters at noon Tuesday to protest the utility's decision last week to lay off 300 employees, including 150 union call center workers. Singing "We are the union, the mighty mighty... more...
Jun 27, 2007 Security Workers Gear Up for First Contract Negotiations Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and DC City Councilmember Jim Graham joined security workers in the muggy early morning heat Tuesday to celebrate their recent union recognition win and to demand a fair contract for over 1,000 security workers in the District. "Nobody who believes in... more...
Jun 27, 2007 DC Sick Days Bill Hearing Set "The Paid Sick and Safe Days Act would not only provide all DC workers with paid days off, but would enable survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking to use the days to address those issues," reports Karen Minatelli of the DC Employment Justice Center, which is lobbying... more...
Jun 27, 2007 Labor Updates (6/27/07) REPUBLICANS BLOCK FREE CHOICE : A group of Republicans denied workers a free choice to join a union Tuesday, when the 51-48 Senate vote in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act fell nine short of the sixty votes needed to vote on the full bill. Both Maryland Senators Barbara Milkulski (D-MD)... more...
Jun 26, 2007 Ingleside Nursing Home Workers Take to Streets Midday traffic on Military Road in northwest DC slowed to a crawl Monday as hundreds of labor activists demonstrated in front of the Ingleside nursing home. A purple-clad sea of SEIU healthcare activists – many of them fresh from last weekend’s Baltimore launch of a new healthcare worker... more...
Jun 26, 2007 Workers Rally Against Washington Gas Outsourcing Dozens of workers rallied and handed out flyers to passing cars at noontime outside the Washington Gas Springfield, VA call center to protest the outsourcing of 300 jobs, including 150 call center workers who are members of OPEIU Local 2. Local 2 has planned three other noontime rallies... more...
Jun 26, 2007 Labor Updates (6/26/07) Security workers rally to kick off their campaign for a first contract TODAY at 10A (moved up from 11A). Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC City Councilmembers Jim Graham and Kwame Brown, and SEIU 32BJ Vice-President Valarie Long will speak at the rally…Iraqi workers Hashmeya Muhsin... more...
Jun 26, 2007 DC Activists Head to US Social Forum By bus, plane, van, and car, dozens of DC area activists are heading to Atlanta, GA today for the first-ever United States Social Forum . Building on the World Social Forums, which have brought together leaders from movements across the globe, thousands of workers, grassroots activists, and... more...
Jun 25, 2007 Stage Employees Settle at Strathmore & Ford's Theatre Local stage employees scored a double-play earlier this month, settling contracts at both the Strathmore arts center in Bethesda and Ford's Theatre in the District, reports Chuck Clay, President of IATSE Local 22, which represents the workers. "The main issue at Strathmore was the need for... more...
Jun 25, 2007 Iraqi Workers Return to DC Iraqi labor leader Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein returns to DC with Faleh Abood Umara -- General Secretary Southern Oil Company Union, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions -- for a farewell public discussion Tuesday at 7P. This is Abood Umara's first visit to DC as part of US Labor Against the War’s... more...
Jun 25, 2007 Two Days, Four Rallies Contracts and outsourcing are the main issues of four worker actions scheduled today and tomorrow. Today, hundreds rally with INGLESIDE HEALTHCARE WORKERS at 12P to demand a fair first contract. Workers have been fighting to get a contract since they voted in their union - SEIU 1199 -- over a... more...
Jun 25, 2007 Senate Immigration Bill Fails Workers, Families Calling it "far from the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that would improve the situation of either U.S.-born or foreign-born workers or their families," the AFL-CIO has announced strong opposition to the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1348),... more...
Jun 22, 2007 Utility Board to Ask PSC to Act on Washington Gas Outsourcing The DC Consumer Utility Board (CUB) wants the Public Service Commission (PSC) to prevent Washington Gas from outsourcing service center jobs "until the PSC has had a chance to review the public safety impact," CUB Chairman Herbert Harris tells UNION CITY. The CUB's formal request to the PSC will... more...
Jun 22, 2007 Walter Reed Cancels Union Election Just hours before Walter Reed public works employees were scheduled to vote on union representation, top brass at the troubled Army Medical Center abruptly canceled the election and banned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from Center grounds. After protests by the union and the NLRB, the... more...
Jun 22, 2007 This Just In In a welcome bit of good news, OPEIU Local 2 reported late Thursday afternoon that 60 workers at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington have voted in the union overwhelmingly. Major factors in the pro-vote were patient quality of care issues, the need for adequate supplies and medication... more...
Jun 22, 2007 Activists Say No to Payday Exploitation Chanting "we want the Council to know, payday lending had got to go!" community activists gathered outside the John A. Wilson Building Thursday to demand an end to payday lender exploitation. "Payday loan lenders deliberately target low-income communities," says Rick Powell, Metro Council... more...
Jun 22, 2007 Labor Music Celebrates ADA's 60th Labor singer/songwriter Joe Jencks and the local roots-rock group, the U-Liners, take the stage tonight at 7:30P to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). "ADA fights for progressive values and has a great history of supporting labor issues," says... more...
Jun 22, 2007 500 to Rally For Nursing Home Workers Over 500 workers and labor activists from around the country will mass at the Ingleside retirement home's Military Road entrance Monday afternoon (LINK). Ingleside workers voted in 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East as their union over a year ago, but management has dragged out contract... more...
Jun 21, 2007 Labor Graduates Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will address over 100 newly-minted graduates at the 9th Annual National Labor College (NLC) graduation commencement this Saturday at 10A. “We are enormously privileged to have Senator Harkin address our students,” says Susan Schurman, NLC President. Harkin – son... more...
Jun 21, 2007 Ingleside Workers to Rally Healthcare workers at Ingleside at Rock Creek – a life care community in northwest Washington – will hold a major rally outside the Ingleside facility at 2P Monday to demand a contract. The workers – members of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East – voted in the union over a year ago... more...
Jun 21, 2007 Union Women Schooled This year's Northeast Union Women Summer School will offer workshops ranging from "Basic Grievance Handling" to "Managing Stress in Challenging Times." Union women from across the Northeast will gather from July 8-13 at the National Labor College to learn and hone leadership skills, attend... more...
Jun 20, 2007 Turning Up the Heat for the Right to Organize Despite sweltering heat – indexes topped 100 degrees – thousands of union activists and supporters gathered at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon to demand swift passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). With AFL-CIO and Change To Win signs intermingling, the labor movement united... more...
Jun 20, 2007 Taking Back America at the Grassroots Over 3,000 progressives have been attending this week's Take Back America conference in Washington, organized by the Campaign for America's Future. "I have been empowered to go back to my members and have courageous conversations about the movement and motivate members to be the voice for... more...
Jun 20, 2007 Thousands Rally for Fair Immigration Reform Workers joined thousands of immigration activists and religious leaders for a prayer service, march and rally to the White House yesterday in support of humane immigration reform. Banners, flyers, pictures, live music, and chants filled the halls of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal... more...
Jun 20, 2007 Diversity Dialogue Highlights Leadership's Role In the latest in a series of frank discussions about ways to ensure that the leadership of the union movement is as diverse as its membership, nearly 200 union activists and leaders -- including a contingent from the Metro Washington Council -- met in Philadelphia Saturday, June 16, for the... more...
Jun 19, 2007 Thousands Rally Today for Free Choice Dozens of Senators will join a huge crowd today at 2P at the US Capitol to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Debate on the bill – which would deal with worker harassment and firing for union activity, delays in the union election process and employer foot-dragging in negotiating a... more...
Jun 19, 2007 In Their Own Words: Workers' Stories Debbie Fontaine operates forklifts and packs and moves boxes for shipping at the Rite Aid Distribution Center in Lancaster, CA…Greg Mendez is an office systems coordinator at New York’s Pace University… Bonny Wallace has been a nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, OR for 20 years.... more...
Jun 19, 2007 DC COPE Takes Up Action Agenda The DC COPE held it's first meeting since the May DC City Council Special Elections last Thursday, adopting an action agenda through Fall 2007. One of the major issues discussed was developing a strategy to get the Council to move on the Large Retail Accountability Act of 2007 . The act "would... more...
Jun 19, 2007 Labor Day Faith Program Kicks Off Each year more then 50 congregations from a variety of faiths honor workers with special services and programs over Labor Day weekend and throughout September. Nationally, hundreds of congregations in dozens of cities participate in similar programs. Interfaith Worker Justice of Greater... more...
Jun 18, 2007 You Have the Right to Protest…Quietly Your free speech rights to protest in DC may be in jeopardy. The proposed Noise Law bill -- introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and co-sponsored by Councilmembers Mary Cheh (Ward 3) and Kwame Brown (At-large) – currently being considered in the DC City Council “would ban the use... more...
Jun 18, 2007 Hard Labor: Laborer's 657 Builds a Bigger Union Laborers Local 657 has dramatically increased their membership to 2,500 in just four years. But newly-elected Business Manager Anthony Frederick Sr. still isn't satisfied. "My goal is 5,000 members," says the 41-year-old leader -- who was first appointed in September 2005 -- "but our ultimate... more...
Jun 18, 2007 Nearly 500 "Make Some NOIse" Despite the rain, nearly 500 DC progressives packed MCCXXIII on Tuesday for "Make Some NOIse!", a happy-hour event to benefit the year-old New Organizing Institute (NOI). "We raised several thousand dollars for the New Organizing Institute -- money that goes right into training progressives to... more...
Jun 18, 2007 Workers, Religious Leaders Make Last Push for Employee Free Choice Act With a Senate vote expected this week on the Employee Free Choice Act – legislation that would help restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for better lives – over 100 “religious leaders across the country have signed a letter urging the US Senate to pass” the act, reports... more...
Jun 18, 2007 Labor Updates (6/18/07) Get new 2007 DC Labor Filmfest stickers and all the latest local labor news at TONIGHT’s Metro Council Delegate's meeting at 6:30P at the AFL-CIO…Burger King is refusing to negotiate with farm workers to improve wages and conditions, “even though it recently announced an initiative to... more...
Jun 18, 2007 Get Connected to Metro DC Unions We have recently updated and expanded our list of links to websites of Metro Council affiliated locals. Updates on Metro DC’s wired unions are just a click away ! Keep up with local labor news online including stories like: NABET-CWA applauds Labor Board Ruling against CNN; Tell Tribune Do... more...
Jun 15, 2007 DC Gov't Workers Say City Services Critically Understaffed District government workers face critical staffing shortages and an increase in assaults and safety issues, say local leaders. AFGE Council 211 President Eric Bunn and AFGE 383 President Johnnie Walker will call on Mayor Adrian Fenty and the DC City Council to act quickly on AFGE's radio show... more...
Jun 15, 2007 Workers Hail Baltimore Inclusionary Housing Bill Calling it "a great first step toward addressing Baltimore's affordable housing shortage," 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and AFSCME Council 67 hailed the Baltimore City Council's passage of inclusionary housing legislation earlier this week. "It is outrageous that city workers are... more...
Jun 14, 2007 Baltimore Sun Workers Rally More than 100 workers rallied outside the Baltimore Sun Tuesday afternoon in support of Sun worker contract demands. The Sun and the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Local 32/CWA – the union representing Sun workers – have been negotiating since mid-May, after the expiration of the... more...
Jun 14, 2007 Searching for the New American Dream Starts Today “ Searching for the New American Dream ” is the theme of the Labor and Employment Relations Association’s (LERA) 7th Bi-Annual National Policy Forum set to start TODAY at the Hotel Washington. The two-day national policy forum will examine how the old American dream has changed and explore... more...
Jun 14, 2007 Last Call for Labor Night with Nats Tickets The deadline to order tickets for the July 20 Labor Night with the Nats is fast approaching, reports Community Services Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. “We need to receive all ticket orders by June 30,” says McKirchy. Over 4,200 tickets have already been sold. Proceeds from the event... more...
Jun 14, 2007 Labor Updates (6/14/07) Hold the Date: Thousands of workers and labor activists will join Senators and labor and community leaders for a rally next Tuesday, June 19 at 2P to support the Employee Free Choice Act . The act – expected to receive a Senate vote soon -- will “help restore workers' freedom to form unions... more...
Jun 13, 2007 DC Voting Rights Moves Forward Supporters of DC Voting Rights will “pack the room” for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee mark up of the DC Voting Rights Act at 10A TODAY, reports Ann Hoffman of DC Vote. The mark-up represents the last step in the legislative process before the act is sent to... more...
Jun 13, 2007 Black Labor Historians Revealed Who were the major black labor historians and how did they come to produce groundbreaking work in economic and labor studies? In a free noontime talk today at the Library of Congress, nationally known historian Francille Rusan Wilson -- an associate professor in the African American Studies... more...
Jun 12, 2007 Demo Targets German Embassy in Deutsche Telekom Strike With whistles blaring noisily, dozens of lunchtime activists marched and chanted outside the German Embassy in NW DC this afternoon to demonstrate solidarity with striking Deutsche Telekom workers who have been out since May 11. Deutsche Telekom -- parent of notorious union-buster T-Mobile -- is... more...
Jun 12, 2007 Labor Updates (6/12/07) "The Bush administration has no love for unions anywhere, but in Iraq it has a special reason for hating them," reports labor journalist David Bacon in an editorial on Truth Out website . "They are the main opposition to the occupation's economic agenda, and the biggest obstacle to that... more...
Jun 12, 2007 Women at Work The smiles said it all. Ten newly-minted tradeswomen graduated last Friday night, proudly making up the first class of the reinstated Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) pre-apprenticeship training program. The low-income women -- many of whom are ex-offenders - all faced significant... more...
Jun 11, 2007 Happy Hour Benefits New Organizing Institute More than 500 young progressive professionals will come together at Tuesday's happy hour benefiting the New Organizing Institute (NOI). "Expect an evening filled with great people, dancing, and the sounds and visuals of DC-based producers Reehee & Shred," promise organizers. The New... more...
Jun 11, 2007 ATU 689 Going Online We're very pleased to welcome over 500 new UNION CITY readers today, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, who work at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Working with the Metro Council AFL-CIO, Local 689 has launched an ambitious effort to collect the email addresses... more...
Jun 11, 2007 Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship Women and people of color can now get thousands of dollars for leadership training and education to help them in their union careers, thanks to the new Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship from the folks at Union Plus. Click here for full details on eligibility and to apply. more...
Jun 8, 2007 Organizing and Rockin' He organizes workers and he sings, too! Catch the incomparable Baldemar Velasquez this Saturday night as he and Jesse Ponce celebrate the release of their second CD -- Justice Has No Boundaries -- this Saturday in Takoma Park. Velasquez, President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC)... more...
Jun 8, 2007 Solidarity with German Telecom Workers Walk the line Monday at noon to support striking Deutsche Telekom workers. The workers at Deutsche Telekom (parent of the notorious union-busting company T-MOBILE) have been on strike since May 11, fighting the company's attempts to outsource their work, cut their wages, and increase their... more...
Jun 8, 2007 Labor in the News "The real problem is not government but the Minneapolis taxi industry's use of a particular regulation for its own private profit," wrote AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director - and former taxi driver - Carl Goldman in a June 5 response to Washington Post columnist George Will. "Business is... more...
Jun 8, 2007 Ken Loach to Kick Off 2007 DC Labor Filmfest Famed director Ken Loach - whose films include Bread and Roses (LA janitors organize), Riff-Raff (English construction workers organize), and The Navigators (English rail workers fight privatization) - has just been confirmed for this year's DC Labor FilmFest Opening Night on Thursday,... more...
Jun 7, 2007 Federal Workers Rally Against DOL Ooutsourcing "Whose house? Our house!" chanted more than 100 Federal workers and labor activists crowding the sidewalk in front of the Department of Labor (DOL) at Wednesday's noontime rally protesting the outsourcing of hundreds of DOL jobs. "For the last 30 years, the government has tried to get rid... more...
Jun 7, 2007 Forum on Korea-US Trade Agreement Monday With the biggest trade agreement since NAFTA looming, labor and fair trade activists from the US and Korea will meet Monday, June 11, for a forum on the proposed US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS-FTA). "In both countries, serious concerns have been raised about the potential impact of the... more...
Jun 7, 2007 What's Hot at the National Labor College? This summer, school is in at the National Labor College. Courses include Contract Negotiations in the Private Sector, Steward Training, Negotiating and Writing Contract Language and more. Learn about the role of the chief negotiator in the private sector, preparing initial proposals and... more...
Jun 7, 2007 Working and Living in Iraq “We have to work so that life goes on,” Iraqi labor leader Hasmeya Muhsin Hussein told the standing-room-only crowd at Busboys & Poets Wednesday night. Under the watchful eyes of Langston Hughes, Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Martin Luther King, the roomful of local activists listened eagerly... more...
Jun 6, 2007 Iraqi Worker, Activists Demand Hands Off Iraqi Oil Dozens of activists joined Iraqi labor leader Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein for a rally and march Tuesday night to demand “hands off Iraqi oil” and to protest the proposed Iraqi oil law. The rally was the first public event of the National “Voices of Iraqi Workers Solidarity Tour.” The event... more...
Jun 6, 2007 Workers Protest Labor Dept Outsourcing A noontime rally TODAY will protest the outsourcing of hundreds of union jobs at the Department of Labor. "Secretary Chao and her political staff think the government will save money by contracting out jobs," says AFGE Local 12, which represents the DOL workers. "Local 12 says we will save more... more...
Jun 6, 2007 Organizing and Rockin' He organizes workers and he sings, too! Catch the incomparable Baldemar Velasquez this Saturday night as he and Jesse Ponce celebrate the release of their second CD this Saturday in Takoma Park. Velasquez is President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, (FLOC), which "is both... more...
Jun 6, 2007 Reeling in Loan Sharks Religious and community activists will rally TOMORROW to protest exploitation of workers and the poor by payday lenders. "Payday lenders are legal loan sharks," say organizers, "doling out easy money at interest rates that drive already struggling people even deeper in debt." The Payday Loan... more...
Jun 6, 2007 Labor Updates (6/6/2007) Congress is now considering legislation to stop privatization of letter carrier routes, reports Ken Lerch, President of Branch 3825 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. "A bi-partisan group of 168 members have formally co-sponsored H.R. 282, a measure that calls on the Postal Service... more...
Jun 5, 2007 Labor on the Move The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) has hired ERIC NAKANO as the new Assistant Executive Director. Nakano will develop and manage APALA's organizing and political programs and participate in executive level management of the organization. Nakano is a... more...
Jun 5, 2007 Iraqi Worker Tour Begins Today Plans are moving forward for US Labor Against the War's (USLAW) "Voices of Iraqi Workers Solidarity Tour" despite Faleh Abood Umara's potential absence, reports Denice Lombard of USLAW. Although Iraqi unionist Abood Umara was not allowed to board his flight to the US Sunday, tour coordinators... more...
Jun 4, 2007 Workers Join Immigrant Rights Rally Chanting "Si se puede!" and demanding "Bush escucha, estamos en la lucha," thousands -- including many union members – rallied for immigrant rights in the blistering heat Saturday. Speakers addressed the effects of the Senate compromise immigration bill on workers' rights, families, and the... more...
Jun 4, 2007 Iraqi Workers Protest Oil Law Tomorrow "Hands off Iraqi oil!" will be the demand TOMORROW as local activists join visiting Iraqi workers for a rally to protest the proposed privatization of Iraqi oil under a new Iraqi oil law. The rally starts at 5P outside the offices of BearingPoint, the contractor commissioned to write the... more...
Jun 4, 2007 Labor Updates (6/4/07) Montgomery County officials are beginning to take action on the Montgomery County Worker Safety Initiative , an innovative package of proposals to crack down on negligent employers, reports Jim Grossfeld, Newspaper Guild CWA Local 32035 and member of the Montgomery County Commission on Health.... more...
Jun 1, 2007 American Eagle Day of Action Saturday Workers, students and labor activists will gather at nine American Eagle Outfitters stores throughout the Metro DC area Saturday to expose unfair treatment of workers at in its distribution warehouse and to demand the clothing retailer live up to its code of conduct. Workers at the Canadian... more...
Jun 1, 2007 Workers Protest DOL Outsourcing Wednesday Workers and labor activists will rally Wednesday, June 6, at noon against the outsourcing of hundreds of union jobs at the Department of Labor. Earlier this month, AFGE demanded a Congressional investigation into the outsourcing decision and also questioned the ability of GAP Solutions Inc.,... more...
Jun 1, 2007 LOC Worker Campaign "Still in Full Swing" The campaign to stop unionbusting tactics at the Library of Congress (LOC) is “still in full swing,” reports the LOC Professional Guild, AFSCME 2910. Over 700 people have sent emails, letters and faxes to LOC officials stating “employees who participate in labor organizations, or who - as... more...
May 31, 2007 "Voices of Iraqi Workers" Comes to DC Two Iraqi labor leaders -- Faleh Abood Umara and Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein – will be in DC next week for the first stop of the National “Voices of Iraqi Workers Solidarity Tour.” Abood Umara and Muhsin Hussein will join labor and community activists for a rally against the US-engineered... more...
May 31, 2007 Labor Updates Hundreds are expected for an IMMIGRANT RIGHTS RALLY this Saturday at 1P to “demand humane immigration reform and an end to raids that are tearing apart families.” The National Capital Immigration Coalition, one of the organizers of the last year’s DC immigrant rights march, is sponsoring... more...
May 31, 2007 Working America Launches Summer Campaign It’s going to be a busy summer for some 180 Working America canvassers. They’ll be knocking on tens of thousands of doors in nine states to give working people a chance to make their voices heard on important national issues—especially health care. When they are knocking on the doors this... more...
May 30, 2007 Black Trade Unionists Call For Building Political Strength “Nearly 1,500 union members,” including Metro Council President Joslyn Williams, met in Chicago this weekend for the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Annual Convention, reports James Parks of the AFL-CIO Now Blog . The convention focused on the effects of the Bush administration’s... more...
May 30, 2007 Contract Talks Resume with ABC The broadcast and cable workers union resumed contract negotiations with ABC May 21 after an eight-week recess. The contract talks – which cover 2,500 workers, including members of NABET 31 in DC -- were suspended, days before the contract’s expiration in late March, after ABC proposed... more...
May 30, 2007 Minimum Wage Increase Passes Both the House and Senate approved the first increase in the minimum wage in over a decade Thursday night, reported Stephen Labaton in Friday’s New York Times . The measure raises the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 but through “three stages over two years,” Labaton reported. The... more...
May 29, 2007 Walter Reed Workers to Vote on Union More than 100 Department of Public Works workers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) will vote in a union certification election, reports the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 99 who filed an election petition on behalf of the workers last Wednesday. The workers... more...
May 29, 2007 Immigration Rights Topic of Thursday Town Hall Meeting Immigrant rights and community activists will meet Thursday, 5/31, to discuss defending immigrant rights in the face of the recently proposed Senate immigration bill. Speakers, including Nativo Lopez, President of the Mexican American Political Association and local activists, will talk... more...
May 24, 2007 No Vacation Nation The “no-vacation nation” – that’s the reputation the U.S. has in a world where nearly all rich industrialized countries guarantee workers paid vacation time. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 28 million U.S. workers – or one in four – don’t get any paid... more...
May 24, 2007 Asian American Workers and the New Immigrant Rights Movement Kent Wong, labor scholar and activist, discusses the role of Asian Americans in the new immigrant rights movement at next Tuesday's brown bag lunch discussion. Wong is the Director of the Center for Labor Research and Education at UCLA and has served as the Founding President of the Asian... more...
May 24, 2007 Fairfax County Passes Big Box Bill On Monday, May 21 the Fairfax (VA) County Board of Supervisors passed a zoning ordinance amendment on "big box" stores, reports the NOVA CLC NEWS. "The ordinance sought to mitigate the negative effects that large retail establishments -- Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. -- often have... more...
May 24, 2007 MD Legislative Synopsis Posted Online The 2007 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Synopsis - which highlights issues affecting Maryland's workers and other bills of interest -- has just been released by the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO, reports Secretary-Treasurer Donna Edwards. Click here to download the... more...
May 24, 2007 DC Building Service Worker Support Spreads Two meetings in downtown office buildings this week brought office tenants together with security officers to discuss the working conditions of building services workers. The Washington Area Women's Foundation hosted the first meeting on Monday and American Rights At Work hosted another on... more...
May 24, 2007 Labor Chorus Tickets Going Fast "There's still time to buy tickets for your local for the June 2 DC Labor Chorus Benefit Concert for the Dinner Program for Homeless Women," says DC Labor Chorus member Fred Solowey, "but the clock is ticking." A number of area labor bodies, including the National Conference of Firemen &... more...
May 24, 2007 Defense Worker Unions Fight to Overturn Bush Personnel Rules By Mark Gruenberg, WASHINGTON (PAI)--Though they face "an uphill battle" in a top federal court, leaders of the unions representing 700,000 civilian Defense Department workers will fight to overturn GOP President George W. Bush's DOD personnel rules--upheld by a court panel--that virtually wipe... more...
May 23, 2007 Last Stop, Durban By Rick Powell My last stop before heading home has a great deal of history. Durban is in Natal province or the Zulu Kingdom, located on the Indian Ocean side with the largest population of Indians outside of India. Gandhi lived there for a while as a young man and... more...
May 23, 2007 Council Meeting Highlights AFGE 12 rally against contracting out set for June 6... 2007 Directory of Council Affiliates just published (will be mailed to affiliates next week)...Maryland/DC State AFL-CIO 2007 Legislative Synopsis now available (will be posted on our website soon)...Upcoming June visit by two Iraqi... more...
May 23, 2007 Union Women Cook The Metro DC Coalition of Labor Union Women Chapter is accepting recipe submissions from labor women for their Historical Cookbook. "As working women we have always had to combine work with family life" and "this book is to remind everyone that we do wear many different hats," says Metro DC CLUW... more...
May 23, 2007 Labor Walks to End Cervical Cancer Union members made up the largest group of walkers at Saturday's First "Beat the Clock" Walk against cervical cancer. More than 350 turned out, raising over $1,000 for cervical cancer education and awareness. "To end cervical cancer we have to do what the unions do," said the Walk's founder,... more...
May 22, 2007 Council Highlights New Metro Washington Council delegates Leslie Richards ( NEA UDC Faculty Association President, 3rd from r ), Dan Dugan ( IAFF 36 President, r ) and Jaclyn Lichter ( SEIU 500 Political Director, 2nd from r ) were sworn in by Metro Council President Jos Williams (l) at Monday night’s May... more...
May 22, 2007 Music, Art and Organizing "You have to organize hearts as well as heads," says John McCutcheon, president of AFM Local 1000. Labor organizers, activists and artists will converge on the National Labor College in Silver Spring for the Conference on Creative Organizing and the Great Labor Arts Exchange June 17-19. The... more...
May 22, 2007 Labor Night with the Nats Over 3,000 tickets have already been sold for the Community Services Agency’s “Labor Night with the Nats” on Friday, 7/20. Tickets are still available! Buy 50 or more tickets and your local’s name will appear on the scoreboard. For more info, email Kathleen McKirchy, kmckirch@dclabor.org . more...
May 22, 2007 Drive Away with Discounts Whether it's a car, van or SUV, working families can drive in style for less with the Union Plus rental car discount, perfect for a summer trip or night on the town. The Union Plus discount offers up to 25% savings on union rental car services; click here for more info. more...
May 21, 2007 Court Decision to Allow Union Busting at DOD In "a major setback" for federal workers, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a lower court decision concerning collective bargaining rights at the Department of Defense (DoD) Friday morning. "The decision will allow the government to eliminate any meaningful... more...
May 21, 2007 Notes From Capetown By Rick Powell Capetown, the tip of Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, is called the Mother City by the Dutch who colonized the country and it was the single place in all of Africa were white people were in the majority during apartheid because... more...
May 21, 2007 Transit Local Driving for Change Jackie Jeter likes being in the driver’s seat. She’s also accustomed to getting where she’s going. The first female president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 started out driving DC buses in 1979 and switched to Metro trains in 1987. She became a shop steward... more...
May 21, 2007 A Look at Work in Japan Although Japan is still the world’s second largest economy, it faces increasing economic challenges from developing countries, especially China and India. DC LERA’s Wednesday lunchtime program takes a look at “Japanese Employment and Society – Past, Present, and Future” with... more...
May 21, 2007 NLRB Tackles E-mail The National Labor Relations Board recently heard arguments on whether unions can communicate with workers by company e-mail. Unions, led by The Newspaper Guild, said e-mail is like flyers, and should have no restrictions. Firms said they should be able to control their e-mail systems... more...
May 18, 2007 Transportation Workers Rally Thousands of transportation workers – pilots, flight attendants and machinists – rallied Thursday on the Mall to protest the Bush administration’s anti-worker policies. Amid a sea of blue t-shirts proclaiming “Enough is Enough” beneath a bright blue sky, transportation union leaders... more...
May 18, 2007 Baltimore Hotel Worker Demo Saturday "No justice, no sleep!" will be the chant this Saturday when UNITE-HERE workers demonstrate at the Sheraton City Center (formerly the Wyndham Baltimore). With the hotel full of Preakness guests, Hotel Workers Rising says, “This is a prime time to inform the public that all workers deserve to... more...
May 17, 2007 AFGE Demands Investigation of DOL Outsourcing The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced Wednesday that it is seeking a Congressional investigation the Department of Labor’s (DOL) decision to outsource 250 jobs this week. AFGE is also considering filing a class action lawsuit against the DOL and Secretary Elaine... more...
May 17, 2007 The View From London Road By Rick Powell (Johannesburg, South Africa, May 15) The only thing that has changed since I was last in Johannesburg is that eight years have passed. The view from London Road is pretty much the same as it was in 1999 when I was here to observe the second national election for President and... more...
May 17, 2007 Senate Begins Hearings on DC Voting Rights DC voting rights took another step forward Tuesday when the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee began hearings on the DC Voting Right Act. “This is a historic time for the citizens of the District of Columbia,” said Senator Orrin Hatch (R., UT). “I intend to make... more...
May 17, 2007 MD/DC AFL-CIO to Honor Ackerman & Forcino AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman and Central Maryland AFL-CIO President Emeritus Don Forcino are the honorees at the June 15 Maryland State & District of Columbia AFL-CIO COPE “ Salute To Leadership” at the National Labor College. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will... more...
May 16, 2007 Transportation Workers Rally Thursday Thousands of transportation workers will rally on the National Mall at noon tomorrow to say “Enough is Enough” to the federal government’s “all-talk, no-action policies that place profits ahead of safety and security, and corporate needs ahead of workers.” The May 17 Day of Action... more...
May 16, 2007 The Memphis Strike: Martin Luther King's Last Campaign Click here to download the recent issue of Poverty & Race, which includes an overview of Michael Honey's new book on the 1968 Memphis sanitation worker's strike. Poverty & Race is published by the Poverty & Race Research Action Council . more...
May 16, 2007 Labor Updates (5/16/07) Eighteen member activists participated in CWA 2336's April 27 Boot Camp shop steward training, " the first phase of the union's effort to build an army of activists that will re-ignite the vigor and muscle of the labor movement—muscle that is required to make necessary changes for workers in... more...
May 15, 2007 GAO Workers to Vote on Union By Mark Gruenberg, WASHINGTON (PAI) Upset by a pay-for-performance system their agency imposed just over a year ago, top federal analysts and investigators at the non-partisan Government Accountability Office filed May 8 for a recognition election there, voting on whether the Professional and... more...
May 15, 2007 The Seafarer and the Queen By Mark Gruenberg, WASHINGTON (PAI) Seafarers President Michael Sacco donned white tie and tails on May 7 as the only union leader at GOP President George W. Bush’s state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II. While Sacco was surprised by the invitation, he was “appreciative and honored in... more...
May 15, 2007 King, Labor & Economic Justice The connections between Martin Luther King, labor and economic justice will be explored in a special May 15 event at Busboys and Poets . The Labor Heritage Foundation and the Poverty Research Action Council host Michael Honey, author of Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther... more...
May 15, 2007 Union Women Earn More, But Still Less Than Men Unionized professional women receive better wages and benefits than women in the non-union sector but women still make less than their male counterparts according to a new fact sheet. “The union difference is quite apparent when you look at the median weekly wages” for professional women,... more...
May 15, 2007 Labor Updates (5/15/07) The Justice Department has become a "plantation" rife with racial discrimination and a "dramatic drain in African-African staff over the past few years," reports Paul Kiel in his May 14 Talking Points Memo expose . AFSCME's Counsel 26 members "talk about disrespect from managers,"... more...
May 14, 2007 Maryland Gets Living Wage Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the living wage into law last Tuesday, setting minimum wages for employees of government contractors at $11.30 an hour in the Baltimore-Washington area and $8.50 an hour in the rest of the state. Since 1994, more than 140 communities - including the District... more...
May 14, 2007 Senate Committee to Consider DC Voting Rights A US Senate committee is holding a hearing on the DC House Voting Rights Act Tuesday morning. “After 200 years of inaction, the U.S. Senate is moving quickly to consider DC voting rights,” says local activist Ann Hoffman. The DC Voting Rights Act was introduced this month by Utah Republican... more...
May 14, 2007 Students Join Labor Chorus Benefit Concert Students from DC’s Shepherd Elementary School will join their music teacher, Ken Giles, and the rest of the D.C. Labor Chorus for a medley of civil rights songs at the June 2 concert by the DC Labor Chorus to benefit the Dinner Program for Homeless Women. Tickets are going fast: click here... more...
May 14, 2007 CWA's Tarlau Wins in Mt. Rainier Local activist and CWA member Jimmy Tarlau will be sworn in today as a City Council member in Mt. Rainier, MD. Tarlau won in last Tuesday’s election, running unopposed after collecting over 150 signatures on his nominating petitions (only 20 were needed), visiting over 400 homes and apartments... more...
May 14, 2007 Wal-Mart Urged to Respect Moms Local labor activists leafleted the Germantown WalMart Friday morning to help launch a nationwide Mother's Day Card Campaign calling on Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer of women, “to publicly end its mistreatment of women workers and their families,” reports Doug Menapace of... more...
May 14, 2007 Metro Council & CSA Event Photos Available Online Accessing photos of Metro Council and Community Services Agency premiere events dating back to 2005 is just a click away ! Photos from the 2007 and 2006 Evening with Labor, 2006 and 2005 Community Services Agency Bowling and Golf Tournaments and other events are available for downloading or... more...
May 11, 2007 Labor Updates (5/11/07) GAO ANALYSTS TO SEEK UNION REPRESENTATION “Watchdogs who work for the Congress are ready to seek union representation,” reports Stephen Barr in the Washington Post (5/8)… UNIONS ARGUE FOR OVERTURNING ‘WORKERS ARE SUPERVISORS’ RULING "Cheered on by dozens of nurses in the... more...
May 11, 2007 Union Women's Work Not Done “Throughout my whole working life, my fate was always dependent on a manager's decision,” said Teresa Martin at Metro DC CLUW’s Gloria T. Johnson Awards Luncheon last Sunday, “I was laid off…forced to take a (lowerpaying) job…When I finally was hired for my present job and joined the... more...
May 10, 2007 Stamp Out Hunger Saturday Help thousands of hungry families this Saturday without even leaving your house. Food donations left near your mailbox will be picked up by your letter carrier in this Saturday’s 15th Annual Letter Carriers National Food Drive. Summer is a critical time for “millions of children whose school... more...
May 10, 2007 UNION CITY Readers Want More “If you ask UNION CITY readers what we want, the answer is simply 'More',” responded one reader to our recent survey. “More hard-hitting stories about how DC workers are fighting and winning. More stories about progressive local politics and elected officials in DC and MD. More... more...
May 10, 2007 Firefighters Block Firing in Rosenbaum Case “A D.C. Superior Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order stopping Mayor Adrian M. Fenty from dismissing a firefighter in connection with the botched emergency response for journalist David E. Rosenbaum,” reports Matthew Cella in The Washington Times. Firefighters Local 36 had... more...
May 10, 2007 UDC Faculty Union has Deep Roots Faculty members at the only public institution of higher education in the District of Columbia organized a union soon after the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) was chartered in 1974. The latest affiliate of the Metro Washington Council, the UDC Faculty Association – a National... more...
May 9, 2007 Crofton Sends Wal-Mart Packing “We beat Wal-Mart in ways we never thought possible,” said Madonna Brennan, Co-Chair of Crofton First, a grass-roots organization, reacting to last Friday’s report that the big box giant had scrapped plans for a new megastore in Crofton, MD. “There is power in people and we used it well... more...
May 9, 2007 Healthcare Workers Celebrate Nurse's Week 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will celebrate Maryland’s nurses with a Nurse’s Week event in Bowie, MD today. “Nurses in Maryland have much to celebrate,” says Carol Bragg, an RN at Prince George’s Hospital in Cheverly, “including passage of a Safe Patient Lifting law... more...
May 9, 2007 Registration Deadline for Cancer Walk This Saturday, May 12, is the deadline to register to walk with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) team in the First Annual “Beat the Clock” Walk for Cervical Cancer/HPV Prevention and Awareness. The May 19 fundraiser walk is dedicated to eradicating cervical cancer, celebrate those... more...
May 8, 2007 Union Mom Now you can celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday and support working women too! Here are a few union-made in the USA gifts from The Union Shop: Fiesta Disc Pitchers . Made for decades by a proud group of union workers and a company that has bucked job-exporting trends. Available in colors... more...
May 8, 2007 Apprenticeship Programs "Gold Mine" for DC Workers Union apprenticeship programs in the District “are gold mines for both young people and adults” testified Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams Saturday. The 16 existing programs cover all trades and crafts in the construction industry, Williams told the Committee on Workforce... more...
May 7, 2007 Mystery Solved Last Tuesday’s mystery demo (5/4 UNION CITY) was by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, which targeted Ernst & Young for hiring a construction company that subcontracted work to Maryland Applicators, which it says is eroding area standards for local carpenters. With... more...
May 7, 2007 Labor Updates (5/7/07) Mark your calendar for the Machinist’s 5th annual DAY OF ACTION on Thursday, May 17 on the National Mall. The broad-based transportation labor demonstration will focus on fighting those who “trample on workers’ rights, destroy pensions, sell-off jobs through globalization, pursue... more...
May 7, 2007 SEIU 500 Members Donate Food to Hungry Children Montgomery County transportation workers donated 1,700 pounds of food to a local food bank last month. The SEIU 500 members conducted a month-long drive to help needy children have healthy, hunger-free weekends. Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools Jerry D. Weast and Board of Education... more...
May 4, 2007 Mystery Demo AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center Director (and former union clown) Murray Horwitz grabbed a shot of this demo on Connecticut Avenue on Tuesday morning. Anyone know who organized it and why? Email us with details at streetheat@dclabor.org more...
May 3, 2007 CLUW Lunch Spotlights Brown & Martin The spotlight will be on the work and leadership of two area labor women -- Clayola Brown and Teresa Martin – at Sunday’s Metro DC Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) Gloria Johnson Awards Luncheon. Brown and Martin have “worked unselfishly for the benefit of others and... more...
May 3, 2007 Hundreds Rally in DC for Darfur With time inexorably slipping away in a bloody hourglass, hundreds of activists gathered in Lafayette Park last Sunday to demand action on Darfur. The demonstration was one of more than 400 held worldwide as part of "Global Days for Darfur" organized by a coalition of religious organizations,... more...
May 3, 2007 Joe Jencks Sings Labor Songs Saturday Singer/songwriter Joe Jencks – who has earned wide recognition for his songs about working people – will perform in concert (calendar link) this Saturday at Oseh Shalom synagogue in Laurel, MD. The concert of labor music along with songs of peace, faith and justice, is part of the... more...
May 3, 2007 Colombian President Met with Protests Dozens of labor and human rights activists joined an impromptu lunch rally Wednesday to protest the rights abuses and paramilitary killings occurring in Colombia under President Alvaro Uribe’s watch. Chanting “No labor rights? This treaty bites,” and holding images of victims of... more...
May 2, 2007 Labor's Candidate Wins in DC Ward 4 Labor-endorsed candidate Muriel Bowser won Tuesday's DC Ward 4 City Council member race with 4,486 votes, or 40% of the total vote; 2nd-place finisher Michael Brown got 3,269 votes. "Labor contributed at least a thousand Ward 4 union votes to Muriel Bowser's victory," said Metro Council... more...
May 2, 2007 DC Vote Effort Moves to Senate The bill to give DC a permanent voting member of the House of Representatives is awaiting action in the U.S. Senate, having sailed through the House on April 19 by a bipartisan vote of 241-177, reports Ann Hoffman. “Senate supporters are working on a new draft of the bill to be introduced in... more...
May 2, 2007 Labor Updates (5/2/07 HIRING HALL) The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved pay increases for most county employees and police officers last Tuesday…April 24 was also Equal Pay Day, the day that marks how far into the calendar year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned last year. Even though women make up... more...
May 2, 2007 Council Introduces Paid Sick Days Bill Cough drops and tissues were passed out to DC City Councilmembers arriving early Tuesday morning for a pre-Council breakfast meeting. The "Get Well" packages were attached to briefing packets on the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007, which would provide a minimum standard of 10 paid days off... more...
May 1, 2007 Uneasy Crown at Burger King “The crown, the crown, the crown is going down!” chanted a lively group of students and community members at last Saturday’s rally for farmworker justice in Chinatown. “Down, down with exploitation! Up, up with fair food nation!” the group chanted. Farmworkers recently began a campaign... more...
May 1, 2007 MC County Council Urged to Act on Job Safety Montgomery County Council members received hand-delivered copies of the 2007 edition of "Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect" as part of the weeklong nationwide commemoration of Workers Memorial Day. The study, prepared annually by the AFL-CIO and released last Wednesday, chronicles the... more...
May 1, 2007 Labor GOTV Seen as Critical in Today's DC Vote With voter turnout expected to be very low in today’s DC City Council Special Elections, labor turnout “may well be the winning margin,” says Metro Council Political Coordinator Rick Powell. Union activists are covering 5 critical precincts in Ward 4 where labor-endorsed candidate Muriel... more...
May 1, 2007 Paid Sick Days Advance in DC District workers would be guaranteed paid sick days under a bill that will be introduced Tuesday morning at the DC City Council. Supporters will rally at 9:30A. The Paid Sick and Safe Days Act “provides workers in DC with a minimum standard of 10 paid days off when they or a family member are... more...
Apr 30, 2007 Tickets, Ad Space Still Available for CLUW Awards Lunch Tickets and journal ad spaces for Sunday’s Gloria Johnson Awards Luncheon are still available. This year’s luncheon, sponsored by the Metro DC Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, will recognize local labor leaders Clayola Brown, President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and... more...
Apr 30, 2007 Childcare Providers Rally for Kids Tuesday Childcare providers, unions and community allies will rally Tuesday at the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) office in Baltimore, protesting ongoing errors by the state that have left hundreds of family child care providers without pay since as far back as January. The... more...
Apr 30, 2007 UMD Student Arrested for Worker Rights Action University of Maryland students demanding worker rights were barred and arrested last Thursday at the College Park Campus. When eleven students held a demonstration in UMD-College Park President Dan Motes’ office, campus police blocked the exits, demanded identification, and arrested one... more...
Apr 30, 2007 New Transit Local in the Fast Lane Living proof of the power of organizing, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1764 has nearly tripled membership in the last seven months. The local, whose 682 members work for area transportation companies, is a brand-new affiliate of the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO, and was chartered... more...
Apr 27, 2007 Getting Out The Union Vote in DC Ward 4 Race Union members will be out in force across DC’s Ward 4 this Saturday, door-knocking for labor-endorsed City Council candidate Muriel Bowser, who’s running to fill the seat vacated by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. Labor turnout is expected to be key in Tuesday’s Special Election, reports Metro... more...
Apr 27, 2007 WHC Nurses OK Contract Nurses at Washington Hospital Center (WHC) ratified a new contract last week, reports Stephen Frum, Chief Shop Steward of Nurses United, which represents 1,500 nurses at WHC. The vote was 95% in favor of the contract, which won significant improvements in wages, hours and working conditions.... more...
Apr 26, 2007 Planning for Iragi Union Leaders DC Visit As Congress and President Bush spar this week over funding and ending US involvement in the war in Iraq, planning continues for a June visit by two Iraqi union leaders. Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of the Federation of Oil Workers, and Hashemeya Mohsen al Hussein, President of the... more...
Apr 26, 2007 Farmworkers Target Burger King On the heels of a major victory against McDonald's, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has set its sights on Burger King next. Students, labor leaders, and community activists will target the Chinatown Burger King this Saturday urging them to follow McDonald’s lead and pay farmworkers... more...
Apr 26, 2007 Teamsters Honor Salvadoran Human Rights Activist Dr. Beatrice Alamanni de Carrillo, the Ombusman of the Salvadoran Human Rights Office, will receive the first Teamsters “Gilberto Soto Human Rights Award” tonight. Dr. de Carrillo is being recognized “for her role in exposing the Salvadoran government’s coverup of the assassination” of... more...
Apr 25, 2007 Schniderman Re-Elected Council 26 President Saul Schniderman was re-elected President of AFSCME Council 26 on April 19. Schniderman, who leads AFSCME Local 2910 , has served since 1998 as President of the Council, which includes 20 AFSCME federal sector locals. Fifteen of the Council’s 20 locals participated in the election, with votes... more...
Apr 25, 2007 Death at Work on the Rise Workplace fatality rates in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia rose last year after dropping for the previous three years. The nation's workplace safety laws are too weak to effectively protect the nation's workers, according to the AFL-CIO's annual Death on the Job report ,... more...
Apr 24, 2007 Labor Knocks for Bowser Union members doorknocked District union households Saturday to get out the vote for Muriel Bowser, the Metro Council's endorsed candidate in the DC Council Ward 4 Special Election. The Ward 4 election, to replace the Council seat previously held by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, is set for May 1.... more...
Apr 23, 2007 Labor Chorus Concert Benefits Homeless A June 2 concert by the DC Labor Chorus will benefit the Dinner Program for Homeless Women. “I’ll be there and I hope you will be too,” says Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams. “I rarely feel better than after hearing our local labor movement’s secret weapon perform.”... more...
Apr 23, 2007 To 'Beat the Clock,' Union Members Walk Tamika Felder, a Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)/AFSCME member and cervical cancer survivor, will join a CLUW delegation of union members and their family and friends for a walk to "Beat the Clock" for Cervical Cancer/HPV Prevention and Awareness. Felder is the organizer of the first... more...
Apr 23, 2007 Graham, Mason Honored Saturday Charles Graham, Business Manager of IBEW Local 26, and Fred Mason, President of the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO, will be honored for their leadership and service to the labor movement at the 15th annual A. Philip Randolph birthday celebration. The annual event, hosted by the Greater... more...
Apr 20, 2007 Starbucks Workers Fight Bitter Conditions Baristas and their supporters rallied for better working conditions outside a Dupont Circle Starbucks last week. Complaints include understaffing and erratic work schedules, low wages, unaffordable health care, and the need for the right to organize. “If you repeat a lie enough times, it will... more...
Apr 20, 2007 Montgomery County Workers Urge Council to OK Contract Dozens of Montgomery County employees packed a County budget hearing on short notice Thursday afternoon to make sure their recently-negotiated contract is not threatened. The show of strength came after several Council members questioned the contract at Monday’s budget hearing “and we just... more...
Apr 20, 2007 Student Dinner Unites GWU Workers Members of George Washington University's Progressive Student Union hosted a Worker Appreciation Dinner Wednesday night to thank the professors, cleaning and maintenance workers, and food service workers who make their education possible. More than 20 workers attended, including members of UNITE... more...
Apr 19, 2007 Federal Workers Face Increased Scrutiny Over Email File this under irony or hypocrisy. As questions continue to rage about partisan emails from high-ranking White House officials in the federal prosecutor firing scandal, an increasing number of lower-level federal employees are being investigated for sending politically oriented email messages to... more...
Apr 19, 2007 Turning Up the Heat on Paula Deen Paula Deen, the popular TV cook and host of “Paula’s Home Cooking,” was greeted with a prayer vigil supporting Smithfield workers Wednesday night when she appeared at a booksigning at the National Museum of Natural History. A delegation of clergy and former Smithfield worker Lenora Bailey... more...
Apr 19, 2007 Dan Dugan Takes Reins at DC Firefighters If the name of the new President of Firefighters Local 36 sounds familiar, that’s because Dan Dugan’s roots spring from his father, Jim Dugan, the well-known President of the Pressmen’s Union who were locked out at the Washington Post in 1975. Dan Dugan, 44, hadn’t planned on being a... more...
Apr 19, 2007 Workers Extend Contract; PG Hospital to Remain Open The Prince George's County Executive and County Council agreed Wednesday afternoon to continue funding the PG County Hospital through 2008.In an effort to help keep Prince George's hospitals open, the 1,800 healthcare workers at Prince George's hospital system voted Tuesday to extend their... more...
Apr 18, 2007 Iraqi Union Leaders to Visit DC Local organizers will meet tonight to plan DC events for two Iraqi union leaders who will visit in June. “Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary of the Federation of Oil Workers, and Hashemeya Mohsen al Hussein, President of the Electrical Utility Workers Union, have finally received their... more...
Apr 18, 2007 Paula Deen Not Cookin' for Smithfield Workers Local labor activists and workers will hold a vigil at 6P today at Paula Deen’s DC book signing at the National Museum of Natural History. The popular cook and host of the Food Network’s “Paula’s Home Cooking” has a promotional partnership with Smithfield Foods that the United Food and... more...
Apr 18, 2007 Community Rallies to Save PG Hospital “We’re not asking for a handout,” Laurel Regional Medical Surgical/Rehab Director Colleen Triumph told UNION CITY Tuesday morning as fifty demonstrators chanting “Save our hospitals!” circled in front of the Prince George’s County Administration Building where the County Council was... more...
Apr 17, 2007 Letter Carriers Protest Outsourcing at Postal HQ Your friendly letter carrier may soon be a thing of the past. The Postal Service’s push to privatize and outsource letter carriers was targeted by a rally of hundreds of carriers Monday afternoon at Postal Service headquarters at L’Enfant Plaza, organized by the National Association of... more...
Apr 17, 2007 Rodmen Mark 90th Anniversary A packed house of more than 500 turned out for Saturday night’s celebration of Reinforcing Ironworkers Local 201’s 90th anniversary. Chartered in 1917, Local 201 was “probably the first integrated Local Union in our International,” with twelve black and eleven white members. Known as the... more...
Apr 17, 2007 Library Workers Day Celebrates American Dream Free buttons and bookmarks at the Library of Congress today mark Library Workers Day. “Libraries are part of the American dream,” says AFSCME Local 2910 President Saul Schniderman, “places for opportunity, education, lifelong learning and free and equal access to a world of resources no... more...
Apr 17, 2007 Thousands Demand Vote in DC “We may be emancipated but we sure aren’t free!” shouted a hoarse but defiant DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton at Monday afternoon’s DC Vote march and rally. Thousands from across the District marched down Pennsylvania Avenue chanting “Free DC!” as temperatures dropped, the wind... more...
Apr 17, 2007 UDC Faculty Chartered by AFL-CIO In a landmark affiliation, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Faculty Association was officially chartered as an affiliate by the AFL-CIO at Monday night’s Metro Washington Council Delegate’s Meeting. “We’ll work very hard to ensure that our voice is heard throughout... more...
Apr 16, 2007 CSA Creative Fundraising Award: Association of Supervisory and Administrative Personnel Here’s a way to honor your members and raise money for a good cause. The Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel (ASASP), makes a contribution to the Community Services Agency in the name of members or family members of union members who have passed on. The Agency then... more...
Apr 16, 2007 UDC Faculty Association Gets AFL-CIO Charter In one of the first affiliations on the local level, the University of District Columbia Faculty Association – the NEA local at the University of the District of Columbia -- will join the AFL-CIO, the Maryland State & District of Columbia AFL-CIO and the Metro Washington Council at... more...
Apr 16, 2007 Letter Carriers to Picket Postal Service HQ to Protest Outsourcing Letter carriers from 18 states across the nation will demonstrate today at 2P in front of U.S. Postal Service headquarters. National Association of Letter Carriers President William H. Young will lead informational picketing to protest contracting out of city letter carriers jobs. Young and the... more...
Apr 13, 2007 Hotel Workers Launch Contract Campaign Chanting “We’ll remember in September!” well over a thousand hotel workers and their supporters marched through downtown Washington Thursday. The show of strength by the members of UNITE HERE Local 25 was the kick-off of the local’s campaign for a new contract for more than 5,000 area... more...
Apr 12, 2007 Seder Gives Voice to Domestic Workers Domestic workers were the focus of the Labor Seder Wednesday night in the annual celebration of struggle organized by Jews United for Justice. Nearly 200 activists gathered at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, MD at the 6th annual event, which this year brought forth the stories of domestic workers,... more...
Apr 11, 2007 UDC Faculty Association Gets AFL-CIO Charter In one of the first affiliations on the local level, the University of District Columbia Faculty Association – the NEA local at the University of the District of Columbia -- will join the AFL-CIO, the Maryland State & District of Columbia AFL-CIO and the Metro Washington Council next... more...
Apr 11, 2007 Hotel Workers Take to Streets Hundreds of area hotel workers and their supporters will take to the streets of Northwest DC Thursday to kick off their 2007 contract campaign. “Hotel workers deserve to be a part of the middle class,” says John Boardman, UNITE HERE Local 25 Executive Secretary-Treasurer. “They are... more...
Apr 11, 2007 Farmworkers Win Raise from McDonald's Florida farmworkers achieved a major victory Monday when McDonald’s agreed to pay a penny more per pound for tomatoes. The agreement not only effectively doubled farmworker pay but sent “a strong message to the rest of the restaurant and supermarket industry that it is now time to stand... more...
Apr 11, 2007 PG Workers & Patients, Left in Lurch, Keep Hope Alive Healthcare workers and patients in Prince George’s County may soon lose the county’s only hospital. Negotiations between state and local officials to approve a funding plan to keep Prince George’s County hospital open collapsed earlier this week. “It’s a full-blown crisis, a desperate... more...
Apr 11, 2007 Maryland 1st State to Pass Living Wage Maryland became the first state to require contractors to pay workers a living wage Tuesday night, the fruit of a months-long coalition campaign that included union members, religious leaders and civil rights advocates. On its last day in session, the Maryland Senate voted, 31–16, to approve... more...
Apr 9, 2007 Crofton Sends Wal-Mart Packing “We beat Wal-Mart in ways we never thought possible,” said Madonna Brennan, Co-Chair of Crofton First, a grass-roots organization, reacting to last Friday’s report that the big box giant had scrapped plans for a new megastore in Crofton, MD. “There is power in people and we used it well... more...
Apr 9, 2007 DC Voting Rights March Expected to Be Largest Ever In what's being billed as "the largest march in history for DC voting rights," DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray and members of Congress are expected to join thousands for the April 16 DC Voting Rights March. The march, sponsored by DC Vote,... more...
Apr 9, 2007 Workers March on Guardsmark Chanting "Guardsmark! Unfair!" students and labor activists joined dozens of SEIU 32BJ members last Wednesday for a late-afternoon rally and march around the DC headquarters of Guardsmark, a national security contractor. Demanding that the company improve the lives of their workforce, the union... more...
Apr 9, 2007 300 Rally to Save PG Hospitals "Keep this hospital open! No more band aids!" demanded over 300 community, labor and religious activists at a Thursday rally in front of the Prince George's Community Hospital. "Those who can't go anywhere else need this hospital," said Debbie Wilkes, a neo-natal nurse at the hospital, "and... more...
Apr 9, 2007 Capitol Workers Win Long-Awaited Contract More than 600 laborers, custodial workers, gardeners and botanists who work for the Architect of the Capitol ratified their first contract last week. “Special congratulations to AFSCME Local 626 President Wally Reed, the negotiating team members and Council Representative Peter Inman for their... more...
Apr 9, 2007 Labor Council Endorses Muriel Bowser in DC Ward 4 Special Election, Takes No Position in Ward 7 The Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO voted Thursday, April 4 to endorse the candidacy of Muriel Bowser for the Ward 4 Special Election. "Working families in the District will be well-represented with Muriel on the City Council," said MWC AFL-CIO President Jos Williams. "DC... more...
Apr 4, 2007 Bargaining Talks with ABC Suspended Contract talks between ABC and the broadcast and cable workers union were suspended last week. The contract talks – which cover 2,500 workers, including members of NABET 31 in DC -- were suspended on March 27, just “days before the contract was set to expire” according to a report by the... more...
Apr 4, 2007 GW Students Wield Technology Against Unionbusting With laptops fired up and online, George Washington University students recruited graduating seniors to participate in an high-tech campaign last Friday to stop unionbusting at the State Plaza hotel. Camped out at tables set up in GW’s mid-campus Quad, the students -- using laptops wired into... more...
Apr 4, 2007 CWA’s Tarlau Endorsed for Mt. Rainier City Council Local labor activist Jimmy Tarlau – a staff rep for the Communications Workers of America – has been endorsed by the Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO in his bid for the Mt. Rainier City Council Ward 1 seat. The election is on May 7th and Tarlau also has the support of the incumbent, Carol... more...
Apr 4, 2007 770 Join Machinists Machinists recently scored a major organizing victory at the Patuxent River Naval Base in Southern Maryland when 770 aircraft repair technicians employed by DynCorp International joined IAM District 4. “This win is the latest in a series of organizing wins for the Machinists Union,”... more...
Apr 4, 2007 Library of Congress Grilled on Union Harassment The simmering union struggle in the quiet halls of the Library of Congress boiled over in a March 22 House appropriation subcommittee hearing when Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D- FL), grilled Library of Congress (LOC) Chief Operating Officer Jo Ann Jenkins about the ongoing dispute over... more...
Apr 4, 2007 DC Students Demand Sweat-Free Apparel Students across the District are participating in Sweat-free Days of Action as part of the Student-Labor Week of Action to draw attention to the working conditions for those who manufacture university apparel. George Washington University held their event yesterday while George Mason University... more...
Apr 2, 2007 Bricklayers "Knock 'em Down" And Collect The Cash, Too Members of the Bricklayer IU “Knocks ‘Em Down” bowling team (members of OPEIU Local 2) collected $1,002.95 for the Community Services Agency’s (CSA) 2006 Bowling for Gold tournament fundraiser, winning the award for Most Pledges Collected. Team members won $75 each, most of which was... more...
Apr 2, 2007 Big Apple Bites Walmart The head of Wal-Mart and the New York City Labor Council agreed on one thing last week: there’s no place for Wal-Mart in the Big Apple. Saying “I don’t care if we are ever here,” Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott bailed out of New York City last week, citing opposition from workers and community... more...
Apr 2, 2007 Sweeney to Speak at DC Voting Rights Rally AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will be one of the featured speakers at the DC Voting Rights March on Monday, April 16. The AFL-CIO strongly supported DC voting rights in a resolution introduced by Metro Council President Jos Williams and adopted unanimously at its 2005 National Convention. The... more...
Apr 2, 2007 DC School Bus Drivers Rally Nearly 500 D.C. school bus drivers and attendants demonstrated outside the school system's headquarters last Thursday to protest unpaid bonuses and salary increases dating to 2005, reports the Washington Post. The union's 1,350 members are owed $1.3 million in bonuses and two annual salary... more...
Apr 2, 2007 NoVa Activists Stage "Spirited" March A sleepy Ballston awakened Saturday morning to a noisy and spirited demonstration by more than 100 student, community, civil rights, and labor activists who demanded respect for workers' rights. The March for Fair Food was part of the national day of action in support of Smithfield Packing... more...
Mar 28, 2007 "Dirty Secrets" Exposed at Starbucks, McDonald's and Harris Teeter Students and community and labor activists are banding together to expose “dirty secrets” at Starbucks, McDonald’s and Harris Teeter this Saturday. “Harris Teeter sells bacon produced by Smithfield Food, a company with a history of horrible abuse in its North Carolina... more...
Mar 28, 2007 Harris & Lopossay Win Top Guild Prizes The Baltimore Sun’s Melissa Harris and Monica Lopossay have won top awards at the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild’s Annual Front Page Awards. The annual dinner honors Guild members for their outstanding journalistic work and union activism throughout the year. Harris’... more...
Mar 28, 2007 Outstanding Citizen Terry Lynch We neglected to include Wilhelmina J. Rolark Outstanding Citizen Award winner TERRY LYNCH in Monday’s list of 2006 award winners at this year’s Evening With Labor. In his work as the Executive Director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, a non-profit ecumenical association... more...
Mar 26, 2007 Local Labor Celebrates 30th Annual Dinner “After I got hurt playing football there was no one around that wanted me except my union," said Gene Pinder at Saturday night’s 30 th Annual Evening With Labor dinner. Pinder, Business Manager of the Baltimore-Washington Laborers’ District Council, was named J.C. Turner... more...
Mar 26, 2007 2006 Evening with Labor Awardees J.C. Turner Award for Outstanding Trades Unionist of the Year: GENE PINDER, Business Manager, Baltimore-Washington Laborers’ District Council, Committee on Political Education (COPE) Awards: JIM LOWERY, Elevator Constructors Local 10 (MD); ERIC STARIN, Office and Professional... more...
Mar 21, 2007 Walmart "Welcomed" to Landover Hills “Do the right thing, because we are watching,” warned Rev. Jarvis Johnson at this morning’s press conference outside the new Walmart in Landover Hills, MD. Over 50 labor activists, community and political supporters gathered to “Welcome Walmart” to the community as the... more...
Mar 21, 2007 Georgetown Students Rally Over forty students rallied at Georgetown on Tuesday to show their support for security guards who begin contract negotiations this week. With chants of "Ain't no power," and "Si se puede," the students marched to the administration building, disturbing the university President and... more...
Mar 19, 2007 Pinder Outstanding Trade Unionist Gene Pinder, Business Manager of the Baltimore-Washington Laborers’ District Council, heads up this Saturday’s honorees at the 30 th annual Evening With Labor as the J.C. Turner Award for Outstanding Trades Unionist of the Year. Tickets are still available for the celebration of... more...
Mar 19, 2007 Solidarity Center Condemns Attacks Against the Zimbabwe Trade Union Congress The escalating attacks against unions and civil society organizations in Zimbabwe were condemned Friday by the Solidarity Center after government security forces raided the headquarters of the Zimbabwe Trade Union Congress (ZCTU) and beat and arrested opposition leaders during a... more...
Mar 19, 2007 Report Finds Guestworkers in "Close to Slavery" Conditions “Workers who come to the United States on short term, seasonal contracts are routinely exploited and have few legal safeguards” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, reported Matthew Bigg last Monday on the Reuters website. The Center’s report, “Close to Slavery:... more...
Mar 14, 2007 New England Grocery Workers Win Contract Stop & Shop workers represented by five United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions in New England ratified a three-year contract last weekend that secures them affordable, quality health care. The coordinated effort in New England was part of a nationwide bargaining... more...
Mar 14, 2007 Artists, Musicians Celebrate Oaxacan Resistance The struggle for justice in Oaxaca, Mexico will be celebrated in music and art this Friday. The fundraiser for Oaxacan art and solidarity efforts (see On the Line) also features food, refreshments, dancing, video reportbacks from recent events in Oaxaca, and revolutionary,... more...
Mar 12, 2007 Ingleside Workers & Supporters Rally “Seeing all these people who are here for us has lifted our spirits,” Icline McAdams said at Saturday’s rally for healthcare workers at the Ingleside Nursing Home. “It makes us remember how hard we fought to have a union and why we can’t give up or in.” McAdams and her... more...
Mar 12, 2007 Library of Congress Flooded with Pro-Union E-mails “More than 300 e-mails and letters have been sent to Librarian of Congress James Billington urging him to stop “union-busting” at his institution,” reports Kelly McCormack in Thursday’s edition of The Hill. “Employees, librarians, members of library groups nationwide and... more...
Feb 12, 2007 DC Council Takes Steps Towards Retail Living Wage Could Wal-Mart pay living wages? Several members of the DC Council said "yes" on Tuesday when they introduced legislation that would require "big box" retailers operating in the District to provide all workers compensation equal to the DC Living Wage of $11.75 per hour. Councilmember Phil... more...
Jan 18, 2007 Dairy Workers Still on Strike Federal mediation Wednesday failed to achieve a settlement to the walk-out by dairy workers and drivers at Quick Way Transportation and Marva Maid. The strike over unfair labor practices - including bargaining in bad faith by the employer - is now in its 6th day and plans are in the works to... more...
Dec 20, 2006 Worker Safety Proposal Urged for Montgomery County The Montgomery County Commission on Health passed a proposal calling for increased community awareness and mobilization of county resources to combat occupational hazards in the region’s workplaces last Thursday, December 14, reports Commission member Jim Grossfeld. The “Worker Health &... more...
Dec 11, 2006 Council Okays Affordable Housing Bill A two-year grassroots campaign for affordable housing bore fruit Tuesday when the D.C. City Council unanimously passed a landmark Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) law. The new law – which outgoing Mayor Tony Williams has pledged to sign -- will require setting aside units for moderate-income renters... more...
Dec 4, 2006 Putting On The Union At The Ritz Building engineering staff at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton voted to form a union on November 30, reports Chris Mattingly at Operating Engineers Local 99, which will represent the workers. Twenty workers make up the building engineering staff,... more...
Dec 4, 2006 GW Ordered To Negotiate With Workers Adjunct faculty at The George Washington University (GW) won a significant victory last week with the decision by a federal appeals court affirming the results of an election that united the part-time faculty with SEIU Local 500. "The appeals court ruling defends the legal rights of... more...
Nov 20, 2006 Right To Organize Demanded For LAZ Parking Workers At Metro Bright yellow signs and loud cheers livened up the gray courtyard in front of Metro headquarters in downtown DC last Thursday morning as several dozen activists braved the rain and wind to tell the Metro board that parking workers deserve the right to organize and a living wage. LAZ... more...
Nov 20, 2006 Parole Comission Workers Say Union Yes Workers at the U.S. Parole Commission voted 22-6 last Thursday, November 16 to join AFSCME, reports AFSCME Council Executive Director Carl Goldman. The newly-unionized Commission employees include case workers who handle parole for federal and Washington, DC offenders. “ Kudos to... more...
Nov 20, 2006 Labor Helping Transitions Maryland/DC AFL-CIO State Fed President Fred Mason and Metro Council President Jos Williams are among the local labor leaders serving on transition teams. Mason is on Maryland Governor-elect O'Malley’s transition team and Williams is on MD Comptroller Peter Franchot’s team, as... more...
Nov 20, 2006 Smithfield Workers Win After a two-day walk-out late last week by hundreds of Smithfield Packing workers in Tar Heel, North Carolina, Smithfield agreed to workers' demands to halt the wholesale firings of employees and agreed to reconsider their implementation of immigration policies in the plant. The... more...
Nov 6, 2006 MONTCO Janitors Demonstrate Support For Houston Strikers Unionized janitors in Montgomery County staged an impromptu solidarity demonstration last Thursday in support of striking janitors in Houston. Janitors passed out flyers on North Washington Street in Rockville “to show that our companies in Houston are not agreeing to pay a fair and... more...
Nov 3, 2006 Massive Labor GOTV Kicks Off "Final Four" Days: More than 100,000 union activists will be out talking to union members and their families door-to-door across the country this Saturday, as the 2006 campaign enters the critical final stretch. Nationwide, they will knock on 3.5 million union doors, make more than 5 million phone... more...
Oct 30, 2006 Borbely, Lorckride & Bobb GET Metro Labor Council Nod In DC School Board Races Marc Borbely, William Lockridge and Robert Bobb were endorsed last week by the Metro Washington Council in their races for DC School Board. “Marc Borbely was instrumental in the School Modernization Coalition to get money to improve the physical structure and maintenance of our... more...
Oct 25, 2006 Cirque du Soleil Settles With Union; Thursday Picket Cancelled Cirque du Soleil's DC performances are now union, thanks to the threat of Opening Night Streetheat and last-minute negotiations. “Solidarity works!” IATSE 22 President Chuck Clay told UNION CITY. Cirque has agreed that stagehands represented by Local 22 will work the show during Cirque’s... more...
Oct 10, 2006 Architect Of The Capitol Workers Vote Union Employees of the Architect of the Capitol voted overwhelmingly for union representation on October 5, voting 50-21 to join Council 26 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The eighty four workers are responsible for maintaining the Library of... more...
Oct 10, 2006 Labor Friend Charlie Mason Dies Longtime friend of labor Charlie Mason died on October 1; he was 95. “Charlie and Hilda never stopped fighting for the dispossessed,” said Metro Council President Jos Williams. “Charlie wasn’t just a strong supporter of working families, but a mentor for many of today’s... more...
Oct 2, 2006 Religious Leaders Investigate Peabody Coal Peabody coalminers were scheduled to leaflet early this morning at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Pennsylvania Avenue, where Peabody CEO Gregory H. Boyce is speaking. In July, Religious Leaders for Coalfield Justice and Interfaith Worker Justice convened a fact-finding delegation of... more...
Oct 2, 2006 Shocking Footage of Zimbabwe Beatings Screened It’s a familiar scene: a group of peaceful demonstrators is being loaded into a waiting police van. Suddenly, though, there’s a flash of white, then another and another, as police batons begin to rain down and though we cannot see the blows landing it’s clear that something... more...
Sep 25, 2006 Zimbabwe Bars U.S. Unionists A delegation of black labor leaders and educators from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, were denied entry into Zimbabwe on Friday, September 22, CBTU reports. The members of the delegation were Bill Lucy (AFSCME), Harold Rogers... more...
Sep 18, 2006 Labor Filmfest Celebrates Activism “If film is going to be an art, it’s going to have to be an art that does something,” AFTRA President John Connolly (and FilmFest Advisory Board member) said Sunday night at the DC Labor FilmFest screening of North Country. The FilmFest amused, provoked and entertained nearly... more...
Sep 5, 2006 Labor's Candidates: MD District 20 Ida Ruben, State Senate: Ruben has compiled an exemplary labor record during her 31 years of elective office. Currently serving as President Pro Tem of the Senate and a member of the powerful Budget & Taxation Committee, Ruben used her influence most recently to make... more...
Sep 1, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Prince George's District 23 Team Douglas J. J. Peters heads up a team of experienced legislators with a pro-labor bent who hail from Prince George’s District 23. Peters is the current county councilmember from District 4 and is running for the... more...
Aug 28, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Kurt Walter, Prince George’s Democratic Central Committee The Recording Secretary for Plumber’s Local 5, Kurt Walter is better known for his tireless efforts at leading voter registration drives. Walter has literally signed up thousands of new voters to the rolls in Prince George’s County, where he serves as a member of the Prince... more...
Aug 25, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Linda Cropp, DC Mayor Linda Cropp, endorsed for DC Mayor by the Metro Washington Council, has earned a reputation for getting results. As Chairman of the Council, Cropp worked alongside Mayor Williams—passing ten consecutive balanced budgets and helping bring the city back from bankruptcy. A longtime union... more...
Aug 25, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Leventhal, Subin, Trachtenberg & Elrich, Montgomery County Council At-Large Incumbent GEORGE LEVENTHAL earned the endorsement for standing up for worker rights. He stood up for workers at the publicly funded CSAAC and urged them to refrain from intimidation tactics; The... more...
Aug 21, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Prince George's District 24: A home for labor With a combined 95% pro-labor voting record in the last four years, the Prince George's District 24 delegation -- Senator Nathaniel Exum, along with Delegates Carolyn Howard, Joanne Benson and Michael Vaughn -- have a one of the most pro-union General Assembly groups in the state.... more...
Aug 11, 2006 O'Malley: "We Can Do Better" “We can do better than a Governor who vetoed a minimum wage increase,” declared Martin O’Malley at last night’s Labor 2006 Get-Out-the-Vote Kickoff Rally. O’Malley, who joined dozens of labor-endorsed candidates and hundreds of area union members at Amalgamated Transit... more...
Aug 11, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Valerie Ervin (Montgomery County Council 5) Valerie Ervin’s deep roots in the labor movement started with her career with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). Ervin went on to be an instructor at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies (now the National Labor College) in Silver Spring, later rising... more...
Aug 7, 2006 Williams In Nigeria To Help Build Movement Metro Council President Jos Williams arrived in Nigeria last night for a week-long effort in partnership with the Organizing Institute (OI) of the AFL-CIO to rebuild the organizing capacity of the Nigerian labor movement. President Williams is being fully briefed on the situation in... more...
Aug 7, 2006 NYC Transit Workers Picket Pataki At Press Club A group of angry New York City transit workers descended on the National Press Club today protesting the appearance of Governor George Pataki. With banners reading “Pakati couldn’t make it in New York – he can’t make it anywhere” and “Bad governors make bad... more...
Aug 7, 2006 Technicians Demand End To WJLA Clowning Around “Bobby Joe the Clown” was featured at a recent rally as broadcast technicians at WJLA/Newschannel 8 continue to struggle to get a fair contract. Modeled on station owner Joe Albritton, “Bobby Joe the Clown” led the members of NABET-CWA 31 at the July 29 rally outside the... more...
Aug 4, 2006 Labor's Candidates: Veronica Turner (MD 26) Elected four years ago when the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO led a door-to-door effort among Prince George’s County union members urging them to put a union leader in the state house, SEIU 1199 leader Veronica Turner has kicked off her re-election effort for State Delegate in... more...
Jul 31, 2006 Chicago Passes Landmark Big Box Bill After hours of heated debate, Chicago's city council last week passed historic legislation that will require "big-box" stores in the city to pay workers a living wage and benefits. Stores that are at least 90,000 square feet and whose parent companies have over $1 billion in annual... more...
Jul 24, 2006 Williams Named NAACP "Keeper Of The Flame" Metro Council President Jos Williams was one of just five people to receive the NAACP’s annual “Keeper of the Flame” award at last week’s 38th Annual Labor Luncheon, held on July 19. Named after former NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Hooks, the Keeper of the Flame Award... more...
Jul 17, 2006 NLRB, 14th Street Shut Down By Huge Labor Protest Chanting “Shut it down!” over 1,000 labor activists halted midday traffic in downtown Washington DC for over an hour last Thursday in a spirited protest outside National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) headquarters. “We’re fired up, won’t take it no more!” chanted the... more...
Jul 17, 2006 Hanging Up on Verizon Wireless " Verizon Wireless won’t allow their people to organize,” said Clyde Rucker of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) at last Friday’s noontime demonstration outside the L Street Verizon Wireless store. “They use intimidation tactics and when I worked there I was fired for... more...
Jul 10, 2006 "Union Dudes" Post First Loss In Hoops Tourney “Who’s that dude? He’s a Union Dude” said the announcer at the George Goldman Shooters League Tournament Thursday. The purple and orange jerseys of SEIU’s Union Dudes basketball team vied with the black, white and red of the Madness team in the second round of the Shooters... more...
Jun 26, 2006 Duncan Courageous, Says Williams “Doug Duncan’s withdrawal from the race for Governor is marked with both sadness and hope,” said Metro Council President Jos Williams Friday. “Doug has been an outstanding champion of working men and women throughout his three terms as County Executive of Montgomery County.”... more...
Jun 26, 2006 NC Meatpackers Bring Campaign to DC Vowing to be “respected and not neglected,” Smithfield Packing workers came to Washington Thursday as part of a national campaign to win a union at the Tarheel, NC meatpacking plant. Five current and former Smithfield workers told harrowing tales of injuries, harassment and... more...
Jun 26, 2006 Engineers Demand Jobs, Union Dodging noontime rains last Thursday, two dozen activists demonstrated in Rockville in support of building engineers fired for trying to organize a union with IUOE Local 99. “The NLRB told America’s Capital Partners (ACP) that if you fire two out of the three workers in a unit,... more...
Jun 19, 2006 Broadcast Workers Say No To WJLA Workers at WJLA-NewsChannel 8, members of NABET-CWA Local 31, voted overwhelmingly to reject the Company’s “best and final” contract offer last week. “It's gratifying to the bargaining committee's efforts that the membership understood the importance of arbitration in... more...
Jun 19, 2006 Uelein Gets Joe Hill Award Tuesday Local activist and musician Joe Uehlein will receive the Joe Hill Award from the Labor Heritage Foundation (LHF) at the 28th Annual Great Labor Arts Exchange (GLAE) at the National Labor College on Tuesday, June 20. Uehlein, a labor organizer and arts-activist for over three decades,... more...
Jun 19, 2006 "There's Blood On That Bacon" DC immigrant rights groups will help kick off a national campaign against the nation’s largest pork processing plant this Thursday (see Calendar for details). Immigrant and African American workers are fighting against sweatshop conditions at Smithfield Packing in North Carolina.... more...
Jun 19, 2006 Young, Female, and Activated By Sara Wallace-Keeshen As a young female activist, last Friday’s “Get a CLUW” conference was a tremendous opportunity to network with generations of knowledgeable women organizers from across the country. More than anything else, I learned about the tremendous... more...
Jun 12, 2006 Stamping Out Hunger Local letter-carriers collected almost 80,000 pounds of food during the May 13 “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, during which 70.5 million pounds were collected nationally. The record-breaking amount of food donations were delivered to area food banks by National Association of Letter... more...
Jun 5, 2006 Korea Trade Agreement Protested Wearing bright orange “stop the FTA” headbands and marching to the beat of Korean drummers, over a thousand workers, farmers, and activists took over downtown DC streets Sunday in a protest against a new trade agreement that critics say will devastate workers and farmers in... more...
Jun 5, 2006 Pride At Work Honors Local Champions Of Worker Rights The Washington, DC chapter of Pride At Work will hold its third annual ceremony recognizing local champions supporting civil and workers’ rights on Friday, June 9 to kick off this year’s Capital Pride festivities. “Our annual awards ceremony is an effort to distinguish... more...
Jun 5, 2006 Living Under the Trees Many of the farm workers picking table grapes in California’s Coachella Valley are indigenous Purepecha immigrants from Ocumichu, a town in the Mexican state of Michoacan. Otilia Esteban Nicolas has been picking grapes for six years, and lives in a trailer camp in the... more...
May 22, 2006 Transit Workers Rally For Safety “Metro opens doors, they shouldn’t open caskets!” chanted members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 who rallied last Thursday morning at Metro headquarters in downtown DC. The rally was prompted by unsafe working conditions the union says caused the recent... more...
May 22, 2006 DC Constituency Groups Organize Members of area chapters of AFL-CIO constituency groups met last Saturday in their first-ever joint meeting. Sixteen local activists from the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and the A. Phillip Randolph... more...
May 15, 2006 Demanding a Voice at Piper Aircraft Rain didn't deter demonstrators protesting Piper Aircraft's anti-union campaign Thursday morning at a stockholder meeting for American Capital Strategies (which owns Piper) in Bethesda. Workers trying to organize a union with the Machinists charge the Piper's anti-worker management... more...
May 1, 2006 Wal-Mart "Welcomed" To PG County "We welcome Wal-Mart to PG County," UFCW 400 Political Director Mark Federici said at a Landover Hills rally last Thursday afternoon, "We welcome Wal-Mart to pay a living wage, to provide healthcare for its workers and to respect their right to organize." Nearly 100 labor... more...
May 1, 2006 Labor Marches Against War Between fifteen and twenty thousand labor antiwar activists turned out for last Saturday’s anti-war march in New York City, reports Michael Eisenscher of US Labor Against the War (USLAW), one of the groups organizing the event. Organizers estimate 350,000 or more people joined... more...
May 1, 2006 Longtime Allies Win Council Endorsement Longtime political representatives and new candidates alike have received the Metro Council’s endorsement in this year’s elections. Newcomers Tom Hucker and Shirley Thompson got the Council’s nod, along with Congressional representatives Al Wynn (D, MD 4), Steny Hoyer (D, MD... more...
Apr 24, 2006 Activists Occupy DC Building To Support Miami Hunger Strike Activists occupied a downtown DC office building Friday at lunchtime to protest union-busting by UNICCO, the building services company that has sparked a 3-week hunger strike at the University of Miami. Chanting “UNICCO has got to go!” two dozen demonstrators stormed the lobby of... more...
Apr 17, 2006 DC Teamsters Settle Waste Management Strike Local drivers for Waste Management returned to work this morning after approving a contract Saturday that preserved pension benefits and provides modest wage increases. Nearly 100 local Teamsters and 125 in New York City had struck Waste Management on April 3; the New York City... more...
Apr 17, 2006 GW Faculty Union Struggle Continues The George Washington University Coalition for Fair Labor has now collected nearly 1,000 signatures on their petition to support the Adjunct Faculty Union at GW. On Thursday, student activists and representatives from SEIU Local 500 staged a noontime rally at GW to demand that the... more...
Apr 10, 2006 Massive Demo Today For Immigrant Rights Over 100,000 are expected to gather in Washington today in a massive demonstration for immigration rights (see On The Line). Millions more will rally and march across the country. Local union activists will join immigrant rights groups, grassroots community allies, elected officials,... more...
Apr 10, 2006 Teamster Strike Update Nearly 100 Teamsters are now in the second week of their strike against Waste Management; watch for details soon on an action in downtown DC this Thursday; latest news will be posted on www.dclabor.org Meanwhile, you can help by collecting contributions and organizing canned food... more...
Apr 10, 2006 Veto Override Expected On Collective Bargaining Bill Today The Maryland Senate and House are scheduled to take up a veto override today of a bill that would provide needed reforms to state collective bargaining law. Senate Bill 348 is expected to be taken up in both chambers on the final day of the General Assembly. The bill... more...
Apr 3, 2006 Teamsters Stike Waste Management Workers at Waste Management walked out on strike at 6A this morning. The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 639, drive Waste Management’s garbage trucks and struck over the company’s demand for elimination of the pension plan and wage cuts. Some 88 DC-area workers are... more...
Apr 3, 2006 Students, Labor, Unite at G-Town The chant "Workers' rights are human rights" echoed loudly across Georgetown's campus Friday as students, faculty, workers and members from the DC labor and religious communities gathered for a rally in Red Square. Speakers included Metro Washington Labor Council President Jos... more...
Apr 3, 2006 "With a Mighty Hand And An Outstretched Arm" Singing "Solidarity Forever" and celebrating the traditional Jewish Passover, labor, religious and community allies joined hand in hand at the 5th annual Labor Seder Thursday night at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, VA. Dozens of workers were among the more than 200 who... more...
Mar 27, 2006 Evening With Labor Pays Tribute To Political Friends The biggest laugh of the evening came when Senator Paul Sarbanes (D, MD), promised “I’ll be brief, since I’m a firm believer that these events should end on the same day they began.” Sarbanes, who was honored at Saturday night’s 29th annual Evening With Labor, went on to... more...
Mar 27, 2006 NPR Techs Won't Be Silenced Broadcast technicians at National Public Radio continue to battle the contract imposed on them recently by NPR management, reports NABET Local 31. Thousands of supporters have been flooding NPR with emails in recent weeks and the effect on management is clear by the defensive... more...
Mar 20, 2006 GTown Living Wage Coalition Takes The Cake The Living Wage Coalition threw a birthday party last Wednesday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Georgetown University's Just Employment Policy, and is planning a major rally for next week. "We wanted to remind the administration we have not forgotten promises they made a... more...
Mar 20, 2006 Living Wage Campaign Comes to Fairfax Energized by the recent passage of DC's Living Wage Law, a coalition of labor and community groups in Northern Virginia have officially launched a campaign to bring a Living Wage ordinance to Fairfax County. Around 100 people gathered at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls' Church... more...
Mar 20, 2006 Guild Announces Service Awards Local winners of the Newspaper Guild's annual Service Awards include Rick Powell, Amy Lampkin, Deborah Weinstock, Ed Feigen, Cassandra Shieh and John Small. Powell, of UNITE HERE Local 25, was declared Organizer of the Year, while Lampkin, Weinstock and Feigen of the AFL-CIO share... more...
Mar 13, 2006 VA Republicans Scuttle Leblanc Appointment Last week's decision by Virginia's Republican-controlled House of Delegates and Republican caucus to deny former AFL-CIO state federation President Daniel LeBlanc the appointment to Governor Kaine's cabinet for the Secretary of the Commonwealth was "mean spirited and petty, and... more...
Mar 13, 2006 First Step For DC Inclusionary Zoning Taking the first step to create a Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning program in the District of Columbia, the DC Zoning Commission issued an historic ruling on March 10. "We commend the Zoning Commission for recommending a mandatory policy that will increase the variety and supply of... more...
Mar 6, 2006 G'Town Okays Limited Card Check Although Georgetown University has told a university subcontractor that it can adopt the card check union recognition process, student activists are pushing for a blanket card check neutrality policy for all university workers. Georgetown students of the Living Wage Coalition (LWC)... more...
Mar 6, 2006 Mailers Defend Pension After more than three years without a raise and two years without a contract, Mailers Local 29 reports that The Washington Post is now trying to take away their members’ union pension. “We've got a perfectly good national plan administered jointly by a board of employer and... more...
Feb 21, 2006 Arrests of Iranian Bus Drivers Protested “Transit workers work for everyone,” said Metro worker Mike Myrick. “So transit workers in Iran must have the same rights to organize, protest and demonstrate that we do here in the United States.” Hundreds of transit workers, labor activists and supporters turned out in... more...
Feb 21, 2006 Senate Hopefuls Pledge Labor Support Both U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD 3) and former Congressman and former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume committed to working for the Employee Free Choice Act during February 15 interviews of U. S. Senate candidates conducted by the Maryland State & DC AFL-CIO in Annapolis. Both candidates... more...
Feb 21, 2006 Rolark Remembered As Worker's Champion District civil rights activist Wilhelmina J. Rolark was “a champion of working people,” says Metro Washington Council Jos Williams. Rolark, who died last Tuesday of colon cancer at 89, was “the last of a breed of instinctively pro-worker politician we don't see much... more...
Feb 13, 2006 NPR Workers Take The Mike Workers at National Public Radio (NPR) who usually work behind the microphones spoke out Friday at an NPR Board open mike session. “Change is everywhere at NPR these days,” said Flawn Williams, a long time NPR audio engineer and formerly technical director of All Things... more...
Feb 13, 2006 Katrina Survivors March In DC Survivors of Hurricane Katrina were in Washington last week to urge Congress to speed up recovery efforts as tens of thousands continue to suffer from the devastation. The AFL-CIO has set up worker centers in Mississippi and Louisiana which continue to provide assistance to... more...
Feb 13, 2006 APRI Honors McLaughlin & Williams Louis McLaughlin of Teamsters 639 and Metro Council President Jos Williams will be honored at the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s 14th Annual Birthday Celebration on April 15 “for their visionary leadership and dedicated service to the labor movement.” Fred D. Mason, President... more...
Feb 13, 2006 Rabbis Support Living Wage Jews United For Justice (JUFJ) recently released a statement calling on Washington leaders to adopt a strong Living Wage law to protect area workers. The statement, signed by 35 area Rabbis, recognizes the new economic difficulties facing working people in the city. The District of... more...
Feb 6, 2006 Wal-Mart Workers Detail Expoitation Wal-Mart’s penchant for violating worker rights and paying low wages across the United States doesn’t stop at the border. While "associates" working in U.S. Wal-Mart stores scrape by on minimum wage and less than 40 hours a week, "apprentices" in Wal-Mart factories in the... more...
Feb 6, 2006 Carter Dominates Bowling Tourney The Printcraft team comprised of Wilbert Carter, George Blackwell, Ed Sullivan, Harry Andrews and Charles Peeler won the Highest Team Score in this year’s CSA Bowling Tournament, bowling an impressive 2972 and taking home $150 each. Team member Wilbert Carter’s 651 score won him... more...
Feb 6, 2006 DC Residents Want Out of Iraq More than half the DC residents recently surveyed by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) want to withdraw U.S. troops and end the war in Iraq at the earliest possible date. Survey participants also chose funding Medicaid, no Medicaid child cuts and spending on welfare and... more...
Feb 6, 2006 Bush to US Workers: Sink or Swim "America’s workers are drowning in a perfect storm of job loss, skyrocketing health care costs and disappearing retirement security," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney last week after the State of the Union address, “but President Bush failed to provide them so much as a... more...
Feb 6, 2006 Officers Nominated For 2006-2009 Term President Jos Williams led the slate of Metro Council officers nominated at the Council's January 23 meeting for the 2006-2009 term. The complete list is included in the minutes of the Delegate Meeting, posted online now at www.dclabor.org more...
Jan 30, 2006 Top Trash Hauler Stiffs Workers At the same time Waste Management -- the country's largest waste handler -- is reaping record profits, company negotiators are attempting to undermine the wages and benefits of the company's lowest-paid workers, reports Teamsters Local 639 President Tommy Ratliff. In contract talks... more...
Jan 30, 2006 Local 1994 Launches Website "Looking back over the history of Local 1994 it's clear that aggressive representation and smart bargaining have paid terrific financial benefits for the workers we represent," writes UFCW 1994, Municipal & County Government Employees Organization (MCGEO) President Gino Renne in... more...
Jan 23, 2006 NABET-CWA 31 Urges Newsmakers To Boycott NPR Technical employees at National Public Radio, members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA Local 31, are urging elected officials and other newsmakers not to give interviews to NPR if the field production is not being done by a NABET-CWA represented... more...
Jan 23, 2006 The Student-Labor Connection Student activists from all over DC came together at George Washington University last Thursday night for a back-to-school Meet-and-Greet organized by the Student Labor Action Project of DC Jobs with Justice. More than 20 students activists were present, representing groups from... more...
Jan 17, 2006 MD Workers Win Fair Share Working families scored a huge victory in Maryland last Thursday when the General Assembly overturned Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto of a law that will make big profitable companies like Wal-Mart pay their fair share of health care costs for their employees. The House of Delegates also... more...
Jan 17, 2006 Holmes Tapped For Crime Prevention Award AFSCME 2027 member Tony Holmes received a 2005 Governor’s Crime Prevention Award. Holmes, who works at the Corporation for National and Community Service, serves as President of the Maryland National Capital Park Police Volunteer Association (PPVA). The Maryland award is... more...
Jan 9, 2006 Record Turnout At Legislative Reception This week's vote to override Maryland Governor Ehrlich's vetos of Fair Share Healthcare and the minimum wage increase were the major topic of discussion as a standing-room only crowd jammed Thursday’s Metro Washington Council Annual Legislative Reception. Dozens of area... more...
Jan 9, 2006 Questions Raised On Proposed SE Hospital Agreement Metro Council President Jos Williams has raised a series of questions with DC City Administrator Robert Bobb in the wake of last week’s announcement of a signed agreement between the City and Howard University regarding a new hospital. “Clearly we are interested in the overall... more...
Jan 9, 2006 Hassan's Jazz Wins Award AFGE national rep Rusty Hassan will be saluted at tonight’s 21st annual Mayor's Arts Awards. The host of WPFW’s "Jazz & More," has been bringing jazz to DC airwaves for more than thirty years, and has interviewed Max Roach, Sun Ra, Lionel Hampton, Dexter Gordon, Sonny... more...
Dec 19, 2005 Dancers Smell a Rat At Nutcracker Ballet dancers picketed last Thursday and Friday night's performances of The Nutcracker after Washington Ballet management locked them out. Management subsequently unilaterally cancelled the entire Nutcracker run instead of negotiating a contract with the recently organized dancers, whose... more...
Dec 19, 2005 Security Guard Organizing Drive Makes Progress "It's not a matter of if, but when" thousands of area security guards win a union, said SEIU Local 82 President Valarie Long last Wednesday. "Guards take their responsibility as first responders very seriously," said Long, "they deserve good pay, job security and proper training."... more...
Dec 19, 2005 Evans Takes Reins At CWA 2108 Les Evans was elected President of CWA Local 2108 in the November 18 election, defeating Larry Vick, 589-375. Evans succeeds outgoing President Bob Campbell on January 1, 2006, along with Secretary-Treasurer Johnny Brown and Vice Presidents Jenny Sylvester and Marilyn Irwin, who ran... more...
Dec 14, 2005 WJLA Workers Target Advertisers Frustrated after nearly a year of fruitless contract talks, broadcast workers at WJLA targeted four advertisers last Saturday. Among the company's demands is the significant limitation of the arbitration process. WJLA refused to extend the previous contract after it expired last January and the... more...
Dec 14, 2005 CEO Pay Up, Worker Wages Down CEO pay is rising at an astronomical pace while workers' wages are dropping or stagnating, according to new reports. The average CEO made 431 times the salary of a production worker in 2004, up from 301-to-1 in 2003 and 24-to-1 in the mid-1960s, according to a report by the Economic Policy... more...
Dec 12, 2005 Thousands Demand Worker Rights At White House Demo “Hey hey, ho ho, union-busting’s got to go!” chanted thousands of protestors as they marched past the White House last Thursday, bundled up against the brisk temperatures but smiling in solidarity beneath of bright winter sun. More than 3,000 turned out for the massive demonstration... more...
Apr 13, 2005 Hands Off Social Security The Securities Industry Association (SIA) will be the target of a demonstration at 10A this morning in downtown DC (see On The Line) following up on the massive March 31 rally at Charles Schwab. "The members of the SIA are the main proponents of privatizing Social Security," says the AFL-CIO's... more...
Apr 13, 2005 Patterson At Tri-County COPE Charles County Commissioner Edith Patterson headlines the next meeting of the Tri-County COPE on Tuesday, April 26th. The meeting will also feature updates on Wal-Mart in the Tri-County Area, Social Security, the MD General Assembly and the meeting with Terry Lierman. Tri-County meets at 7P at... more...
Apr 13, 2005 "Giant Sucking Sound" Returns Despite the tens of thousands of jobs already lost to NAFTA, the Bush Administration is now pushing CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which would eliminate tariffs among the United States, five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, extending the disastrous job... more...
Apr 13, 2005 Music For Workers "From the coal mine to the steel mill, from the foundry to the fast food line (these are) songs that challenge the status quo and uplift the spirit." Acclaimed performer and award winning songwriter Joe Jencks will present songs from the 1860's to the modern day in a concert this Saturday (see... more...
Apr 13, 2005 A. Philip Randolph Dinner Celebrate the April 15 birthday of A. Philip Randolph, civil rights leader and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (born in Crescent City, FL 4/15/1889, as noted in Labor History) by ordering your tickets for the A. Philip Randolph Institute Annual Birthday Celebration... more...
Apr 13, 2005 Troublemakers Wanted Space is filling up fast in the April 22 Organizing Roundtable "A Troublemaker's Handbook!" Meet the folks who helped write the book on how to fight back against unfair or abusive employers! SIGN UP NOW . Free but registration required and space is limited! Latest in a series organized... more...
Apr 11, 2005 Stop Making Sense Unpopular in the polls, hemorrhaging political support by the day and lampooned in yesterday's Sunday comics, the Bush plan to privatize Social Security now hangs by a thin thread of support from the Wall Street investment firms that stand to profit most. "Those different cost drivers,... more...
Apr 11, 2005 Fair Share Healthcare Advances In MD Last week's passage of the Fair Share Healthcare bill in the Maryland Senate "has created a firestorm for Wal-Mart" reports UFCW 400 Political Director Mark Federici. Already facing the largest civil rights class action lawsuit ever certified against a private employer in this country, the... more...
Apr 11, 2005 Music For Workers "From the coal mine to the steel mill, from the foundry to the fast food line (these are) songs that challenge the status quo and uplift the spirit." Acclaimed performer and award winning songwriter Joe Jencks will present songs from the 1860's to the modern day in a concert this Saturday (see... more...
Apr 11, 2005 JUFJ To Honor Williams Jews United for Justice will present the 2005 Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Vision award to Jos Williams and the Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO "for being a steadfast ally for justice in our community." Awards will also be given to Heather Booth "for a lifetime of working for social justice"... more...

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