Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO

Parks & Planning workers ratify new contract

5/19/2018

Members of UFCW 1994 who are part of the Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission bargaining unit ratified their new Collective Bargaining agreement on May 1, 181-46. The agreement calls for a 3.5% pay increment, a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and a .5% increase for top of grade employees. “The bargaining team was able to hold firm against management’s desire to shift more of the insurance costs onto employees,” Local 1994 reports. The contract goes into effect on July 1 after approval by the Prince George’s and Montgomery County Councils.

CWA Executive Board Green Lights Strike at AT&T

5/19/2018

As many as 14,000 AT&T workers may strike soon if they can’t reach agreement on new contracts. CWA’s Executive Board recently approved a strike by workers covered by AT&T’s Midwest and Legacy T contracts; The Executive Board’s decision came after AT&T Midwest and Legacy T workers voted on April 10 to authorize a strike, “and as the company is stonewalling workers at the bargaining table over the need for good, family supporting jobs,” said CWA. The Executive Board’s decision gives CWA President Chris Shelton the go ahead to set a strike date if negotiators cannot reach an agreement. The AT&T Midwest contract covers workers in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, while the Legacy T contract covers workers nationwide.
photo from last year’s AT&T Mobility strike last year; credit: David Bacon/ In These Times

Solidarity Center Report: Uzbek Union Leader Freed

5/19/2018

Uzbek union activist Fakhriddin Tillayev (right), in prison on a 10-year sentence and subjected to torture for attempting to organize an independent union for day laborers, was released over the weekend. Tillayev’s release was among the results sought by a Cotton Campaign delegation in Uzbekistan this week for unprecedented meetings to discuss the eradication of forced labor. Human Rights Watch, the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, Cotton Campaign staff and the Solidarity Center all followed Tillayev’s case closely since his sentencing in 2014 and raised demands for his release in each meeting with the government. Find out more at the Solidarity Center.

Dave Zirin on this week’s Your Rights At Work

5/19/2018

American political sportswriter Dave Zirin discussed the exploitation of football cheerleaders on yesterday’s edition of “Your Rights At Work” on WPFW, hosted by Chris Garlock and Ed Smith.

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