In this week's Labor Quiz, the Supreme Court heard a case earlier this month that is very important to labor. What is the question the court will answer? Is it: Are right-to-work laws constitutional?; Can companies lock out their workers without notice? or Can public employee unions charge non-members a fee? Go to unionist.com and click on Labor Quiz and you could be next week's winner!
On today's Labor Calendar, a special Union Night performance of "Sweat" is scheduled for tonight at 7:30pm at Arena Stage; tickets may still be available; call 202.488.4380 or email [email protected] and use the CODE: AFLCIO. Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for the latest updates. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1734, New York City maids organized to improve working conditions. In 2014, Pete Seeger died in New York at age 94. A musician and activist, he was a revered figure on the American left, persecuted during the McCarthy era for his support of progressive, labor and civil rights causes. A prolific songwriter, he is generally credited with popularizing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.” He actively participated in demonstrations until shortly before his death. Also in 2014, members of the Northwestern University football team announced they were seeking union recognition. A majority signed cards, later delivered to the National Labor Relations Board office in Chicago, asking for representation by the College Athletes Players Association. Today’s labor quote is by Pete Seeger “A good song reminds us what we’re fighting for.” Pete Seeger, who also said “I’ve never sung anywhere without giving the people listening to me a chance to join in - as a kid, as a lefty, as a man touring the U.S.A. and the world, as an oldster. I guess it’s kind of a religion with me. Participation. That’s what’s going to save the human race.”
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NOTE: due to the snowstorm there was no UC Radio broadcast for today; here's the draft content:
The 2016 National Jobs With Justice conference is set for February 12-13 here in Washington. "The conference is a great opportunity for DC labor activists to acquire new organizing, campaigning and communications tools, advance leadership skills and expand networks, as well as strategize and learn about breakthroughs in organizing and membership building," says DC Jobs With Justice Executive Director Nikki Lewis. And the next AFL-CIO Organizing Institute is coming up March 4-6 in Baltimore. The Organizing Institute trains member activists and staff in basic organizing skills. For more info and to register for either of these events, go to dclabor.org On today's Labor Calendar, tonight’s AFL-CIO screening of "A Day's Work" has been canceled; at presstime it wasn't clear whether the "Pray for the Dead" reading at the Arts Club of Washington is going ahead or not; go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for the latest updates. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1695, in what could be considered the first workers’ compensation agreement in America, pirate Henry Morgan pledged his underlings 600 pieces of eight or six slaves to compensate for a lost arm or leg. Also part of the pirate’s code is that shares of the booty were equal regardless of race or sex, and shipboard decisions were made collectively, reports Roger Newell. in 1850, Samuel Gompers, the first president of the American Federation of Labor, was born in London, England. He emigrated to the U.S. as a youth. And in 2009, a handful of American companies announced nearly 60,000 layoffs today, as the recession that began during the George W. Bush presidency charged full-tilt toward what became known as the Great Recession. Today’s labor quote is by Sam Gompers: "The man who has his millions will want everything he can lay his hands on and then raise his voice against the poor devil who wants ten cents more a day." For the first time in 34 years, Joslyn N. Williams’s name will not appear on the officer election ballot for the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, which is scheduled to elect new leadership February 22. Williams, the longest-serving and first African American president of the Labor Council, recently announced that he would not run again for the position he has held since 1982. “I am just stepping down, not stepping away from the labor movement,” said Williams. “It’s time for someone else to move the work forward. I plan to redirect my energy from the battles of the metropolitan Washington area to the global arena.” Go to dclabor.org for our complete report on Williams and his legacy.
Weather permitting, the Metro Washington Council will meet tonight at 6:30 pm at the AFL-CIO to nominate leadership for the next three years; for details and the latest local labor events -- including weather-related updates -- go to dclabor.org and click on calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1851, Sojourner Truth addressed the first Black Women’s Rights convention. In 1904, 200 miners were killed in a horrific explosion at the Harwick mine in Cheswick, Pennsylvania. Many of the dead still lie entombed in the sealed mine to this day. On this date in 1915, the Supreme Court upheld “Yellow Dog” employment contracts, which ban membership in labor unions. Yellow Dog contracts remained legal until 1932. Today’s labor quote is by Sojourner Truth: "“You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins for so long to give up; it cuts like a knife. It will feel all the better when it closes up again.” Teamster warehouse workers on Wednesday morning overwhelmingly approved a new 6-year contract at Safeway that saves jobs and ousts the company that had threatened to eliminate the jobs of over 700 area workers. “It’s a huge win,” said Teamsters Local 730 president Ritchie Brooks immediately after his members voted 205 to 18 in favor of the pact; in a separate meeting, Teamsters 639 members also approved it. The locals have been battling since last October when Safeway warehouse manager C&S Wholesale Grocers abruptly announced plans to close two Safeway distribution centers in Upper Marlboro and Landover. “The key to our victory was that everyone banded together,” Ritchie said. “Labor, political leaders and the community all came together to show Safeway our solidarity.” While workers gave up some concessions, they preserved every job and, most importantly, ousted C&S; Safeway will now manage the Upper Marlboro warehouse. Local and state officials pledged $1.5 million in financial incentives to keep the warehouse, and the deal also guarantees no outsourcing of jobs during the term of the contract. “Everyone came together and that’s the power of solidarity,” said Ritchie.
On our local labor calendar, there are just a few discounted tickets left to the January 27 Union Night at Arena Stage's production of "Sweat"; for details and the latest local labor events -- including weather-related updates -- go to dclabor.org and click on calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1826, Indian field hands at San Juan Capistrano mission refused to work, engaging in what was probably the first farm worker strike in California. Terence V. Powderly, leader of the Knights of Labor, was born on this date in 1849. In 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio, with the merger of the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union. And in 1932, five hundred New York City tenants battled police to prevent evictions. Today’s labor quote is by Martin Luther King, Jr: "The labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it...those who attack labor forget these simple truths but history remembers them." |
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