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Union City Radio: Transit workers: “Do not use public transit”

3/27/2020

Social distancing in a subway car is tough, and nearly impossible on a bus. We checked in with ATU Local 689’s Brian Wivell earlier this week to find out what the transit worker’s union is asking folks to do during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
(audio) “So first and foremost, our number one ask right now is that if you do not have to be traveling to other places, please, please, please stay home. Do not use public transit if at all possible. It is really essential that we keep public transit accessible to those that are essential employees and need to be using public transit at this time. If you do not need to use public transit, if you have the means of getting someplace without, you know, coming into contact with other people, please use that. Help us keep our members safe, help us keep public transit functioning during this critical time. So if you have the ability and means to do so, you know, stay home. Don't use public transit, make sure that essential employees are able to get where they need to go.”
Brian Wivell, from ATU Local 689, which represents nearly 7,000 metro-area transit workers.

In today’s labor history, on this date in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that undocumented workers do not have the same rights as Americans when they are wrongly fired.

Today’s labor quote is by Mother Jones, who was ordered to leave Colorado, where state authorities accused her of “stirring up” striking coal miners, on this date in 1904. Mother Jones, who said:
“I will tell the truth wherever I please.”

Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus, which stands up for union members and their families. At unionplus.org you’ll find useful links to coronavirus resources from the AFL-CIO, as well as Union Plus Hardship Help Benefits. Check it out at unionplus.org

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YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK: Helping DC workers cope with #COVID19; The stimulus bill: good news for American workers?

3/26/2020

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DC’s call-in show about worker rights: those you have, those you don’t, how to get them and how to use them. Broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM
Hosted by Chris Garlock and Ed Smith

Today’s guests:
DC Councilmember ELISSA SILVERMAN: What DC is doing to help workers, resources available.
AFL-CIO’s DAMON SILVERS: The stimulus bill: good news for American workers?
Music: It's The End of the World, R.E.M.
PLUS: Case Closed, with BOB SAMET, and COVID-19 advice from BRIAN WIVELL, ATU 689 and DABNEY HUDSON, DC Fire Fighters Local 36.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Chris Bangert-Drowns

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Union City Radio: “It’s no joke”: a DC fire fighter’s COVID-19 warning

3/26/2020

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(audio)”We handle every emergency or everything in the city that any other agency says they can't handle. Right. DPW shows up and they see something they call the fire department. The police show up, they don't like it, they call the fire department. You know, the gas company shows up, they call the fire department. I mean, we get cats out of trees. We go on the gas leaks, we go on shootings, we go along infectious control cases. We go to fires, we go to collapses, we go to high angles, you know, I mean, if it could happen in the city, we're probably the only agency that is consistently on every type of incident. Right? I mean, that's just, it's the nature of the beast.”
That’s Dabney Hudson, president of Fire Fighters Local 36, which represents nearly 1,700 DC fire fighters and first responders. These are folks who deal with crises every day, so I asked Dabney earlier this week for advice on how to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
(audio) “The biggest thing people can do, and I mean, I'm not even gonna lie. I didn't know the full depth of it until dealing with the cases we have internal in the firehouse. It was funny, one of my buddies at the international lives up near Meridian Hill park and we were texting back and forth on Friday and he’s like ‘You wouldn't believe it. There's 200 people out here in workout clothes, drinking wine, and in the middle of the park.’ You know, that's the response, right? Like everybody's thinking it's the day off from work. There might be working from home, but like the social distancing thing is huge, this stuff does spread. I mean, it is no joke, right? Like we know that it gets around communities and gets around communities fast. The problem is people may have, if they may be a carrier, they're not symptomatic. So they think all things are fine, you know, and they're going to the friend's house and doing whatever. Next thing you know, we've got 15 people that show up positive. Stay vigilant on that whole social distancing thing. Be clean. I mean, I know that sounds bad, but wash your hands cause like all that stuff is real.”
Dabney Hudson, president of Fire Fighters Local 36, with some really solid advice on how to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. We’ll have more of our conversation on this week’s edition of Your Rights At Work, today at 1 o’clock, here on WPFW.

In today’s labor history, on this date in 1868, San Francisco brewery workers began a 9-month strike as local employers followed the union-busting lead of the National Brewer’s Association and fired their unionized workers, replacing them with scabs. Two unionized brewers refused to go along, kept producing beer, prospered wildly and induced the Association to capitulate. A contract benefit since having unionized two years earlier, and certainly worth defending: free beer.

Today’s labor quote is by Jean Ross, President of National Nurses United, warning of the risk to our nation if nurses don’t get the protective equipment they need. Jean Ross, who said:
“We don’t want to see a health care system devoid of health care workers.”

Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus, which stands up for union members and their families. At unionplus.org you’ll find useful links to coronavirus resources from the AFL-CIO, as well as Union Plus Hardship Help Benefits. Check it out at unionplus.org

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Union City Radio: “It’s very bad”: DC hotel workers cope with COVID-19

3/25/2020

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(audio) “Yeah, it’s very bad, Chris. We've got 97% of our members out of work. About half of our hotels are mothballing. They're closing entirely. The ones that are operating are operating, in the low single digits around, three to 5% occupancy.”
That’s John Boardman, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents more than 7,000 DC-area hotel workers.
I checked in with John yesterday to see how his union and its members are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
(audio) “We are fully operational even though our office is closed, Chris, we are in the process of contacting all of our members directly, by phone. we have a very robust text communications backbone in place. almost 90% of our members are capable of receiving text messages from us. We have our website up. We're in the process this week of launching an email newsletter. So we're keeping people posted. And I would, I would encourage those of you who listen to the show, to recognize that, we are all isolated now. And so anything that we can do to, do what we as humans need, which is create a sense of community, all of those little things will be important. So, call a friend, call a member, Keep in touch. Usually mail, text message somebody. we're, we're trying to do that as much as we can with our membership. So that they know what's going on and that, they keep us informed and we them about, what they need to do to stay safe and to be able to access some of these programs.”
John Boardman, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents more than DC-area 7,000 hotel workers. We’ll have more of my conversation with John on this week’s edition of Your Rights At Work, Thursday at 1pm, here on WPFW.

In today’s labor history, on this date in 1894, the first “Poor People’s March” on Washington took place, in which jobless workers demanded creation of a public works program. Led by populist Jacob Coxey, the 500 to 1,000 unemployed protesters became known as “Coxey’s Army”.

Today’s labor quote is from “The Triangle Fire,” by John O’Connor. 146 workers were killed in a fire at New York’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on this date in 1911, a disaster that would launch a national movement for safer working conditions.
(audio)

Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus, which stands up for union members and their families. At unionplus.org you’ll find useful links to coronavirus resources from the AFL-CIO, as well as Union Plus Hardship Help Benefits. Check it out at unionplus.org

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Union City Radio

Union City Radio: Transit workers: “Do not use public transit”

YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK: Helping DC workers cope with #COVID19; The stimulus bill: good news for American workers?

Union City Radio: “It’s no joke”: a DC fire fighter’s COVID-19 warning

Union City Radio: “It’s very bad”: DC hotel workers cope with COVID-19

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