DC’s call-in show about worker rights: those you have, those you don’t, how to get them and how to use them.
Hosted by Chris Garlock & David Stephen, subbing for Ed Smith, who’s self-quarantined due to possible exposure to the Coronavirus On today's show: LIZ SHULER (AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer); Labor takes on Coronavirus STEPHEN FRUM, DC RN; report from the frontlines ED SMITH; quarantined co-host 1:30: Music: I Will Survive https://youtu.be/ARt9HV9T0w8, Gloria Gaynor Case Closed, with BOB SAMET Produced by Chris Garlock and Peter Pocock; engineered by Mike "The Man" Nasella
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After union members waged an aggressive contract campaign, UNITE HERE Local 7 reports that the Hyatt Regency Baltimore and the Hilton Baltimore have agreed to go to $15 dollars an hour for the lowest paid classifications this year.
The Hilton and Hyatt workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 7 and IUOE Local 37. Hilton workers ratified the new agreement on March 4th, and Hyatt workers ratified their new contract in October of last year. “Now we need the Marriott Waterfront to match this standard!” says Local 7’s Roxie Herbekian. Marriott Waterfront workers will picket this Thursday; details are at dclabor.org, click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, United Farm Workers leader César Chávez broke a 24-day hunger strike on this date in 1968. Several thousand supporters were at his side, including Senator Robert Kennedy. Today’s labor quote is by Cesar Chavez, who called his 1968 hunger strike “a fast for non-violence and a call to sacrifice.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Hey, spring break is coming up soon and it’s even more relaxing when you save up to 25% off base rates by booking a vacation car rental with Hertz. Hertz supports the labor movement by employing union members and featuring American-made cars. And don’t forget to sign up for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards: you’ll get a smoother rental experience and earn rewards like free days. Visit unionplus.org/carrental to get started. (audio) Unions have a history of petitioning the agency to develop an infectious disease standard. And we've done this after concerns from our members and other workers from past exposures like SARS and different pandemic flus. And the agency listened to us and they started work on a standard, started developing one, but when Trump came into office, this item was demoted on their regulatory agenda to something called a long-term action, which means they were going to stop working on it, and this is the exact type of standard that would have protected these frontline workers from this type of outbreak.” That's AFL-CIO Safety & Health Specialist M.K. Fletcher, on a special edition of the State of the Unions podcast... (audio) In the place of that OSHA and other agencies like the CDC have issued guidelines for employers and specific industries that they feel have an elevated risk, like in the healthcare industry, death care, airline operations, laboratories, border protection, and then waste management. However, all these guidelines are voluntary. So employers have the discretion to implement, ignore, or selectively follow whatever they want from the guidelines. Some of the guidance is also kind of broad and vague, which becomes a challenge when you are that frontline worker and you need clear, precise information to do your job safely. AFL-CIO Safety & Health Specialist M.K. Fletcher; hear more about what the labor movement is doing about the Coronavirus outbreak on a special edition of the State of the Unions podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. Today’s labor history is actually from yesterday: on March 8, 1908, thousands of New York needle trades workers demonstrated for higher wages, a shorter workday, and an end to child labor. The demonstration became the basis for International Women’s Day. Today’s labor quote is from Bev Grant, from her song "We Were There," which is also the title of her multimedia performance about women's labor history, which will be performed on March 17 at this month's Bread and Roses Series at the Takoma Park Busboys and Poets; details and RSVP at dclabor.org, click on calendar. We have ploughed and we have planted. We have gathered into barns. Done the same work as the men with babies in our arms. But you won't find our stories in most history books you read. We were there. We're still here, fighting for the things we need. (chorus) We were there in the factories We were there in the mills We were there in the mines and came home to fix the meals We were there on the picket line We raised our voices loud It makes me proud just knowing we were there. Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Spring break is coming up soon and you can save up to 25% off base rates when you book a vacation car rental with Hertz. Hertz supports the labor movement by employing union members and featuring American-made cars. And don’t forget to sign up for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® to earn rewards and get a smoother rental experience. I’m a Gold member and love it! Visit unionplus.org/carrental to get started. Just hours before a planned strike vote yesterday, union negotiators for thousands of area supermarket workers announced a tentative settlement. Pensions were the key issue at stake in months of negotiations that went down to the wire, and UFCW Local 400 said that “By sticking together and demanding a fair contract, we stopped Safeway from gutting our pension.” Local 400 president Mark Federici added that “This would not have been possible without a united union membership willing to take a stand.” For details on all the latest local labor events listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1886, the Knights of Labor picketed to protest the practices of the Southwestern Railroad system, and the company's chief, high-flying Wall Street financier Jay Gould. Some 9,000 workers walked off the job, halting service on 5,000 miles of track. The workers held out for two months, many suffering from hunger, before they finally returned to work. Today’s labor quote is from Joe Hill’s song “There Is Power In A Union” which first appeared in the “Little Red Song Book,” published by the Wobblies on this date in 1913, and sung here by John McCutcheon: Would you have freedom from wage slavery Then join in the grand, Industrial band Would you from mis'ry and hunger be free Then come! Do your share, like a man There is pow'r, there is pow'r In a band of workingmen When they stand, hand in hand That's a pow'r, that's a pow'r That must rule in every land One Industrial Union Grand Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you’ve ever wished you could complete your bachelor’s degree, but just couldn’t find the time or the money, with the new Union Plus Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program, union members and their family members can complete a bachelor’s degree online for little to no cost. Classes start every 8 weeks, and Spring classes start March 9. Visit unionlowcostdegrees.org to learn more. |
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