In a recent post, UFCW Local 400 said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed countless shortcomings in our country, from our inadequate healthcare system to our federal government’s feckless response.
“But,” the union added, “the crisis has also brought out the best in many members of our community.” One recent example comes from the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, which recently organized volunteers to sew and donate masks to UFCW Local 400 grocery workers. “It is one of the small ways we can show grocery workers and shelter residents that they are loved and appreciated,” said Kim Bobo, Executive Director at the Virginia Interfaith Center. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1934, ten thousand strikers at Toledo, Ohio’s Auto-Lite plant repelled police who had come to break up their strike for union recognition. The next day, two strikers were killed and 15 wounded when National Guard machine gun units opened fire. Two weeks later the company recognized the union and agreed to a 5 percent raise. Today’s labor quote is from a poem entitled The Stonecutters Kit, by Will Butler, which appeared in the January 1923 issue of The Stone Cutters Journal, published by the Granite Cutters International Association of America, which on this date in 1983 merged with the Tile, Marble, Terrazzo, Finishers & Shopmen union, which in turn five years later merged into the Carpenters union. There are two other things you need to know: “kit” refers to his bag of stone-cutting tools, and a hickory six-pounds weight is a sledgehammer. Here’s the last stanza of The Stonecutters Kit: Now I'm taking it easy, for my traveling days are over My old kit still is by my side, as it was in the days of yore My good old hickory six-pounds weight is still smiling up at me The shine I have upon its face would do you good to see I'd like to take it to that place where man is borne; I don't like parting with a friend but man is made to mourn. So I'll leave it to my buddy, who is a friend to me, If he's good to my old hickory, a true friend he will be. Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many families are being hit with increased financial burdens. For those struggling with their credit, the Union Plus Credit Counseling program is still operating online and over the phone. Visit unionplus.org/creditcounseling to find out more. And of course, please be sure to support WPFW during our Spring Pledge Drive; call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739. You can also pledge online at wpfwfm.org -- click on Donate Now -- you can now give by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Thanks very much!
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In international labor news, the Solidarity Center reports that in Ukraine, unions and worker rights activists are leveraging trade unions’ collective power to advocate for better pay and conditions for working people and help provide emergency relief during quarantine, despite the challenges posed by the country's worsening labor rights environment.
And unions in Jordan, Kenya, Zimbabwe and elsewhere are providing relief where resources allow and banding together to urge governments to provide financial and other social support for some of the world's 2 billion workers in the informal economy. Find out more at solidaritycenter.org In today’s labor history, on this date in 1909, while white locomotive firemen on the Georgia Railroad were on strike, blacks who were hired as replacements were whipped and stoned -- not by the union men, but by white citizens outraged that blacks were being hired over whites. The Engineers union threatened to stop work because their members were being affected by the violence. Today’s labor quote is by Eugene Victor Debs, imprisoned on this date in 1895 in Woodstock, Illinois for his role in the Pullman strike. Gene Debs, who said: “Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if you could be led out, you could be led back again. I would have you make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Hey, did you know that you can shop for a car and truck from home and save more than $3,000 dollars this Memorial Day? It’s true; just go to unionplus.org, where you can research new and used cars online and look for the “Buy from Home” badge to see which dealerships offer remote paperwork and vehicle delivery right to your door (well, driveway, actually). Find out more at unionplus.org And you can contribute right on your phone to WPFW during our Spring Pledge Drive; by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Or you can call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or pledge online at wpfwfm.org, click on Donate Now. Thanks very much! Big business is using the coronavirus pandemic crisis as a cover for its real goal of protecting itself against all worker and consumer lawsuits on health and safety, all the time. That’s according to experts who spoke at an American Constitution Society seminar on May 19.
Here’s how it works. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says any new economic stimulus bill must include language preventing workers and consumers from suing if they catch the coronavirus on the firms’ premises, unless the workers and consumers can prove firms violated state and federal guidelines to prevent its spread. Even if this sounds reasonable – any many don’t think it does – McConnell’s plan “is part of businesses’ pressure over time to avoid the law” and all lawsuits, according to Georgetown University law professor Heidi Li Feldman. Reading from a glossy brochure the Chamber of Commerce sent to all senators, Feldman added that the business groups “are also asking for immunity from other legal avenues” workers can currently take to battle back against irresponsible bosses. Tune in at 1 o’clock this afternoon when Rebecca Dixon of the National Employment Law Project will discuss this issue on this week’s edition of Your Rights At Work here on WPFW. In today’s labor history, on this date in 2004, nearly 100,000 unionized SBC Communications workers began a four-day strike to protest the local phone giant’s latest contract offer. Today’s labor quote is by Emma Goldman; Italian activists and anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, widely believed to have been framed for murder, went on trial on this date in 1921. They were eventually executed as part of a government campaign against dissidents. Emma Goldman, who said: “Vanzetti was right when he declared that his execution was his greatest triumph, for all through history it has been the martyrs of progress that have ultimately triumphed. Where are the Caesars and Torquemadas of yesterday? Who remembers the names of the judges who condemned Giordano Bruno and John Brown? The Parsons and the Ferrers, the Saccos and Vanzettis live eternal and their spirits still march on.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. AFSCME member Sherri Miller lucked out when she discovered the union-owned Union Plus Mortgage Company in the middle of her home search last year. As a first-time homebuyer, she felt she was in good hands with their thoughtful customer service and special union member benefits, including hardship mortgage assistance. "I've been telling everybody about Union Plus Mortgage Company," she says. You can find out more at unionplus.org And of course, please be sure to support WPFW during our Spring Pledge Drive; call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739. You can also pledge online at wpfwfm.org -- click on Donate Now -- you can now give by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Thanks very much! 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 and Ed Smith This week's guests: REBECCA DIXON, Executive Director, National Employment Law Project, on how big biz is using coronavirus as an excuse to get permanent protection from all worker lawsuits LYNN BERNABEI, lawyer, Bernabei & Kabat, on MedStar employee fired for tweeting about hospital’s lack of coronavirus safety precautions DAMON SILVERS, Director of policy and special counsel for the AFL-CIO: AFL-CIO sues feds over coronavirus workplace safety Music: “We Just Come to Work Here” Artist: Ben Grosscup; original lyrics by Harry Stamper; new lyrics by Paul McKenna Spring pledge drive: give us a call at 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or online at wpfwfm.org, click on Donate Now Produced by Chris Garlock; engineering by Jerry Paris |
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