(audio) “You know, when we’re on stage, we wear our tails, but you know, today, we’re out here in our shorts and our Baltimore Symphony Musicians shirts and as you can hear, there’s a lot of activity around me right now.”
That’s Brian Prechtl (PRECK-TUL), percussionist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and co-chair of the Baltimore Symphony Musicians Players’ Committee, Local 40-543 of the American Federation of Musicians. As we reported earlier this week, BSO management locked out their musicians on Monday, claiming they’re broke. The musicians point out that management is paying itself lavish salaries, but on the picket line Tuesday, Brian raised a bigger problem… (audio) “People don’t give you money because you need it, and you have to find money if you’re any arts organization. People give you money if you inspire them, and unfortunately the language management has been using doesn’t inspire anybody, to give money, to believe there’s a positive vison for how they’re going to move forward. The only vison they seem to have is to cut the organization down, and that’s a really punitive way to run an arts organization, and to run a business.” Tune in at 1pm this afternoon here on WPFW for this week’s edition of Your Rights at Work, to hear the rest of my interview with Brian, as well as all the latest local labor news. Also on today’s labor calendar… Daily picketing by the BSO musicians continues today at 7:30am, 11:30 am and 4pm in Baltimore; and Pride@Work celebrates its 25th anniversary tonight at 6 at the AFL-CIO. For all the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1943, striking African-American auto workers were attacked by members of the KKK, the National Workers League, and armed White workers at the Belle Isle amusement park in Detroit. During the two days of riots that followed, 34 people were killed, and more than 1,300 arrested. Today’s labor quote is by President Harry Truman, who vetoed the Taft-Hartley Labor Management Relations Act on this date in 1947. The veto was overridden three days later by a Republican-controlled Congress. Harry S. Truman, who said: “The bill is deliberately designed to weaken labor unions. When the sponsors of the bill claim that by weakening unions, they are giving rights back to individual workingmen, they ignore the basic reason why unions are important in our democracy. Unions exist so that laboring men can bargain with their employers on a basis of equality.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you’re thinking about hitting a theme park with your family this summer, visit unionplus.org/entertainment to get savings at America’s favorite theme parks.
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If you’re in downtown DC over the next week or so, be sure to stop by the AFL-CIO to see “On Equal Terms - Tradeswomen: Forward into Our Fifth Decade,” an exhibit by artist, poet, activist and tradeswoman Susan Eisenberg.
Thirty-five years ago President Jimmy Carter issued two executive orders, part of a campaign to support equality in the workplace and open career opportunities for women. But while other historically male occupations have seen dramatic changes over the last three decades, the percentage of women in skilled trades construction jobs has remained virtually unchanged at less than 5%. On Equal Terms, a mixed media installation, combines personal witness, artifacts, and 3-D mixed media –– including a life-sized tradeswoman on a ladder wearing a diamond hardhat –– to bring viewers into the experiences of women who work in construction and skilled trades. It’s free and open during regular business hours at the AFL-CIO at 16th and I. On today’s labor calendar… Daily picketing by the BSO musicians continues today at 7:30am, 11:30 am and 4pm in Baltimore; and Fruit of Labor performs free at the Shirlington Busboys and Poets at 6 pm. For the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1934, a pioneering sit-down strike was conducted by workers at a General Tire Company factory in Akron, Ohio. The United Rubber Workers union was founded a year later. The sit-down tactic launched a wave of similar efforts in the auto and other industries over the next several years. Today’s labor quote is by American Federation of Labor president Sam Gompers, who signed an agreement with Secretary of War Newton Baker on this date in 1917 establishing a three-member board of adjustment to control wages, hours and working conditions for construction workers employed on government projects. Sam Gompers, who said: "Do I believe in arbitration? I do. But not in arbitration between the lion and the lamb, in which the lamb is in the morning found inside the lion." Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you’re thinking about hitting a theme park with your family this summer, visit unionplus.org/entertainment to get savings at America’s favorite theme parks. Baltimore Symphony Musicians are walking the picket line today after management locked them out on Monday. Adding insult to injury, the musicians learned about the lockout from social media, not their employer.
BSO management says they’re broke, but the musicians have agreed to millions in givebacks over the years and say the orchestra is a victim of chronic mismanagement. The BSO musicians are members of Local 40-543 of the American Federation of Musicians, and say they’ll continue to fight to preserve the world-class orchestra “that has been built over the last 103 years and to sustain it into the next century.” On today’s labor calendar, follow BaltimoreSymphonyMusicians on Facebook for the latest details on their daily picket line outside the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. And at 6 tonight, catch a free performance of the Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble at the Takoma Busboys and Poets, part of the DC LaborFest’s monthly Bread and Roses series. Complete details, as always, on our website, dclabor.org. click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1941, union and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph and others met with President Roosevelt about a proposed July 1 March on Washington to protest discrimination in war industries. A week later, Roosevelt ordered that the industries desegregate. Today’s labor quote is by A. Philip Randolph, who said: “Nothing counts but pressure, pressure, more pressure, and still more pressure through broad organized aggressive mass action.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Summer is here, which means it’s time to take advantage of union members savings on theme and water park tickets. Visit unionplus.org/entertainment. (audio) You know there’s still so much misunderstanding out there, whether it’s gay and lesbian people, whether it’s transgender people, the misunderstandings are different. There’s been a lot more work done on the gay and lesbian side; let’s be clear. We’re much less of a mystery to the average American compared to a transgender person. But the discrimination still happens. We’re still fighting it every day. In more than half of this country, workers work in a place where they could be fired for being gay if they don’t have a union contract.
That’s Jerame Davis, executive director of Pride At Work, on the latest episode of the AFL-CIO’s State of the Unions podcast. Catch it wherever you listen to podcasts. On today’s labor calendar, this month’s Metro Washington Council Delegate Meeting is tonight at 6:30 at the AFL-CIO; complete details on our website, dclabor.org. click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, twelve trade unionists met in Pittsburgh to launch a drive to organize all steelworkers on this date in 1936. It was the birth of the United Steelworkers of America (then called the Steel Workers Organizing Committee). By the end of the year 125,000 workers joined the union in support of its $5-a-day wage demand. Today’s labor quote is by Susan B. Anthony, who went on trial in Canandaigua, New York on this date in 1873 for casting her ballot in a federal election the previous November, in violation of existing statutes barring women from the vote. Susan B. Anthony, who said: “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union...” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Summer is here, which means it’s time to take advantage of union members savings on theme and water park tickets. Visit unionplus.org/entertainment. |
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