The DC LaborFest is looking for union poets to read this Fall at the Takoma Cultural Series' Poetry at Work, sponsored by the city of Takoma Park.
“Our unions are filled with talented members whose cultural skills often go unnoticed,” says PoetryFest coordinator Gene Bruskin. “This is a moment to honor them and provide an opportunity for them to inspire us all by performing their creative expressions about the world of work.” Poets of all kinds are welcome, including hip hop and rap, as long as the poetry touches on the working life and life as a worker. Contact [email protected] for details and more information. Look for thousands of union members at tonight’s annual Labor Night at the Nats; game time is 7:05pm; and, 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 1978, a wildcat strike by Metro workers was in its second day. The strike would last six days and was sparked by anger over contracting work out and failure to bargain in good faith, issues the union is still battling today. Today’s labor quote is by David Riehle, a former railroad engineer and an organizer for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the historic Minneapolis truckers' strike, which took place on this date in 1934. Two were killed, and 67 wounded when police opened fire on striking Teamsters on what came to be known as "Bloody Friday." David Riehle, who said: "This event hit national significance in terms of the American labor movement. It really was one of the battles that ignited the struggle for unionization that unfolded throughout the '30s." You can hear more about the strike on the Labor History Today podcast, just search for Union City Radio on your favorite podcast platform.
0 Comments
Hosted by Chris Garlock and Ed Smith
Today's guests: ATU 689 president Jackie Jeter on the 1978 Metro workers’ wildcat strike; unjustly fired Kroger worker Judy Cook and her union rep Mark Collins, today's labor music, “Down On The Line” from "SpudWrench" the elevator engineer. Labor rights headlines: Disneyland Workers Face Ruthless Exploitation. Their Fight is Our Fight Your Rights At Work is also available as a podcast! Just search for Union City Radio on iTunes, Stitcher, OverCast or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe and you’ll get our shows right on your phone! Produced by Pete Pocock and Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nasella. Over 39 hardworking years at Kroger store #328 in Kingsport, Tennessee, Judy Cook had a perfect performance record.
She received glowing reviews, was never written up, was never late and hadn’t even taken a sick day for 25 years. Then one day, out of the blue, Judy was suspended without pay. Kroger charged her with holding back marked-down items for herself, rather than putting them on the shelves. But she had done no such thing. “It totally destroyed me,” Judy said, “because I had devoted my life to Kroger. I could not believe they could do anything like this. It killed my soul.” Now, if she wasn’t a union member, Judy would have probably just lost her job. But her union, UFCW Local 400, filed a grievance and eventually, not only did Judy get her job back, but she won full back pay for the five-and-a-half weeks she was suspended. “Without our union,” Judy says, “I shudder to think what things would be like.” This story has a bittersweet ending. Judy was so distressed at her ordeal that after her return to work, she decided to retire. But before she left, Judy made it her mission to encourage as many people as she possibly could at her store to join the union. And she succeeded, signing up dozens of new members, including one person who had refused to join for 10 long years. And, she proudly says, her own daughter is now carrying the torch forward for the union at Kroger. Judy and her union rep will be guests on today’s edition of “Your Rights At Work” at 2pm here on WPFW. 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 1940, an amendment to the 1939 Hatch Act, a federal law whose main provision prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, was amended to also cover state and local employees whose salaries include any federal funds. Today’s labor quote is from the Declaration of Women's Rights, adopted at the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, which began on this date in 1848. The Declaration of Women's Rights, which says: “The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” News Guild members at the Washington Post last week ratified a tentative agreement with the Post. “This isn’t the contract that Washington Post workers wanted or deserved,” said Fredrick Kunkle, staff writer and co-chair of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild’s bargaining unit at the Post. “But,” he said, “we also believe things would be much worse without this contract. We’re proud to have fought off a number of proposals that would have given more power to the owner and further undermined his employees’ financial well-being.” Kunkle added that the new contract’s “stinginess” — less than 1 percent a year in pay increases, no more than four weeks’ parental leave, and a 401(k) match and retirement plan that the union says is almost a joke — says more about the Post’s owner and top management than it does about the merits of its staff.
For the latest local labor calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today's labor history, on this date in 1969, hospital workers won 113-day union recognition strike in Charleston, South Carolina. Today’s labor quote is by Mary Moultrie, one of the leaders of the 1969 Charleston Hospital strike. Mary Moultrie, who said: “We marched, we picketed and many of us did whatever we needed to do to make the marches a success. We had nightly rallies and we boycotted businesses.” |
Categories
All
Union City Radio is proud to be supported by UnionPlus, which has been working hard for union families since 1986.
Union City Radio is part of The Labor Radio/Podcast Network
Listen now...UC Radio airs weekdays at 7:15a on WPFW 89.3 FM; subscribe to the podcast here. |