Hosted by Chris Garlock and Judi Conti, Government Affairs Director at the National Employment Law Project; Ed Smith is at contract negotiations
Listen live on WPFW 89.3FM or online at wpfwfm.org CALL IN at 202-588-0893. 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! Topic A: Supporters and opponents of the “One Fair Wage” Initiative 77 to raise the tipped wage in DC packed Monday’s marathon hearing at DC City Council but Washington Post columnist Theresa Vargas cut through the pro and con arguments with her column in today’s Post entitled ‘Chocolate City’ is now ‘Money City’: The high price D.C. is paying to overturn the public’s will. As Theresa so eloquently put it: “Whether you agree or disagree with the wage measure — or don’t care one way or another about it — you should be concerned that the hearing has further split an already divided city and confirmed for some what they already suspected: Some residents’ voices matter more than others.” Today's guest: Jennifer Abruzzo, former Deputy General Counsel at the NLRB at the NLRB during the Obama years, currently Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for CWA. Trump Administration Orders NLRB Staff To Step Up Prosecution Of Labor Unions MUSIC: Money Talks, J.J. Cale CREDITS: Produced by Pete Pocock and Chris Garlock; engineered by Robin Smith.
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Ahead of a natural disaster like Hurricane Florence, politicians and safety officials tell the public to evacuate early and not wait until conditions get bad.
We all know that you can lose your home and your belongings, but politicians never talk about the fact that during a disaster, many people can lose their jobs as well, reports Joel Mendelson on the Jobs With Justice website at jwj.org Even when there are mandatory evacuation orders, many businesses insist that employees still show up for work. Many more won’t pay employees for time missed ahead of, during and after a storm. This forces many to make an impossible choice between protecting their lives or protecting their jobs. As our climate changes, we can expect stronger hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters. Now is the time to write new rules to ensure working people can protect themselves and their livelihoods before, during and after big disasters. On today’s labor calendar, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka discusses “The Future of Work” with Reiner Hoffman, President of the German Trade Union Confederation at 1pm this afternoon at the AFL-CIO; then at 2 pm catch this week’s edition of “Your Rights at Work” when Judi Conti and I will take your calls about workplace rights and discuss the latest news affecting working people. That’s “Your Rights at Work” here on WPFW 89.3 FM from 2 to 3pm In today’s labor history, on this date in 1878, Upton Sinclair, socialist and author of The Jungle was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Today’s labor quote is from Harry Belafonte’s version of the classic song “John Henry.” According to folklorist John Garst, steel-drivin’ man John Henry, born a slave, outperformed a steam hammer on this date in 1887 at the Coosa Mountain Tunnel or the Oak Mountain Tunnel of the Columbus and Western Railway near Leeds, Alabama. Other researchers place the contest near Talcott, West Virginia. Here’s Harry Belafonte: Well the man who invented the steam drill thought he was mighty fine John Henry drove his 15 feet the steam drill only made nine, Lord, Lord the steam drill only made nine. If you’re looking for a movie that reveals the complex web of political manipulation, abuses of power and institutional failures that made the Trump presidency possible, don’t miss tonight’s special advance screening of Michael Moore's new film, "Fahrenheit 11/9."
Salon says the film is Moore’s tour de force — “a forceful, moving, and compelling call to action.” The DC Labor FilmFest is hosting the 7:30 pm screening tonight at the Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. You can get tickets on our Facebook page -- @dclabor – or on our website, dclabor.org, click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1981, half a million unionists – one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history -- converged on Washington D.C., for a Solidarity Day march and rally protesting Republican policies. Ronald Reagan had just fired 12,000 striking air traffic controllers the previous month. Participants came from 250 organizations, including 100 unions and a variety of civil rights, religious, and civic groups. Today’s labor quote is by musician and labor educator Joe Glazer, who was often referred to as “Labor’s Troubadour.” Joe died on this date in 2006 at age 88. In 1979 he and labor folklorist Archie Green convened a meeting of 14 other labor musicians to begin what was to become the annual Great Labor Arts Exchange and, soon thereafter, the Labor Heritage Foundation, both of which are still going strong; find out more at laborheritage.org Here’s Joe Glazer, singing “Too Old To Work”: There’s no easy answer there’s no easy cure Dreaming won’t change it That’s one thing for sure But fighting together we’ll get there someday And when we have won we will no longer say: Too old to work, too old to work When you’re too old to work and you’re too young to die Who will take care of you How’ll you get by When you’re too old to work and too young to die? In June, D.C. voters overwhelmingly passed Initiative 77, which gradually raises D.C.’s tipped minimum wage over eight years until it is equal to the regular minimum wage in 2026.
Opponents of the measure claim that eliminating the tipped minimum wage would lead to layoffs, closures, and restaurant workers receiving less pay due to a decrease in patron tipping. But a new EPI Policy Center report finds that the evidence suggests otherwise: In Seattle and San Francisco—two cities that have high minimum wages and no subminimum wage for tipped workers—workers take home more pay than their counterparts in D.C. and restaurants big and small continue to thrive in those cities. Hundreds were expected to testify yesterday at a DC City Council hearing on repealing Initiative 77. On today’s labor calendar, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka hosts a panel of union members elected to political office at noon today for a discussion on “Shifting the power—building pro-worker policies from the ground up.” The panel includes Boston mayor Marty Walsh – member of the Laborers -- Dahlia Vertreese, a member of the Operating Engineers who serves as mayor of Hillside, New Jersey, and Ruth Wattenberg, an AFT member who’s on the DC State Board of Education. Get complete details on our website at dclabor.org, click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks, anthrax spores were mailed by an unknown party to several news media offices and two U.S. senators. Five people exposed to the spores died, including two workers at Washington, D.C.’s postal service Brentwood facility. The workers, Thomas Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen, died of their exposure within the month. Today’s labor quote is the slogan of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which launched on September 17, 2011 with an anti-Wall Street march and demonstration that ended up as a 2-month encampment in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. The event led to protests and movements around the world, with their focus on economic inequality, corruption, greed and the influence on government of monied interests. The Occupy Wall Street movement, whose slogan was: “We are the 99 percent.” |
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