Labor activists and allies plan to turn out in force tonight to support union workers at Montgomery County's Department of Liquor Control. "We can’t let 350 union jobs and $35 million in annual revenue slip away," says UFCW Local 1994's Gino Renne. Although the county has opposed the push to privatize the DLC, proponents -- led by Delegate Charles Williams Frick -- are trying to end-run local opposition by pushing state legislation. Recent reports reveal that the main proponents of privatization have received large campaign donations from major players in the liquor industry.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1854, “Fighting Mary” Eliza McDowell, also known as the “Angel of the Stockyards,” was born in Chicago. As a social worker she helped organize the first women’s local of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union in 1902.
In 1930, Mother Jones died at the Burgess Farm in Adelphi, Maryland. Mary Harris Jones—“Mother Jones”—was the most dynamic woman ever to grace the American labor movement. Employers and politicians around the turn of the century called her “the most dangerous woman in America” and rebellious working men and women loved her fiercely. Mother Jones was an absolutely fearless and tireless advocate for working people, especially coal miners. A founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World—the Wobblies—she feared neither soldiers’ guns nor the ruling class’s jails.
In 1999, unionists and activists shut down World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Washington.
 
Today’s labor quote is by Mother Jones, who said:
“I’m not a lady, I’m a hell-raiser!” 
Mother Jones, who also said, “My address is like my shoes. It travels with me. I abide where there is a fight against wrong.”

​Today is Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, and also a day for activists to hit the streets. 
At 9a OUR Walmart workers and supporters will rally at the H Street Walmart in downtown DC. Previous demonstrations have forced the bigbox giant to raise hourly wages but workers there “are still struggling to put food on our tables and so our fight continues,” says Cynthia Murray, a founding OUR Walmart member from Laurel.
Then at 10a, take action against corporate greed at the Verizon Wireless store at 13th and F Streets. Despite making more than $1 billion in profits every month, Verizon is squeezing its workers, demanding cuts in retirement and job security, raising health care costs by thousands of dollars per worker, and even taking away benefits from employees who have been injured on the job. Verizon has also been threatening and intimidating non-union wireless workers who dare to stand up for their rights. 
More details about both actions are on our website at dclabor.org
 
Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1828, William Sylvis, founder of the National Labor Union, was born.
In 1891, the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, precursor to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, was founded.
In 1908, 154 men died in a coal mine explosion at Marianna, Pennsylvania.  Engineer and General Superintendent A.C. Beeson told the local newspaper he had been in the mine a few minutes before the blast and had found it to be in perfect condition.
And in 1953, some 400 New York City photoengravers working for the city’s newspapers, supported by 20,000 other newspaper unionists, began what was to become an 11-day strike, shutting down the papers.

Today’s labor quote is by William Sylvis:
“Our cause is a common one. It is war between poverty and wealth. … This moneyed power is fast eating up the substance of the people. We have made war upon it, and we mean to win it. If we can, we will win through the ballot box; if not, then we shall resort to sterner means.”

Today, as most of us are making room on our plates for second helpings or thumbing through ads for the best Black Friday deals, the men and women who will ring up our purchases are heading to work. Why are they making this sacrifice? Often, it’s for survival. Some work on the holiday because they don’t dare risk losing their jobs by putting their families first. Others can’t afford not to take advantage of the extra hours and pay they’ll earn for working on the holiday. Jobs With Justice is standing with retail employees and calling for fair wages and schedules throughout the year so that no one has to depend on working holiday shifts to make ends meet; add your voice to the call for justice by going to dclabor.org and taking the pledge to stand with retail employees in the fight for better jobs and better lives.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1936, some 1,200 workers sat down at Midland Steel in Detroit, forcing recognition of the United Auto Workers.
And in 1937, the pro-labor musical revue, “Pins & Needles” opened on Broadway with a cast of garment workers union members. The show ran on Friday and Saturday nights only, because of the cast’s regular jobs; The original cast was made up of cutters, basters, and sewing machine operators, all members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The revue was also performed in 1938 in the White House for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. 

Today’s labor quote is from “One Big Union For Two” one of the songs from “Pins & Needles”:
I'm on a campaign to make you mine
I'll picket you until you sign
In one big union for two
No courts and junction can make me stop
Until your love is all closed shop
In one big union for two
Seven days a week I want the right
To call you mine both day and night
The hours may be long
But fifty million union members can't be wrong

Are you ready to change the rules? Local activists will be joining the AFL-CIO to discuss the most important issues facing labor and community activists at the 2016 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil  & Human Rights Conference, coming up January 15–18, 2016. Go to dclabor.org to register before November 30, when the rate goes up. From taking down the confederate flag to fighting against massive deportations—labor and community activists have a strong voice in the changes that this country must make to achieve equality for all working people.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1883, some 10,000 New Orleans workers, Black and White, participated in a solidarity parade of unions comprising the Central Trades and Labor Assembly. The parade was so successful it was repeated the following two years.
In 1946, teachers struck in St. Paul, Minnesota, the first organized walkout by teachers in the country. The month-long “strike for better schools” involving some 1,100 teachers—and principals—led to a number of reforms in the way schools were administered and operated.
In 1952, George Meany became president of the American Federation of Labor following the death four days earlier of William Green.
And in 1983, Canadian postal workers, protesting a Post Office decision to offer discounts to businesses but not individuals, announced that for one week they would unilaterally reduce postage costs by about two-thirds. 

Today’s labor quote is by George Meany:
“As long as there are such trade unionists, labor will be opposed by those who seek to portray workers and their unions as separate entities-referring to unions as an unneeded 'third force,' just as the diehard segregationists falsely labeled civil rights organizations as 'outside agitators.'”

From tasty Thanksgiving recipes featuring union-made ingredients to beers and ales made by union members, union-made wine or champagne and union-made sweet treats, you can count on Union Plus for “Tips for serving a union-made Thanksgiving dinner" and the DC edition of Labor411 for the area union grocery stores where you’ll find these union-made products. Go to dclabor.org for links to Union Plus and Labor411.
 
Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1875, led by Samuel Gompers, who would later found the American Federation of Labor, Cigarmakers’ International Union Local 144 was chartered in New York City.
In 1995, a general strike was called in France to protest Prime Minister Alain Juppe’s plan to increase premiums for healthcare, cut welfare to the unemployed, and make changes to the pension eligibility age for public sector workers. The widespread strike ended in mid-December, when the government agreed to abandon the pension reform part of its plan.

Today’s labor quote is by Samuel Gompers:
The trade unions are the legitimate outgrowth of modern society and industrial conditions. … They were born of the necessity of workers to protect and defend themselves from encroachment, injustice and wrong. … To protect the workers in their inalienable rights to a higher and better life; to protect them, not only as equals before the law, but also in their health, their homes, their firesides, their liberties as men, as workers, and as citizens; to overcome and conquer prejudices and antagonism; to secure to them the fight to life; the right to be full sharers in the abundance which is the result of their brain and brawn, and the civilization of which they are the founders and the mainstay; to this the workers are entitled. … The attainment of these is the glorious mission of the trade unions.”

Film or play, “Revolutionary Medicine” or "Joe Hill’s Last Will"; those are your choices for tonight’s labor calendar.

“Revolutionary Medicine: A Story of the First Garifuna Hospital” screens free at 5:30 today at the AFL-CIO.
The film tells the story of a project to build a free and holistic healthcare system in Ciriboya, Colon, on Honduras’ Caribbean Coast. The hospital - run on solar energy, in a community without paved roads or electricity - has provided nearly half a million free consultations and offers an alternative to the increasingly privatized national health system in Honduras. Built and defended by the communities it serves, and led by the inspirational Dr. Luther Castillo – who will speak at the screening -- the project has become a symbol of Garifuna self-determination.
 
And at 7:30 tonight, singer John McCutcheon performs the play "Joe Hill’s Last Will" at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Rockville; tickets are $29 at the door. This one-man show imagines labor martyr and folk hero Joe Hill's last night in prison, telling stories and singing as he awaits his execution 100 years ago.
Go to dclabor.com and click on calendar for complete details.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in roughly 1170 BC, history’s first recorded strike took place. Egyptians working on public works projects for King Ramses the Third in the Valley of the Kings were protesting having gone 20 days without pay put their tools down. The strike so terrified the authorities that they gave in and raised wages, which were portions of grain.

In 1903, troops were dispatched to Cripple Creek, Colorado to control rioting by striking coal miners.

And in 1935, Mine Workers President John L. Lewis walked away from the American Federation of Labor to lead the newly-formed Committee for Industrial Organization. The CIO and the unions created under its banner organized six million industrial workers over the following decade.
 
Today’s labor quote is by John L. Lewis:
“You can’t dig coal with bayonets.”

In this week’s “Winners and Losers of the Week” feature, the winners are low-wage workers, who participated in strikes last week in 270 cities across the country in support of living wages and the protection of workers' rights on the job. The loser is Donald Trump, after saying that wages were too high in the latest contest to see which Republican hates workers the most or, as they call it, a GOP debate.
 
For the latest local labor events listings, go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1816, the term “scab” – referring to a strikebreaker – was first used by the Albany Typographical Society.
 
And in 1888, Willard Bundy, a jeweler in Auburn, N.Y. invented the time clock. Bundy’s brother Harlow started mass producing them a year later.
 
In 2008 the Great Recession hit high gear when the stock market fell to its lowest level since 1997. Adding to the mess: a burst housing bubble and total incompetence and greed—some of it criminal—on the part of the nation’s largest banks and Wall Street investment firms. Officially, the recession lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, though millions are still out of work, working part-time or forced to retire early.
 
Today’s labor quote is by writer Jack London:
“After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, he had some awful substance left with which he made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a water brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles. When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and Angels weep in Heaven, and the Devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out...."

Union City Radio’s Chris Garlock and DCNA's Ed Smith discuss worker rights with local activists/organizers and take listener calls. 

Today's guest is Cathy Feingold, International Affairs Director at the AFL-CIO, discussing the impact of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal on worker rights in the US and the rest of the 12 nations involved. Plus this brand-new TPP video just released today by the AFL-CIO. 

One hundred years have passed since a firing squad at the Utah State Penitentiary executed Joe Hill at sunrise on Nov. 19, 1915, but the legendary union organizer’s memory and legacy are still very much alive. Joe Uehlein and the U-Liners will pay tribute to the labor martyr and folk hero tonight at 7p at the Takoma Park Busboys and Poets. The DC Labor FilmFest has also put together a playlist on its YouTube Channel with an inspiring collection of performances of songs by and about Joe Hill, sung by everyone from Bruce Springsteen, Paul Robeson, Joan Baez and Phil Ochs to a whole new generation of singers who are carrying Hill's torch forward. Find it at MetroDClabor. There are also still tickets available to next Monday night’s “Joe Hill’s Last Will,” a one-man musical play written by Si Kahn, starring John McCutcheon as Joe Hill, 7:30p at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville. Go to dclabor.org for complete details.
 
On today’s labor calendar, Kent Wong will discuss "Dreams Deported: Immigrant Youth and Families Resist Deportation," the latest book from the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, today at noon at the AFT. 
Then at 1pm, tune in to this week’s "Your Rights At Work" Call-in Radio Show here on WPFW 89.3 FM as Ed Smith and I take your calls. This week's guest will be AFL-CIO International Affairs Director Cathy Feingold, who will talk about the TPP trade deal and worker rights.
And at 7 tonight Joe Uehlein and the U-Liners celebrate the music and life of Joe Hill at the Takoma Park Busboys and Poets.
Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1915, Joe Hill, labor leader and songwriter, was executed in Utah on what many believe was a framed charge of murder. Born in 1879 in Sweden, Hill sang with his family and played piano at a local cafe.
After immigrating to the U.S., he worked in a variety of jobs as he moved westward. He became an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the "Wobblies," and, borrowing popular melodies from church and Tin Pan Alley songs, Hill wrote biting songs denouncing the bosses and praising the virtues of labor solidarity. Among his best-known are “Preacher and the Slave,” “Casey Jones--the Union Scab,” “There is Power in a Union,” and “The Rebel Girl.” Hill was arrested in 1914 in Salt Lake City and charged with murder in a grocery store robbery. After being convicted in an atmosphere of anti-union hysteria, he was condemned to death despite international pleas for clemency. On November 19, 1915, Hill was executed by firing squad; thirty thousand people attended his funeral in Chicago. The IWW placed his ashes in envelopes which they sent around the world to be released to the winds on May 1, 1916. In his 2011 biography of Hill, William M. Adler uncovered never-before published documentary evidence that comes as close as one can to definitively exonerating Hill.

Today’s labor quote is by Joe Hill:
“A pamphlet, no matter how good, is never read more than once, but a song is learned by heart and repeated over and over. And I maintain that if a person can put a few common sense facts into a song and dress them up in a cloak of humor, he will succeed in reaching a great number of workers who are too unintelligent or too indifferent to read.”

Joe Hill, who said:
My will is easy to decide,
For there is nothing to divide.
My kin don't need to fuss and moan --
"Moss does not cling to a rolling stone."
 
My body? — Oh! — If I could choose,
I would to ashes it reduce,
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow.
 
Perhaps some fading flower then
Would come to life and bloom again.
This is my last and final will.
Good luck to all of you. [Joe Hill]

There was no UCR for this date due to the Pacifica fundraiser programming.