In sad news, Brad Geiger of Plumbers Local 5 passed away unexpectedly on March 8. Brad was the blueprint reading instructor for the Community Services Agency’s Building Futures program, where he had taught for the last four years. He died just two days before his son was born. "Brad was always very patient with the students yet at the same time he was tough about learning the material and attendance so they would be prepared for the real world of work," said CSA client services coordinator Sylvia Casaro Dietert. "His loss is tragic for his family and for the Building Futures program,” she added. “We will miss him terribly."
Here's today's labor history:
On this date in 1904, union organizer Mother Jones was ordered to leave Colorado, where state authorities accused her of “stirring up” striking coal miners.
And in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that undocumented workers do not have the same rights as Americans when they are wrongly fired.
Today's labor quote is by Mother Jones:
“Some day the workers will take possession of your city hall, and when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of profit.”