Members of Congress, led by Senator Patty Murray and Representative Bobby Scott recently proposed legislation designed to strengthen protections for working people who join together to make positive change at work and make sure corporations that violate working people's rights face real consequences. The bill is called the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy – or WAGE – Act. In recent decades, wages have stagnated while many employers have taken advantage of weak laws to stop working people from uniting to improve their lives. This legislation is aimed at reversing that trend.
For today’s Labor Calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1918, the first National Conference of Trade Union Women was held. In 1927, the first “talkie” movie, “The Jazz Singer,” premiered in New York City. Within three years, according to the American Federation of Musicians, theater jobs for some 22,000 musicians who accompanied silent movies were lost, while only a few hundred jobs for musicians performing on soundtracks were created by the new technology. In 1986, 1,700 female flight attendants won an 18-year, $37 million dollar suit against United Airlines. They had been fired for getting married. And on this date in 1995, thirty-two thousand machinists began what was to be a successful 69-day strike against Boeing, winning increases averaging nearly $20,000 in wages and benefits and safeguards against job cutbacks. Today’s labor quote is from the 1905 Preamble to the Industrial Workers of the World’s constitution: “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of working people, and the few who make up the employing class have all the good things of life.” WPFW’s Fall Membership Drive is going on now and I urge you to support this important community resource by calling 202-588-9739 or 800-222-9739 or pledge online at WPFW.org. Help ensure that programs like Union City Radio, Your Rights at Work and the Live@5 Labor Edition can continue to get worker voices and issues on the air here in the nation’s capitol; please call 202-588-9739 or 800-222-9739 or pledge online at WPFW.org. Click on the big “Donate Now” button and be sure to select Morning Brew & Union City Radio on the drop-down menu to show your support!
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