Service workers at National Airport, including cleaners, security officers and baggage handlers, walked off their jobs Wednesday night, in a demand for better wages and union rights. "We do our best to keep airports safe and running smoothly," said Samrawit Seifu who works two jobs at National Airport. "We are always at risk and at least need the peace of mind that comes with livable wages and better treatment." The 24-hour strike had been planned at several major U.S. airports last week, but was postponed after the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
After the strike, the employers granted all the worker demands for wage increases, paid sick leave and vacation, as well as adequate training for security officers. OK, that last bit about the employers doing the right thing was totally an April Fools Day joke, but wouldn’t it be cool if it were true? The local labor calendar is getting busy: Today at 11am, check out the "Don't Be Fooled By The TPP" Rally at Congressman Steny Hoyer’s Greenbelt office. Then tonight at 6pm, there’s a free screening of the film "Food Chains" at Georgetown University. Tomorrow the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s DC chapter hosts “Going Back Before the Act,” a symposium on saving the 1965 Voting Rights Act, from 2 to 5pm at IBEW 26 in Lanham, MD. And on Sunday, Jews United for Justice hosts its Social Justice Seder in Baltimore, starting at 5:30pm in Glen Burnie, Maryland. For complete details, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: Many believe that Cincinnati on this day in 1853 became the first U.S. city to pay fire fighters a regular salary. Others say no, it was Boston, back in 1678. Definitely on this date in 1907, San Francisco laundry workers struck for wage increases and an 8-hour day. In 1963, the longest newspaper strike in U.S. history, which lasted 114 days and involved workers at nine newspapers, ended in New York City. In 1972, major league baseball players began what was to become a 13-day strike, ending when owners agreed to increase pension fund payments and to add salary arbitration to the collective bargaining agreement. Today’s labor quote is by Marvin Miller “Why did the issue of greed only enter the picture when the players finally got a fairer slice of the pie? Lest we forget, that pie became bigger because of the player’s unionizing efforts.” Marvin Miller was Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982. During that time, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States. Legendary sports commentator Red Barber called Miller, along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, “one of the two or three most important men in baseball history."
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