The plight of area airport workers who earn just $7.25 an hour plus unreliable tips was the focus of a two-page ad in last Thursday’s Washington Post Express urging readers to call the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority to ask them to pass a measure ensuring airline contractors pay $15 per hour, part of what SEIU 32BJ says "is a final push before MWAA's March 15th meeting" to assure airport workers a better life. Call the Airport Authority at 703-417-8600 and urge them to join the Fight for $15. Details on our website at dclabor.org
Here’s today's labor history, On this date in 1886, the Knights of Labor picket to protest the practices of the Southwestern Railroad system, and the company's chief, high-flying Wall Street financier Jay Gould. Some 9,000 workers walked off the job, halting service on 5,000 miles of track. The workers held out for two months, many suffering from hunger, before they finally returned to work. In 1913, Joe Hill’s song “There is Power in a Union” appears in Little Red Song Book, published by the Wobblies. In 1930, with the Great Depression underway, hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers demonstrated in some 30 cities and towns; close to 100,000 filled Union Square in New York City and were attacked by mounted police. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter invoked the Taft-Hartley law to halt a strike by the United Mine Workers of America. The order was ignored and Carter did little to enforce it. A settlement was reached in late March. Today’s labor quote is by Joe Hill, from his song “There is Power in a Union” “There is power in a factory, power in the land Power in the hands of a worker But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand There is power in a Union” Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus. UnionPlus is committed to improving the quality of life of working families through their unique products and services. Find out more at unionplus.org.
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