As President Obama issued the final budget of his administration Tuesday, the American Federation of Government Employees called on Congress to raise wages for federal workers, extend paid parental leave to employees, and reject proposals that would undermine basic worker rights and protections. At a rally at the US Capitol, AFGE president J. David Cox Sr. said that “Federal employees have been given the short end of the stick for far too long. It’s time to start giving back to the workers who give so much to our country.”
On today’s labor calendar, Washington Teacher’s Union president Liz Davis talks about the effects of the mayor’s unilateral extension of the school year on “Your Rights at Work” here on WPFW at 1pm. Go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar for the latest local labor events. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1913, legendary organizer “Mother” Jones was arrested while leading a protest of conditions in West Virginia mines. She was 83 years old at the time. In 1968, 1,300 sanitation workers began what was to become a 64-day strike in Memphis, ultimately winning union recognition and wage increases. The April 4 assassination in Memphis of Martin Luther King Jr., who had been taking an active role in mass meetings and street actions, brought pressure on the city to settle the strike. And in 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that he would call out the National Guard, if necessary, to deal with any "unrest" among state employees in the wake of his decision to unilaterally end nearly all collective bargaining rights for the workers. Today’s labor quote is by Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at a March 18, 1968 rally in support of the striking Memphis sanitation workers: “You are demonstrating that we can stick together. You are demonstrating that we are all tied in a single garment of destiny, and that if one black person suffers, if one black person is down, we are all down”
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