Last year, NIH shuttle bus driver Russell Hebron got fired for wearing a union button on his uniform. But he and his union, ATU local 1764, fought back and won. "When I got fired, my wife was nervous,” Hebron says. “But I didn’t feel bad, because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong." Other activists have been harassed or fired as well.
“It’s a revolving door, but we still have our union, and we’re still trying to win,” says Hebron. “We want justice — at NIH and beyond… along with my union family, we’re not stopping until we make it right.” Read more at dclabor.org On today's labor calendar, this morning at 8:30 – just over an hour from now – workers will rally on Capitol Hill against Andy Puzder, President Trump's nominee to be Labor Secretary. Puzder has a track record of killing jobs and cutting pay and there's growing bipartisan opposition to his nomination; confirmation hearings start today. On today’s edition of Your Rights at Work – 1pm here on WPFW – our guest is Dr. Daina Ramey Berry, author of “The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation.” Complete details are on our website at dclabor.org, click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history, On this date in 1870, Leonora O’Reilly was born in New York. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she began working in a factory at 11, joined the Knights of Labor at 16, and was a volunteer investigator of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. She was a founding member of the Women’s Trade Union League. In 1926, a 17-week general strike of 12,000 New York furriers began, in which Jewish workers formed a coalition with Greek and African American workers and became the first union to win a 5-day, 40-hour week. And on this date in 2011, all public schools in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin were closed as teachers called in sick to protest Governor Scott Walker’s plans to gut their collective bargaining rights. Today’s labor quote is by Leonora O’Reilly "... just so soon as a party loses sight of the good of the whole and works for 'party' right or wrong, it becomes a menace to the community ..." Help keep Union City Radio on the air by pledging at 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739, or you can pledge online at wpfwfm.org. Whatever you give, thank you! 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Union City Radio is proud to be supported by UnionPlus, which has been working hard for union families since 1986.
Union City Radio is part of The Labor Radio/Podcast Network
Listen now...UC Radio airs weekdays at 7:15a on WPFW 89.3 FM; subscribe to the podcast here. |