Today we’re launching a new regular feature in which we’ll be taking a look at the winners and losers of the week in the struggle for the rights of working families. The winners will be the people or organizations that go above and beyond to expand or protect the rights of working families or working people who have fought for or won a significant victory. The losers will be those who limit or deny those rights or the working people who have lost a right or a battle for expanding or keeping their rights.
This week’s winners are fast-food workers, for rallying at the Republican debate in Milwaukee on Tuesday in their continued fight for a $15 minimum hourly wage. The losers of the week are working people everywhere, after the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was released and it was even worse than we thought. Today’s labor calendar is jam-packed; here’s a quick run-down: "The Real Cost of Food" workshop spotlights the enormous external costs of producing food, today from 10:30am – 12:00pm at American University; You can help sort free books for DC students today, any time between 12 noon and 5pm, at the Southeast Tennis & Learning Center; On today’s "Your Rights At Work" call-in show from 1-2pm on WPFW, we’ll host veterans talking about the challenges they face at work, and take your calls; From 5-7pm, catch "Confessions of a Theme Park Worker" at the Charm City Fringe Festival in Baltimore. And at 6 tonight, the Berger-Marks Foundation Awards Reception Honoring Young Women in Social Justice will be held at the National Press Club. Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1954, Ellis Island closed after serving as the gateway for 12 million immigrants from 1892 to 1924. From 1924 to 1954 it was mostly used as a detention and deportation center for undocumented immigrants. In 1996, “Chainsaw Al” Dunlap announced he was restructuring the Sunbeam Corporation and laid off 6,000 workers—half the company’s workforce. Sunbeam later nearly collapsed after a series of scandals under Dunlap’s leadership that cost investors billions of dollars. Today’s labor quote is by Linda Foley, President of the Berger-Marks Foundation Board of Trustees, speaking about the 2015 Young Women in Social Justice award-winners: "We honor these young women for their steadfast commitment to workers' rights. Their strength in standing up in the workplace on behalf of all of their co-workers is a reminder that there is strength in numbers and young women can lead the way."
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