Airport workers with SEIU Local 32BJ rallied at National Airport yesterday to demand a living wage. They also organized a social media campaign aimed at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which has the power to force contractors to pay their workers $15 an hour. "Every worker, including the workers at DCA, deserves to earn a wage they can live off – and that’s $15," the union says. The workers and their union urged supporters to share airport worker Charlie Wells' story on Facebook and on Twitter. Wells, who was profiled in the Washington Post last week, has spent years living in a homeless shelter and has slept at the airport because he hasn’t been paid enough to live in the DC area. "The more people who are aware of Charlie’s story," said Local 32BJ, "the likelier MWAA is to ensure contracted workers like him receive the $15 wage they deserve!"
Today's local labor calendar is packed, from phonebanks at the AFL-CIO and NoVA Labor, to the Prince Georges and Montgomery County COPE meeting. And of course this week's edition of "Your Rights at Work" at 1pm here on WPFW 89.3 FM, featuring ATU 689 president Jackie Jeter on how transit workers are handling the challenges of SafeTrack. For details on the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1845, some 5,000 female cotton workers in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania struck for the 10-hour day. The next day, male trade unionists became the first male auxiliary when they gathered to protect the women from police attacks. The strike ultimately failed. And in 1962, President Kennedy signed off on a $900 million-dollar public-works bill for projects in economically depressed areas. Today’s labor quote is by John F. Kennedy "The American labor movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all Americans."
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