Frustrated DC school bus drivers are cautiously optimistic after management acknowledged their concerns and agreed to hold a town hall today. Management’s move came after the bus drivers and attendants -- members of AFSCME Local 1959 -- planned a big rally in front of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education last week. “The threat of the rally made a big impact,” Local 1959 president Corey Upchurch said. The rally was called off after management agreed to meet. “Our members are very excited to attend the town hall meeting and express our concerns,” Upchurch added. Those concerns include low morale, pay, safety, respect, and under-staffing. “Now we have a seat at the table and a commitment in writing,” said Upchurch.
It’s a quiet week because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, but to find out about the local labor calendar, just go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1909, “The Uprising of the 20,000” took place. Some 20,000 female garment workers went out on strike in New York City, where a judge told arrested pickets: “You are on strike against God.” The walkout, believed to be the first major successful strike by female workers in American history, ended the following February with union contracts bringing better pay and working conditions. In 1919, the district president of the American Federation of Labor and two other Caucasians were shot and killed in Bogalusa, Louisiana, as they attempted to assist an African-American organizer working to unionize African-American workers at the Great Southern Lumber Company. And on this date in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Generally considered a friend of labor, Kennedy a year earlier had issued Executive Order 10988, which authorized unionization and a limited form of collective bargaining rights for most federal workers. Many states followed the example set by Kennedy. Today’s labor quote is by John F. Kennedy “Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor – those who cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized – do a disservice to the cause of democracy.”
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