Members of Unite Here Local 25 who work at DC-area hotels and restaurants were among those testifying at last Friday’s Metro hearing in support of late-night service. “Our members come in early and get off late,” said Local 25 President John Boardman. “Without full Metro hours we can’t get to work or get home.” Outside WMATA headquarters, local activists -- including riders and union members -- turned out to show support for keeping metro open late. Another hearing will be held this Thursday at 1p.
On today's labor calendar, three terrific events: At 5:30, the AFL-CIO hosts a discussion on "The Role of Athletes in Racial and Social Justice"; Carmen Berkley, the AFL-CIO director of civil, human and women’s rights will lead the discussion with NBA veteran and author Etan Thomas; Baltimore Ravens tight end and NFL Players Association Vice President Benjamin Watson; and author and sports editor of The Nation Dave Zirin. At 6, Mindy Fried talks about her book "Caring for Red: A Daughter’s Memoir" at the Takoma Busboys and Poets. And at 6:30, the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life convenes "Left Behind: Working Class Families and Communities," a dialogue focusing on the economic realities, political impact, and moral dimensions regarding the national neglect of working-class families and communities. All the events are free; for details and all the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1899, what many believe to be the first formal training on first aid in American history took place at the Windsor Hotel in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, when Dr. Matthew J. Shields instructed 25 coal miners on ways to help their fellow miners. Upon completion of the course each of the miners was prepared and able to render first aid. The training led to decreases in serious mining injuries and fatalities. In 1934, some 25,000 silk dye workers struck in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1990, the Tribune Company began a brutal 5-month-long lockout at the New York Daily News, part of an effort to bust the newspaper’s unions. And in 2011, after a two-year fight, workers at the Bonus Car Wash in Santa Monica, California, won a union contract calling for pay increases, better breaks and other gains. Today’s labor quote is by Oliverio Gomez Oliverio Gomez, a carwashero at the Bonus Car Wash who told the Los Angeles Times that “They didn’t treat us like people.”
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