Political action by AFSCME Maryland Council 3 convinced Governor Larry Hogan to restore wage increases for state and higher education workers in his budget proposal, but members still face fights over proposed job cuts and privatization of state services. Besides restoring the step increases, Hogan’s budget does not resort to cuts in overtime pay and sick leave rights, which were in his original proposal. Council 3 also won improvements to the state’s new wellness plan, saving state and higher education workers money.
On this week’s labor calendar, today is National Trade Lobby Day on Capitol Hill to secure commitments to defeat TPP. Meet at the AFL-CIO at 8:30a for a legislative briefing before heading to the Hill. Go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar for complete details. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1908, the American Federation of Labor founded the Building and Construction Trades Department as a way to overcome the jurisdictional conflicts occurring in the building and construction unions. In 1963, eleven members of the Carpenters’ union in Reesor Siding, Northern Ontario were shot, three fatally, by independent local farmer-settlers who were supplying wood to a Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company plant. Some 400 union members were attempting to block an outbound shipment from the plant. The action came as the company was insisting on a pay freeze and two months of seven-day-a-week work. And in 1973, forty workers were killed on Staten Island, N.Y., when a huge storage tank filled with liquefied gas exploded. Today’s labor quote is by president John F. Kennedy: “Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.”
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