More than two dozen housekeeping and dietary workers at Arcola Health and Rehabilitation Center voted last month to join 1199SEIU. “I have worked at Arcola as a laundry aide for over 18 years,” said Vicki Watson. “For the past five years we have had no pay raises, health insurance or benefits whatsoever. Retirement is on my mind. I have put too much into this company to walk out with no retirement package and be homeless.” Over 900 workers have voted to join 1199SEIU so far in 2015, with caregivers from the Maryland/DC area to Upstate New York affirming the need for affordable healthcare, better pay and a voice in patient care.
There are still a few openings for volunteers at the 2015 DC LaborFest, which launches this Friday, May 1. Volunteers get a LaborFest t-shirt and free Labor FilmFest passes. The 2015 DC LaborFest runs May 1-31 and has more than 50 exciting events scheduled, including the 15th annual DC Labor FilmFest, plus labor art, music, book, history and even soccer events. Go to dclabor.org and click on LaborFest to sign up.
On today's labor calendar, the Good Jobs for All Campaign Launch with Senator Elizabeth Warren starts at 8am at the Carnegie Library; go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details.
In today's labor history, Coxey’s Army of 500 unemployed civil war veterans reached Washington, on this date in 1894; and in 1899, an estimated one thousand silver miners, angry over low wages, the firing of union members and the planting of spies in their ranks by mine-owners, seized a train, loaded it with 3,000 pounds of dynamite, and blew up the mill at the Bunker Hill mine in Wardner, Idaho. In 1943, the special representative of the National War Labor Board issued a report setting forth provisions for wage rates for women working in war industries who were demanding equal pay.
Today's labor quote is by Beyoncé, who said:
"We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gen der. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect."
There are still a few openings for volunteers at the 2015 DC LaborFest, which launches this Friday, May 1. Volunteers get a LaborFest t-shirt and free Labor FilmFest passes. The 2015 DC LaborFest runs May 1-31 and has more than 50 exciting events scheduled, including the 15th annual DC Labor FilmFest, plus labor art, music, book, history and even soccer events. Go to dclabor.org and click on LaborFest to sign up.
On today's labor calendar, the Good Jobs for All Campaign Launch with Senator Elizabeth Warren starts at 8am at the Carnegie Library; go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details.
In today's labor history, Coxey’s Army of 500 unemployed civil war veterans reached Washington, on this date in 1894; and in 1899, an estimated one thousand silver miners, angry over low wages, the firing of union members and the planting of spies in their ranks by mine-owners, seized a train, loaded it with 3,000 pounds of dynamite, and blew up the mill at the Bunker Hill mine in Wardner, Idaho. In 1943, the special representative of the National War Labor Board issued a report setting forth provisions for wage rates for women working in war industries who were demanding equal pay.
Today's labor quote is by Beyoncé, who said:
"We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gen der. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect."
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