Grocery giant Kroger earned $2.4 billion in profits last year, setting an all-time record for the prosperous company and "putting the lie to its bargaining-table cries of poverty," says UFCW local 400, which is in the midst of bargaining with Kroger over a new contract in the Roanoke region. “With apologies to Dickens, this is ‘A Tale of Two Stories,’” said Local 400 president Mark Federici. While Kroger brags to its investors that ‘It’s raining money!’ they're telling their workers ‘The sky is falling!’ Federici said. The current contract expires April 2nd.
On today's labor calendar, support the FC Solidaridad labor soccer team at their happy hour/fundraiser today from 4 – 8pm at the Blackfinn Ameripub on I St NW. And for all of this week's labor events, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar for complete details. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1811, Luddites smashed 63 textile machines near Nottingham, England. The machines threatened to replace them with less-skilled, low-wage labourers, leaving them without work. The Luddite movement culminated in a region-wide rebellion in Northwestern England that required a massive deployment of military force to suppress. Although the origin of the name Luddite is uncertain, a popular belief is that the movement was named after Ned Ludd, a youth who allegedly smashed two textile machines in 1779, and whose name had become emblematic of machine destroyers. The name evolved into the imaginary General Ludd or King Ludd, a figure who, like Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest. Today’s labor quote is by Karl Marx, who wrote: "The instrument of labour, when it takes the form of a machine, immediately becomes a competitor of the workman himself."
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