Fairmont workers: "Say it loud, shut it down: DC is a union town"Workers at the Fairmont Washington DC, Georgetown, operated by Accor, are not protected by a union contract. Local 25 has negotiated contract with other hotels that include 100% employer-paid healthcare, employer-funded fixed-benefit pensions, protected days off, overtime pay, room quotas for housekeepers, and schedules in advance. Fairmont workers picketed throughout the week last week » After a year of organizing, Congressional staff union leaders look ahead to collective bargaining The Congressional Workers Union — the umbrella organization for the six House Democrat offices that have formed unions, plus the seven others that have petitioned to hold union elections and any other staffers looking to organize their corners of Capitol Hill — turned 1 year old Wednesday. Read more » "Gov. Wes Moore, help higher-ed faculty and grad students unionize at Maryland’s public schools."
Upcoming events
2023 Annual “Tribute to Labor” Dinner Event Friday, May 19, 2023, 6:00-7:00pm Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, VA 22102, USA Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 5: 2023 Apprenticeship Graduation Saturday, May 20, 2023, 1:00pm-4:00pm Martin’s Crosswinds - 7400 Greenway Center Dr., Greenbelt, MD 20770 Mental Health Awareness Training with AFGE May 31, 2023, 7:00-8:00pm Learn best practices on how to increase mental health awareness amongst union members, recognize stigmas and discuss how to support members in the workplace. Register » Save the Date: The 26th Annual Community Services Agency Golf Tournament Monday, October 16, 2023 — 7:00am Enterprise Golf Course, 2802 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, MD For more information and sponsorship opportunities, contact [email protected]. Recent NewsDC teachers’ retroactive pay delayed due to ‘administrative complications,’ union says WTOP — May 8, 2023 D.C. teachers will receive retroactive pay about a month later than expected. The money is due to teachers as part of a new Washington Teachers’ Union contract with the city, the union said Monday. Child Care and the Care Economy with AFL-CIO The 19th — May 12, 2023 "The lawmakers in this country have to step up to fix our broken care economy. Everyone is affected by care. Period." AFL-CIO Lis Shuler joined The 19th to discuss child care and the care economy. These Unions Are on the Front Lines Fighting Against the Uberization of Us All The Nation — May 12, 2023 The workers with the best chance of actually stopping the Uberization of the workforce (which replaces full-time workers with contractors, turning good jobs into underpaid gigs with no benefits) are in unions that are already established. SEIU Workers at D.C. Headquarters Authorize Strike over Stalled Contract Negotiations Democracy Now — May 10, 2023 Service Employees International Union workers at the union’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., have authorized a strike as they continue contract negotiations for better wages and protections. Staffing Issues And Hostile Workplaces Impacting Postal Workers America's Work Force Union Podcast — May 8, 2023 Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the ongoing staffing issues on the retail and delivery side of postal work. Share your newsDoes your local have actions, events, open positions, or other updates you want labor leaders in DC and Maryland to know about? Submit news items to [email protected]. DC-area postal workers join nationwide solidarity actions for safe staffing and an end to toxic workplaces U.S. Postal Service workers are holding protests outside postal facilities and congressional offices across the nation to demand dignity and respect on the job. A group of postal workers rallied on Tuesday at USPS headquarters in southwest DC, ahead of a USPS Board of Governors meeting. (WJLA and APWU) Washington Teachers' Union speaks out against delays in retroactive pay "This union and our teachers want to rebuild the trust, but you only really rebuild trust with consistency," WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons told WTOP. "This is not working on consistency, by finding out during Teacher Appreciation Week that money you were counting on won’t be coming. They have promised to get partial payment, but teachers were counting on full payment. And so it’s disappointing and upsetting." (WTOP) Nurses: Take NNU's survey on workplace violence Are you a nurse who has experienced workplace violence? During National Nurses Week, National Nurses United wants to hear your story. Take NNU's workplace violence survey. Upcoming Events
Hiring Hall: New DC-area jobs and opportunitiesSolidarity Center: General Accountant Good Jobs First: Administrator The News Guild/CWA: Senior Campaign Lead American Association of University Professors: Field Service Representative/Trainer African Communities Together: DC/MD/VA Chapter Director American Federation of Teachers: National Representatives SEIU: Senior Local Strength Coordinator, Together We Rise Working America: State Program Director Working America: Senior Development Manager Jobs With Justice: Finance Director AFSCME: Health and Safety Advocate Communications Workers of America: Campaign Lead-District 1 UNITE HERE!: Campaign Researcher UNITE HERE!: Customer Campaign Lead Organizer  Last week members of LiUNA! joined DC Council members Janeese Lewis George, Charles Allen, and Anita Bonds at the Wilson Building to rally for a bill that would accelerate DC’s replacement of lead pipes and close a loophole in DC's minimum wage law. Read more » ACLU-DC staff unionize with voluntary recognition Last week the American Civil Liberties Union of DC (ACLU-DC) and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild announced the voluntary recognition of ACLU-DC's employees’ union, which was formed with a supermajority of support from eligible staff. This is the first step in a collaborative process as the organization and the bargaining unit begin negotiating and executing a collective bargaining agreement in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act. Read more » Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12 this year and on Friday, Washington Teachers' Union celebrated all the hard work that teachers put in, day in and day out. "We're all here today because we all work together," said WTU president Jacqueline Pogue Lyons, "and one of the most exciting things that we've worked together on — it was a long road — was our contract." Happy National Nurses Week! National Nurses Week is May 6-12, and over the past week hundreds of bedside nurses from across the country have made online lobbying visits to members of Congress and senators, urging legislators to confront the staffing crisis in hospitals across the country.
Upcoming EventsMay COPE meetings Join Metro Washington Labor Council at one of these upcoming meetings of the Committee on Political Education (COPE):
NewsWorkers try to flip the script (Politico, May 2, 2023) The barista at your local Starbucks has a lot in common with the members of the Writers Guild who went on strike today – and not just because they are working on a screenplay. Julie Su is a champion for workers everywhere. The Senate must confirm her. (The Hill, April 24, 2023) President Biden’s nomination of Julie Su for Labor secretary presents an opportunity to appoint an experienced, historic, and committed leader who has dedicated her career to advocating for workers’ rights. Unions Build Wealth for the American Working Class (Center for American Progress, May 3, 2023) Union membership not only increases wealth for working-class families but also narrows racial wealth gaps and offers a path to the middle class. AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler joins SEIU president Mary Kay Henry and Senator Bernie Sanders to call for a $17/hr federal minimum wage "Can we take a second & realize how broken this system is? To live in a country with wealth on levels never seen before—$30 million homes, mega yachts, billionaires who fly rockets into space while people are working 40 hours a week & cannot live with basic dignity." Third-Generation Laborer Brent Booker Takes the Helm of One of the Largest Construction Trades Unions in North America (LiUNA!) Brent Booker, a third-generation laborer, today became General President of the half-million member Laborers’ International Union of North America. Workers are winning union elections, but it can take years to get their first contract (Economic Policy Institute, May 1, 2023) Winning a union election is only the first step. To realize their goals for pay, benefits, job security, scheduling, safety, and other working terms and conditions, newly formed unions need to successfully negotiate a first contract. Right Now Is the Most Exciting Moment to Join the Labor Movement in Decades (Jacobin — May 1, 2023) There’s more excitement, more of a spirit of militancy and experimentation, and more hope in today’s labor movement than there has been in a long time. Around the regionOn International Workers' Day last week AFSCME Maryland recruited new members (left), and AU students joined Compass workers in their fight for a $20 minimum wage (right). Stay connectedThe Brookings Institution and staff union reach first agreement The Brookings Institution and Brookings United, its staff union, are proud to announce that they have reached an initial one-year agreement governing certain terms and conditions of employment. This is the first time in Brookings’ 107-year history that such an agreement has been reached. (NPEU) Hundreds of George Washington University medical residents vote in favor of unionizing  Physicians-in-training at George Washington University Hospital spoke about the realities of life as medical residents, as part of unionization considerations. Photo via WLJA. More than 450 medical residents employed by George Washington University have voted in favor of unionizing. The Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of SEIU and the largest union representing residents in the U.S., now represents more than 24,000 medical residents and fellows. (WJLA) Workers at the Wharf’s Moon Rabbit restaurant are trying to unionize Employees of the Wharf InterContinental Hotel in D.C., including staff of acclaimed Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit, want to form a union, citing worries about their wages and working conditions. (WAMU) Hiring Hall: New DC-area Jobs + Opportunities International Union of Operating Engineers: Local 99 Apprenticeships
Solidarity Center: Senior Organizer, Mexico Solidarity Center: Senior Program Officer for Asia Solidarity Center: Senior Media Relations Officer Solidarity Center: Senior Digital Communications Strategy Officer LCV: Associate Manager of Development Administration AFL-CIO: HR Generalist – Human Resources Department AFL-CIO: Technical Support Specialist – Information Technology Department AFL-CIO: Senior Campaign Manager – Center for Transformational Organizing AFGE: One Year Term National Organizer – District 3 Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund: Policy Associate AFSCME: Political & Legislative Advocacy Apprentice AFSCME: Health and Safety Advocate American Federation of Teachers Maryland: Lead Organizer American Federation of Teachers Maryland: Organizer (2) American Federation of Teachers: National Representative I-IV Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance: Interim Executive Director CIR/SEIU: DC Worksite Organizer Economic Policy Institute: Chief Operating Officer International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Office Assistant II Jobs To Move America: Communications Director Maryland State Education Association: UniServ Director – Calvert County Maryland State Education Association: Accountant: Payroll, Tax, Compliance National Domestic Workers Alliance: National Campaign Director Prince George's County Educators' Association: Program Specialist and Organizer SEIU International: Senior Local Strength Coordinator – Together We Rise 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East: Membership Coordinator SEIU Local 32BJ: Lead Organizer – Multiple Campaigns SEIU Local 32BJ: Organizer The NewsGuild-CWA: Administrative Secretary UFCW: Web/Digital Content Lead UFCW: Digital Organizer UFCW: Content Strategist UFCW: Assistant General Counsel UFCW: Application Support Specialist UFCW: Research Assistants UFCW: General Office Clerk IV UFCW: Account Coordinator I – A/P UFCW: Senior Payroll Assistant United for Respect: Executive Director |
