9 to 5, yeah They got you where they want you There's a better life And you dream about it, don't you It's a rich man's game No matter what they call it And you spend your life Puttin' money in his wallet Dolly Parton hit number one on the record charts on this date in 1981 with "9 to 5," her anthem to the daily grind. This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The People, No. Kansas City native Thomas Frank talks with the Heartland Labor Forum radio show about his new book about American populism, the long trail of elites who hate it, why pundits called Donald Trump a populist and why he’s nothing of the kind. Harvey J. Kaye on The Fight for The Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and The Greatest Generation Truly Great, from Empathy Media Lab. And on Labor History in 2:00, Rick Smith tells us about Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. Last week’s show: Stand! The new hit labor musical. January 29 Responding to unrest among Irish laborers building the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Pres. Andrew Jackson orders first use of American troops to suppress a labor dispute - 1834 Six thousand railway workers strike for union and end of 18-hour day - 1889 Sit-down strike helps establish United Rubber Workers as a national union, Akron, Ohio - 1936 Newly-elected President Barack Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, making it easier for women and minorities to win pay discrimination suits - 2009 January 30 The Paris Peace Conference establishes the Commission on International Labour Legislation to draft the constitution of a permanent international labor organization, founding the International Labour Organization (ILO). Today, as part of the United Nations, the ILO is charged with drafting and overseeing international labor standards. -1919 January 31 Ida M. Fuller is the first retiree to receive an old-age monthly benefit check under the new Social Security law. She paid in $24.75 between 1937 and 1939 on an income of $2,484; her first check was for $22.54 - 1940 After scoring successes with representation elections conducted under the protective oversight of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, the United Farm Workers of America officially ends its historic table grape, lettuce and wine boycotts - 1978 photo: Bust of Cesar Chavez in the Oval Office, January 21, 2021 Union and student pressure forces Harvard university to adopt new labor policies raising wages for lowest-paid workers - 2002 Five months after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans school board fires every teacher in the district in what the United Teachers of New Orleans sees as an effort to break the union and privatize the school system - 2005 - David Prosten click here for latest listings
Union City Radio: 7:15am daily WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, January 28, 1pm – 2pm WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online Guests/topics: AFGE Senior Policy Counselor Richard Loeb on Biden Action Revoking Trump’s Executive Orders Targeting Federal Workers’ Rights; Restaurant Opportunities Center Lead Organizer Sophia Miyoshi on tonight's webinar on your rights at work in a pandemic (see below); Sara Jaffe on her new book "Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone" (see story below). Arlington Dems Labor Caucus: Thu, January 28, 6pm – 8pm Meeting for union members and community allies in Arlington Your Rights At Work During The Pandemic: Thu, January 28, 6:30pm – 8:00pm Shenandoah Valley Labor/Community Alliance: Thu, January 28, 7:30pm – 9:00pm Meeting of union activists and community allies in the Shenandoah Valley Helping ensure Baltimore residents' drinking water is safe for years to come, Bricklayers Local 1 members working with Caretti, Inc. plan to return this year to their work on the Montebello Filtration Plant in Baltimore. The plant’s two facilities were constructed in 1915 and 1928, and filter millions of gallons of water every day for Baltimore residents. The Bricklayer members will handle all brickwork for this project, which includes installing a 35-million-gallon concrete replacement reservoir with a precast concrete roof and upgrading the design elements to match the existing plant’s Italian Renaissance architecture, as well as Spanish tile roof and brick facades.
- photo: Lake Montebello, where the plant is located, courtesy of James G. Howes, via Wikimedia Commons |