W.E.B. DuBois, educator and civil rights activist, born - 1868 The National Marine Engineers Association (now the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association), representing deck and engine officers on U.S. flag vessels, is formed at a convention in Cleveland, Ohio - 1875 The Journeyman Bakers’ National Union receives its charter from the American Federation of Labor - 1887 William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner began publishing articles on the menace of Japanese laborers, leading to a resolution in the California legislature that action be taken against their immigration - 1904 Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land Is Your Land” following a frigid trip—partially by hitchhiking, partially by rail—from California to Manhattan. The Great Depression was still raging. Guthrie had heard Kate Smith’s recording of “God Bless America” and resolved to himself: “We can’t just bless America, we’ve got to change it” - 1940 (Woody Guthrie: A Life: Folksinger and political activist Woody Guthrie contributed much to the American labor movement, not the least of which are his classic anthems "Union Maid" and "This Land Is Your Land." This is an easy-to-read, honest description of Guthrie’s life, from a childhood of poverty to an adulthood of music and organizing—and a life cut short by incurable disease. Guthrie’s life and work inspired millions while he lived and continues to do so through musicians such as his son Arlo, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg and Bruce Springsteen, to name just a few. Guthrie is portrayed as he was—an imperfect being but one with a gift that helped millions as they struggled toward better lives.) Association of Flight Attendants granted a charter by the AFL-CIO - 1984 Following voter approval for the measure in 2003, San Francisco’s minimum wage rises to $8.50, up from $6.75 - 2004 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services It all started with a simple handshake. Georgetown University student Febin Bellamy (left) was getting ready for another late night of studying. Janitor Oneil Batchelor (right)-- a member of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East -- was starting his night shift. It was the usual routine, Batchelor would come in to clean the classroom and Bellamy would study. On this particular night, however, the two young men started talking. Batchelor's dream of starting his own catering business was something that Bellamy, a business student and a former service worker himself, could relate to. Before returning to their routine, the two exchanged a handshake. Bellamy shared Batchelor’s story on his Facebook page and within weeks, students across campus raised $2,500 to help jumpstart Batchelor’s catering business. Bellamy got to know more Georgetown service workers -- many of them members of Unite Here Local 23, SEIU 32BJ or 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East -- and, inspired by their stories and dreams, he created Unsung Heroes, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting awareness and appreciation for workers on college campuses and works to “make visible the Invisibles.” Recent profiles on the Unsung Heroes Facebook page include Cheung Gunho, who works in Georgetown's Leo O'Donovan Dining Hall, Georgetown bus driver Alvaro Barberena, and Dorothy Lewis, a facilities worker at Georgetown University Medical Center. - Mayra Alaniz; photo courtesy PressReader With this year's Evening with Labor just a few weeks away -- March 25 -- all of the 2016 Evening with Labor award-winners have now been posted on our Evening with Labor page. The recent Union City series included Trade Unionist of the Year Carl Goldman, Community Services awardee Jim Griffin, COPE award-winners Herbert Harris and Dyana Forester, Golden Picket (right) Award-winners CWA LOCALS 2107, 2108, 2222, 2300 and 2336, Organizing award-winner AFSCME 1959 and Outstanding Ally Jews United for Justice. Deadline is March 1 for ads in the EWL program book; click here to download the ad/ticket form or email [email protected]. 2016 Verizon strike photo by Chris Garlock/Union City By Mark Engler and Paul Engler A new generation is unleashing strategic nonviolent action to shape public debate and force political change. This Is an Uprising shows how people with few resources and little conventional influence are engineering the upheavals that are reshaping contemporary politics. |