This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The Hardhat Riot. Last week’s show: We Were There; Pins and Needles; Dust for Blood. President Martin Van Buren issues a broadly-applicable executive order granting the 10 hour day to all government employees engaged in manual labor - 1840 Cowboys earning $40 per month begin what is to become an unsuccessful 2 1/2 month strike for higher wages at five ranches in the Texas Panhandle - 1883 Cesar Chavez born in Yuma, AZ.- 1927 Construction begins on the three-mile Hawk’s Nest Tunnel through Gauley Mt., W. Va. as part of a hydroelectric project. A congressional hearing years later was to report that 476 laborers in the mostly black, migrant workforce of 3,000 were exposed to silica rock dust in the course of their 10-hour-a-day, six-days-a-week shifts and died of silicosis. Some researchers say that more than 1,000 died - 1930 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs legislation establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps (photo), to help alleviate suffering during the Depression. By the time the program ended after the start of World War II it had provided jobs for more than six million men and boys. The average enrollee gained 11 pounds in his first three months - 1933 Wisconsin state troopers fail to get scabs across the picket line to break a 76-day Allis-Chalmers strike in Milwaukee led by UAW Local 248. The plant remained closed until the government negotiated a compromise - 1941 - 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 George Mason University Coalition for Worker Rights: Tue, March 30, 3:30pm – 4:30pm Coalition of GMU professors, students, campus employees, alumni, and contract workers. Loudoun County Labor Caucus: Tue, March 30, 5pm – 6pm Meeting of Loudoun County union members and community allies. "Wednesdays with Warner" for the PRO Act: Wed, March 31, 8:15am – 8:45am Windmill Hill Park, Alexandria (500 S. Lee St. entrance.) Film: IDENTIFYING FEATURES [SIN SEÑAS PARTICULARES]: Wed, March 31, 7pm – 9pm CLICK HERE for tickets: $12; $2 from each ticket purchased goes to MWC’s Community Services Agency Alexandria Dems Labor Caucus: Wed, March 31, 7:30pm – 8:30pm Meeting for union members and community allies in Alexandria. Contact [email protected] for the zoom link. Labor Radio Podcast Network livestream PodExtra: Women’s History Month; Long Island migrant labor camps with Dora Cervantes (General Secretary Treasurer of the Machinists Union) and Mark Torres (author, “Long Island Migrant Camps: Dust for Blood,” Teamster, and labor lawyer). While COVID-19 has disrupted our daily lives and completely changed the way we work and communicate with each other, AFGE District 14 found a way to reach out to its members and stay connected. The district held its first-ever virtual union fair on March 18 to maintain union visibility during the pandemic, using its newly minted NOW organizing techniques – to great success. The four locals that participated in the pilot -- Local 1052 (Fort Belvoir), Local 1534 (Department of State/USAID), Local 1831 (National Gallery of Art), and Local 2798 (VA Medical Center) -- welcomed more than 50 people to the virtual fair. Members and potential members joined a number of breakout rooms where union reps and AFGE staff showed them how they could be part of the movement for better pay, benefits, and respect on the job. “In today’s environment, we have to reinvent the way that we conduct business,” said AFGE National Vice President for District 14 Ottis Johnson, Jr. “This program works because we have the strength of the entire federation behind us. We’re very happy about it. Already locals have requested to be a part of the next District 14 union fair.” Read more here. If you missed last week’s MWC "COVID vaccination and registration forum" it’s now available online. The one-hour forum features government representatives from DC and Maryland counties who discuss and explain clearly where and how to register or pre-register for the COVID vaccine, as well as answer health and safety questions.
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