“Amazon loves to brag about how they have a safe work environment, and if there are any issues, the workers can bring them up to management. However we do not work in a safe work environment, and every time we bring these issues up to management, we are not heard, which is why we’re fighting so hard for our union at Amazon.” Thomas (bottom left in photo), an Amazon warehouse worker in Bessemer, Alabama, joined AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler during a video press conference yesterday outlining the findings of this year’s Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, along with AFL-CIO Safety and Health Director Rebecca Reindel and MJ Burke, first executive vice president of AFGE National VA Council. This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The death of “Big Steve” Sutton; Last week's show: Working on Earth Day.
April 27 First strike for 10 hour day, by Boston carpenters - 1825 James Oppenheim’s poem “Bread and Roses” published in IWW newspaper “Industrial Solidarity” - 1946 (but originally published in December 1911) President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450: Security Requirements for Government Employment. The order listed “sexual perversion” as a condition for firing a federal employee and for denying employment to potential applicants - 1953 April 28 Coal mine collapses at Eccles, W.Va., killing 181 workers - 1914 119 die in Benwood, W.Va. coal mine disaster - 1924 Congress creates OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The AFL-CIO sets April 28 as “Workers Memorial Day” to honor the hundreds of thousands of workers killed and injured on the job every year - 1970. Adjunct faculty, graduate student workers and Academic Affairs staff at American University will picket at AU this morning at 11a (see Calendar). “We have been working hard at the table for over a year to negotiate contracts that secure a living wage, affordable healthcare, and job security,” said SEIU Local 500, which represents the workers. American University has proposed $1.67/week raises for Adjuncts, minimum wage for Graduate Student Employees, and has yet to propose anything for Academic Affairs Staff, the union reports. “Now, the University is refusing to provide adequate dates for bargaining before the end of the semester. We know that taking action is the only way to get the contract that we deserve.” The picket will begin at 11:00am on the last day of classes at Katzen, and proceed throughout the AU campus. photo: TA’s and adjuncts hold office hours outside of AU president Sylvia Burwell’s house last Thursday "as a reminder of all we do for AU students." AU CAMPUS WIDE PICKET: Stand Up For Real Change, Not Spare Change: Mon, April 25, 11am – 1pm Stopping Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Work: The Campaign for an ILO Convention: Tue, April 26, 10am – 12pm Gig Economy in Europe: Examples from Sweden, Netherlands and Germany: Tue, April 26, 12:00pm – 1:30pm Equity in Focus: Investing in Childcare Careers: Tue, April 26, 12:30pm – 2:00pm Metro Washington Council Delegate meeting: Tue, April 26, 5pm – 7pm Latest local labor updates and reports. Building Trades Workers' Memorial Day Mass: Tue, April 26, 5pm – 6pm St. Camillus; 1600 St. Camillus Drive, Silver Spring MD. Every year in the United States roughly 5,000 workers die from injuries sustained on the job. Workers' Memorial Day honors those who died of occupational injuries. This year Cardinal Wilton Gregory and "labor priest" Fr. Brian Jordan OFM will mark the occasion by celebrating a special Building Trades Workers' Memorial Day Mass. All are welcome! Download the flyer here. |