Today's noontime LaborFest screening at the AFL-CIO has been CANCELED, due to circumstances beyond our control. The Labor History Walk rained out last Saturday has been rescheduled to July 23; click here for details and to sign up. Also, the Metro Washington Council and Community Services Agency's offices will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to the summer holiday season. While the day honors those who have given their lives defending the nation, the weekend also marks the start of grilling season. Click here for a handy list of union-made food and drink to get your barbecue off to a great start. What would a $15-an-hour minimum wage mean to SEIU 32BJ member Syid Abdullah? “It means food. It means rent. It means taking care of my son.” Abdullah was one of more than 150 witnesses yesterday at the D.C. City Council's Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs held its first hearing on Mayor Bowser's legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars by 2020 and $7.50 by 2022 for tipped workers. "Those who work for a living ought to be able to make a living," said Metro Washington Council executive director Carlos Jimenez, who, with SEIU 32BJ Area Director Jaime Contreras, helped kick off over eight hours of testimony by supporters and opponents of the bill. “We’re asking the city to do the bare minimum by passing the ‘Fair Shot Minimum Wage’," said John Boardman, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE 25. "Waiting isn’t an option.” UFCW 400's Dyana Forester expressed the hope that passage of the DC bill "would ultimately influence legislators to increase the wage throughout the region.” Other allies, workers, and organizations testifying included DC Working Families, JUFJ, ROC DC, DCFPI, DC JWJ and many others. photo courtesy SEIU 32BJ |