Former APWU President William Burrus passed away on May 19, at the age of eighty-one. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called Burrus “an unabashed advocate for his fellow postal workers and an unwavering fighter in the struggle for social and economic justice.” Burrus served as president of the American Postal Workers Union from 2001-2010, the first African-American to be elected president of any national union in direct balloting by the membership. Born in Wheeling, WV, Burrus began his employment with the Post Office in Cleveland, in 1958, first as a distribution clerk and then as a maintenance employee. Prior to assuming the presidency, Burrus served as APWU Executive Vice-President for 21 years, “helping negotiate substantial gains for the members with improved wages, and benefits, rightfully earning his reputation as a skilled negotiator and powerful advocate for postal workers,” the APWU said. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 29, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, 4606 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011; Visitation 12 noon; Service 1pm – 2pm. Please send flowers directly to the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Ethelda Burrus and Family, 13201 Fox Bow Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774. Click here to check out this week's Labor History Today podcast. And if you'd like to be a part of it, email us at [email protected]. After 14 years of construction and the deaths of 27 workers, the Brooklyn Bridge over New York’s East River opens. Newspapers call it “the eighth wonder of the world” - 1883 Some 2,300 members of the United Rubber Workers, on strike for 10 months against five Bridgestone-Firestone plants, agree to return to work without a contract. They had been fighting demands for 12-hour shifts and wage increases tied to productivity gains - 1995 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services “Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts.”
Starting at noon today, airport workers and their allies will march from McPherson Square to JetBlue’s downtown DC offices and then rally at National Airport, calling on JetBlue to urge Huntleigh to treat its baggage, skycap and wheelchair workers with the same humanity that JetBlue touts in its mission. Huntleigh workers at DCA and Dulles have walked off the job on strike three times, “fighting not only for livable wages, but to protest federal labor violations, to improve conditions and end harassment and intimidation by their employer,” says their union, 32BJ SEIU. Click on flyer at right for details. |