The Union of Moroccan Workers (UMT) is condemning the recent firing of television host and union leader Youssef Belhaissi and attacks on other members of his union, including Aziz Fathi, a union office coordinator, who was demoted from editor-in-chief. The actions follow weeks-long demands by employees at Medi1 TV for stronger sanitary measures to protect against spread of the virus, and for COVID-19 testing. Employees say the company has refused to allow workers eligible for teleworking to do so. Find out more at the Solidarity Center. “You cannot solve a human problem by pitting one human being against another human being. The only way you can solve human problems is to get people to join hands and to find answers to those problems together.” Walter Reuther was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. This week’s Labor History Today podcast: Strike! Joe McCartin on the 1934 San Francisco Longshoreman's strike and Donna Haverty-Stacke on the 1934 Minneapolis truckers strike. (Originally released 7/15/2018) Last week’s show: “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work”: the Housewives League of Detroit. July 24 The United Auto Workers and the Teamsters form the Alliance for Labor Action (ALA), later to be joined by several smaller unions. The ALA's agenda included support of the civil rights movement and opposition to the war in Viet Nam. It disbanded after four years following the death of UAW President Walter Reuther - 1968 July 25 Workers stage a general strike – believed to be the nation’s first – in St. Louis, in support of striking railroad workers. The successful strike was ended when some 3,000 federal troops and 5,000 deputized special police killed at least eighteen people in skirmishes around the city - 1877 New York garment workers win closed shop and firing of scabs after 7-month strike - 1890 The Teamsters and Service Employees unions break from the AFL-CIO during the federation's 50th convention to begin the Change to Win coalition, ultimately comprised of seven unions (4 by 2011: SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW and the UFW). They say they want more emphasis on organizing and less on electoral politics - 2005 July 26 In Chicago, 30 workers are killed by federal troops, more than 100 wounded at the "Battle of the Viaduct" (photo) during the Great Railroad Strike - 1877 President Grover Cleveland appoints a United States Strike Committee to investigate the causes of the Pullman strike and the subsequent strike by the American Railway Union. Later that year the commission issues its report, absolving the strikers and blaming Pullman and the railroads for the conflict - 1894 Battle of Mucklow, W.Va. in coal strike. An estimated 100,000 shots were fired; 12 miners and four guards were killed - 1912 President Truman issues Executive Order 9981, directing equality of opportunity in armed forces - 1948 The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect today. It requires employers to offer reasonable accommodations to qualified disabled employees and bans discrimination against such workers - 1992 - David Prosten The labor movement is working nonstop to ensure that workers devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic receive the protections and support they need.
YOU CAN HELP! Here are links where you can get involved and make sure the voices of working people are heard and their needs are met. Please pass this along and urge your friends and colleagues to sign up for Union City! NOTE: Two more actions have been added since our original post; if you have more, please send them to us at [email protected] APWU: #SaveThePostOffice Day of Action July 23 - Call Your Senators The Postal Service is in a crisis, caused by the Coronavirus, and Congress needs to act, urgently. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION AFSCME District Council 20: Tell DC City Council - support workers in the Budget Support Act! While the coronavirus pandemic has hit communities like ours incredibly hard, it is irresponsible for local government to balance budgets on the backs of essential workers. the District of Columbia City Council is voting on a Budget Support Act that as of right now includes no language honoring pay increases for AFSCME workers in the District. Write a letter here. Actors' Equity: Protect Theatre Professionals Who Have Lost Their Health Care Tell Congress to pass the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, a key step to help ensure out-of-work artists can still get access to health insurance. TAKE ACTION NOW! AFSCME: Demand State and Local Aid Front-line public service workers are putting their lives at risk to fight this pandemic, but if Congress doesn’t pass state and local aid, these public service workers could be thanked with a pink slip. Call your senator and demand Congress to deliver as much state and local aid as needed to keep our public services running. CALL NOW! AFSCME: Tell the White House to Activate the Defense Production Act Tell President Trump to activate the Defense Production Act and direct businesses to accelerate the manufacturing of N95 masks, respirators, ventilators, gloves and other personal protective equipment our workers desperately need. SEND A LETTER AFT: Healthcare Workers Need Protective Equipment Now Tell the White House healthcare workers should have immediate, free access to being tested and adequate protections to ensure their safety and that of their patients. SIGN THE PETITION ATU: Demand Stronger Protections for Workers Transit agencies and private transit companies need to provide stronger safety protections for frontline transit workers. TAKE ACTION NOW! ATU: Help Save the Motor Coach Bus Industry Tell Congress to provide the highest level possible of direct emergency funding to intercity bus companies that have been devastated by COVID-19. SIGN THE PETITION ATU: Save Public Transit in Our Communities Tell Congress to provide highest level possible of direct emergency funding to public transit agencies to protect our workers and keep transit buses rolling. SIGN THE PETITION CWA: We Need to Use the Defense Production Act Now! Tell President Trump to mandate the immediate production of all the personal protective equipment, tests and ventilators we need to respond to the crisis and protect healthcare workers. TAKE ACTION NOW! Flight Attendants: Tell Secretary Mnuchin You Can't Leverage People! The grants in the relief package are intended to provide paychecks for workers and keep us out of the unemployment line. But Secretary Mnuchin is threatening to take equity on the grants, jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of jobs. TAKE ACTION NOW! Machinists: Protect the Pay and Benefits of Airline Workers A number of air carriers that received federal funds are ignoring or circumventing the employment protections that are conditions to receive the funds, and cutting the wages and benefits for tens of thousands of full-time fleet and passenger service employees. Tell Congress to make sure these companies keep their promise to maintain employment, pay and benefits, just as the law requires. TAKE ACTION NOW! Machinists: Support the Paycheck Guarantee Act Tell Congress to support the Paycheck Guarantee Act, which would help ensure America’s workforce and businesses remain intact during the COVID-19 pandemic. TAKE ACTION NOW! NNU: Demand Nurses Are Protected Nurses across the country report that they are not adequately protected from COVID-19. This is unconscionable. Tell Congress to do everything in their power to ensure nurses have the protections needed to safely care for their patients. SIGN THE PETITION Painters and Allied Trades: Construction Workers Are Not Expendable OSHA has failed to provide the necessary guidance and standards for workers to return to job sites and work safely amidst a pandemic. Tell OSHA to do its job ensure workplace safety standards protect American workers, not employer profits. TAKE ACTION NOW! The NewsGuild-CWA: Life-Saving News Needs a Stimulus News is an essential service and our country can’t afford to lose it during this pandemic. Tell Congress to include the news industry in its next stimulus package. SIGN THE PETITION UNITE HERE: Pay Laid Off Arena and Stadium Workers Tell professional sports team owners to continue to pay their arena and stadium workers affected by the suspension of league play. SIGN THE PETITION Utility Workers: Protect Frontline Workers Tell Congress to improve protections for all essential personnel, including utility workers hard at work during this pandemic. TAKE ACTION NOW! |