As part of the AFL-CIO’s week of action for the PRO Act, NoVA Labor representatives from area unions – including ATU, IUOE, IBEW, UAW, UBC, IUPAT, and TNG -- met yesterday (photo above) with Zack Golden, Mark Warner's state director, and Bo Machayo, his northern Virginia director. Alfonzo Clements, a DASH bus driver from ATU Local 689, described how the 16-year campaign to unionize his bus company succeeded in lifting him and his co-workers out of poverty and into the middle class through collective bargaining. Sonia Luna from LiUNA 572 described how union-busting prevented the workers at Didlake from gaining the protection of a collective bargaining agreement, and one of the pro-union workers died from COVID without having been able to have a voice in safety measures. Despite these stories, Warner’s staff indicated that Senator Warner is still not willing to co-sponsor the PRO Act, one of only three Democratic senators who will not sign on.
Photo: Alfonzo Clements, Roxana Mejia (IUPAT DC 51), Raul Castro (UBC), Eamon Clifford (IUOE Local 99), and Nelson Aguilar (UBC). photo/report by Virginia Diamond Darlin Oviedo, a union leader in Honduras, is now in hiding after facing threats for his work improving conditions in apparel factories. “When people stand up to defend their rights and say there shouldn’t be any rights violations against workers, that’s when employers decide to mete out violence against union leaders like us,” Oviedo said. “I know that I lived through the first two attempts on my life but who’s to say there is not a third attempt coming at me.” Read more at Solidarity Center.
Sponsor and player registration is now open for the Baltimore CLC’s Community Services 36th Annual “Ernie Grecco” Golf Tournament, scheduled for September 23rd at Rocky Point Golf Course in Essex, MD. Golfer registration includes: Union-made Embroidered Polos; Continental Breakfast, Beverages & Hot Dogs on the Course, Catered Lunch, Goody Bags. Registration options and links: Sponsorship Form; Tee and Green Form; Player Registration. If you have any questions, contact Diane Journell at (410) 247-4898.
“Unions have been under attack for decades. A lot of the obstacles to workers being able to join together in unions have been dirty tricks like these, thanks to loopholes in enforcement and anti-worker rulings. The PRO Act is the most significant labor law overhaul since the New Deal. American workers need it now.” Thea Lee, who’s now Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Department of Labor was previously president of the Economic Policy Institute. This is from her EPI video outlining 7 Anti-Union Shenanigans the PRO Act Would Fix. |