 “I’m not a lady, I’m a hell-raiser!” Mother Jones, who also said, “My address is like my shoes. It travels with me. I abide where there is a fight against wrong.”
 Today, as most of us are making room on our plates for second helpings or thumbing through ads for the best Black Friday deals, the men and women who will ring up our purchases are heading to work.
Why are they making this sacrifice? Often, it’s for survival. Some work on the holiday because they don’t dare risk losing their jobs by putting their families first. Others can’t afford not to take advantage of the extra hours and pay they’ll earn for working on the holiday. Jobs With Justice is standing with retail employees and calling for fair wages and schedules throughout the year so that no one has to depend on working holiday shifts to make ends meet; add your voice to the call for justice by taking the pledge to stand with retail employees in the fight for better jobs and better lives. The Metro Washington Council and Community Services Agency’s offices will close at 1p today and will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday; the next Union City will be published on Monday. Hiring Hall will return next week in the Wednesday edition. Have a happy and safe holiday!
 As millions of travelers headed out for the holidays, workers at National Airport joined a national day of fasting, vigils and rallies on Tuesday. The workers— cleaners, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants and security officers— wore buttons that said “Ask Me Why I’m Fasting” and passed out petitions and flyers explaining their struggle for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, SEIU said.
The 24-hour fast -- which runs through noon Wednesday -- along with vigils and rallies, was organized more than a dozen airports across the country. “I believe it’s the right thing to do,” baggage handler Alex Aram told The Washington Post. The 24-year-old works fulltime for a contractor at National making $8.50 an hour. “We all come from the same struggle, we all have the same thing in common and want it to get better.” - photo: DC airport worker at fast event with area religious supporters; photo courtesy SEIU 32BJ Twitter account |
