Federal employees who worked during the 2018-2019 government shutdown must join the lawsuit by this Sunday, December 20, to be eligible for damages. Click here to join. Heidi Burakiewicz and the law firm Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, in conjunction with AFGE, filed the first lawsuit against the U.S. government related to the 2018-2019 shutdown on behalf of federal employees who were forced to work without pay. The deadline to sign up to be a plaintiff -- the case covers all eligible affected federal employees -- in this lawsuit has been extended to December 20. Employees who fail to sign up may be ineligible to participate or receive damages. Georgia Federation of Teachers President Verdaillia Turner will be the special guest at the Metro Council’s final “Virtual rally and phonebank” Monday at 6p for Georgia’s senate run-off before the holiday break. “Sister Turner (photo) will give us an update on how things are looking on the ground in Georgia and provide insight into what we need can do to help win in Georgia!” says MWC Political and Legislative Director David Stephen. “We are encouraging everyone to join us Monday, even you cannot phone bank,” adds Stephen. Register here. If you would like to phone bank with the MWC before the holidays, you can make calls anytime Monday-Wednesday 9:00a-7:00p ET; email [email protected] for details. “We’re done talking about what 2020 has taken from us,” says Nakisha Lewis, Director of Civil, Human and Women's Rights at the AFL-CIO. “Let’s talk about what we built together. Let’s talk about what we’ll fight for in 2021.” Thousands of organizers and activists protested across the country, demanding to be heard as they said, “Black Lives Matter.” Millions of people elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House, winning a labor-friendly administration and the first African American and Indian American woman as vice president. With that inspiration, the theme for the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference is From Protest to Power: When We Fight, We Win. “On Jan. 15 and 16, we will gather virtually to build on our victories and strategize about the continued fight for economic and racial justice with—and also within—the labor movement,” says Lewis. The conference will be free of charge, and all sessions and trainings will be held online so that everyone can attend safely.
“The more nervous you are about the reaction of your organization, the more you probably need a union.”
Young is the former union member and activist who’s now president of Action Squared, whose employees organized with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and recently ratified their first union contract. |