“Movies require a great deal of work, most of it unsung and behind the scenes, often done by people who are considered to be working class.” Newman, an Associate Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, will discuss workers and holiday movies on Your Rights At Work today at 1p on WPFW 89.3 FM. This week’s Labor History Today podcast: Paul Robeson and the 1948 Library of Congress cafeteria workers’ strike: With 95% of DC’s hotel and restaurant workers out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we look back at the history of cafeteria workers’ struggle at the Library of Congress for a union and how singer and activist Paul Robeson supported their 1948 strike. Plus: AFSCME's Lillian Roberts tells how a showdown with NY Governor Nelson Rockefeller over the right of state workers to organize led to her being jailed for two weeks in December, 1968; Mark Bradley, author of Blood Runs Coal, about the brutal 1968 murder of Jock Yablonski and his family by United Mineworkers president Tony Boyle, and how it inspired a surge in union democracy; The Beginning of the End of Apartheid. Last week’s show: America’s last general strike. photo: mass picket outside the Federal Works Administration during the 1948 cafeteria strike. Protesting unemployment, lack of political representation, and taxation without representation, a thousand members of the Australian Workers’ Union, led by Harold Nelson, marched on the Government House in Darwin, Australia (below), demanding the resignation of John Gilruth, Administrator of the Northern Territory. Gilruth left under military protection, never to return, and Nelson went on to win the first Territory seat in Australia’s House of Representatives -1918 Int’l Union of Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers merges with United Steelworkers of America - 1996 - David Prosten click here for latest listings
Union City Radio: 7:15am daily WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report Understanding Union Representation for Professional Football Players: Mark Hyman in Conversation with Adam Richelieu of the NFLPA: Wed, December 16, 12pm – 1pm Airport Union Caucus: Wed, December 16, 2pm – 3pm Meeting of unions representing airline and airport workers "Special Challenges facing Women in the Workforce": Wed, December 16, 7pm – 9pm Sponsored by the Fairfax County Democratic Ctte Labor Committee and the FCDC Women's Committee Fairfax Dems Labor Caucus: Wed, December 16, 7pm – 8pm Joint program with FCDC Women's Committee on women's issues in the workplace MoCo/PGCo COPE Mtg: Planning for 2021: Thu, December 17, 10am – 12pm At this important meeting, we will discuss and lay out the Metro Washington Council’s plan for 2021, including the upcoming MD legislative session and the Georgia Senate run-offs. Register in advance here Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, December 17, 1pm – 2pm WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online This week's guests: Preview the San Francisco Mime Troupe's "A Red Carol" with Music Producer Daniel Savio; Kathy M. Newman on Christmas (and Class) Behind the Scenes, plus music from Charley Pride! Rebuilding Collective Bargaining Back Better (EPI): Thu, December 17, 4:00pm – 5:15pm Got local labor news? Email it to us today! Send tips, releases or suggestions to us at [email protected] Despite the pandemic and business opposition and because of effective work with allies in a year unlike any in living memory, the metro-area labor movement scored two major victories on Tuesday as the DC Council held its last meeting of the year. The first was the unanimous passage of the “Right to Return to Work” bill, which overcame a stealthy but ferocious campaign by the business lobby. “We did it!” tweeted DC Jobs with Justice Organizer Nikko Bilitza after the 13-0 vote. “Thousands of District workers now have hope that they can return to the jobs they once held before this scourge hit us,” said UNITE HERE Local 25 Executive Secretary-Treasurer John Boardman. The second win was the inclusion of an amendment that will protect the bargaining rights of employees affected by the creation of the new Department of Buildings, protecting seniority and the ability to organize new workers. The Metro Council and its affiliates and allies conducted a marathon of lobbying meetings with members of the DC Council last week to ensure the passage of these bills without weakening amendments. Exhausted but jubilant, Metro Council president Dyana Forester said that “Our work continues,” pointing to the stalled legislation introduced by Council Member Silverman which sought to address the lack of collaboration and transparency in DCPS plan’s to return to in-person teaching. Forester praised Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I, At-Large) for her strong advocacy on both issues, and thanked outgoing DC Councilmembers David Grosso (D, At-Large) and Brandon Todd (D, Ward 4) for their service. The DC Council will reconvene on January 5th welcoming newly elected council members Christina Henderson (I, At-Large) and Janeese Lewis George (D, Ward 4). - David Stephen |