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Union City Radio: 7:15am daily
WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report

Rally for a Fair Contract for Shoppers workers (UFCW Local 400); Wed, August 17, 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Shoppers College Park, 4720 Cherry Hill Rd, College Park, MD 20740

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, August 18, 1pm – 2pm
WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online.

Union City is taking a summer break; look for our next edition on August 30.

On The Air: Click here to catch this week’s Your Rights At Work radio show (WPFW 89.3FM, Thursdays 1-2p): Mike Wilson (UFCW 400) with an update on contract negotiations at Shoppers; Kentucky AFL-CIO president Bill Londrigan with the latest on labor’s efforts to provide disaster relief to those impacted by the recent Kentucky floods, plus a chant remix from Tuesday’s rally by striking MetroAccess workers.​

After a nine-day strike, ATU Local 689 MetroAccess workers have reached a tentative contract agreement with private contractor Transdev. The more than 200 paratransit drivers, utility workers, dispatchers, maintenance workers, and road supervisors, who walked off the job on August 1 after months of intense negotiations, are expected to vote to ratify the contract in the coming days. The new three-year contract with Transdev includes substantial wage increases and improved benefits, including better sick leave, a more secure retirement plan, additional holidays, and other improvements. The workers successfully fought off the company's proposal to offer members less than what their counterparts in Baltimore make and their refusal to enter into a three-year agreement. “We must still address the issue of privatization of our most vital services like paratransit,” said Local 689 president Raymond Jackson. “WMATA needs to reconsider its relationship with private contractors. It’s not working, and transit workers and riders are being left behind.” Last year, Local 689 MV Call Center workers went on a one-day strike and were successful in winning a fair contract that helped improve their wages, benefits, and rights on the job. Three weeks ago, Local 689 members at the MetroAccess Hubbard Road facility also voted to strike, if necessary, to win a fair contract. The Local says that privatization is a misguided approach to public transit, especially for vital services like MetroAccess.

The AU Staff Union (members of SEIU Local 500) has just authorized a 5-day strike starting August 22nd, to coincide with AU’s student move-in week. Hundreds of staff have been involved in pushing American University (AU) for more than 18 months to get their first contract settled, and 91% voted in support of the strike. “All along we’ve been fighting for livable wages and to establish pay structures that promote retention by focusing on equity,” the union said. Meanwhile, AU has unilaterally denied merit raises “and stuck to its too-little-too-late proposals month after month.” The union is urging support via their link tree and is accepting donations to their hardship fund.

At the Dulles Airport Job Fair on Wednesday, contracted airport workers wearing shirts that read “Jobs with no benefits, are you sick?” peppered Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority reps with questions about why they don’t receive the same benefits as MWAA employees. As National Airport ranks #3 among U.S. airports and #8 worldwide with the most summer cancellations, contracted workers report that they believe they are understaffed and that they think lack of paid sick leave and employer-paid health care is behind the shortage. In 2018, MWAA enacted a policy that requires contractors to provide a living wage for service workers including, baggage handlers, cleaners and wheelchair agents. Likewise, says SEIU 32BJ, “MWAA also has the power to enact a policy requiring contractors to provide paid sick leave and health care benefits, which workers have been pushing for over two years.” In July, a prevailing wage law went into effect at Philadelphia International Airport that mandates $4.80 in healthcare benefits and a minimum of 11 days of paid holidays or time off. A dozen airports have requirements for healthcare or other supplemental benefits currently or will soon apply. “Those who lack health insurance can’t afford to go to the hospital, often dying as a result,” said DCA skycap Almaz Abera. “If I got hit by a car or a stray bullet, I’d tell the ambulance to take me to work, otherwise, I won’t have a job when I come back,” said Paul Blair, 71, Dulles terminal cleaner.