Thirty area workers at Frontier Communications, members of CWA Local 2222, have joined their 1,400 co-workers in West Virginia who went out on strike last weekend for job rights and job security. A picket line is up Monday through Thursday from 6 am to noon in Ashburn, Virginia. Details on our website at dclabor.org, click on Calendar.
Also on today’s labor calendar, get the latest on worker rights on today’s edition of “Your Rights At Work” right here on WPFW starting at 1pm this afternoon. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 2003, musicians struck Broadway musicals and shows went dark when actors and stagehands honored picket lines. The strike was resolved after four days. Today’s labor quote is by Lucy Parsons, the IWW founder and labor organizer who died on this date in 1942. Lucy Parsons, who said: “Strike not for a few cents more an hour, because the price of living will be raised faster still, but strike for all you earn, be content with nothing less.” Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus, which provides unique products and discounts for working families. Check them out at unionplus.org!
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While DC Circulator workers are closer than ever to becoming public employees, they face a tough battle at the Wilson Building. ATU Local 1764 reports that DC Councilmembers are seriously considering bringing DC Circulator operations and maintenance in-house, but DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and DDOT’s new director are trying to convince the Council that they need to try a new private contractor for as long as ten years first. That’s nonsense, the union says, pointing out that DDOT already tightly manages more of the day-to-day affairs at Circulator than in almost any privatized system in the country. The union has launched a petition and we’ve got a link on our website at dclabor.org.
On today’s labor calendar, Lane Windham leads a talk on her book "Knocking on Labor's Door" tonight at 6:30 at Potter's House in northwest DC; details at dclabor.org, click on calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1930, with the Great Depression underway, hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers demonstrated in some 30 cities and towns; close to 100,000 filled Union Square in New York City and were attacked by mounted police. Today’s labor quote is from Joe Hill’s song “There Is Power In A Union,” which appeared in the “Little Red Song Book,” published by the Wobblies on this date in 1913, and sung here by Joe Glazer and Bill Friedland: There is pow'r, there is pow'r In a band of workingmen. When they stand hand in hand, That's a pow'r, that's a pow'r That must rule in every land -- One Industrial Union Grand. Hundreds of healthcare and property service workers gathered in Annapolis last Thursday to call on Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and the state legislature to support a livable minimum wage and give hope to tens of thousands of workers who make too little to support themselves and their families.
Also last Thursday, dozens of union members and supporters staged an impromptu picket line outside the Department of Labor, braving wind and rain to protest Ronald Reagan’s induction into the Hall of Honor alongside labor giants like Frances Perkins and Cesar Chavez. Details and photos on our website at dclabor.org, where you’ll also find listings of all the latest labor events; just click on calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1770, British soldiers, quartered in the homes of colonists, took the jobs of working people when jobs were scarce. On this date, grievances of ropemakers against the soldiers led to a fight. Soldiers shot down Crispus Attucks, a black colonist, then others, in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Attucks is considered the first casualty in the American Revolution. Today’s labor quote is by African-American historian, scholar, educator, and writer Benjamin Quarles, who said: “On the American side, the Negro saw limited military service until the war dragged on into its third year. This negative attitude toward enlisting the Colored man, sprang from a reluctance to deprive the slavemaster of his chattel slave, and from the fear of putting guns in the hands of a class of persons most of whom were not free. In the main, the Negro was thought of as a servile laborer, rather than a potential warrior. But when manpower needs became acute, whether in the volunteer forces, the militia, or the continental troops, fears were put into the background and the Negro was mustered in.” Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus, which provides unique products and discounts for working families. Check them out at unionplus.org! Ronald Reagan was inducted into the Labor Hall of Honor at the US Department of Labor yesterday, joining labor icons such as Cesar Chavez, Mother Jones, and A. Philip Randolph. The only U.S. President to have led a major union, the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan launched the modern era of union-busting when he fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981. According to labor historian Joe McCartin, the 1981 strike and defeat of PATCO -- the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization -- was "one of the most important events in late twentieth century U.S. labor history."
For the latest local labor events, go to dclabor.org, and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1990, more than 6,000 drivers struck Greyhound Lines, and most lost their jobs to strikebreakers after the company declared an “impasse” in negotiations. Today’s labor quote is by Cesar Chavez, who said: “When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again. “ Union City Radio sponsor UnionPlus wants you to know that they’re committed to improving the quality of life of working families through their unique products and services. Find out more at unionplus.org! |
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