Transit workers have launched an online petition calling on local District officials to move forward on the DC Streetcar and rehire workers who want to unionize. "While the DC Streetcar has boosted economic development along the H Street corridor, it hasn’t fulfilled its promise of reconnecting neighborhoods or improving mobility," says ATU Local 689. "Instead of DDOT exercising oversight of the streetcar, it has outsourced responsibility to French-owned RDMT/McDonald Transit,” says the union. The result, they say, is “lack of transparency, poor design, constant delay, safety concerns, and a hostile work environment for employees, including the mass termination of eight workers for union activity." H Street-area residents deserve transit that works, and streetcar operators deserve the right to representation, the union adds. "The time for action on the streetcar is now,” said Local 689. “No more costly delays, no more worker intimidation. Fix it, staff it, start it!"
On today's labor calendar the Labor Film Poster Exhibit continues in the AFL-CIO lobby and then this afternoon from 4-5pm, sociologist William Julius Wilson will discuss Race and Class at the Library of Congress; go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details. In today's labor history, Italian activists and anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, widely believed to have been framed for murder, went on trial today in 1921. They eventually were executed as part of a government campaign against dissidents. On this date in 1945, the “Little Wagner Act” was signed in Hawaii, guaranteeing pineapple and sugar workers the right to bargain collectively. After negotiations failed, a successful 79-day strike shut down 33 of the territory’s 34 plantations and brought higher wages and a 40-hour week. And in 2004, nearly 100,000 unionized SBC Communications workers began a 4-day strike to protest the local phone giant’s latest contract offer. Today's labor quote is by sociologist William Julius Wilson: “Crime, family dissolution, welfare, and low levels of social organization are fundamentally a consequence of the disappearance of work.” William Julius Wilson, who said: “If you're not working, over time you're much more likely to develop attitudes and orientations and behavior patterns that are associated with casual or infrequent work. And then when you open up opportunities for people, you notice that these attitudes, orientations, habits and styles also change.” Help WPFW collect a $1,000 challenge grant, pledge today and mention Union City Radio and your contribution will go twice as far: call 202-588-9739. This is Chris Garlock, with Union City Radio’s Your Rights at Work tip of the day: It is illegal for an employer to ask whether you have a disability in a job interview. They cannot ask about your health history, or if you are pregnant, or if you’ve ever had a problem with alcohol or drugs. Find out more about your rights at work from the Employment Justice Center, at DCEJC.ORG or call 202-828-9675.
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An international delegation of union leaders – including Metro Washington Council president Jos Williams -- traveling in Swaziland last week called on the government to guarantee the rights of workers to freely form unions and exercise freedom of speech and assembly.
“The government must meet the demands” of the International Trade Union Confederation, Williams said. Delegation members also sought to visit political prisoners, some of whom have been held for two years, but they “got the run-around” in efforts “to see our comrades in jail and look at the conditions,” Williams said. Given the level of harassment and repression, Williams said he “came here seeking to encourage” union leaders, but instead found that “they are standing tall in the face of adversity.” Read more on our website at dclabor.org On today's labor calendar, there’s a free Teamsters History Tour today at noon where you’ll find out how the horses on the Teamster logo got their names and lots of other fascinating Teamster labor history. Then at 7:15pm at AFI, catch a DC LaborFest screening of Northern Lights, which dramatizes the organizing efforts of the Nonpartisan League, an early 20th-century progressive movement originating among North Dakota farmers. Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details and to sign up. In today's labor history, the Railway Labor Act took effect today in 1926. It was the first federal legislation protecting workers’ rights to form unions. And in 1933, some 9,000 rubber workers struck in Akron, Ohio. Today's labor quote is by IWW organizer Joseph Ettor: “The power of the capitalists is based on property, they have the laws, the army, everything! In spite of all that, the workers have something still more powerful. The workers’ power…is the common bond of solidarity.” Known as “Smiling Joe,” Ettor was an Italian-American trade union organizer who, in the middle-1910s, was one of the leading public faces of the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW. Help WPFW collect a $1,000 challenge grant, pledge today and mention Union City Radio and your contribution will go twice as far: call 202-588-9739. This is Chris Garlock, with Union City Radio’s Your Rights at Work tip of the day (click below) D.C. workers have the right to 24 hours of unpaid parental leave every year to attend school events for a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew. To take advantage of this right, you have to give your employer at least 10 days notice before the event. Find out more about your rights at work from the Employment Justice Center, at DCEJC.ORG or call 202-828-9675. UFCW local 400 welcomed workers at the Falls Church Bestway to the union last week. The workers ratified their first contract and join their fellow UFCW Local 400 Bestway employees from Silver Spring, Maryland.
A new electoral collaboration of community and labor organizations that share concerns about issues impacting working families in Virginia kicked off Monday morning by announcing endorsements for the Arlington County Board and several other Virginia races. Calling itself Opportunity Virginia 2015, the collaboration is focused on backing candidates who will stand with working families and support diverse communities of immigrants, people of color, and young voters in what activists are calling the New Dominion state. For complete details, go to dclabor.org On today's labor calendar, Faith Leaders For One Fair Wage and Workers' Rights are holding a Potluck and Meeting tonight at 6:30pm and at 7 tonight catch the DC LaborFest screening of Oxygen For The Ears: Living Jazz at the Old Greenbelt Theatre, with Q&A afterwards with some local DC jazz greats. Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details. In today's labor history, two hundred sixteen miners died on this date in 1902 from an explosion and its aftermath at the Fraterville Mine in Anderson County, Tennessee. All but three of Fraterville’s adult males were killed. The mine had a reputation for fair contracts and pay—miners were represented by the United Mine Workers—and was considered safe; methane may have leaked in from a nearby mine. In 1920, there was a shootout in Matewan, West Virginia between striking union miners (led by Police Chief Sid Hatfield) and coal company agents. Ten died, including seven agents. John Sayles’ 1987 film, Matewan, is based on the incident. Today's labor quote is by Sid Hatfield, as portrayed by actor David Strathairn in “Matewan”: “I take care of my people. You bring 'em trouble, and you're a dead man.” This is Chris Garlock, with Union City Radio’s Your Rights at Work tip of the day (click below) If you are independent contractor, you are not covered by many of the laws that protect employees. However, you are not an independent contractor just because your boss says so! If you work only for one employer, who provides the tools, sets the schedule, and tells you what work to do, you are likely an “employee,” and therefore protected by the laws. Find out more about your rights at work from the Employment Justice Center, at DCEJC.ORG or call 202-828-9675. Maryland state and university workers scored a win last week when Governor Hogan agreed not to permanently take away their pay raise, which had already been implemented back in January. “But Hogan has still not ruled out furloughs for our middle-class families,” warned AFSCME Council 3. Furloughs “would still be a temporary pay cut to the middle‐class families of state and university employees,” Council 3 added. “We’re still fighting! We are stronger together.”
Over at Howard University Hospital, contract negotiations can finally begin, now that the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Interns, Residents, Chief Residents, and Fellows are represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents. Dr. Nnaemeka Madubata, an internal medicine resident, said that "Though it will be hard, the negotiation process will be something that will be beneficial to all parties involved including residents, Howard University Hospital, and above all else, our patients." Here’s this week's Labor Quiz: As of 2014, which state had the highest percentage of union members employed? Was it California; Hawaii; Wisconsin; Michigan or New York? Go to unionist.com, click on Labor Quiz and you could be next week's winner! In today's labor history, in what may have been baseball’s first labor strike, the Detroit Tigers refused to play after team leader Ty Cobb was suspended on this date in 1912: he went into the stands and beat a fan who had been heckling him. Cobb was reinstated and the Tigers went back to work after the team manager’s failed attempt to replace the players with a local college team, whose pitcher gave up 24 runs. According to Cobb, this incident led to the formation of a players' union, the "Ballplayers' Fraternity," an early version of what is now called the Major League Baseball Players Association, and garnered some concessions from the owners. Today's labor quote is by Ty Cobb: "Sure, I fought. I had to fight all my life just to survive. They were all against me. Tried every dirty trick to cut me down, but I beat the bastards and left them in the ditch." We’re very pleased to report that we’ve got a $1,000 challenge grant from a local labor lawyer who will match your contributions dollar for dollar, which means your contribution goes twice as far! Pledge online at wpfwfm.org or call 202-588-9739 or, toll-free, 1-800-222-9739 to support this great station. Be sure to mention Union City Radio to qualify for the challenge. This is Chris Garlock, with Union City Radio’s Your Rights at Work tip of the day: Starting May 27, 2015, your employer must provide you with a written notice of the terms of your employment. This notice must be on an official form from the DC government, and it must include details such as your wage rate and when you will be paid. Find out more about your rights at work from the Employment Justice Center, at DCEJC.ORG or call 202-828-9675. |
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