(audio) We will keep the lights on in Las Vegas. Our community needs us. They need to see the big white truck
That’s Shannon Skinner, a utility worker in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she works for NV Energy, and is the president of IBEW 396. (audio) The only people that are in the field are our union members, our front line people. I think the key is to keep our members safe and the anxiety out of their lives, because it's a lot. We all have dangerous jobs on the power line and then it's dangerous enough as it is. But now to try to keep your guys' minds on task with all this stuff going on in the world is a little bit extra. We’ve actually had OSHA taking pictures of us, and I have to say, I have to brag on my crew; 'cause we're in this together. We decided to be in this together, we're doing the long haul and it makes me pretty proud and I, and another thing is I'm glad that everybody's working together. Shannon Skinner, a utility worker in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she’s also the president of IBEW 396. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1946, at least 30,000 workers in my hometown of Rochester, N.Y., participated in a general strike in support of municipal workers who had been fired for forming a union. Today’s labor quote is by Josephine Shaw Lowell, a 19th century Progressive Reform leader best known for creating the New York Consumers League in 1890. Josephine Shaw Lowell, who said: ”If the working people had all they ought to have, we should not have the paupers and criminals. It is better to save them before they go under, than to spend your life fishing them out afterward. Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you're caring for an aging parent, get the legal assistance you need for estate planning with Union Plus MetLife Legal Plans. Details at UnionPlus.org This is the final week of WPFW’s Spring Pledge Drive; you can support Union City Radio and all the great programs here on WPFW by calling 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or pledge online at wpfwfm.org, click on Donate Now. You can also give on your phone by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Thanks very much!
0 Comments
(audio) You walk inside this home, and it's, it's the weirdest feeling in the world. You think you're walking into this like minefield, you don't know if there's little ticking time bomb everywhere.
That’s Jessica, a utility worker in Detroit, on a conference call last week with utility and communication union leaders about the effects of the pandemic… (audio) In the beginning, one of the first gas leaks that I had, it was a young couple with a child, and every time the furnace kicked on, it was just spewing out natural gas. And of course, that utility room was right next to the child's room, and I feel so terrible because I'm, I'm literally about to shut off their furnace. And I walk out to my truck to write up a tag and as I'm walking back to the house, I hear screaming. I walk in and I'm all nervous, and the husband said, my wife just got a phone call that her father had just passed away of COVID-19 and she's on the floor crying and now the kid is out of the crib, he is screaming and he's running towards me and I'm a mom. And you know, any kid that runs towards you just kinda like want to pick up and say, Hey, it's okay. And I don't know if this child's been exposed. I don't know if I've been exposed, will I give it to the child. And I literally, um, I gave them a tag, you know, wish them the best of luck, made sure they were safe. And I went and drove to a nearby parking lot and I probably sat there for about a half hour, 45 minutes. just thinking about what's going on in this world right now? What, what is going on? It was pretty crazy. Jessica, a utility worker in Detroit. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional, about a month before it was set to expire. Congress passed the law in 1933, authorizing the President to regulate industry for fair wages and prices to stimulate economic recovery during the Great Depression. Today’s labor quote is by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, after signing the National Industrial Recovery Act into law in 1933: "Must we go on in many groping, disorganized, separate units to defeat or shall we move as one great team to victory?" Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many families are being hit with increased financial burdens. For those struggling with their credit, the Union Plus Credit Counseling program is still operating online and over the phone. Visit unionplus.org/creditcounseling to find out more. This is the final week of WPFW’s Spring Pledge Drive; you can support Union City Radio and all the great programs here on WPFW by calling 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or pledge online at wpfwfm.org, click on Donate Now. You can also give on your phone by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Thanks very much! Today is Memorial Day, when we honor those who have given their lives to defend this country. Today we’re involved in a different kind of war, one against a killer virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives and our economy. No one understands that better than America’s working people. For too many of us still working on the front lines of this pandemic, simply going to work could mean getting sick or even losing our lives. Millions of workers are now unemployed as this public health crisis has ripped across our country.
It is crucial that our elected leaders at every level of government act to save our nation, save our economy and save workers’ lives. That’s why we’re joining together to fight back with the Workers First Caravan on June 3. We must demand action from our elected leaders before this crisis pushes our nation past the point of no return. They must do the right thing for America’s workers and our families. Stay tuned for more details on local plans for June 3. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1932, thousands of unemployed WWI veterans arrived here in Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of a bonus they had been told would get, but not until 1945. They built a shantytown near the U.S. Capitol but were burned out by U.S. troops after two months. Today’s labor quote is by California Senator Hiram Johnson, who called the 1932 attack on the Bonus Army ‘one of the blackest pages in our history.’ Noting that the veterans had been hailed as heroes and saviors only a decade earlier, Johnson said that ‘The president sent against these men, emaciated from hunger, scantily clad, unarmed, the troops of the United States army. Tanks, tear-bombs, all of the weapons of modern warfare were directed against those who had borne the arms of the republic.’ Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. You can shop for a car or truck from home today and save more than $3,000 dollars; just go to unionplus.org, where you can research new and used cars online and look for the “Buy from Home” badge to see which dealerships offer remote paperwork and vehicle delivery right to your driveway. Find out more at unionplus.org Please be sure to support WPFW during our Spring Pledge Drive; call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or pledge online at wpfwfm.org, click on Donate Now. Thanks very much! Hey, in case you missed any of the Union City Radio segments this week, Here’s a quick sound collage of highlights…
(audio) Plumbers local five contributed $10,000 to CSA’s emergency assistance fund last week, which will be used to help unemployed union members struggling to maintain their households ...Signature Theater workers and what their union called an overwhelming display of solidarity, have voted to join I local 22 which will now begin negotiations for a first contract...Healthcare unions are continuing to work with members, elected officials, employers, and manufacturers to get healthcare workers the PPE crisis, pay and support they need to get through this pandemic…in Ukraine, unions and worker rights activists are leveraging trade unions, collective power to advocate for a better pay and conditions for working people and help provide emergency relief during quarantine…the Virginia interfaith center for public policy recently organized volunteers to sow and donate masks to UFCW local 400 grocery workers. Highlights from this week’s Union City Radio; find them all on our podcast, just search for Union City Radio on your favorite podcast platform. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1995, 2,300 members of the United Rubber Workers, on strike for 10 months against five Bridgestone-Firestone plants, agreed to return to work without a contract. They had been fighting demands for 12-hour shifts and wage increases tied to productivity gains. Today’s labor quote is by Bill Clinton, who said “I do not believe we can repair the basic fabric of society until people who are willing to work have work. Work organizes life. It gives structure and discipline to life.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Did you know that you can shop for a car and truck from home and save more than $3,000 dollars this Memorial Day weekend? It’s true; just go to unionplus.org, where you can research new and used cars online and look for the “Buy from Home” badge to see which dealerships offer remote paperwork and vehicle delivery right to your driveway. Find out more at unionplus.org And of course, please be sure to support WPFW during our Spring Pledge Drive; call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739. You can also pledge online at wpfwfm.org -- click on Donate Now -- you can now give by using WPFW's CashApp account, just search for $WPFW. Thanks very much! |
Categories
All
Union City Radio is proud to be supported by UnionPlus, which has been working hard for union families since 1986.
Union City Radio is part of The Labor Radio/Podcast Network
Listen now...UC Radio airs weekdays at 7:15a on WPFW 89.3 FM; subscribe to the podcast here. |