The government of Maryland says it has been shortchanging thousands of workers who earn extra pay for overtime and night shifts, a mistake discovered when the state installed a new payroll and timekeeping system this year.  On Friday, state officials notified four public-employee unions about the issue and said they plan to work with the unions to develop a process for determining the scope of the problem and how to resolve it. 
Union officials say they have raised concerns about payroll mistakes across state agencies for many years, only to hear that the problems were isolated. “It turns out the issues were systemic,” said Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the largest union representing state workers. “Our members were right, and the bureaucrats were wrong. We expect every person who worked to be paid for every single hour they worked, whether it was yesterday or 20 years ago,” said Moran.

On today's labor calendar, the AFL-CIO Committee on Women Workers and the American Federation of Teachers are hosting a seminar this morning on "Early Learning and Childcare: The Work and the Workers" starting at 9a at the AFL-CIO. 
And starting this Friday, the Labor Heritage Foundation's annual Great Labor Arts Exchange brings together labor musicians and artists from across the nation, with a free concert Saturday night honoring LUCI MURPHY. For more info, visit LaborHeritage.org and for the latest local labor calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar.

Here’s today's labor history:
On this date in 1918, 86 passengers on a train carrying members of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus were killed, and another 127 were injured in a wreck near Hammond, Indiana.  Five days later the dead were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, in an area set aside as Showmen’s Rest, purchased only a few months earlier by the Showmen’s League of America.

In 1922, violence erupted during a coal mine strike at Herrin, Illinois. A total of 36 were killed, 21 of them non-union miners.

Today’s labor quote is by Sam Gompers
"Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better men, time to become better women, time to become better and more independent citizens."

Saying that "The attacks never let up," UFCW 1994's Amy Millar reports that Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen is introducing a bill that the union says would gut collective bargaining rights in Montgomery County.  While Floreen says the bill is about transparency, Local 1994 says it would reduce the ability of unions to bargain over working conditions, allow the County Executive to appoint a permanent umpire without union input  and more. Floreen's “transparency” language "comes right out of ALEC model legislation," Millar notes. ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a pay-to-play operation where corporations advance their legislative wish lists. 

Starting this Friday, the Labor Heritage Foundation's annual Great Labor Arts Exchange brings together labor musicians and artists from across the nation, organized by Elise Bryant. Saturday night don't miss the free concert honoring DC Diva Activist LUCI MURPHY with the Joe Hill Award. For more info, visit LaborHeritage.org and for the latest local labor calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar.

Here’s today's labor history:
On this date in 1877, ten miners accused of being militant "Molly Maguires" were hanged in Pennsylvania. A private corporation initiated the investigation of the 10 through a private detective agency. A private police force arrested them, and private attorneys for the coal companies prosecuted them. "The state provided only the courtroom and the gallows," a judge said many years later.

In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of unions to publish statements urging members to vote for a specific congressional candidate, ruling that such advocacy is not a violation of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act.

And in 1997, an estimated 100,000 unionists and other supporters marched in solidarity with striking Detroit News and Detroit Free Press newspaper workers.

Today’s labor quote is by an anonymous Molly Maguire
 "You either end up on the gallows or coughing your lungs out, what's the difference?"
The Mollies were a secret organization of Irish Catholic coal miners in Schuykill County, Pennsylvania. They were enraged about poor working conditions and low wages. 

Saying that "Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka last Thursday announced that the 12.5 million-member labor federation had endorsed Clinton for president of the United States. Clinton "has demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice," Trumka said. He also noted that "Senator Bernie Sanders has brought an important voice to this election and has elevated critical issues and strengthened the foundation of our movement. His impact on American politics cannot be overstated." Beginning immediately, the AFL-CIO will put in motion its ground campaign to elect Clinton and union-endorsed candidates across the country. Read more -- and see a brief video – on our website at dclabor.org. 

On today’s labor calendar, there’s an organizing meeting for a Maryland Tri-County Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women tonight at 6pm at the CWA District 2-13 office in Lanham, MD.
And at 6:30 the Metro Washington Council Delegate meeting will be held at the AFL-CIO at 16th and I in downtown DC; all are welcome to attend and hear the latest local labor news.
For complete details and the latest local labor calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar.

Here’s today's labor history:
On this date in 1943, striking African American auto workers were attacked by the KKK, National Workers League, and armed white workers at the Belle Isle amusement park in Detroit. Two days of riots followed, in which 34 people were killed, and more than 1,300 arrested.

In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Labor Management Relations Act, curbing strikes, was vetoed by President Harry S Truman. The veto was overridden three days later by a Republican-controlled Congress.

And in 1977, oil began traveling through the Alaska pipeline. Seventy thousand people worked on building the pipeline, history's largest privately-financed construction project.

Today’s labor quote is by Evelyn Dubrow
Described as organized labor's most prominent lobbyist at the time of its greatest power, Evelyn Dubrow died on this date in 2006 at age 95. The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union lobbyist once told the New York Times that, quote, “she trudged so many miles around Capitol Hill that she wore out 24 pairs of her Size 4 shoes each year."

Employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development will save up to $1500 in mass transit expenses this year, thanks to Local 476 of the American Federation of Government Employees. As a result of bargaining demands by Local 476, HUD agreed to increase the transit subsidy on May 1 and then announced that the increase would be retroactive to January 1, 2016. While HUD did not acknowledge the union in either of its announcements, attempting to make it appear as if the increased subsidy were an unsolicited benefit offered by the Department, Local 476 president Ashaki Robinson Johns told members that "AFGE Local 476 is proud to be advocating for you, both in the workplace and on Capitol Hill, and we are pleased to share in this latest victory with you."

On today’s labor calendar, there’s a discussion with Pride at Work Co-Founder and AFL-CIO Executive Council Member Nancy Wohlforth at noon at the AFL-CIO. Wohlforth, the first openly gay officer of an international union, has been a champion of social and economic justice and in the early 1990s, she and a group of LGBTQ labor activists came together to form Pride at Work, which was chartered in 1994 and gained official recognition by the AFL-CIO in 1997. Wohlforth will discuss the organization’s struggle to be recognized and provide her perspective on the evolving landscape for LGBTQ equality, from employment nondiscrimination to transgender rights.
For complete details and the latest local labor calendar, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar.

Here’s today's labor history:
On this date in 1864, twenty-one young women and girls making cartridges for the Union Army at the Washington, D.C. arsenal during the Civil War were killed in an accidental explosion. Most of the victims were Irish immigrants. A monument was erected in the Congressional Cemetery, where 17 of the workers are buried.

In 1873, Susan B. Anthony went on trial in Canandaigua, New York for casting her ballot in a federal election the previous November, in violation of existing statutes barring women from the vote.

And in 1903, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones led a rally in Philadelphia to focus public attention on children mutilated in the state's textile mills. Three weeks later the 73-year-old would lead a march to New York City to plead with President Theodore Roosevelt to help improve conditions for the children.

Today’s labor quote is by Susan B. Anthony
“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.”