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Also, if you miss our live show – or want to hear a past show – Your Rights At Work is now available as a podcast! Just search for Union City Radio on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe and you’ll get our shows right on your phone! Guests: Julie Karant (SEIU 32BJ) reports on the NLRB ordering an airline contractor to reinstate a Dulles wheelchair attendant fired for joining a strike. Herbert Harris Jr (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen) reports on a local fundraiser to support Canadian rail workers being blamed for management’s mistakes in the 2013 Lac Megantic disaster. Plus: Listener calls and this week's Labor Song: “The Wreck of the Old 97”: Johnny Cash (Live at San Quentin); The song tells of the September 27, 1903, crash of the Old 97, a.k.a., “the Fast Mail,” which ran between Monroe, Virginia, and Spencer, North Carolina, and had legendarily never once been late. The train’s engineer, a thirty-three-year-old named Joseph “Steve” Broady, had been ordered to put on speed by his bosses at the Southern Railway, who were concerned about keeping the company’s U.S. Mail contract. The crash occurred when the 97 failed to negotiate a curve on a forty-five-foot-high wooden trestle outside Danville, Virginia. Eleven men died so the mail could get to Spencer on time. It’s not true, as the song’s lyrics state, that Broady was going 90 miles an hour; this was a lie propagated by the railroad, which tried to blame the crash on its engineer. But it is true that “They found him in the wreck with his hand on the throttle / Scalded to death by the steam.” Most of the mail burned, too — but the Southern Railway unceremoniously rehabilitated the engine and ran it for another thirty-two years.
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DC workers and unions joined DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and local officials last Friday to mark the District’s minimum wage increase. Now more than ever, we need to ensure our workers and their families have access to high wages and good paying jobs as the city continues to grow and prosper," said Metro Washington Council Executive Director Carlos Jimenez. SEIU 32BJ Vice President Jaime Contreras added that “The difference that $15 an hour can make for so many struggling families cannot be underestimated.”
On today’s labor calendar, catch this week’s edition of “Your Rights At Work” at 1pm today here on WPFW, where we’ll take your calls about your rights on the job. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1894, rail union leader Eugene V. Debs was arrested during the Pullman strike, described by the New York Times as "a struggle between the greatest and most important labor organization and the entire railroad capital" that involved some 250,000 workers in 27 states at its peak. Today’s labor quote is by Eugene Victor Debs, who said “I would not be a capitalist; I would be a man; you cannot be both at the same time.” Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus, which is committed to improving the quality of life for all working families; find out more at unionplus.org. Even during these lazy days of summer, access to food continues to be a problem for needy area working families. Summers can be especially tough when kids are out of school and school lunches and snacks disappear. Recent union food drives are helping bridge that gap and you can lend a hand too. The Metro Washington Council's Community Services Agency is now accepting gift cards from Giant, Safeway or Shoppers -- all union grocery stores -- and you can collect non-perishable food at your workplace and call CSA when they're ready for pick-up or delivery. And of course you can always make a financial contribution to CSA earmarked for the Emergency Assistance Fund.
Details on our website at dclabor.org, click on Community Services. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1934, the Battle of Rincon Hill took place during the West Coast Longshoremen's Strike in San Francisco. Some 5,000 strikers fought 1,000 police, scabs and national guardsmen. Two strikers were killed, and 109 people were injured. The incident, forever known as "Bloody Thursday," led to a general strike. Today’s labor quote is by an Aboriginal wise woman, who said: "If you come only to help me, you can go back home. But if you consider my struggle as part of your struggle for survival, then maybe we can work together." Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus, which is committed to improving the quality of life for all working families; find out more at unionplus.org. Summer brings interns to Washington and once again this year the Metro Washington Council is helping labor interns connect. Last Wednesday, a group of interns from the Laborers, DC Jobs with Justice and the Metro Washington Council met up at the Trump Re-election Fundraiser protest at Trump Hotel. Mack Miller, currently interning with the Metro Washington Council, is the main contact for connecting DC labor interns. Miller is a Rutgers senior majoring in Political Science and Journalism who is deeply involved with United Students Against Sweatshops. He’s already identified more than 20 summer labor interns and is working on plans for a social event soon. If you know about interns in your union or labor ally; email [email protected]
On today's labor calendar, celebrate Independence Day by joining the NoVA Labor contingent at the July 4 Parade in Dale City, Virginia. They'll meet in the parking lot of the Mapledale Plaza Giant at 9am; details on our website at dclabor.org, click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1916, the American Federation of Labor dedicated its new Washington, D.C. headquarters building at 9th St. and Massachusetts Ave. NW. The building, now part of the Marriott Marquis, later became headquarters for Plumbers and Pipefitters. Today’s labor quote is by Sam Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor from 1886 to until his death in 1924. Samuel Gompers, who said: “We do want more, and when it becomes more, we shall still want more. And we shall never cease to demand more until we have received the results of our labor.” Union City Radio is supported by UnionPlus, which is committed to improving the quality of life for all working families; find out more at unionplus.org. |
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Union City Radio is proud to be supported by UnionPlus, which has been working hard for union families since 1986.
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