Dozens of contracted cleaners at the Government Accountability Office have voted to authorize a strike to protest their employer’s proposal to stop paying into the workers’ pension fund. Their union says the decision by Creative Management Technologies would undermine retirement security for cleaners, many of whom have worked at the GAO for decades. “We do back-breaking work and deserve a future where we can make ends meet and support our families,” said Loretta Cunningham-Pettus, who cleans GAO offices. “Our strike vote shows that we’re determined to do whatever it takes to someday retire with dignity.” SEIU Local 32BJ is in negotiations with Creative Management Technologies, a janitorial services subcontractor, for a contract that expires on August 30.
For the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1945, five flight attendants formed the Air Line Stewardesses Association, the first labor union representing flight attendants. They were reacting to an industry in which women were forced to retire at the age of 32, remain single, and adhere to strict weight, height and appearance requirements. The association later became the Association of Flight Attendants, now a division of the Communications Workers of America. In 1963, the International Broom & Whisk Makers Union disbanded. The union had been dedicated to “the promotion of the material and intellectual welfare of all the workers in the broom trade.” Today’s labor quote is by Grover Cleveland “A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.” Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, the only President in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.
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Movies have never really been simply escapist entertainment, and in this election year summer of electoral discontent, no less an authority than New York Times chief critic A.O. Scott recently identified "the problems of management and morale in the modern office" as the "grand, overarching themes" of this year’s blockbuster movies.
In "Even Superheroes Punch the Clock," Scott writes that "This summer, your local multiplex is home to an extended business seminar. There are sessions on crisis-management and how to deal with office romances in 'Star Trek Beyond'; on office rivalries and mission-statement drafting in 'Captain America: Civil War'; on start-ups in 'Ghostbusters' and I.T. disasters in 'Jason Bourne'. Every action movie," says Scott, "is a workplace sitcom in disguise." While Scott is obviously having some fun, his analysis is serious and well-grounded. For example, he argues persuasively that "'Jason Bourne'...is one of the few recent blockbusters that examines the underside of modern working life, since it adopts the point of view of the disaffected worker trapped in a nightmarish bureaucratic maze. All of Bourne’s enemies, as well as his potential allies, are colleagues of one kind or another, and his very existence is a horrifying reductio ad absurdum of life on the corporate treadmill." Cool, I think we just got a head start on next year’s DC Labor Film Festival. For the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1909, the first edition of IWW Little Red Song Book was published. And in 1983, Phelps-Dodge copper miners in Morenci and Clifton, Arizona were confronted by tanks, helicopters, state troopers and National Guardsmen brought in to walk strikebreakers through picket lines in what was to become a failed 3-year fight by the Steelworkers and other unions. Today’s labor quote is by Joe Hill, from "Workers of the World, Awaken!" a song in the IWW's Little Red Song Book: Workers of the world, awaken! Rise in all your splendid might; Take the wealth that you are making, It belongs to you by right. No one will for bread be crying, We'll have freedom, love and health. When the grand red flag is flying In the Workers' Commonwealth. Union City Radio’s Chris Garlock hosts, with co-host Ed Smith, Executive Director of DCNA. This week's guests: Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston on his new book “The Making of Donald Trump”; a revealingly close look at Donald Trump’s rise to power and prominence. Covering Trump for the better part of 30 years, Johnston provides unique insight into the controversial real estate mogul and Republican presidential nominee’s life and career. From Trump’s childhood in Queens, to his time in the business world, to his campaign for the White House, Johnston offers the most in-depth analysis yet of the man who could be the next president. Johnston will speak at the AFL-CIO -- 815 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20006 -- on Thursday, August 25, at 1:00 PM. Co-sponsored by the Metro Washington Council’s DC LaborFest. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Georgetown labor historian Joe McCartin, on his recent Washington Post opinion piece: “This election could decide the fate of American labor — and that’s the problem.” McCartin is a professor of history and director of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University, and the author of “Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers and the Strike that Changed America.” Labor Song of the Week: Woody Guthrie – Ain’t Got no Home in this World Anymore; Guthrie wrote it about Fred Trump, Donald's father. Thousands marched through the streets of Richmond last Saturday to demand economic justice for the 64 million Americans working for less than $15 dollars an hour. "The march brought together people from across the country working too much for too little – from Kroger associates to fast food workers to childcare providers and even college professors," reports UFCW Local 400, many of whose members turned out. The march culminated the first-ever national Fight for $15 convention, which brought together thousands of underpaid workers to strategize next steps for the growing movement. SEIU, UFCW and other unions have provided logistical and, in SEIU’s case, financial support for Fight for 15, and the marchers have in turn also demanded the right to unionize without employer interference and repression. We’ve got a more detailed report on our website at dclabor.org plus a link to lots of photos from Richmond.
On today’s labor calendar, we’ve got two great guests lined up for today’s edition of “Your Rights at Work” here on WPFW starting at 1pm: first up, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston will discuss his new book “The Making of Donald Trump,” which takes a revealingly close look at Donald Trump’s rise to power and prominence. Then we’ll talk with Georgetown University professor Joe McCartin on his recent Washington Post opinion piece about how “This election could decide the fate of American labor.” And as always, we’ll be taking listener calls about rights on the job; the show starts at 1p here on WPFW. For all the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1927, radio station WEVD, named for Eugene V. Debs, went on the air in New York City, operated by The Forward Association as a memorial to the labor and socialist leader. Debs was a labor activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who captured the heart and soul of the nation’s working people. A founder of one of the nation’s first industrial unions, the American Railway Union, he went on to help launch the Industrial Workers of the World—the Wobblies. A man of firm beliefs and dedication, he ran for President of the United States five times under the banner of the Socialist Party, in 1912 earning over a million votes, or 6 percent of the popular vote. Today’s labor quote is by Eugene Debs “What can Labor do for itself? The answer is not difficult. Labor can organize, it can unify; it can consolidate its forces. This done, it can demand and command.” |
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