Money bills – both a short-term bill to keep the government going after September 30 and a longer-term larger bill for the new fiscal year that starts October 1 – top labor’s legislative agenda when Congress returns to D.C. today. But it’s not just the numbers themselves that are important, AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel says. It’s what the majority Republicans may try to insert into the measures, too. And most of those measures, especially the permanent money bills and the continuing resolution, offer the ruling Republicans opportunities for anti-worker measures. Samuel is particularly concerned about attempts by the Republican right to overturn pro-worker National Labor Relations Board rulings and Labor Department worker income and safety rules.
“The Republicans have a number of policy riders” that hurt workers, Samuel explains. “They may go to the brink” of shutting down the government, again “over their threats involving the NLRB and the Labor Department.” On today’s Labor Calendar, local singer/songwriters Peter and Steve Jones will perform a free Labor Day Concert tonight at 6pm at the Takoma Park Busboys and Poets as part of the monthly Bread & Roses labor series. Details on our website at dclabor.org; click on calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1909, employers gave in to the demands of striking miners in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, agreeing to improved working conditions, a 15-percent hike in wages and elimination of a wage system that gave foremen control over each worker’s pay. In 1942, workers gave up their Labor Day weekend holidays to keep the munitions factories working to aid in the war effort. Most Labor Day parades were canceled in respect for members of the Armed Services. And in 1965, the United Farm Workers union began its historic national grape boycott and strike in Delano, California. Today’s labor quote is by United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez: "The consumer boycott is the only open door in the dark corridor of nothingness down which farm workers have had to walk for many years. It is a gate of hope through which they expect to find the sunlight of a better life for themselves and their families."
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Today isn’t just a day off from work to eat good barbecue with friends and family. It’s a celebration of America’s labor movement and its workers. In honor of Labor Day this year, Union Plus is offering union members the opportunity to win $500 by voting for their favorite labor hero. The contest is simple, go to UnionPlus.org/Contest and vote for one of the following iconic labor leaders: César Chávez, Eugene V. Debs, Samuel Gompers, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, Lucy Parsons, Frances Perkins, A. Philip Randolph or Walter Reuther. You must enter by this Saturday, September 12.
On today’s Labor Calendar, NoVA Labor holds its’ annual Labor Day Picnic from noon to 3pm at Veterans Memorial Regional Park in Woodbridge, VA; they’ll provide the hot dogs, burgers and drinks, you provide the sides! Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1893, starving coal miners in the small West Yorkshire, England, pit town of Featherstone – locked out for refusing to accept a wage cut – assemble to stop the movement of coal. As their numbers grew, the military was called in and opened fire, injuring eight people, two of whom died from their wounds. And in 1916, Federal employees won the right to receive Workers' Compensation insurance coverage. Today’s labor quote is by labor historian William Cahn: “The history of America has been largely created by the deeds of its working people and their organizations. Nor has this contribution been confined to raising wages and bettering work conditions; it has been fundamental to almost every effort to extend and strengthen our democracy.“ Local singer/songwriters Peter and Steve Jones launch the new monthly “Labor Music” edition of WPFW’s “Live@5” music show. The duo perform and chat with Union City Radio’s Chris Garlock about their experiences organizing for the United Farm Workers Union, the connection between music and solidarity and more.
Engineered by Rodney Black and David Kelly. Click above to hear the whole show. Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. While the day honors the hardworking women and men who make this nation go and grow, the weekend also gives us a chance for one more big backyard barbecue blowout. And what better way to support workers than looking for the union label at the supermarket? Text the word MADE – that’s M-A-D-E -- to 235246 for union-made-in-America products from Ball Park franks to Stroehmann buns, Claussen pickles and relish, French’s mustard and of course, beer! Whether you prefer domestics like Coors Light or Sam Adams or imports like Bass Ale and Red Stripe, there’s a union-made beer for you; just text BEER to 22555 for the complete list. All of this is also available on our website at dclabor.org.
On today’s Labor Calendar, Transit Workers Local 689 will host a Cocktail Hour & Movie tonight from 5 to 9 pm at the union hall in Forestville, Maryland. The free event features a screening of "Chocolate City," which explores the rapid gentrification of Washington through the eyes of a group of local women fighting to return to their neighborhood. And from 5 to 6pm tonight, local singer/songwriters Peter and Steve Jones will perform labor songs and music on WPFW's Live at 5’s new monthly Labor Sings edition; I’ll be hosting that and am really looking forward to it! Then this Labor Day weekend, local Jewish congregations will celebrate working people’s issues in the annual Labor on the Bimah program coordinated by Jews United for Justice. Go to jufj.org for the complete list of services, at which all are welcome. As always, you can go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar for full details on the local labor calendar. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1949, more than 140 attendees at a benefit for a civil rights group were injured in the “Peekskill Riots” in Peekskill, New York. The victims were among the 20,000 people leaving a concert featuring African-American Paul Robeson, well-known for his strong pro-unionism, civil rights activism and left-wing affiliations. The departing concert-goers had to drive through a miles-long gauntlet of rock-throwing racists chanting racial epithets. And in 1991, in what many believe was to become the longest strike in U.S. history, 600 Teamster-represented workers walked out at the Diamond Walnut processing plant in Stockton, California, after the company refused to restore a 30-percent pay cut they had earlier taken to help out the company. The two sides ultimately agreed to a new contract after 14 years. Today’s labor quote is by Paul Robeson, from his 1958 book, “Here I Stand”: “Hard-working people, and poor, most of them, in worldly goods–but how rich in compassion! How filled with the goodness of humanity and the spiritual steel forged by centuries of oppression! There was the honest joy of laughter in these homes, folk-wit and story, hearty appetites for life as for the nourishing greens and black-eyed peas and cornmeal bread they shared with me. Here in this little hemmed-in world where home must be theater and concert hall and social center, there was a warmth of song. Songs of love and longing, songs of trials and triumphs, deep-flowing rivers and rollicking brooks, hymn song and ragtime ballad, gospels and blues, and the healing comfort to be found in the illimitable sorrow of the spirituals. Yes, I heard my people singing!” |
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