Saying that the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has not done enough to keep officers and staff safe, AFSCME Local 898 President Jeff Grabenstein last week said that “We need to lockdown these facilities, receive training on how to deal with a potential drug outbreak and improve our mail screening procedures.”
Two workers at the Western Correctional Institution were sent to the hospital last week after being potentially exposed to a letter soaked in an unknown substance. Other states changed mail processing procedures, put their facilities on full lockdowns and implemented a variety of other safety measures after facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio were exposed to airborne fentanyl last month, sending dozens to seek medical treatment. “We are very concerned,” said Grabenstein, “especially for our mailroom and administration employees, that without enhanced screening Maryland facilities could face a serious outbreak.” AFSCME Local 898 said it’s continuing to fight for enhanced safety procedures at all Maryland Correctional Institutions. On this week’s labor calendar, mark your calendar for tomorrow night’s “Speak Out to Save Providence Hospital!” 7 to 9pm at Plymouth Congregational Church in northeast DC. For all the latest local labor news and calendar postings, check out our website at dclabor.org, where you can also subscribe free to “Union City,” our award-winning daily newsletter. In today's labor history, New York City’s Union Square, the site of the first Labor Day in 1882, was officially named a national historic landmark on this date in 1998. The square has long been a focal point for working class protest and political expression. Today’s labor quote is by Eugene Debs, labor leader and socialist, sentenced to 10 years in jail on this date in 1918 for opposing World War I. Gene Debs, who said: “The working class who make the sacrifices, who shed the blood, have never yet had a voice in declaring war. The ruling class has always made the war and made the peace.”
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ReWire.News, a progressive digital publication advocating for women’s reproductive rights based out of Bethesda, Maryland, has signed a Voluntary Recognition Agreement with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild after a vigorous organizing campaign that began in May.
Guild Organizing Director Bruce Jett congratulated the ReWire.News workers, commending them for a “courageous campaign,” adding that the union is looking forward to “good faith bargaining that will result in a fair collective bargaining agreement.” On today’s labor calendar, tune in at 5pm this afternoon for Labor Live@5 here on WPFW, when our guests will be Moose Jaw Bluegrass, which is proud of their “blazing fast, workin’ class, and often crass brand of bluegrass.” And for all the latest local labor news and calendar postings, check out our website at dclabor.org, where you can also subscribe free to “Union City,” our award-winning daily newsletter. In today’s labor history, some 75,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia ended a ten-week strike on this date in 1897 after winning an eight hour day, semi-monthly pay, and the abolition of overpriced company-owned stores, where they had been forced to shop. Today’s labor quote is by coal miner’s son Merle Travis, from his song "16 Tons": I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul" You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store Hosted by Chris Garlock CLICK HERE to check out videos from the show! MOOSE JAW BLUEGRASS plays bluegrass rooted in the high lonesome sound of the 1940’s - sullied by an affinity for cheap brews, swampy southern rock anthems, and stamped with an outlaw country attitude: Moose Jaw brings the timeless tradition of American roots music into a new era. The band focuses putting a new spin on the old-time tales of ramblers, rovers, and revivals. Since 2016, audiences from all walks of life have hooted and hollered at Moose Jaw’s “blazing fast, workin’ class, and often crass brand of bluegrass.” Bass player Geff King (2nd from right) played a labor festival with Hazel Dickens; Jason Roe (banjo, middle) is in the organizing department at the IAM, and a member of OPEIU local 2; Stacey Sinclair (fiddle, second from left) is in the teacher's union; Addison Bartlett (mandolin, right), Josh Taylor (left) and Jason's grandfather was an IBEW Local 26 electrician, Jason's father (Josh's uncle) is currently an assistant business agent there. www.moosejawbluegrass.com facebook.com/moosejawbluegrass Engineered by Ciera Shine Union Label Week officially ended yesterday but you can – and should -- support good jobs by looking for union-made goods and union-produced services when you shop.
We have links to searchable databases of union-made products – everything from sunscreen to lawn and garden products, beverages and food -- provided by the AFL-CIO’s Union Label and Services Trades Department (which also has a handy app; search for "Union Label"), and Labor 411’s guide. “In these difficult times, with constant attacks on workers’ rights and union rights, we need to make an extra effort to look for the quality and value represented in union-made products and services,” says Union Labor president Richard Kline. “When you buy union, you’re supporting good jobs in American communities, jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions and dignity and respect for work.” For all the latest local labor news and calendar postings, check out our website at dclabor.org, where you can also subscribe free to “Union City,” our award-winning daily newsletter. In today’s labor history, Polish, Lithuanian and Slovak miners were gunned down on this date in 1897 —19 dead, and more than 50 wounded — by the Lattimer Mine's sheriff deputies in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. Most were shot in the back. The miners were marching peacefully and without weapons for collective bargaining and civil liberty. Today’s labor quote is by longshore union leader Harry Bridges, who said: “Labor cannot stand still. It must not retreat. It must go on, or go under.” |
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