In yet another rebuke of President Trump’s anti-worker executive orders, last week the Department of Veterans Affairs rescinded the order denying employees their representational rights at work.
The order had severely limited union officials’ access to office space, equipment, and official time to represent workers – but it was struck down on August 24 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The VA, which had indicated to some locals that they would not abide by the court’s decision, now has officially begun to comply. “Our fight against this anti-worker administration is far from over,” said American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Senior. “but we are turning the tide.” On the weekend labor calendar, NoVA Labor kicks off their Member to Member Labor Walks tomorrow starting at 9am in Annandale; for details and 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, the United Farm Workers began its historic national grape boycott and strike in Delano, California on September 8, 1965. Today’s labor quote is by United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez, who said: “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”
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Today's guest: RN Holly Bracher; Holly works in a critical care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is one of the nurses organizing with NNU who have been learning their rights as they face union busting. Plus: What’s a workers rights/responsibility when the boss is a danger? “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration” MUSIC: “Workers of the World- Unite!” by The Last Internationale CREDITS: Produced by Pete Pocock and Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike “The Man” Nasella The staff of The Virginian-Pilot and the Daily Press announced the formation of the Tidewater Media Guild on Tuesday, collecting authorization cards to be represented by NewsGuild-CWA.
"We are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet," the workers said on Facebook. "We are a vital part of our communities and we demand to be treated as such." Unionizing, they added, will enable them "to keep local media strong and protect our combined 275 years of reporting." On today’s labor calendar, catch this week’s “Your Rights at Work” show on WPFW 89.3FM starting at 2pm, when our guest will be RN Holly Bracher, who will report on why nurses are organizing at Johns Hopkins Hospital. 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, One of the worst disasters in the history of U.S. anthracite mining occurred on this date in 1869 at the Avondale Mine, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, when a fire originating from a furnace at the bottom of a 237-foot shaft roared up the shaft, killing 110 miners. Today’s labor quote is from singer Anne Feeney’s song, “We Just Come To Work Here.” Anne is the granddaughter of a mineworkers’ organizer; her music is designed to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Working at this job is dirty and dangerous and I’m taking risks anyway Oh if I had the time and the proper equipment I could do my job safely each day Everybody here says they’re sticklers for safety and I’m not here to say that they lie I tell ya we just come to work here we don’t come to die Like most UFCW Local 400 members, the contract covering employees at the Clinton Healthcare Center in Clinton, Maryland requires scheduling to be based on seniority.
But shortly after Clinton was purchased by CommuniCare Health Services, a for-profit company that operates 50 health care and rehabilitation centers in five states, scheduling started to change. “The new management wasn’t looking at our contract or our needs, it was just doing whatever it wanted,” said Local 400 shop steward Tawanna Gray. “I told them, ‘we have seniority and you have to follow our collective bargaining agreement.’ But they didn’t listen.” After Local 400 filed a grievance, a new general manager worked cooperatively with the union to put things right, restoring nearly $1,500 to five employees. Gray credited both the company and her union, calling the result “a real morale booster.” For 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. Here’s Jordan Biscardo, communications director at the Seafarers Union, with today's labor history (audio) On this date in 1946, a general strike began across U.S. maritime industry, stopping all shipping. The strikers were objecting to the government's post-war National Wage Stabilization Board order that reduced pay increases negotiated by maritime unions Today’s labor quote is from the slogan popularized during the push for the 8-hour workday, and carried on banners at the first Labor Day parade in New York City in 1882: “8 hours labour, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest” |
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