“While we can sit at the front of the Metro during the morning commute to the Capitol, we still cannot afford to lift our families out of poverty on the low pay we earn,” wrote Sontia Bailey in The Hill last week on the 60th anniversary of the day Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
Bailey works at the Refectory Café inside the U.S. Capitol, and wrote that “As one of many low-wage Capitol contract workers, Rosa’s commitment inspires me and my co-workers to make the ‘Fight for $15’ a fight to the finish.” The U.S. Capitol and Senate contract workers “will continue to strike and engage in civil disobedience until the company recognizes our right to form a union,” said Bailey. “We will not yield until we win our seat at the bargaining table.” On today's labor calendar, catch a free screening of “Food Chains” tonight at 6 at the Takoma Park Busboys. In this exposé, an intrepid group of Florida farmworkers battle to defeat the $4 trillion global supermarket industry through their ingenious Fair Food program, which partners with growers and retailers to improve working conditions for farm laborers in the United States. The free screening -- part of the monthly “Bread & Roses” series – is presented by the DC Labor Film Festival and co-sponsored by the Greater Washington Immigration Film Festival, the International Labor Rights Forum and Restaurant Opportunities Center DC. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1886, twenty-five unions founded the American Federation of Labor in Columbus, Ohio. Cigarmaker’s union leader Samuel Gompers was elected president. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. And on this date in 2009, faced with a national unemployment rate of 10 percent, President Barack Obama outlined new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, saying the country must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work. Joblessness had soared 6 percent in the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency. Today’s labor quote is from the AFL’s founding document’s preamble in 1886: “A struggle is going on in all of the civilized world between oppressors and oppressed of all countries, between capitalist and laborer...”
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The failure of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to get competitive bids "reeks of cronyism and doling out favors to the private prison industry," charged AFSCME Maryland Council 3 after the recent release of a state audit. The audit found that the DPSCS bidding process "may have limited competition," something that Council 3 president Pat Moran said "is exactly what we were concerned about when we spoke out before the Board of Public Works." Moran urged Maryland Governor Hogan to "clean this mess up."
On today's labor calendar, you can catch a free screening of the film 'Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement' today at 12:30pm at the AFL-CIO with director Regan Brashear. A haunting, subtle and urgent documentary, FIXED questions commonly held beliefs about disability and normalcy by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and mind forever. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1888, Heywood Broun was born in New York City. Broun was a journalist, columnist and co-founder, in 1933, of The Newspaper Guild, now the News Guild. I'm a proud Guild member, by the way! In 1896, steam boiler operators from 11 cities across the country met in Chicago to form the National Union of Steam Engineers of America, the forerunner to the International Union of Operating Engineers. Each of the men represented a local union of 40 members or fewer. In 1931, more than 1,600 protesters staged a national hunger march on Washington to present demands for unemployment insurance. And on this date in 2009, delegates to the founding convention of the National Nurses United in Phoenix, Arizona unanimously endorsed the creation of the largest union and professional organization of registered nurses in U.S. history. The 150,000-member union is the product of merger of three groups. Today’s labor quote is by Heywood Broun, who said: "Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steaks to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian." Today's the last day to tell the AFL-CIO what stands between you and prosperity and how we can change the rules together to create a better life for all workers. The AFL-CIO is gathering data about the state of women in the workforce through an online National Survey of Working Women, an opportunity for advocates and the media to understand the challenges working women face, whether it’s on the job, balancing work and family or leading in our communities. To participate in the survey, go to dclabor.org.
On today's labor calendar, don't miss the DC Labor Chorus on WPFW's "Live@5" Labor Edition tonight from 5 – 6pm as the DC Labor Chorus performs live and discusses "The Power of Song." Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1943, President Roosevelt announced the end of the Works Progress Administration, concluding the four-year run of one of the American government's most ambitious public works programs. It helped create jobs for roughly 8.5 million people during the Great Depression and left a legacy of highways and public buildings, among other public gains. In 1952, United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther was elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. And in 1970, Cesar Chavez was jailed for 20 days for refusing to end United Farm Workers' grape boycott . Today’s labor quote is by Cesar Chavez: "The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people." |
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