After a dramatic day of lobbying, the DC City Council on Tuesday passed the Universal Paid Leave Act with a veto-proof 9-to-4 vote. Supporters packed the Council chambers to hear moving testimony about the need for paid leave and witness a cliffhanger vote on a last-minute effort by business interests to scuttle the payroll tax to fund the historic program. The voluntary "employer mandate" failed 8-5 and the original bill passed, making DC just the fifth jurisdiction in the country with a paid leave program. “We won because more than 200 organizations worked in harmony, representing diverse community groups, labor, service providers, small businesses, and national advocates," said Jews United for Justice. Metro Washington Labor Council Executive Director Carlos Jimenez called it "a major, major win for the more than half a million DC workers who will benefit from paid family leave."
The Council also approved the Rail Safety and Security Amendment Act Tuesday, 10-3. "We now have the framework for a proactive rail safety program,” said Herbert Harris Jr., State Chairman of the DC Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. While the new law will enable “proper oversight of the railroads in the District of Columbia," Harris warned that it lacks “a key component of rail safety," which would have required two trained rail professionals on every freight train. Read more on our website at dclabor.org On today's labor calendar, Pride@Work Executive Director Jerame Davis will be in-studio with Ed Smith and me on "Your Rights At Work," 1pm today here on WPFW as we take listener calls about worker rights. For the complete calendar and more details, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1897, a group of building trades unions from the Midwest met in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences. In 1910, twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards. By the time the fire was extinguished, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities. And in 1919, amid a widespread strike for union recognition by nearly 400,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare.” Today’s labor quote is by Woody Guthrie Folksinger Woody Guthrie, who said, "“I ain't a Communist necessarily, but I have been in the red all my life.”
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The Coalition of Metro Labor Unions is planning a series of Town Halls in January to develop a “People’s Agenda for Metro.” Current budget proposals by the Metro board include longer wait times for trains, elimination of essential bus lines, and firing 1,000 workers. “These proposals will have real consequences for the people who depend on Metro and the public’s input must be heard,” says Jackie Jeter, president of ATU local 689, which represents many of the Metro workers. In addition to Local 689, the coalition includes OPEIU Local 2 and Teamsters Locals 922 and 639. The coalition represents more than 13,000 workers at Metro, and is urging attendance at the Town Halls by allies and the public. “It is important to listen to our ridership so that we can face these challenges together,” Jeter said. The Town Hall dates are on our calendar at dclabor.org
Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1790, powered by children seven to 12 years old working dawn to dusk, Samuel Slater’s thread-spinning factory went into production in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, launching the Industrial Revolution in America. By 1830, 55 percent of the mill workers in the state were youngsters, many working for less than $1 per week. In 1921, the Supreme Court ruled that picketing is unconstitutional. Chief Justice -- and former president -- William Howard Taft declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..." Today’s labor quote is by Mother Jones “Little girls and boys, barefooted, walked up and down between the endless rows of spindles, reaching thin little hands into the machinery to repair snapped threads.” Mother Jones, who also said, “And who is responsible for this appalling child slavery? Everyone.” Workers and their allies are pushing for passage of two key bills today at the DC Council. Final votes will be taken on both the Universal Paid Leave Act and the Rail Safety Act. Among the most progressive paid-leave laws in the nation, the DC Universal Paid Leave Act includes 11 weeks of gender equal parental leave, eight weeks of paid family caregiving leave and up to 90% pay replacement for low-income workers on leave.
The Rail Safety Act would establish a rail safety office in DC; the city is one of the only major cities without such protection. Although both bills passed previous sessions with solid Council votes, supporters are taking no chances and will be turning out in force at the Council to push for passage. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1899, delegates to the AFL convention in Salt Lake City endorsed a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote. More than two decades later, on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting American women the right to vote was ratified. In 1906, the first group of 15 Filipino plantation workers recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association arrived in Hawaii. By 1932 more than 100,000 Filipinos would be working in the fields. And on this date in 2005, thousands of workers began what was to be a 2-day strike of the New York City transit system over retirement, pension and wage issues. The strike violated the state’s Taylor Law; TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint was jailed for ten days and the union was fined $2.5 million. Today’s labor quote is from Roger Toussaint “An agreement will never ever, ever, ever be resolved by fear and intimidation.” As anyone who lives here knows, our nation’s capital represents when it comes to displaying some serious yuletide spirit. When you’re not hunkering down against the cold with family, friends and loved ones, we invite you and your out of town visitors to take advantage of some truly enchanting holiday offerings featuring the work of area union members. From Charles Dickens' immortal "A Christmas Carol" at Ford’s Theatre to the National Symphony Orchestra performing Handel’s "Messiah" at the Kennedy Center or just a stroll through ZooLights at the National Zoo, there are options for all ages and price ranges, and we thank our D.C. union brothers and sisters for helping to make them all sparkle.
And last but not least, an excellent way to get around town is on our great—and all-union—Metro rail and bus system, which will get you where you need to go safely and inexpensively. Check out our complete list of DC holiday offerings – and which unions are involved in each -- on our website at dclabor.org On today's labor calendar, The Metro Washington Labor Council Delegate Meeting is tonight at 6:30 at the AFL-CIO and at 7pm you can catch “Requiem for the American Dream” at the New Deal Café in Greenbelt's Roosevelt Center. The film features Noam Chomsky discussing inequality. For the complete calendar and more details, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1907, an explosion in the Darr Mine in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, killed 239 coal miners. Seventy-one of the dead share a common grave in Olive Branch Cemetery. December 1907 was the worst month in U.S. coal mining history, with more than 3,000 dead. In 1921, the Supreme Court ruled that picketing was unconstitutional. Chief Justice (and former president) William Howard Taft declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..." And in 1983, a 47-day strike at Greyhound Bus Lines ended with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union accepting a new contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits. Striker Ray Phillips died during the strike, run over on a picket line by a scab Greyhound trainee. Today’s labor quote is by Abraham Lincoln “I know the trials and woes of working men and I have always felt for them. I know that in almost every case of strikes, the men have a just cause for complaint.” |
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