The union representing thousands of Metro workers reacted with "concern" to President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment this week of Elaine Chao as Secretary of Transportation, noting that she failed to adequately investigate pay shortages and overtime when she served as President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Labor.
"We have no reason to believe she will stand up for working people now," said ATU 689 president Jackie Jeter. The union also warned that Trump's proposal to fund infrastructure spending through tax credits to private contractors "only benefits the contractors and leaves taxpayers holding the bag." On the weekend labor calendar, don't miss An Evening of Favorite and Sacred Songs with the DC Labor Chorus tomorrow night at the ATU Tommy Douglas Conference Center in Silver Spring, starting at 7:30. Labor Chorus Director Elise Bryant calls the free concert "a musical sanctuary of song for those who fight the good fight for peace and justice every day.” Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1954, the U.S. Senate voted to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” McCarthy was a rabid anti-Communist who falsely accused thousands of Americans, mostly people who supported labor, civil rights and other progressive causes, of being traitors. In 2009, court documents filed in Boston said Walmart had agreed to pay $40 million to more than 87,000 Massachusetts employees who claimed the retailer denied them rest and meal breaks, manipulated time cards and refused to pay overtime. Today's labor quote is by folksinger Woody Guthrie Woody Guthrie, who said "There's several ways of saying what's on your mind. And in states and counties where it ain't too healthy to talk too loud, speak your mind or even vote like you want to, folks have found other ways of getting the word around. One of the mainest ways is by singing."
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Hosts: Chris Garlock and Ed Smith
Also, if you miss our live show – or want to hear a past show – Your Rights At Work is now available as a podcast! Just search for Your Rights At Work on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe and you’ll get our shows right on your phone! Guests: DC Councilmember David Grosso on the Universal Paid Family Leave Act Phil Cohen; organizer & author, “The Jackson Project: War in the American Workplace.” In this dramatic, hard-hitting, firsthand account of a brutal labor dispute at a West Tennessee textile mill, Phil Cohen offers readers a rare insider’s view of the American labor movement in action. Jackson speaks Tue, December 6, 12pm – 2pm; AFL-CIO, Presidents Room• 815 16th St., NW, Washington, DC Labor Song: Steely Dan: Dirty Work More than 400 airport workers and their supporters rallied Tuesday before authorizing a strike vote and marching a mile through the rain at National Airport to demand $15 an hour.
“We work very hard to ensure that travelers have a safe and clean airport, but we are ready to go on strike to ensure we can provide for our families,” said Aynalem Lale, a wheelchair dispatcher at Dulles Airport. “If I made $15 an hour," said Lale, "I wouldn't have to work two jobs and would not have to sleep at the airport between jobs.” Joining the rally and march were other local unions and faith leaders, as well as local politicians. “No employer should ever pay poverty-level wages -- especially here, in one of the richest counties in America,” said Virginia Congressman-elect Donald McEachin. The strikes and protests in D.C. were part of a nationwide day of disruption that included McDonald’s and other fast-food workers walking off their jobs in 340 cities from coast to coast. On today's labor calendar, there's a protest by workers at the D.C. Water & Sewer Authority this morning starting at 9am; then at noon, TIME correspondent and author Haley Sweetland Edwards joins Buzzfeed reporter Chris Hamby to discuss "Shadow Courts: The Tribunals that Rule Global Trade" and at 1pm here on WPFW catch this week's edition of "Your Rights At Work," when our guests will be DC City Councilman David Grosso and organizer Phil Cohen. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1955, African-American Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This simple act of defiance fueled the civil rights movement's campaign against segregation. Although widely honored in later years, Rosa Parks also suffered for her act; she was fired from her job as a seamstress in a local department store, and received death threats for years afterwards. Shortly after the boycott, she moved to Detroit. From 1965 to 1988 she served as secretary and receptionist to John Conyers, an African-American Congressman. She was also active in the Black Power movement and the support of political prisoners in the United States. Today's labor quote is by Rosa Parks Rosa Parks, who said "You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right." |
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