This is Chris Garlock, with the latest labor news, updates and history from the Metro Washington Labor Council.

(audio) "Well certainly I think we have established the new union standard.”
That’s UNITE HERE's Rachel Gumpert, talking about recent worker victories at Marriott on the AFL-CIO’s “State of the Unions” podcast.
(audio) "UNITE HERE is proud that our median wages for hotel workers are nearly double the non-union rates. And that just goes to show how much better all these hotel companies can do if they feel the need to do so. Power concedes nothing without demand and we’re going to continue bargaining to win these standards everywhere. The night that we won our settlement in San Francisco our president there Anand Singh went out to address the media and he let them know that they have other contract expirations that have already hit...and that we now know...the deal we’re going to be seeking with Hilton, with Hyatt, with every other chain. Marriott is the leader in the industry and they have set the standard and we’re going to be holding every other employer to that standard."
 
In today’s labor history, on this date in 1987, OSHA adopted a grain handling facilities standard to protect 155,000 workers at nearly 24,000 grain elevators from the risk of fire and explosion from highly combustible grain dust.  

Today’s labor quote is by Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, the United Mine Workers reformer murdered – along with his wife and daughter -- on this date in 1969 by hitmen hired by union president Tony Boyle, who was convicted of the crime and eventually died in prison.
"Jock" Yablonski, who, played by Charles Bronson in the 1986 film "Act of Vengeance," tells mine workers president Tony Boyle, played by Wilford Brimley:
“You knew that mine was unsafe; but you turned your back for a couple of bucks.”      
 
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Tucked away in a corner of the National Museum of American History is Luisa Moreno’s shawl, a fascinating piece of labor history. And at least until January 1 – when current funding runs out -- you can drop by and see it.
Luisa Moreno was a Guatemala-born labor organizer, and though she was a major figure in the pre-Chicano Movement and the American labor movement, her role is often overlooked.
She brought together more than 100 groups in 1938 for El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española, the Spanish-Speaking People’s Congress. The display at the museum features objects representing Moreno’s work as a civil rights activist and labor organizer with union pins as well as her shawl and a pamphlet to rally national attention and halt Moreno’s deportation.
You’ll find Luisa – for now -- in the American Enterprise section of the National Museum of American History.
 
In today’s labor history, on this date in 1936, auto workers began a sit-down strike for union recognition at GM’s Fisher Body plant in Cleveland.

Today’s labor quote is by Luisa Moreno, from her 1940 "Caravan of Sorrow" speech, eloquently describing the lives of migrant Mexican workers. Luisa Moreno, who said:
“These people are not aliens. They have contributed their endurance, sacrifices, youth and labor to the Southwest. Indirectly, they have paid more taxes than all the stockholders of California's industrialized agriculture, the sugar companies and the large cotton interests, that operate or have operated with the labor of Mexican workers.”
 
Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

Broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM

Hosted by Chris Garlock and Peter Pocock
DC’s call-in show about worker rights: those you have, those you don’t, how to get them and how to use them.

Hour 1: The Trump Shutdown
Lila Johnson, cleaner and SEIU 32BJ member who usually works at Department of Agriculture/USDA but is out of work during the ongoing shutdown. 
Richard Loeb, senior policy counsel at AFGE and a former federal employee who worked for two decades at the OMB. 
Seth Couslar, vice president, federal sector at AFSCME Council 20; he’s worked at the FAA for 27 years; this is his third shutdown.
Jean Ross, Co-President at National Nurses United (discussing the Trump Administration policy that led to the deaths of children from families seeking asylum.
Harold Meyerson, executive editor, The American Prospect
Sonte DuCote, Executive Director, Metro Washington Council's Community Services Agency

Hour 2: Replay of our August 2, 2018 show featuring Boots Riley, director, “Sorry To Bother You," and Elizabeth Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, Project On Government Oversight, on National Whistleblower Day. 
MUSIC: "The Guillotine" The Coup
Hosted by Chris Garlock and Ed Smith 

Bonita Williams wanted to buy her grandchildren a bike for Christmas.
But now the janitor who sweeps floors and scrubs bathrooms at the State Department worries she won’t be able to pay her rent because of the Trump shutdown.
“My supervisor told me we won’t be getting paid,” she told the Washington Post, “so my bills won’t be getting paid.”
Bonita is one of roughly 2,000 janitors, security guards and other federal building workers who stand to lose wages this holiday season after funding ran dry for a number of agencies, according to 32BJ SEIU, a labor union that represents 163,000 of them on the East Coast.
Bonita’s grandchildren got that bike after all, thanks to the generosity of folks who read about her plight in the Post, but as the shutdown continues, she and thousands of other federal workers are still worried about making their rent, car and life insurance payments on top of keeping food on the table.
On today’s labor calendar, tune in today at 1pm when I’ll be hosting a special edition of “Your Rights At Work” focusing on the Trump Shutdown. My guests will include workers affected by the shutdown, including Bonita Williams. Plus American Prospect editor Harold Meyerson and your calls. That’s today starting at 1pm here on WPFW 89.3 FM.

In today’s labor history, on this date in 1952, country music legend Hank Williams attended what would be his last musicians’ union meeting, at the Elite (“E-light”) café in Montgomery, Alabama. He died of apparent heart failure three days later in the back seat of a car driving north; he was just 29.

Today’s labor quote is by Hank Williams’ grandson, Shelton Hank Williams, from his song “Workin’ Man”:
I woke up this mornin', kissed my wife goodbye
I pray to god that i'll make it home safe tonight
It's a dangerous job but i take that risk
I'll trade my blood and sweat just to feed my kids
I've been working for the man since a tender age
Now a rich politician wants to lower my wage
Pour me a drink so i can understand
These are the struggles of a working man
 
Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

(audio)
That’s today’s mystery sound from the folks at AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It’s the sound of one of their members at work; it’s a water treatment plant. Here’s John Thompson, a member of AFSCME Local 3905 in Illinois, to explain…
(audio; see video below)
AFSCME recently released a cool series of short videos featuring sounds of their members at work. AFSCME is one of the unions that represents public sector workers, many of whom are now either furloughed or working without pay, thanks to the ongoing Trump Shutdown.
Whether they work on the federal, state or local level, these workers are our neighbors, sisters and brothers. They keep our communities working in ways both large and small. Kudos to AFSCME for helping us hear how they contribute to the symphony of our communities across the country.

Tune in tomorrow at 1pm when I’ll be hosting a special edition of “Your Rights At Work” focusing on the Trump Shutdown. My guests will include workers affected by the shutdown, and American Prospect editor Harold Meyerson will provide political perspective. Plus your calls. That’s tomorrow starting at 1pm here on WPFW 89.3 FM.

In today’s labor history, on this date in 1869, the Knights of Labor was founded. Their constitution barred from membership “parasites,” including stockbrokers and lawyers.

Today’s labor quote is from the official platform of the Socialist Labor Party, founded on this date in 1877 in Newark, New Jersey, the first line of which reads:
“Labor being the source of all wealth and civilization, and useful labor being possible only by and through the associated efforts of the people, the means of labor should therefore in all justice belong to society.”

Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

Today of course is Christmas, but for many federal workers here and across the country, there’s not a lot to celebrate.
The federal government is now in the third shutdown this year, a failure for both the American people and the 40 percent of the federal workforce that will be forced to go without a paycheck for as long as this stalemate lasts.
American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Senior minced no words, calling the shutdown “a dereliction of duty by Congress and the president,” adding that it’s “forcing the men and women who safeguard our country to work for free – while hundreds of thousands more get sent home without pay.”
AFSCME President Lee Saunders also pulled no punches, saying that
“Shutting down the government to build a border wall and satisfy a divisive agenda is the height of irresponsible political brinkmanship.” Saunders said that the shutdown “falls hardest on hundreds of public service workers and their families, who deserve respect rather than contempt from their elected leaders.”
Both union leaders called on President Trump and Congress to return to the table, put our communities first and work to end “this unnecessary and harmful shutdown.”
 
In today’s labor history, on this date in 1967, fourteen servicemen from military bases across the U.S., led by Private Andrew Stapp, formed The American Servicemen’s Union, or ASU. The union, which never came close to being recognized by the government, in its heyday during the Viet Nam war claimed tens of thousands of members and had chapters at bases, on ships and in Viet Nam. ASU demands included the right to elect officers.

Today’s labor quote is by David Cortright, an enlisted soldier opposed to the Viet Nam war when he read an article in 1968 about Andrew Stapp’s attempts to organize the American Servicemen’s Union.
David Cortright, who said:
“To me, it was like a light going off, like a flash of illumination, that maybe I could do the same.”
Cortright organized protests against the war and went on to become a professor of peace studies at the University of Notre Dame.
 
Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

(audio)
That’s today’s mystery sound from the folks at AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It’s the sound of one of their members at work; can you guess what it is?
Here’s Scott Weik, a member of AFSCME Local 1935 in Minnesota, to explain…
(audio; see video below)
AFSCME recently released a cool series of short videos featuring sounds of their members at work, unique sounds that AFSCME’s union members contribute to the symphony of our communities across the country. Check out the video on our website at dclabor.org

In today’s labor history, on this date in 1913, 72 copper miners’ children died in a panic caused by a company stooge in Calumet, Michigan, who shouted “fire” up the stairs into a crowded hall where the children had gathered. They were crushed against closed doors when they tried to flee.

Today’s labor quote is by Woody Guthrie, from his song “1913 Massacre” about the tragedy in Calumet, sung here by his son, Arlo:

Such a terrible sight I never did see,
We carried our children back up to their tree,
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree,
And the children that died there were seventy-three.

The piano played a slow funeral tune,
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon,
The parents they cried and the miners they moaned,
"See what your greed for money has done."
 
Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

(audio) "From the beginning it has been really important for our union to be a part of the larger labor movement because unions were joined together to take on the big issues that individual workers can't take on by themselves.”
That’s Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, talking about union solidarity on the latest episode of the AFL-CIO’s “State of the Unions” podcast.
(audio) “And we know that today especially when we go to bargain health care at the table. It doesn’t matter what great negotiators we are. It doesn’t matter that we have 80 percent density in the airline industry. We can't take on the issues of health care without joining together with other workers who have health care under attack, and raising the standards for all Americans on health care. There’s just no way we can move that issue forward. So while we focus specifically on flight attendant issues, we understand our role as part of the larger labor movement as being integral to our success."
“State of the Unions” is available on your favorite podcast platform.
 
In 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.

Today’s labor quote is by William Howard Taft, the Supreme Court Chief Justice and former U.S. president. The Supreme Court ruled on this date in 1921 that picketing was unconstitutional. William Howard Taft, who declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..."

Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

“Not a win, not a loss.” That was one union leader’s assessment of Tuesday night’s DC City Council vote on the East End Hospital bill.
Added another, “We’re healthcare unions but we’re also healthcare advocates and this bill doesn’t solidify quality union jobs or quality healthcare for the residents of Wards 7 and 8.”
The Council passed a substitution amendment which bypasses the certificate of need process, and includes provisions requiring Howard University to reach an affiliation agreement with other institutions to allow Howard doctors to continue to train med students.
If there’s no agreement by June 30, there’s no deal with Universal Health Services, which will be building the new hospital.
Also approved were amendments requiring UHS to hire union members for at least 50% of the nonsupervisory workforce at the new hospital in southeast DC and that UHS, SEIU and DCNA negotiate neutrality agreements for organizing campaigns at the new hospital.

On today’s labor calendar,
Airline catering workers will rally for higher wages at Dulles Airport at noon today;
then at 1, tune in – and call in -- to this week’s edition of Your Rights at Work here on WPFW;
complete details at dclabor.org, click on Calendar.

In today’s labor history, 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 by Roger Toussaint, who said
“An agreement will never ever, ever, ever be resolved by fear and intimidation.”

Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.

Broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM

Hosted by Chris Garlock and Ed Smith
DC’s call-in show about worker rights: those you have, those you don’t, how to get them and how to use them.
 
On today’s show:
Hour 1: Cherri Senders on the new Labor 411 app, the consumer guide to ethical products and services that help create good jobs. Available on Apple and Android. 
Labor music: Factory; Bruce Springsteen
 
Hour 2: Former TWU 100 president Roger Toussaint talks about what led up to the historic 3-day strike by New York City transit workers that began on this date in 2005, his 10-day jail sentence and the labor movement today.
 
Labor music:  Underground Train; Lord Kitchener

This Week's Labor News Headlines:
Chaos and the chocolate factory as leak smothers German street
The GOP tax bill only gave workers 2 cents more per hour in bonuses
What's Monopsony? It May Be the Reason You Haven't Had a Raise
Sears Adds Further Insult to Its Workers -- Bankruptcy Bonuses for Execs
Over Half of Workers Eat At Desk More Often Than Dining Table
 
Produced by Chris Garlock and Peter Pocock; engineered by Robin Smith.