Union City Radio for Thursday, March 31

Union leaders cheered Tuesday as the U.S. Supreme Court tied, 4-4, on a key labor case, Friedrichs versus California Teachers Associ​ation. The tie upholds lower court rulings for the teachers and for unions’ right to collect agency fees. AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman called it “a significant victory for all working people and a defeat for corporate interests.” Goldman added that “We should enjoy the victory but get ready for additional cases that are in the pipeline that aim to take away our rights and bust our unions.”
Unions appeared headed for a 5-4 loss in the Supreme Court after the January 11 argument of the case, but Justice Antonin Scalia, leader of the court’s conservative bloc, died a month later, and no successor has been confirmed.

On today’s edition of “Your Rights at Work,” Ed Smith and I will discuss the implications of the Friedrichs decision with AFSCME Council 20 Executive Director Andrew Washington at 1pm here on WPFW 89.3FM
And for all the latest local labor activities, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar.

Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1883, cowboys earning $40 a month began what was to become an unsuccessful two-and-a-half-month strike for higher wages at five ranches in the Texas Panhandle.

In 1927, farmworker organizer Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona.

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed legislation establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps to help alleviate suffering during the Depression. By the time the program ended after the start of World War II it had provided jobs for more than six million men and boys. The average enrollee gained 11 pounds in his first three months.

And in 1995, federal judge Sonia Sotomayor, later to become a Supreme Court justice, issued an injunction against baseball team owners to end a 232-day lockout.

Today’s labor quote is by Cesar Chavez
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”
This quote is on a plaque on the roof patio above the USDA cafeteria here in Washington, reports Steven Beasley of AFSCME 3876, which represents workers at USDA.