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UFCW 400 calls for expanded paid sick leave amid Coronavirus state of emergency

Local lawmakers warn against layoffs or benefit cuts for cleaners on the frontlines of pandemic

Union Plus `Hardship Help'

Labor Coronavirus Watch: Legislative Update

Today's Labor Quote

Today's Labor History

[link removed] LABOR CALENDAR

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This week's guests: Elise Gould, Senior Economist, EPI; Hamilton Nolan, labor reporter for In These Times; Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO; plus Case Closed with David Schloss, Partner at Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis, and listener calls.

With the AFL-CIO headquarters building currently shut down, all Metro Washington Council and Community Services Agency staff are now teleworking and can be reached at the contact [link removed] numbers and email addresses here.

UFCW 400 calls for expanded paid sick leave amid Coronavirus state of emergency
UFCW Local 400 is calling on employers of its members to provide enhanced sick leave policies amid the COVID-19 state of emergency. The union has sent notices to every employer, including Giant Food, Safeway, Kroger, and Shoppers grocery chains, where stores have been overrun by shoppers. "We are making this request because it is the right thing to do," explained Local 400 president Mark Federici. "Particularly in the grocery industry, where stores are experiencing a significant increase in traffic, it is more important than ever that workers are able to access paid time off in the event that they or their families become sick." [link removed] Read more here

Local lawmakers warn against layoffs or benefit cuts for cleaners on the frontlines of pandemic
Local political leaders, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich, Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol, and Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott, today warned commercial building owners not to lay off or cut benefits to cleaners on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
"32BJ members are the office cleaners and security officers, among others who are on the frontlines of the Coronavirus crisis, keeping buildings clean and safe for everyone," the leaders said in a statement. "The work they do every day is invaluable and now more than ever, their hard work can literally save lives. These men and women are the unsung heroes of the Coronavirus pandemic and they can least afford to lose wages and benefits during this crisis." [link removed] Read more here

Union Plus `Hardship Help'
If you are a participant in the Union Plus Mortgage, Credit Card, Personal Loan, or supplemental insurance programs, you may be eligible for additional hardship assistance. Visit the [link removed] `Hardship Help' section of the Union Plus website for eligibility requirements.

Labor Coronavirus Watch: Legislative Update

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
[link removed] White House Seeks $1 Trillion From Congress In Coronavirus Relief Push
[link removed] Congress hit for not doing more on paid leave

MARYLAND
After the Trump administration [link removed] announced Tuesday that people could delay paying their federal income taxes if you owe a tax payment to the IRS, [link removed] Maryland leaders followed suit and said the same would be true for taxpayers on the state level

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
See graphic for meal locations for students

AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls for personal protective equipment for workers. See his [link removed] interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

- David Stephen, mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

Today's Labor Quote: chef Jose Andres

who tweeted a video earlier this week from a local Giant supermarket, where UFCW Local 400 members were re-stocking shelves:

"So here it is one, two o'clock in the morning and all the amazing people here at Giant (are) working hard, restocking everything. These people are going to be feeding America, so I hope this serves as an homage to every man and woman who's going to be helping to keep the supermarkets full, to feed everybody in this moment of uncertainty. Thank you to all of them." Follow him [link removed] @chefjoseandres

Today's Labor History

This week's [link removed] Labor History Today podcast: The Great Postal Strike, Watergate and "Casey Jones, the Union Scab" ; Longtime labor lawyer Jules Bernstein on the 1970 postal strike, AFL-CIO president George Meany on the Watergate scandal, and Pete Seeger on "Casey Jones, the Union Scab.
Last week's show: [link removed] Neutron Jack, Joker and Parasite

In an effort to block massive layoffs and end a strike, New York City moves to condemn and seize Fifth Avenue Coach, the largest privately owned bus company in the world - 1962

Five Rockwell International workers are asphyxiated during a nitrogen purge of the engine compartment while setting up a ground test for the space shuttle Columbia. Two of them died. The technicians had been cleared by NASA safety supervisors to enter the compartment and a NASA board of inquiry concluded that a last-minute change in testing procedures, along with a breakdown in communications at the space center, caused the incident.

- David Prosten

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Published by the Metropolitan Washington Council, an AFL-CIO "Union City" Central Labor Council whose 200 affiliated union locals represent 150,000 area union members.

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