LABOR CALENDAR
Union City Radio: 7:15am daily
WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report
Metro Washington Council Delegate Meeting: Tue, May 19, 1pm – 3pm
Via Zoom; register here (required)
Caravan to demand BPW Fund the Front lines: Tue, May 19, 1:30pm – 3:00pm
AFSCME Council 3, 190 West Ostend St., Baltimore 21230
DC Labor FilmFest: Waging Change: Tue, May 19, 7pm – 9pm
via Zoom; FREE; register here
Intro by filmmaker Abby Ginzberg; Q&A with Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Nikki Cole, National Policy Campaign Director
MWC Candidate Town Hall: Janesse Lewis-George (Ward 4): Wed, May 20, 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Via Zoom; Registration required
Movie still from "Waging Change"; actress Lily Tomlin canvassing in Michigan
Healthcare workers demand PPE, crisis pay, testing and moreMonths into the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare unions are continuing to work with members, elected officials, employers, and manufacturers to get healthcare workers the PPE, crisis pay, and support they need to get through this pandemic. “But we can't win PPE, crisis pay, and testing without you!” says 1199SEIU. As Congress considers a new coronavirus bill, the union urges calls – 844-898-1199 -- to tell Congress to “Fund the Front Lines!” Click here for a script and tips here in both English and Spanish. - Djawa Hall, 1199SEIU-UHWE
AFL-CIO sues feds over coronavirus workplace safety
With states reopening for business and millions of people heading back to work, the nation's largest labor organization is demanding the federal government do more to protect workers from contracting the coronavirus on the job. What's happening: The AFL-CIO, a collection of 55 unions representing 12.5 million workers, says it is suing the federal agency in charge of workplace safety to compel them to create a set of emergency temporary standards for infectious diseases. Driving the news: The lawsuit against the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to be filed on Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Citing an urgent threat to "essential" workers and those being called back to work as government-imposed lockdowns are lifted, the AFL-CIO is asking the court to force OSHA to act within 30 days. It wants a rule that would require each employer to evaluate its workplace for the risk of airborne disease transmission and to develop a comprehensive infection control plan that could include social distancing measures, masks and other personal protective equipment and employee training.
Axios, May 18, 2020, by Joann Muller
The best part of my supermarket job was the people. Now, they’re the worst part
by Donte Martin, a front-end manager and UFCW Local 400 member at Giant in Silver Spring, MD, as told to Washington Post editor Sophia Nguyen
I’ve worked in grocery stores since I was 20 years old. The best part of my job has always been the people. You never know who you might talk to during the day: It could be someone who’s homeless, or someone with a million dollars in their bank account. Everyone has to buy food. Working here, you see the actual face of society. That’s the worst part of my job now...Some people have lashed out at the requirement that customers wear masks indoors...My co-workers and I read stories about customers attacking employees at Target and McDonald’s, or see footage of people bringing guns to state capitols, and it scares us. You never know how or when someone will lash out...I wish more people knew that grocery store employees take care of the community. I wish we had Plexiglas at our work stations, and more protective equipment...Our work feeds thousands, and none of us get paid much to do it. Most of us don’t have much choice: It’s either go to work or go hungry. We’re on the front lines, unprotected in almost every aspect. We’re vulnerable to the virus, and we’re vulnerable to other human beings.
Today's Labor Quote: Jerry Stiller
“I’ve never thought of stopping. The only time you ever stop working is when they don’t call you.”
Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller died last week at 92.
Today's Labor History
This week’s Labor History Today podcast: “The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland”
Labor historian, activist and writer Toni Gilpin's rich history detailing the bitter, deep-rooted conflict between industrial behemoth International Harvester and the uniquely radical Farm Equipment Workers union. "The Long Deep Grudge" makes clear that class warfare has been, and remains, integral to the American experience, providing up-close-and-personal and long-view perspectives from both sides of the battle lines.
PLUS: David Fernandez-Barrial, Saul Schniderman and Hazel Dickens on the Matewan Massacre.
Last week’s show: “Strike for Your Life!”; labor history’s lessons for the COVID-19 crisis
The Railway Labor Act took effect today. It was the first federal legislation protecting workers’ rights to form unions - 1926
9,000 rubber workers strike in Akron, Ohio - 1933
- 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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