A Conversation with UNI Global Union General Secretary Christy Hoffman: Remaking the World of Work for the Service Sector: Tue, January 19, 11am – 12pm

Loudoun County Labor Caucus: Tue, January 19, 5pm – 7pm
Special guests will be Loudoun Interfaith Bridges

Film: STAND!: Tue, January 19, 7pm – 9pm
FREE via Eventive; RSVP here
Q&A with Director Robert Adetuyi, Composer/Producer Danny Schur & actor Gregg Henry.

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, January 21, 1pm – 2pm
WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online

FILM: 9-5: The Story of a Movement: Thu, January 21, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Register here

Baltimore Labor Council meeting: Thu, January 21, 7pm – 9pm
Email for call-in details: [email protected]

NoVA Labor monthly meeting: Thu, January 21, 7pm – 9pm

MD dues write-off testimony due by 3p today
HB 179 is a bill that affects every union member in Maryland, allowing state tax write-offs for union dues. The bill is being heard on Thursday in the House Ways and Means Committee, but due to COVID restrictions, testimony in support of the bill must be submitted no later than 3pm today. Email your testimony to MD State and DC AFL-CIO Legislative and Political Director Chuck Cook, who can also provide details on how to format your testimony.

DC Council seeks paid leave testimony
The DC Council Committee on Labor & Workforce Development is looking to hear from union members on their experiences with Universal Paid Family Leave for their public oversight roundtable this Friday, January 22 at 9a. If your union has any members who would like to testify please click here. If you’re unable to testify but would still like to weigh in, contact MWC Political and Legislative Director David Stephen at [email protected] to make arrangements to speak on a member’s behalf.

'The least we can do': How you can thank custodial staff who cleaned up after Capitol riot
"There's a new effort underway to thank Capitol custodial staff who immediately began cleaning up the mess left behind by rioters, so that Congress could get back to work and resume certification of the electoral college vote," reports WJLA's Heather Graf. "When I saw law enforcement was finally regaining control of the building, I saw one news outlet say the Capitol is now being cleaned so that Congress can safely return," said Sharon McMahon. "And I was just really struck by that moment -- like, it is someone's job to clean this up so we can have democracy." McMahon is a government teacher who once taught in Montgomery County, but she currently lives in Minnesota. The president of AFSCME Local 626 told WJLA that not only did those employees clean up after the riot, he says some of them were already at work and inside the building when the siege took place. Last Wednesday, ABC7 was able to help put McMahon in touch with the union president. Shortly after that, she officially launched the letter writing campaign. Email thank you letters to Local 626 at [email protected] or to the Architect of the Capitol at [email protected].

Excluded Worker cash assistance opens
The DC Care program for those ineligible for UI will begin accepting applications for assistance Monday, January 25th. Over 8,000 residents will receive $1,000 gift cards (with the ability to access cash withdrawals) to sustain them through this ongoing emergency. Learn more with this guide in English and Spanish, including who’s eligible for assistance. Click here for details.

Labor hails Biden's COVID-19 relief package
Saying that “This is how a real president provides relief in a responsible way,” AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka on Thursday said that the economic package unveiled by President-elect Joe Biden is part of the AFL-CIO’s Workers First Agenda and includes the lifesaving elements America’s labor movement has been fighting for since last summer. Those include enhanced unemployment insurance, state and local government assistance, direct payments to individuals, COBRA subsidies, an eviction moratorium, expanded paid leave and a long overdue Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard for infectious disease. Trumka said that “Congress should pass this relief package at once so we can provide healing and hope to those suffering under this deadly pandemic, and then begin the important work of rebuilding America with legislation like the PRO Act and President-elect Biden’s Build Back Better plan.”

Labor Quote: Stand! (Labor musical)

"The more we do nothing, the more nothing changes."

Today's Labor History
This week’s Labor History Today podcast: Stand! The new hit labor musical
Catch a free screening of Stand! by the DC Labor FilmFest tonight at 7p EST, when DC Labor Filmfest director Chris Garlock will be doing a live Q&A after the film with Danny Schur, director Robert Adetuyi and actor Gregg Henry. RSVP here.
Last week’s show: The Vancouver Island Coal Strike; Skyscraper Labor.

Twenty strikers at the American Agricultural Chemical Co. in Roosevelt, N.J. were shot, two fatally, by factory guards. They and other strikers had stopped an incoming train in search of scabs when the guards opened fire - 1915

3,000 members of the Filipino Federation of Labor strike the plantations of Oahu, Hawaii. Their ranks swell to 8,300 as they are joined by members of the Japanese Federation of Labor - 1920

Yuba City, Calif. labor contractor Juan V. Corona found guilty of murdering 25 itinerant farm workers he employed during 1970 and 1971 - 1973

Bruce Springsteen makes an unannounced appearance at a benefit for laid-off 3M workers, Asbury Park, NJ - 1986

- 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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