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DC City Council approves COVID protection bill

The Man Who Realigned Labor

Today's Labor History

Today's Labor Quote

Hiring Hall: DC-area union staff jobs!

TODAY'S LABOR CALENDAR; [link removed] click here for latest listings

Union City Radio: 7:15am daily
WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; [link removed] click here to hear today's report

[link removed] 2021 Essential Worker Legislative Action Days (Wednesday): Wed, February 3, 9:30am - 12:30pm

[link removed] DC 2021: Continuing Crises, Prospects for Change: Wed, February 3, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
A webinar bringing together DC stakeholders to look ahead to a new year in the District.

Arts Union Caucus: Wed, February 3, 3pm - 4pm
Meeting of unions representing workers in the performing and broadcast arts.
Contact mailto:[email protected] [email protected] for the link.

Alexandria Dems Labor Caucus: Wed, February 3, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Meeting of union members and community allies in Alexandria.
Contact mailto:[email protected] [email protected] for the link

[link removed] 2021 Essential Worker Legislative Action Days (Thursday): Thu, February 4, 9:30am - 12:30pm

[link removed] Catholic Labor Network Check-In: Thu, February 4, 1pm - 2pm

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, February 4, 1pm - 2pm
WPFW 89.3 FM or [link removed] listen online

[link removed] Arlington Dems Labor Caucus: Thu, February 4, 6pm - 7pm
Meeting of union members and community allies in Arlington

Got local labor news? Email it to us today! Send tips, releases or suggestions to us at mailto:[email protected] [email protected]

DC City Council approves COVID protection bill
The DC City Council yesterday unanimously approved an emergency bill to provide key protections for District workers during the pandemic. "This is a great step forward in fighting COVID-19 for District workers," said MWC president Dyana Forester. "Since the pandemic began, we have heard too many stories of workers afraid to speak up about their employer's failure to comply with COVID-19 protections. This bill empowers workers to make sure that their employers obey the law and keep them safe." In addition to requiring employers to adopt and implement policies to prevent transmission of COVID-19 on the job, the bill also includes a prohibition on retaliation against employees who speak up on safety issues and clarifies COVID-19 as a compensable illness eligible for workers compensation.
- David Stephen

The Man Who Realigned Labor
Harold Meyerson on John Sweeney (May 5, 1934- February 1, 2021) in The American Prospect:
The most celebrated organizing campaign of Sweeney's tenure was the Justice for Janitors campaign, an effort notable for the janitors taking their case to the public through extensive street demonstrations, and for the strategic smarts that led the campaign (and its brilliant organizer, Steve Lerner) to target not the cleaning companies that nominally employed the janitors, but the owners and anchor tenants of the downtown skyscrapers the janitors cleaned...When Sweeney prevailed at the Federation's October convention, progressive unions that had been on the outs at the Federation for decades and union activists and intellectuals who had been criticizing the AFL-CIO for years were suddenly at the center of the new labor movement...He worked to boost the power of local AFL-CIO labor councils...it's clear he made the changes that paved the way for young Americans, in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse, the Occupy movement, and Bernie Sanders's campaigns, to feel more positively about unions than any generation in decades.
[link removed] Click here to read more
Tune in to the Your Rights At Work radio show tomorrow at 1p on WPFW 89.3FM to hear labor historian Joe McCartin, Justice for Janitors campaign organizer Steven Lerner and former AFL-CIO Field Mobilization department director Marilyn Sneiderman on Sweeney's life and legacy.

Today's Labor Quote: John Sweeney

"We believe `Solidarity' means sticking together, not getting stuck together."

Today's Labor History
This week's Labor History Today podcast: [link removed] What's the matter with labor history? The life and work of Anna Louise Strong, a 20th-century American journalist, activist, and labor supporter. Steelworker Mike Stout, author of The Homestead Steel Mill: The Final 10 Years. Historian Max Krochmal on Why don't people know U.S. labor history and what can we learn from the past? Plus: The day New Orleans fired 7,000 teachers.
Last week's show: [link removed] The People, No

The US Supreme Court rules the United Hatters Union violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by organizing a nationwide boycott of Danbury Hatters of Connecticut - 1908

U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Wages and Hours (later Fair Labor Standards) Act banning child labor and establishing the 40-hour work week - 1941

- David Prosten

Hiring Hall: 11 jobs!

Plus dozens more DC-area union jobs; [link removed] click here!

Information Tech
[link removed] Data Analyst, ITEP (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy) (Posted: 2/1/2021)

Misc
[link removed] Policy Specialist - Energy and Climate Advocacy, AFL-CIO (Posted: 1/28/2021)
[link removed] Grant Writing and Engagement Manager - Development, LCV (League of Conservation Voters Education Fund) (Posted: 2/1/2021)
[link removed] Chief of Staff, NELP (National Employment Law Project) (Posted: 1/29/2021)
[link removed] Union Staff, NNU (National Nurses United) (Posted: 2/1/2021)
[link removed] Senior Development Manager, Working America (Posted: 2/2/2021)

Organizing
[link removed] Lead or Senior Organizer - Wall Street Accountability, UFR (United for Respect) (Posted: 1/26/2021)

Political
[link removed] Legislative Director, LDPN (Lower Drug Prices Now) (Posted: 1/27/2021)
[link removed] Legislative Advocate, NNU (National Nurses United) (Posted: 2/1/2021)

Research
[link removed] Senior Researcher - Renewable Energy Organizing, AFL-CIO (Posted: 1/28/2021)
[link removed] Senior Strategic Research Associate - Procurement, CWA (Posted: 1/29/2021)

Material published in UNION CITY may be freely reproduced by any recipient; please credit Union City as the source for all news items and www.unionist.com as the source for Today's Labor History.

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. DYANA FORESTER, PRESIDENT.

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