LABOR CALENDAR; click here for latest listings
NOTE: Union City will appear on Fridays for the rest of the month; December 10, 17 & 24.
Follow our Twitter and Facebook feeds for breaking news.
Union City Radio: 7:15am daily
WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report
FILM: The Good Boss [El Buen Patrón]: AFI, Sat, Dec. 4, 7:00 p.m.; Thurs, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by the DC Labor FilmFest.
FILM: Between Two Worlds [Ouistreham]: AFI, Sun, Dec. 5, 2:00 p.m.; Thurs, Dec. 9, 4:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by the DC Labor FilmFest.
Worker Organizations' Vital Role in Democracy: Tue, December 7, 8am – 10am REGISTER HERE.
Building a Caucus and Transforming Your Union: A Labor Notes Webinar: Tue, December 7, 8pm – 9pm. REGISTER HERE.
Building on Build Back Better to Invest in a Just Transition: Wed, December 8, 8pm – 10pm. RSVP HERE
Montgomery/Prince George's COPE: Thu, December 9, 10am – 12pm. RSVP HERE.
Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, December 9, 1pm – 2pm; WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online.
“Striketober” and “The Great Resignation”: Putting the Current Labor Upheaval in Historical Context
: Fri, December 10, 8:00pm – 9:30pm
Register here to join this event on Zoom.
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Missed this week’s Your Rights At Work radio show? Catch the podcast here. David Story, a defense industry worker who says it’s time to cut the Pentagon budget (and spend the money on unionized green jobs); then we catch up with James Schiffman,
an associate professor in Georgia who was punished when he spoke out (‘We are teaching in COVID factories') about his concerns about his school’s lax covid policies. Plus labor news headlines: M.L.B.’s lockout begins; Union workers ratify contract, end strike at WVa hospital; Citing new Omicron variant, nurses say permanent OSHA Covid-19 standard for health care workers badly needed; Judge orders Google to disclose secret anti-union documents. |
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MWC Affiliate TweetWatch: Washington-Baltimore News Guild @WBNG32035
Solidarity with our union siblings @bfnewsunion !!! We've been bargaining our contract for almost 2 years, but BuzzFeed won't budge on critical issues like wages — all while preparing to go public and make executives even richer. So TODAY, we're walking out to send a reminder that there's no BuzzFeed News without us. #BFNWalksOut |
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MWC Affiliate TweetWatch: UNITE HERE Local 25 @DCHotelworkers
As the brutal pandemic wears on, Local 25 members at @colonialwmsburg are fighting for a fair contract. They’re demanding fair wages, a work schedule that respects their lives and their families, and dignity on the job! #OneJobShouldBeEnough
Local 25 members at @colonialwmsburg have gone from extended lay-offs to brutally long work weeks. Now, we’re fighting for fair wages and the right to spend time with our families and loved ones. Workers should have a say in how we live our lives! |
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| MWC Affiliate TweetWatch: Washington Teachers' Union @WTUTeacher
@WTUTeacher supporting pop-up clinic @PattersonDCPS with books from @FirstBook thanks to a grant from @AFTunion @ChmnMendelson @DCPSChancellor @CarleneDReid @trayonwhite |
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| | ‘Tis the season to strike
It’s beginning to look a lot like StrikesMás! The AFL-CIO's real time strike map
is hopping with strikes and strike authorizations around the country. This holiday season, you can support fellow unionists and help grow the movement by showing up on the picket line or making a contribution to show your solidarity (the map has handy links to strike funds). |
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| D.C. Labor Chorus Winter Concert
Join the D.C. Labor Chorus on Sunday, December 12 from 4:00 – 5:30 PM
for a concert of some of their favorite songs, “selections from folk, gospel, jazz, seasonal, and labor traditions, including new songs inspired by recent events.” The Chorus is made up of labor and community activists who love to sing for peace, for joy, and a belief in the power of song to touch hearts and minds. “You’ll leave inspired and energized!” they promise. Live‐streamed from Blue House Productions. Register for tickets here or call 202-637-3963. |
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Today’s labor quote: Everett Kelley
“Our members have a simple message for Congress: Stop playing chicken with people’s lives and do your jobs.” Kelley is president of the American Federation of Government Employees; he urged Congress to avert a government shutdown. |
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This week’s Labor History Today podcast: This week's show: Long live Mother Jones! Last week's show: Murder, Race and (In)Justice.
December 3
Textile strikers win 10-hour day, Fall River, Mass. - 1866
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes an ordinance setting an eight-hour workday for all city employees - 1867
Brotherhood of Timber Workers organized. The Brotherhood – which affiliated with the International Workers of the World two years later -- was a union of sawmill workers from East Texas and West Louisiana and not only included female members, but was known for having interracial membership at a time when racial segregation was increasing in many areas of the Deep South - 1910
General strike begins in Oakland, Calif., started by female department store clerks - 1946
December 4
President Roosevelt announces the end of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), concluding the four-year run of one of the American government's most ambitious public works programs. It helped create jobs for roughly 8.5 million people during the Great Depression and left a legacy of highways and public buildings, among other public gains - 1943
UAW President Walter Reuther elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations - 1951
December 5
Unionists John T. and James B. McNamara were sentenced to 15 years and life, respectively, after confessing to dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building during a drive to unionize the metal trades in the city. Twenty people died in the bombing. The newspaper was strongly conservative and anti-union - 1911
Ending a 20-year split, the two largest labor federations in the U.S. merge to form the AFL-CIO, with a membership estimated at 15 million - 1955
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney welcomes the collapse of World Trade Organization talks in Seattle, declaring "No deal is better than a bad deal" - 1999
- 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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