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One Year Anniversary of Wednesdays with Warner: Wed, March 9, 8:15am – 9:15am
Join the Coalition to Repeal Right to Work for a special Week 52 of the weekly gathering to ask Senator Warner to stand with labor and sign the PRO Act. In his State of the Union Address, President Biden said: "Let’s pass the PRO Act when a majority of workers want to form a union—they shouldn’t be stopped." Senator Warner remains one of only three Democratic Senators opposed to this critical legislation.

Windmill Hill Park, 500 South Lee St., Alexandria, VA

Cotton Campaign and Uzbekistan Government on Labor Conditions in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Sector: Thu, March 10, 7am – 9am
Register Here

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, March 10, 1pm – 2pm

WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online.

Arlington Dems Labor Caucus: Thu, March 10, 6pm – 7pm

Meeting of union members and friends of labor in Arlington.

ATU 689 notches two landslide union election victories

ATU Local 689 yesterday won two different National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections by landslides, “showing that transit workers in this region are fed up with mistreatment and ready to organize and fight back,” the union said. Workers at James H. Duffy Company, a private school bus contractor for Charles County Public Schools, voted 18 to 0 in favor of joining ATU Local 689, while the workers at Loudoun County Transit won their NLRB election 71 to 2. “This vote is just the beginning of ATU Local 689’s campaign to organize the underpaid and undervalued privatized school bus workers that help make the public school system possible,” said Local 689 in a statement. “Companies in this region better take notice,” said Local 689 President and Business Agent Raymond Jackson. “You can either spend thousands or millions of dollars on union busting campaigns or you can use that money to take care of your workers.” Local 689 says it has elections filed at over 15 additional school bus contractors in Charles County.

Ride On bus drivers win pay increase
Montgomery County bus operators and transit coordinators have won a “long overdue” pay increase, reports UFCW 1994/MCGEO. The county council on voted unanimously last week for a supplemental appropriation of $8,631,000 to increase the Ride On bus workers’ pay, after Local 1994 President Gino Renne joined Special Assistant to the President Ray Lee, who is a former Ride On driver, and Local 1994 member Clint Sobratti to testify in support of the appropriation. Montgomery County had been losing bus drivers at an alarming rate, with many of them changing jobs to work for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for higher pay. "This is a huge win for our bus operators and coordinators," said Lee. "Long overdue. But still a great win."

VA Starbucks organizing spreads to Leesburg and Merrifield
Two more Starbucks stores in Northern Virginia have publicly launched union organizing campaigns with Workers United/SEIU, bringing the total in NoVA to three, 12 across the state, and more than 120 nationally. “Starbucks recently escalated its brutal anti-union campaign by drastically slashing hours without any business justification, creating great distress among workers whose health care for cancer treatment and ability to pay rent are jeopardy,” reports NoVA Labor’s Virginia Diamond. Starbucks “massive union-busting is not stopping these workers from standing up for a voice on the job,” says Diamond, “and they deserve our support, admiration and solidarity!” Keep up with all the DMV-related Starbucks organizing here.

Training a new generation of women’s labor leadership
WILL Empower is now recruiting the next generation of activists and apprenticeship host sites in preparation for its Fall 2022 class of apprentices. The WILL Empower Apprenticeship Program is a multipronged initiative designed to identify, nurture, and train a new generation of women’s labor leadership. WILL Empower apprentices may work in a variety of capacities, including organizing, research, communications, politics, mobilization, and policy. Apprentices benefit from a formal mentorship program, with mentors both within and outside of the host organization, and participate in a WILL Empower training and gathering in September. The apprenticeships begin in the Fall of 2022, and pay starts at $18 an hour. Prospective apprentices can find out more about the program here and apply here. Movement organizations considering hosting an apprentice can find out more here and fill out an application here. All applications are due by April 15, 2022.

Solidarity Center Report: Nigeria Launches Platform Worker Campaign
App-based workers in Nigeria launched a campaign for formal recognition of their labor rights. Like platform workers globally, the drivers and delivery workers are classified as independent contractors, with few job protections. “All working people have the right to join together to secure the decent jobs and fair wages they deserve,” says Solidarity Center Nigeria Country Program Director Sonny Ogbuehi. Find out more at Solidarity Center.

Today’s Labor Quote: Ukrainian state worker

“It is impossible to shoot and exterminate freedom. One can kill a man. One can burn down a school. One can blow up a residential building and bomb a maternity clinic. But they will fail; we know that truth is behind us.”

As reported on the Radio Labour podcast; for information on how to support Ukrainians, check out the Solidarity Center’s Twitter feed.

Today's Labor History
This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The Radicalism of Irish American Women. Last week's episode: Tragedy and Resistance at Port Chicago Naval Magazine.

March 9
The Westmoreland County (Pa.) Coal Strike – known as the "Slovak strike" because some 70 percent of the 15,000 strikers were Slovakian immigrants – begins on this date and continues for nearly 16 months before ending in defeat. Sixteen miners and family members were killed during the strike - 1912

Spurred by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. Congress begins its 100 days of enacting New Deal legislation. Just one of many programs established to help Americans survive the Great Depression: The Civilian Conservation Corps, which put 2.5 million young men on the government payroll to help in national conservation and infrastructure projects – 1933

March 10
U.S. Supreme Court upholds espionage conviction of labor leader and socialist Eugene V. Debs. Debs was jailed for speaking out against World War I. Campaigning for president from his Atlanta jail cell, he won 6 percent of the vote – 1919

New York City bus drivers, members of the Transport Workers Union, go on strike. After 12 days of no buses – and a large show of force by Irish-American strikers at the St. Patrick’s Day parade – Mayor Fiorello La Guardia orders arbitration – 1941

United Farm Workers leader César Chávez breaks a 24-day fast (photo above), by doctor’s order, at a mass in Delano, California’s public park. Several thousand supporters are at his side, including Sen. Robert Kennedy. Chavez called it “a fast for non-violence and a call to sacrifice” - 1968 (photo by Richard Darby)

- David Prosten.

Hiring Hall: DC-area union jobs, plus click here for more listings!

Administrative
Executive Assistant, LiUNA, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/8/2022) Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Executive Administrative Assistant, Working America, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/8/2022) District of Columbia

Communications
Senior Digital Strategist, ACM Strategies, based out of Washington, DC (REMOTE from anywhere in the United States) (Posted: 3/1/2022) District of Columbia
Digital Marketing and Campaign Specialist – Communications, AFSCME, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/1/2022) District of Columbia
Social Media Specialist, NNU, based in Oakland, CA; Glendale, CA; San Diego, CA; Sacramento, CA; or the Washington, DC area (Posted: 3/1/2022) California, District of Columbia
Communications Manager, NELP, based out of Washington, DC; or New York City, NY (Posted: 3/3/2022) District of Columbia, New York
Senior Communications Specialist, ALPA, based in Tyson (McLean), VA (Posted: 3/3/2022) Virginia

Info Tech
Tech Aid 1, UAW, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/1/2022) District of Columbia

Legal
Attorney, KCNF (Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, P.C.), based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/1/2022) District of Columbia
Assistant General Counsel, NATCA, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/4/2022) District of Columbia

Misc
National Benefits Coordinator – Membership and Organization Department, AFGE, based in Washington, DC / National Office (Posted: 3/7/2022) District of Columbia
National Field Coordinator – Mid-Atlantic States, CKPU (Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions), for covering Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia (Posted: 3/4/2022) District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
Educational Fellowship in Labor Policy, CPC Center (Congressional Progressive Caucus Center), based in Washington, DC (fellow would be posted at an office with a member of Congress nearby) (Posted: 3/1/2022) District of Columbia
Donor Engagement and Events Manager, LCV (League of Conservation Voters), based in Washington, DC (position is currently REMOTE through April 30, 2022) (Posted: 3/2/2022) District of Columbia
Executive Assistant, LiUNA, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/8/2022) Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West

Virginia
Union Staff, NNU (Posted: 3/1/2022)
Occupational Safety and Health Specialist, UFCW, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/2/2022) District of Columbia
Assistant Director, UFCW, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/2/2022) District of Columbia
Senior Development Manager, Working America, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/8/2022) District of Columbia

Organizing
Senior Digital Organizing Training Coordinator, SEIU, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/8/2022) District of Columbia
Organizing Director, UWUA, Remote (this position may be worked remotely) (Posted: 3/1/2022)
Union Organizer-In Training (OIT) – Public Sector Campaign, SEIU, based in Fairfax, VA (Posted: 3/4/2022) Virginia

Political
Legislative Affairs Specialist I/II/III – Federal Government Affairs, AFSCME, based in Washington, DC (Posted: 3/3/2022) District of Columbia

Research
Analyst – Data & Analytics Department, AFSCME, based in Washington, DC [Headquarters] (Posted: 3/4/2022) District of Columbia
Senior Strategic Research Associate – Capital Strategies, CWA, based in Washington, DC (Temporarily Remote) (Posted: 3/3/2022) District of Columbia

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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. DYANA FORESTER, PRESIDENT.

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