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Amazon workers make history

Howard University Hospital nurses to strike April 11

MD paid family leave passes Assembly; Hogan urged to sign bill

Today's Labor Quote

Today's Labor History

 

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Union City Radio: 7:15am daily

WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; [link removed] click here to hear today's report

Rally for Telework and Working Conditions: Wed, April 6, 11:30am - 1:00pm
Freedom Plaza, Washington, DC, USA (Penn & 14th)

OECD Global Deal Conference: A Better Future for Essential Workers: Thu, April 7, 8:00am - 9:55am

[link removed] Register Here!

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, April 7, 1pm - 2pm

WPFW 89.3 FM or [link removed] listen online.

Missed last week's Your Rights At Work radio show? Catch [link removed] On The Line with Daisy Pitkin here, or search for Your Rights At Work wherever you listen to podcasts. Features UNITE HERE Local 25's Paul Schwalb on Washington Hilton housekeepers' fight for work; BDCBCTC president Stephen Courtien on the prevailing wage expansion in Montgomery County, and union organizer Daisy Pitkin on her brand-new book, ON THE LINE: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women's Epic Fight to Build a Union.


Amazon workers make history

In a tremendous upset, the Amazon Labor Union made history on Friday when it won the election at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse, 2,654 to 2,131, making it the first-ever union at Amazon. Bernie Sanders called the win "a shot in the arm for this country's labor movement," while AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said it "proves when working people unite in the fight for justice, anything is possible." ALU president Chris Smalls demanded that Amazon "cease/desist any changes to work policies" and begin contract bargaining immediately. [link removed] Read more here.


Howard University Hospital nurses to strike April 11

Nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and social workers at Howard University Hospital - members of the DC Nurses Association - on Friday announced they'll hold a one-day strike beginning 7:30 AM Monday morning, April 11, to demand a fair contract and safe staffing to protect patients. At issue are pay cuts and staffing issues. "It really comes down to treating us with dignity and respect," said RN Jeanette Ethridge. "They are understaffing in the hospital, and they are taking from us as costs continue to rise." Howard University in 2020 turned hospital management over to corporate giant Adventist Health, which posted over $100 million in profits last year, while DCNA nurses say staffing issues have gotten worse. Of particular concern are more experienced nurses, some of whom have dedicated themselves to Howard University Hospital students and the community for decades, but whose pay is undermined by the hospital's proposals. DCNA represents over 300 nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and social workers at HUH. "These hard-working people are not equations, they are human beings," said Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. "We know healthcare workers are heroes. Howard University should treat them like heroes." Howard University walked away from the bargaining table last month and has ignored requests to return. photo: DCNA rally January 13; photo by Chris Garlock/Union City


MD paid family leave passes Assembly; Hogan urged to sign bill

Paid family leave advocates cheered after the Time to Care Act passed out of both assembly chambers with a supermajority Thursday night. Calling it "one of the most comprehensive paid family and medical leave programs in the country," the Time to Care Coalition is now pushing Maryland Governor Hogan to sign the bill ([link removed] CLICK HERE to take action). SB275 guarantees nearly all Maryland employees the right to up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, deal with their own serious health needs, or address needs in connection with military deployment, and generally ensures the right of employees to get their job back following leave and keep their health insurance during leave.[link removed] Click here for details.


Today's labor quote: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled...the cry is always the same: `We want to be free.'"

Dr. King was assassinated on this date in 1968 in Memphis, where he had been supporting a sanitation workers' strike. In the wake of this tragedy, riots break out in many cities, including Washington, DC.

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY

This week's Labor History Today podcast: [link removed] Michael Honey on Dr, King: "All Labor Has Dignity"; Last week's show: [link removed] Industrial murder at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.


April 4

Unemployed riot in New York City's Union Square - 1914

Some 1,700 United Mine Workers members in Virginia and West Virginia beat back concessions demanded by Pittston Coal Co. - 1989

April 5

14,000 teachers strike Hawaii schools, colleges - 2001

A huge underground explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, W. Va. kills 29 miners. It was the worst U.S. mine disaster in 40 years. The Massey Energy Co. mine had been cited for 2 safety infractions the day before the blast; 57 the month before, and 1,342 in the previous five years - 2010

- 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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