TODAYS LABOR NEWS • Local Immigrant Workers Stand Up to Abusive Employer • VA Kroger Contract Extended • Home Health Care Workers Rally for Back Pay Today • Met Lockout on Hold • Obama Acts to Deny Federal Contracts to Labor Law Violators • Hiring Hall: 5 New Jobs! • Today in Labor History ON THE LINE Latest local labor calendar Today, Justice for DC’s Homecare Workers 4p, John A. Wilson Building, 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Wednesday, August 6, 2014 Local Immigrant Workers Stand Up to Abusive Employer: Local construction workers and their supporters -- including a delegation of New Orleans construction workers -- rallied in front of the NLRB Monday morning. More than 100 current and former employees of D.C.-based construction company Tito Contractors are suing the company for failing to pay them overtime, claiming that they worked 60 hours a week regularly without getting paid and were threatened with retaliation when they tried to speak out. “Undocumented workers have the right to organize,” said DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. “You have courage. Don’t lose it; you are going to win!” Tefere Gebre, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President said that “For every one of you there are tens of thousands of workers who are afraid to stand up. Keep on fighting, keep on working!” Tito employees attempted to form a union last year, organizing with the Painters District Council 51. In their complaint to the NLRB, workers say they were then fired and retaliated against by Tito Contractors. Several workers also reported that company supervisors threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement to try to silence them and stop the organizing effort. “Workers deserve real protections when they speak out against bad employers, no matter where they were born,” said Jobs With Justice Immigrant Rights Campaign Organizer Natalie Patrick-Knox. photos by Chris Garlock VA Kroger Contract Extended: The contract covering nearly 4,000 Kroger workers – members of UFCW 400 -- in Richmond, Virginia has been extended until September 6. The current agreement was set to expire on August 2; bargaining resumes this month. “I’m using this extension as an opportunity to see how many people I can sign up before the new deadline,” said bargaining committee member Cheryl Brown. “Our union power is growing and we’re at the bargaining table fighting for what we care about,” added bargaining committee member Michael Holcomb. Home Health Care Workers Rally for Back Pay Today: Home health care workers will rally (see On The Line calendar top left for details) at the Districts Wilson Building this afternoon. “Thousands of home health care workers in the District of Columbia have not been paid for weeks of work caring for elderly, disabled, sick and the most vulnerable patients in our community,” reports 1199SEIU, which represents the workers. “Hundreds of home care workers are also not being paid the DC Living Wage and are facing severe hardships as a result of illegal actions by their employer.” Met Lockout on Hold: The threatened lockout at New Yorks Metropolitan Opera has been put on hold for a week while an outside analyst takes a look at the Mets finances. DC-area IATSE, AGMA and AFM locals continue to monitor developments closely as their sister locals in New York battle for new contracts. Obama Acts to Deny Federal Contracts to Labor Law Violators: President Obama signed an executive order last week that will make it harder for companies with a history of labor law violations such as wage and hour and workplace safety to win federal contracts. Said Obama, “We expect our tax dollars to be spent wisely on these contracts. Our tax dollars shouldnt go to companies that violate workplace laws, they shouldnt go to companies that violate workers rights.” From raising wages to workplace protections, said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, President Obama is showing strong leadership where it’s needed most. - AFL-CIO Now Blog Hiring Hall: 5 New Jobs! Communications Digital Communications Paid Internship, AFSCME (Posted: 8/5/2014) 2014 Fall Video Production Internship, AFSCME (Posted: 8/5/2014) Misc Minimum Wage Campaign Writer/Researcher, National Employment Law Project (Posted: 8/1/2014) Campaign Director for Airports, Grade E, SEIU (Posted: 7/31/2014) Special Project Coordinator, Working America; resume and cover letter to [email protected], or fax 202-508-6900. (8/4/2014) Organizing Temporary Organizing Specialist, Virginia Education Association (Posted: 8/1/2014) Today in Labor History August 06 Cigarmakers Int’l Union of America merges with Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union - 1974 American Railway Supervisors Association merges with Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees - 1980 Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of the U.S. & Canada merges with Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees – 1986 Some 45,000 CWA and IBEW-represented workers at Verizon begin what is to be a two-week strike, refusing to accept morethan 100 concession demands by the telecommunications giant - 2011 August 07 Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Wobbly organizer, born - 1890 Eugene Debs and three other trade unionists arrested after Pullman Strike - 1894 Actors Equity is recognized by producers after stagehands honor their picket lines, shutting down almost every professional stage production in the country. Before unionizing, it was common practice for actors to pay for their own costumes, rehearse long hours without pay, and be fired without notice - 1919 (Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions: The entertainment industry relies on many behind-the-scenes workers. Sito tells the fascinating story of Hollywood animators, from the early days of Betty Boop and Popeye to today’s world of Pixar. He describes fighting for unionism during the era of virulent anti-Communism in Hollywood, during which if an artist stood up against management he or she was labeled a Red.) United Slate, Tile & Composition Roofers, Damp & Waterproof Workers Association change name to Roofers, Waterproofers & Allied Workers - 1978 Some 675,000 employees struck ATT Corp. over wages, job security, pension plan changes and better health insurance. It was the last time CWA negotiated at one table for all its Bell System members: divestiture came a few months later. The strike was won after 22 days - 1983 Television writers, members of The Writers Guild of America, end a 22-week strike with a compromise settlement - 1988 - compiled/edited by David Prosten, Union Communication Services
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:29:04 +0000
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