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MetroAccess strike enters 2nd week

AFL-CIO hails Senate victory for working people

Kentucky Disaster Relief: What labor can do

SAVE THE DATES: VA & MD/DC AFL-CIO conventions; CSA Golf tourney

Labor Quote: Valerie Thomas

Today's Labor History

 

Labor Calendar: [link removed] click here for complete and latest listings

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

ATU Local 689 Strike Picket: Daily, 2m - 3pm
3201 Hubbard Rd, Landover, MD 20785
Bring food, water and ice!

Rally for MetroAccess Workers! Tue, August 9, 8:30am - 9:30am
2701 Whitney Place, Forestville, MD 20747

Labor Meet & Greet With Wes Moore: Tue, August 9, 9am - 11am

IBEW Local 24, 2701 W Patapsco Ave # 200, Baltimore, MD 21230

[link removed] NoVA Labor Arts Union Caucus: Tue, August 9, 3pm - 4pm
Meeting for unions representing performing and broadcast arts.

Wednesdays with Warner for the PRO Act: Wed, August 10, 8:15am - 9:15am

Windmill Hill Park, 500 S. Lee St., Alexandria ([link removed] map)

Rally for a Fair Contract for Shoppers workers (UFCW Local 400); Wed, August 10, 4:45pm - 5:45pm
Shoppers, 6300 Coventry Way, Clinton, MD 20735

Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, August 11, 1pm - 2pm
WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online.

On The Air: [link removed] Click here to catch last week's Your Rights At Work radio show (WPFW 89.3FM, Thursdays 1-2p):
[link removed] Live from the MetroAccess strike picketline

MetroAccess strike enters 2nd week

Two hundred MetroAccess workers have now been on strike for over a week, walking out last Monday, protesting low wages and bad faith bargaining from WMATA contractor Transdev. They'll rally this morning ahead of another negotiating session (see Calendar, above). The strikers are paratransit drivers, utility, dispatchers, maintenance workers, and road supervisors at the Hubbard Road MetroAccess garage in Landover, Maryland. The strike mirrors the 2019 walkout, said Local 689, "when Transdev held out an entire MetroBus garage on strike for 85 days because of its refusal to bargain fairly, WMATA pretended it had nothing to do with the issue. WMATA publicly ignored the situation for months and denied any involvement to the press. They claimed that this was a private dispute between a third party and their contractor. The same thing appears to be happening now with the exact same contractor. Transdev is even using the exact same union busting law firm they had during the Cinder Bed Strike." "We will continue this strike however long it takes to win a fair contract," the union added.


AFL-CIO hails Senate victory for working people

After the U.S. Senate on Sunday passed the Inflation Reduction Act, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said the bill "will reshape the future and deliver real help to working families by reducing rising energy and health care costs." The legislation will also "address long overdue changes to our tax system that will finally make the most profitable corporations pay their fair share," said Shuler, urging the House of Representatives to "pass this bill swiftly and send it to President Biden's desk."


Kentucky Disaster Relief: What labor can do

Overnight on Wednesday, July 27, days of devastating storms began a series of extreme floods in Eastern Kentucky. The AFL-CIO has over 10,000 members and their families who have been potentially affected. Below are some immediate actions you can take to help those affected.

Union Flood Relief Caravan: This Saturday, August 6, the Kentucky State AFL-CIO is leading a union flood relief caravan that will meet at Teamsters Local 651, 100 Bluesky Parkway, Lexington, KY. A list of what supplies are needed will be provided to those unions participating in the caravan. Please contact Bill Londrigan at [email protected] if your union will be joining the caravan.

Boots On The Ground: On Wednesday Jeff Wiggins, Kentucky State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and Jerald Adkins, Working Strategies II, traveled to the affected counties and will be there until today to conduct an on the ground assessment, connect with disaster relief personnel and help direct resources. If you would like to reach out to either Jeff or Jerald call: 270-217-6235 for Jeff or 502-320-3837 for Jerald.

Resources: There are numerous resources available to those in need. The most comprehensive and current information and contacts for information including FEMA Mobil Registration Centers - Emergency and Temporary Housing - Material Donations - Mental Health Services and much more can be found [link removed] here.

SAVE THE DATES: VA & MD/DC AFL-CIO conventions; CSA Golf tourney

August 18-20: Virginia AFL-CIO Convention
Williamsburg, VA. Details to follow.

September 12: CSA Golf Tourney

The 25th annual Metropolitan Washington Council Community Services Agency's golf tournament will be held on Monday, September 12, 2022 at the Enterprise Golf Course, 2802 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, MD 20721. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. More info/details: Letycia Pastrana, mailto:[email protected] [email protected] or call 678-429-8174.


October 13-15: Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO Convention
The Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO 33rd Biennial Convention is scheduled for Thursday, October 13 - Saturday, October 15, 2022 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Details to follow.

Labor Quote: Valerie Thomas

"We were here on the front lines during the whole pandemic. We didn't even get hazardous pay."

Thomas is a shop steward at ATU 689, and one of the MetroAccess strikers.

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY

This week's Labor History Today podcast: [link removed] The St. Vincent Hospital Strike. Last week's show: [link removed] A cold wind and a hot summer sit-down.

August 9
Knights of Labor strike New York Central railroad, ultimately to be defeated by scabbing - 1890

Nine men and one woman meet in Oakland, Calif. to form what was to become the 230,000-member California School Employees Association, representing school support staff throughout the state - 1927

73,000 Bell Atlantic workers end a successful two-day strike over wages and limits on contracting out of work - 1998

 

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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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