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Takoma Park local wins telework arbitration

CWA workers at Maximus march on VA HQ

Psychiatric Institute of Washington workers demand contract

DC Primary Election Wrap Up: MWC candidates sweep (updated)

AFL-CIO Convention Highlights Global Solidarity

 

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

[link removed] NoVA Labor Rally for Arlington County Board Member Matt de Ferranti: Sun, June 26, 3pm - 5pm
800 South Buchanan Street, Arlington VA
Please join NOVA Labor Federation and a growing list of hosts, co-hosts, supporters and friends at the Barcroft Community House in support of Matt de Ferranti's re-election to the Arlington County Board.

WTU Rally for a Fair Contract Now! Tue, June 28, 10:00am - 2:30pm
Freedom Plaza, Washington, DC
Three years without a contract is too long! Support WTU Local 6.

Metro Washington Council Delegate meeting: Tue, June 28, 5pm - 7pm

[link removed] REGISTER HERE; Last meeting before the summer break!

Your Rights At Work: [link removed] CLICK HERE to hear yesterday's WPFW show: After months of delays by the boss, Union Kitchen workers have finally won union recognition; UFCW Local 400 organizer Travis Acton reports. Then, it's [link removed] Back To The Way Things Were, a brand-new musical from our friends at the San Francisco Mime Troupe; Resident Playwright Michael Gene Sullivan joins us for a preview. Plus, Kathy M. Newman wonders what the [link removed] Van Gogh Immersive Experience can tell us about the relationship between art, social class, and work.


Takoma Park local wins telework arbitration

Takoma Park City Manager Jamal Fox has wasted more than $33,000 in city taxpayer funds on legal fees to fight a city employee's request for six days of telework, which would have cost nothing. That's according to AFSCME 3399, which has won an arbitration on the case. "We're trying to prevent abuses of power like this in the future," Local 3399 president Brendan Smith told Union City. "This arbitration was a huge waste of city taxpayer dollars, and the Takoma Park City Council should take action to prevent these abuses in the future," Smith added. "This needless arbitration also consumed a large amount of staff time and impacted our small union budget, but we weren't going to stand by and let this injustice go unanswered." Former AFSCME Local 3399 President Sean Hendley, who is a former City gardener, and AFSCME Council 67 staff representative Victor Rieman represented the employee in the arbitration; though neither are attorneys, they won the case facing the City's high-paid lawyer. Since Fox began work as city manager last August, he has denied every grievance filed by an AFSCME union member. [link removed] Read more here, including how to take action if you're a TP resident.


CWA workers at Maximus march on VA HQ

Last Friday, over 40 workers from Maximus, the nation's largest federal call center contractor, marched to the company's [link removed] brand new, state-of-the-art headquarters in Tysons, Va., to deliver a petition with close to twelve thousand signatures calling for livable wages and affordable health care. The workers, who traveled from call centers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, and Texas and are organizing with CWA, are also fighting to protect their right to organize a union free from intimidation. Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens joined the protest in solidarity with the workers. The Maximus workers also participated in the [link removed] Poor People's & Low-Wage Workers' Assembly and Moral March on Washington on Saturday. Their collective actions come on the heels of a [link removed] two-day strike at two of Maximus' largest call centers located in Louisiana and Mississippi last month. Watch the live stream of the protest [link removed] here.


Psychiatric Institute of Washington workers demand contract

Workers at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW), members of CWA Local 2336, held an informational picket in front of the hospital on Monday demanding a fair contract that addresses dangerous working conditions including staffing shortages, inadequate resources, and lack of sufficient security. CWA Local 2336 members have been bargaining for a new contract for years. After several extensions, the contract expired on April 15, 2022. However, PIW continues to fail to meet the workers' demands for a fair contract.


DC Primary Election Wrap Up: MWC candidates sweep (updated)

Metro Washington Labor Council-endorsed candidates swept in Tuesday's DC primary, powered by the MWC's mobilization plan to get out the labor vote. "Our tireless efforts made an impact," said MWC president Dyana Forester. "Now we must work to ensure our newly and re-elected leaders work to provide the best for working people." The winning MWC-endorsed candidates were Muriel Bowser (Mayor), Phil Mendelson (Council Chairman), Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1), Zachary Parker (Ward 5) and Charles Allen (Ward 6). [link removed] Click here for complete election results. The general election - in which Democratic nominees generally prevail - will be held on November 8. The labor GOTV effort followed a comprehensive endorsement process led by MWC Political & Legislative Director Dejah Williams. Through affiliate unions' support, nearly 4,000 union households were reached through mailers, phone banks, and canvassing, ensuring that labor's presence was felt in the election. On Election Day, the MWC team started the day at Annunciation Church in Ward 3, where members of UNITE HERE! Local 25 shared their desire to see union-friendly candidates elected up and down the ballot who would support initiatives promoting higher pay and better benefits for workers. Members were quick to shout out Mayor Bowser, noting her dedication to ensuring that D.C. workers received their paychecks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.


photos: Top left: Unions across the labor movement came together in Ward 5 on June 11 to knock doors for newcomer candidate Zachary Parker, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Chair Phil Mendelson. Top right: Members of UNITE HERE Local 25 worked the polls on election day with President Forester and COPE Co-Chair Sam Epps. Bottom left: President Dyana Forester and Metro Washington Council endorsed candidates are all smiles across the District on Election Day. Bottom right: Councilmember Brianne Nadeau earns a new supporter on Election Day. - report/photos by Michael Mareno

NOTE: This has been updated from our original report yesterday; the MWC did not endorse Anita Bonds or Brian Schwalb. Our apologies for the error.

AFL-CIO Convention Highlights Global Solidarity

The Global Organizing Symposium, a daylong side event of the AFL-CIO Convention, brought together workers and activists from around the world to share experiences focused on building collective power for workers post-pandemic and highlighted their role in fighting authoritarianism and bolstering democracy. "There are no human rights, no labor rights without democracy. And today, fewer than 20 percent of people live in truly free countries," said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. [link removed] Find out more at Solidarity Center and hear voices of the international visitors on the [link removed] Labor Radio Podcast Weekly.

photo: COSATU President Zingiswa Losi was among speakers at a global side event during the AFL-CIO Convention. Credit: Jay Mallin

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TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY

This week's Labor History Today podcast: [link removed] Labor history at the AFL-CIO & Labor Notes; Last week's show: [link removed] Detroit Remains: Using historical archeology to connect the past to the present.


June 24
Birth of Albert Parsons, Haymarket martyr - 1848

June 25

At the urging of black labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph, Franklin Roosevelt issues an executive order barring discrimination in defense industries - 1941

June 26

Members of the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, refuse to handle Pullman cars, in solidarity with Pullman strikers. Two dozen strikers were killed over the course of the strike - 1894

- David Prosten

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