| Monday, July 19, 2010
SPECIAL METRO COUNCIL DELEGATE MEETING TONIGHT: Don't miss tonight's Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO delegate meeting – the first July Council meeting in many years -- where delegates will hold a special session for the sole purpose of taking action on endorsements in the metro-area's remaining political races. Click here for responses to the Metro Council's questionnaire by candidates running for office. All are welcome: 6:30p at the AFL-CIO, 815 16th Street NW
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL WORKERS OK NEW PACT: Hospital workers at the Children's National Medical Center overwhelmingly approved a new 3-year contract on July 6. The new pact provides 1,000 members of SEIU 722 with 3% raises each year and “cleared up time and attendance issues,” reports Local 722 President Dan Fields. The local represents service and technical workers, including respiratory therapists, dietary and clerical staff.
WHEN FINANCES STALL, UNION PLUS PROVIDES JUMP START FOR ATU MEMBER: Times are tough for members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 – service cuts loom large, job performance is under  heavy scrutiny, and the safety of both passengers and drivers is a constant concern. Throw a career-threatening injury into the mix, and the stress level soars to new heights, as Elreater Patterson (r), of Fort Washington, MD, recently discovered. Patterson, an 11-year member of ATU, never doubted her union would protect her rights when tendonitis temporarily forced her off the job last summer, but she worried about the cut in pay. Ironically, it was while paying her credit card bill online that she gained some peace of mind. Holders of the Union Plus Credit Card  who are out of work due to illness or injury are eligible for Union Plus Disability Grants of up to $2,000. “When you’re dealing with physical pain, you don’t want to worry so much about your financial health too,” says Patterson. “I feel fortunate that I have a union that represents us so well in the workplace and fights for good benefits like health care insurance. But some benefits aren’t as well known. The Union Plus Disability Grant program is a great union benefit that I hope every union member learns about.” CLICK HERE for the rest of Patterson’s story, plus details on Union Plus Disability Grants.
IN MEMORIAM: CWA Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus James Booe: Retired CWA  Secretary-Treasurer James B. Booe (l), who helped guide CWA for nearly 45 years, died July 9. He was 83. Booe retired as secretary-treasurer in 1992 after having served CWA as secretary-treasurer and executive vice president. Booe joined CWA staff in 1960 as a District 9 CWA representative, and became CWA's Northern California director in 1965. In 1968 he was named assistant to the district vice president, and was elected district vice president in 1970. Booe moved to Washington, D.C., in 1976 to serve as assistant to CWA President Glenn Watts, and was elected executive vice president in 1980. As head of CWA's governmental affairs program, he chaired CWA's political action fund, building the program into a force in American politics. During the breakup of the Bell System, Booe fought to protect the pension portability of the thousands of CWA members affected by AT&T's divestiture. He was elected secretary-treasurer in 1985. Click here for his obituaries on the CWA website and in The Washington Post. Harry Kranz, DOL, UAW, CIO: Harry Kranz, 86, a Labor Department program administrator from 1963 to 1981, died July 11. Dr. Kranz spent much of his Labor Department career in manpower, development and training. He had earlier been a staff member with the new Peace Corps and administrative assistant in Detroit to Walter Reuther, president of United Automobile Workers union. He spent much of his early career working in New Jersey for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. In retirement, he taught labor history and collective bargaining at American and the University of Maryland. His memberships included the National Capital Area Union Retirees Club. – Excerpted from The Washington Post.
TODAY’S LABOR HISTORY: Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Delegates adopt a Declaration of Women's Rights and call for women's suffrage (1848); An amendment to the 1939 Hatch Act, a federal law whose main pro vision prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, is amended to also cover state and local employees whose salaries include any federal funds (1940). More info & ammo for unionists is available online from Union Communication Services.
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Material published in UNION CITY may be freely reproduced by any recipient; please credit the Council as the source.
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. JOSLYN N. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT.
Story suggestions, event announcements, campaign reports, Letters to the Editor and other material are welcome, subject to editing for clarity and space, and should be directed to:
Editor: Chris Garlock
Assistant Editor: Adam Wright
streetheat@dclabor.org
Voice: 202-974-8153
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