| Tuesday, August 3, 2010
WHC NURSES APPROVE ONE-DAY STRIKE: “Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week, Nurses United members came together and vote d in huge numbers to strike for one day over the unfair treatment and disrespect shown to us by [Washington Hospital Center] management during and after the snowstorms in February,” reports Nurses United. An overwhelming 80% of voting members agreed to the strike action, the timing of which will be announced in the coming days. WHC management “will most likely begin to prepare by bringing in scab nurses as temporary staff while we are out on strike,” adds Nurses United. “We know from the past that these temporary nurses are unprepared for the patient acuity that Nurses United members deal with on a daily basis. The scab nurses do not know Washington Hospital Center, they are unfamiliar with the high standards held by Nurses United RNs, and they may not give patients the highest quality of care they have come to expect. We hope that management will take this opportunity to do the right thing.” Watch Union City for further details.
LABOR WALKS WITH GRAY: Dozens of labor volunteers – led by the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO – took to the streets Saturday to support labor-endorsed Mayoral candidate Vince Gray (center). The volunteers walked with Gray through Ward 4 – which is Mayor Adrian Fenty’s home War d – canvassing residents for support in Gray’s run against Fenty for DC Mayor. Going door to door handing out literature and putting up yard signs, the union volunteers were met with warmth as commuters drove by blowing their horns and giving the thumbs up; some even pulled over to ask for Gary yard signs. “I voted for Fenty last time, but with his immaturity, giving away millions in contracts to his frat bothers and his go it alone attitude, he will not have my vote this time,” said one resident. “It is not about style for me - it is about character. I do not know what happened to Fenty but he changed on us. Vince Gray seems a steady hand on the wheel and that is what we need at this time.” Vanessa Dixon of the DC Doctors Council, AFGE’s Robert Mayfield and SEIU 722’s Dan Fields walked two shifts with Gray, saying "Our greetings from voters in Ward 4 was as nice as the beautiful summer day." The Democratic Primary will take place on Tuesday, September 14. – Rick Powell, Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO Political & Legislative Coordinator; photo by Betty Noel, Esq., Former Peoples Counsel of the District of Columbia
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HELPING UNION VETERANS: In July 2008, the AFL-CIO launched its first-ever Union Veterans Council (UVC) to “bring together union veterans on the issues that matter most to veterans, their families and working men and women.” Since then, the UVC has helped millions of veterans across America access good jobs and quality health care, as well as speaking out on veterans’ issues and influencing public policy to “improve the quality of life for US veterans and their families.” Click here to learn more on the Union Veterans Council's website.
TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY: Uriah Smith Stephens born in Cape May, NJ. A tailor by trade, in 1869 he led nine Philadelphia garment wo rkers to found the Knights of Labor (1821); Florence Reece dies in Knoxville, Tenn. at 86. She was a Mine Workers union activist and author of "Which Side Are You On?", written after her home was ransacked by Harlan County county sheriff J.H. Blair and his thugs during a 1931 strike (1986); 15,000 air traffic controllers strike. President Reagan threatens to fire any who do not return to work within 48 hours, saying they "have forfeited their jobs" if they do not. Most stay out, and are fired August 5 (1981); More info & ammo for unionists is available online from Union Communication Services. - photo: striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization join in a rally at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Aug. 5, 1981; photo by Bourdier/AP
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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
Fax: 202-974-8152 |
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