Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Today in Labor History

October 02

SOURCE: Union Communications Services, Inc.

American Federation of Labor officially endorses campaign for a six hour day, five day workweek - 1934

Joining with 400,000 coal miners already on strike, 500,000 CIO steel workers close down the nation’s foundries, steel and iron mills, demanding pensions and better wages and working conditions - 1949

Starbucks Workers Union baristas at an outlet in East Grand Rapids, Mich., organized by the Wobblies, win their grievances after the National Labor Relations Board cites the company for labor law violations, including threats against union activists - 2007

Union members, progressives and others rally in Washington DC under the Banner of One Nation Working Together, demand “good jobs, equal justice, and quality education for all.” Crowd estimates range from tens of thousands to 200,000 - 2010
Today in #LaborHistory: Oct 2 -via- unionist.com

Starbucks Workers Union baristas at an outlet in East Grand Rapids, Mich., organized by the Wobblies, win their grievances after the National Labor Relations Board cites the company for labor law violations, including threats against union activists - 2007

"The Starbucks campaign is remarkable because it draws from both IWW's history and the best practices of worker centers, which are the principal heir of the union's rich organizing legacy. Ironically, today’s IWW activists, or Wobblies, can learn from worker centers. In fact, one sign of the IWW's revival is the emergence of the IWW-affiliated Lucy Parsons Workers' Center in Chicago." - from http://www.alternet.org/story/151334/organizing_on_wobbly_ground%3A_lessons_from_unionizing_efforts_at_starbucks

" They seized their moment in the media spotlight Monday by staging a demonstration reminiscent of an earlier era of labor activism, announcing that several Starbucks workers had just joined the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies, which was a powerful far-left labor union a century ago." - from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/starbucks-workers-celebrate-and-protest/

"Since 2008, under-staffing has gotten worse, our pay has remained stagnant with smaller merit increases, our health insurance premiums have doubled, our benefits have been cut, and we have been saddled with more labor-intensive tasks like upselling VIA and other products and brewing coffee in "cadence" every 6 minutes." - from http://www.starbucksunion.org/
 

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