Thursday, December 31, 2015
A special look back at 2015 in Los Angeles - Mayor Eric Garcetti
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Memorial Service for Hal Siep
A memorial service for former Los Angeles Times pressman Hal Siep will take place on Saturday, January 2nd, 2016 at 2:00 P.M.
First Presbyterian Church
521 Olive Avenue
Burbank, CA. 91501
818-842-5103
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
After working for the Los Angeles Times for forty-five years, Chuck Lee has retired
(left to right) Mike Chavez, Chuck Lee, and Tony Domingo
Chuck Lee has taken the latest buyout after spending forty-five years working as a machinist for the Los Angeles Times. Chuck has witnessed the heyday at the newspaper first hand, and also experienced the large drop in circulation. It may take a few weeks but his ink stained hands will come clean within a few weeks.
Chuck was never afraid of hard work or getting into the printing units, coming out covered with ink from head to toe. His expertise in making repairs to the machinery will definitely have a negative impact on production at the newspaper.
Chuck's wife, Betty Ann Lee, is also a former employee of the Los Angeles Times, and I'm certain she has a honey do list to keep Chuck busy in retirement.
Enjoy retirement Chuck
Today in Labor History
December 31 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
Sixty thousand unemployed workers rally at a Pittsburgh stadium - 1931
United Mine Workers reformer Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, his wife and daughter are murdered by hit men hired by union president Tony Boyle, who was to be convicted of the crime and eventually die in prison - 1969
OSHA adopts a grain handling facilities standard to protect 155,000 workers at nearly 24,000 grain elevators from the risk of fire and explosion from highly combustible grain dust - 1987
December 30
Gathering in the back room of Behrens’ cigar shop in Sedalia, Mo., 33 railroad clerks form Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of the Railroad Clerks of America - 1899
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, who had brutally suppressed the state’s miners, is killed by an assassin's bomb. Legendary Western Federation of Miners and IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood and two other men were put on trial for the death but were ultimately declared innocent - 1905
GM sit-down strike spreads to Flint, Mich., will last 44 days before ending in union victory - 1936
December 29
After years of intensive lobbying by the labor movement, a comprehensive national safety law is enacted as President Nixon signs the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, creating the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - 1970
More than 15,000 United Steel Workers members at 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber plants end an 86-day strike, ratify 3-year contract - 2006
December 28
The coffee percolator is patented by James H. Mason of Franklin, Mass., placing himself forever in the debt of millions of caffeine-dependent working people – 1865
Auto workers begin sit-down strike for union recognition at GM’s Fisher Body plant in Cleveland - 1936
Country music legend Hank Williams attends what is to be his last musicians’ union meeting, at the Elite (pronounced E-light) café in Montgomery, Ala. He died of apparent heart failure three days later in the back seat of a car driving north. He was 29 - 1952
Sixty thousand unemployed workers rally at a Pittsburgh stadium - 1931
United Mine Workers reformer Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, his wife and daughter are murdered by hit men hired by union president Tony Boyle, who was to be convicted of the crime and eventually die in prison - 1969
OSHA adopts a grain handling facilities standard to protect 155,000 workers at nearly 24,000 grain elevators from the risk of fire and explosion from highly combustible grain dust - 1987
December 30
Gathering in the back room of Behrens’ cigar shop in Sedalia, Mo., 33 railroad clerks form Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of the Railroad Clerks of America - 1899
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, who had brutally suppressed the state’s miners, is killed by an assassin's bomb. Legendary Western Federation of Miners and IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood and two other men were put on trial for the death but were ultimately declared innocent - 1905
GM sit-down strike spreads to Flint, Mich., will last 44 days before ending in union victory - 1936
December 29
After years of intensive lobbying by the labor movement, a comprehensive national safety law is enacted as President Nixon signs the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, creating the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - 1970
More than 15,000 United Steel Workers members at 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber plants end an 86-day strike, ratify 3-year contract - 2006
December 28
The coffee percolator is patented by James H. Mason of Franklin, Mass., placing himself forever in the debt of millions of caffeine-dependent working people – 1865
Auto workers begin sit-down strike for union recognition at GM’s Fisher Body plant in Cleveland - 1936
Country music legend Hank Williams attends what is to be his last musicians’ union meeting, at the Elite (pronounced E-light) café in Montgomery, Ala. He died of apparent heart failure three days later in the back seat of a car driving north. He was 29 - 1952
After thirty-eight years Dana Custer has retired from the Los Angeles Times
Dana Custer began his career at the Los Angeles Times, in the electronics department, on June 6th, 1977, and left yesterday December 30th, 2015 through one of the many buyouts the company has offered over the years. Dana worked at Times Mirror Square from 1977 to 1985, at which time he transferred to the Chatsworth Production Facility. When it was announced that the Valley Plant was to be shuttered he moved to the Olympic Production Facility in 2005. Dana spent ten years working at the Los Angeles Facility before retiring.
Always a happy go lucky person, Dana was a pleasure to work with, he will be sorely missed by his colleagues at the newspaper.
Enjoy your free time Dana
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 27 - Union Communications Services, Inc.President Roosevelt seizes the railroads to avert a nationwide strike. His decision to temporarily place the railroads under the “supervision” of the War Department prompts the five railroad brotherhoods to agree to his offer to arbitrate the wage dispute - 1943
December 26
Knights of Labor founded. Constitution bars from membership “parasites,” including stockbrokers and lawyers - 1869
Workingmen’s Party is reorganized as the Socialist Labor Party - 1877
December 25
A dynamite bomb destroys a portion of the Llewellyn Ironworks in Los Angeles, where a bitter strike was in progress – 1910
Fourteen servicemen from military bases across the U.S., led
by Pvt. Andrew Stapp, form The American Servicemen’s Union (ASU). The union, which never came close to being recognized by the government, in its heyday during the Viet Nam war claimed tens of thousands of members and had chapters at bases, on ships and in Viet Nam. ASU demands included the right to elect officers - 1967
by Pvt. Andrew Stapp, form The American Servicemen’s Union (ASU). The union, which never came close to being recognized by the government, in its heyday during the Viet Nam war claimed tens of thousands of members and had chapters at bases, on ships and in Viet Nam. ASU demands included the right to elect officers - 1967
December 24
Seventy-two copper miners’ children die in panic caused by a company stooge at Calumet, Mich., who shouted “fire” up the stairs into a crowded hall where the children had gathered. They were crushed against closed doors when they tried to flee - 1913
December 23
AFL officers are found in contempt of court for urging a labor boycott of Buck's Stove and Range Co. in St Louis, where the Metal Polishers were striking for a 9-hour day - 1908
Construction workers top out the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world - 1970
Walmart Stores Inc., the nation's largest employer, with 1.4 million "associates," agrees to settle 63 wage and hour suits across the U.S., for a grand total of between $352 million and $640 million. It was accused of failure to pay overtime, requiring off-the-clock work, and failure to provide required meal and rest breaks - 2008
Construction workers top out the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world - 1970
Walmart Stores Inc., the nation's largest employer, with 1.4 million "associates," agrees to settle 63 wage and hour suits across the U.S., for a grand total of between $352 million and $640 million. It was accused of failure to pay overtime, requiring off-the-clock work, and failure to provide required meal and rest breaks - 2008
Thursday, December 24, 2015
From robots to medicine to space travel, 2015 was a huge year for science
2015 Was An Amazing Year For Science And TechnologyFrom robots to medicine to space travel, 2015 was a huge year for science and technology (via NowThis Future)
Posted by NowThis on Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Tuesday Night in the Blogosphere
It's Called Reporting - Niemanlab
Bezos Takes Hands-On Role at Washington Post - WSJ
A guide to negotiating a buyout offer - Washington Post
Newspapers continue to play vital role in society - LJ World
Hunger, homelessness on the rise in major US cities - Al Jazeera
Do you have a brilliant idea to improve journalism? - Editors Weblog
Union-Tribune executive takes company buyout - San Diego Union-Tribune
US Treasury Sanctions Mexican Newspapers for Links to Cartel - ABC News
Fairbanks, Kodiak newspapers purchased by nonprofit - Alaska Dispatch News
Trib Total Media will close McKeesport, Monessen newspapers - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Today in Labor History
December 22 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
A group of building trades unions from the Midwest meet in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences - 1897
Twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards. By the time the fire was extinguished, 26 hours after the first alarm, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities - 1910
Amid a widespread strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare” - 1919
(Mobilizing Against Inequality: Unions, Immigrant Workers, and the Crisis of Capitalism: Are immigrant workers themselves responsible for low wages and shoddy working conditions? Should unions expend valuable time and energy organizing undocumented workers? Unions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have taken various approaches to confront the challenges of this significant segment of the workforce. As U.S. immigration policy is debated, readers will gain insight into how all workers benefit when wages and working conditions for immigrant workers are improved.)
December 21
Powered by children seven to 12 years old working dawn to dusk, Samuel Slater’s thread-spinning factory goes into production in Pawtucket, R.I., launching the Industrial Revolution in America. By 1830, 55 percent of the mill workers in the state were youngsters, many working for less than $1 per week - 1790
Supreme Court rules that picketing is unconstitutional. Chief Justice (and former president) William Howard Taft declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..." - 1921
A group of building trades unions from the Midwest meet in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences - 1897
Twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards. By the time the fire was extinguished, 26 hours after the first alarm, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities - 1910
Amid a widespread strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare” - 1919
(Mobilizing Against Inequality: Unions, Immigrant Workers, and the Crisis of Capitalism: Are immigrant workers themselves responsible for low wages and shoddy working conditions? Should unions expend valuable time and energy organizing undocumented workers? Unions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have taken various approaches to confront the challenges of this significant segment of the workforce. As U.S. immigration policy is debated, readers will gain insight into how all workers benefit when wages and working conditions for immigrant workers are improved.)December 21Powered by children seven to 12 years old working dawn to dusk, Samuel Slater’s thread-spinning factory goes into production in Pawtucket, R.I., launching the Industrial Revolution in America. By 1830, 55 percent of the mill workers in the state were youngsters, many working for less than $1 per week - 1790
Supreme Court rules that picketing is unconstitutional. Chief Justice (and former president) William Howard Taft declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..." - 1921
Monday, December 21, 2015
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 19 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
An explosion in the Darr Mine in Westmoreland Co., Pa., kills 239 coal miners. Seventy-one of the dead share a common grave in Olive Branch Cemetery. December 1907 was the worst month in U.S. coal mining history, with more than 3,000 dead - 1907
A 47-day strike at Greyhound Bus Lines ends with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union accepting a new contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits. Striker Ray Phillips died during the strike, run over on a picket line by a scab Greyhound trainee - 1983
Twenty-six men and one woman are killed in the Wilberg Coal Mine Disaster near Orangeville, Utah. The disaster has been termed the worst coal mine fire in the state’s history. Federal mine safety officials issued 34 safety citations after the disaster but had inspected the mine only days before and declared it safe - 1984
December 20
Delegates to the AFL convention in Salt Lake City endorse a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote - 1899
The first group of 15 Filipino plantation workers recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association arrive in Hawaii. By 1932 more than 100,000 Filipinos will be working in the fields - 1906
Thousands of workers began what was to be a 2-day strike of the New York City transit system over retirement, pension and wage issues. The strike violated the state’s Taylor Law; TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint was jailed for ten days and the union was fined $2.5 million - 2005
December 18
General Motors announces it is closing 21 North American plants over the following four years and slashing tens of thousands of jobs - 1991
December 17
Int’l Union of Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers merges with United Steelworkers of America - 1996
An explosion in the Darr Mine in Westmoreland Co., Pa., kills 239 coal miners. Seventy-one of the dead share a common grave in Olive Branch Cemetery. December 1907 was the worst month in U.S. coal mining history, with more than 3,000 dead - 1907
A 47-day strike at Greyhound Bus Lines ends with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union accepting a new contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits. Striker Ray Phillips died during the strike, run over on a picket line by a scab Greyhound trainee - 1983Twenty-six men and one woman are killed in the Wilberg Coal Mine Disaster near Orangeville, Utah. The disaster has been termed the worst coal mine fire in the state’s history. Federal mine safety officials issued 34 safety citations after the disaster but had inspected the mine only days before and declared it safe - 1984
December 20
Delegates to the AFL convention in Salt Lake City endorse a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote - 1899
The first group of 15 Filipino plantation workers recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association arrive in Hawaii. By 1932 more than 100,000 Filipinos will be working in the fields - 1906
Thousands of workers began what was to be a 2-day strike of the New York City transit system over retirement, pension and wage issues. The strike violated the state’s Taylor Law; TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint was jailed for ten days and the union was fined $2.5 million - 2005
December 18
General Motors announces it is closing 21 North American plants over the following four years and slashing tens of thousands of jobs - 1991
December 17
Int’l Union of Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers merges with United Steelworkers of America - 1996
December 16
The National Civic Federation is formed by business and labor leaders, most prominently AFL president Sam Gompers, as a vehicle to resolve conflicts between management and labor. Not all unionists agreed with the alliance. The group turned increasingly conservative and labor withdrew after Gompers’ 1924 death - 1900
New York City’s Majestic Theater becomes first in the U.S. to employ women ushers - 1902
The Bagel Bakers of America union is continuing a work slowdown at 32 of New York’s 34 bagel bakeries in a dispute over health and welfare fund payments and workplace sanitation, the New York Times reports. Coincidentally—or not—lox sales were down 30 percent to 50 percent as well. The effect on the cream cheese market was not reported - 1951
Four railway unions merge to become the United Transportation Union: Trainmen, Firemen & Enginemen, Switchmen, and Conductors and Brakemen - 1968
New York City’s Majestic Theater becomes first in the U.S. to employ women ushers - 1902
The Bagel Bakers of America union is continuing a work slowdown at 32 of New York’s 34 bagel bakeries in a dispute over health and welfare fund payments and workplace sanitation, the New York Times reports. Coincidentally—or not—lox sales were down 30 percent to 50 percent as well. The effect on the cream cheese market was not reported - 1951
Four railway unions merge to become the United Transportation Union: Trainmen, Firemen & Enginemen, Switchmen, and Conductors and Brakemen - 1968
Eight female bank tellers in Willmar, Minn., begin the first strike against a bank in U.S. history. At issue: they were paid little more than half what male tellers were paid. The strike ended in moral victory but economic defeat two years later - 1977
(United Apart: Gender and the Rise of Craft Unionism: At the turn of the twentieth century, American factory workers were often segregated by sex—males did heavier, dirtier, and better paid, work while women might be employed in a separate area performing related, lighter work. Men might cut bolts of fabric, for example, while women stitched cuffs onto sleeves. How this division of labor played out when an occupational group comprised of one sex went on strike is the subject of this book.)
(United Apart: Gender and the Rise of Craft Unionism: At the turn of the twentieth century, American factory workers were often segregated by sex—males did heavier, dirtier, and better paid, work while women might be employed in a separate area performing related, lighter work. Men might cut bolts of fabric, for example, while women stitched cuffs onto sleeves. How this division of labor played out when an occupational group comprised of one sex went on strike is the subject of this book.)Friday, December 18, 2015
L.A. on Cloud9
Get your day started with a great story. Like this one about the leader of a non-profit organization who created a simple system of care for the homeless community – a community to which she once belonged. Share your own story of how you impacted your community and use #ShareKleenexCare
Posted by Kleenex on Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 15 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
AFL convention passes a 1¢ per capita assessment to aid the organization of women workers (Exact date uncertain) - 1913
The Kansas National Guard is called out to subdue from
2,000 to 6,000 protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking miners in the Pittsburg coal fields. The women made headlines across the state and the nation: they were christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times - 1921
Eight days after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related plants for the duration of World War II - 1941
Meeting in its biennial convention, the AFL-CIO declares “unstinting support” for “measures the Administration might deem necessary to halt Communist aggression and secure a just and lasting peace” in Vietnam - 1967
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone aged 40 or older - 1967
(The Essential Guide To Federal Employment Laws, 4th edition: This is a well-indexed book, updated in 2013, offering the full text of 20 federal laws affecting workers’ lives, along with plain-English explanations of each. An entire chapter is devoted to each law, explaining what is allowed and prohibited and what businesses must comply.)
California's longest nurses’ strike ended after workers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole approved a new contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., ending a 13-month walkout - 2003
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers union organizer Clinton Jencks, who led New Mexico zinc miners in the strike depicted in the classic 1954 movie Salt of the Earth, dies of natural causes in San Diego at age 87 - 2005
AFL convention passes a 1¢ per capita assessment to aid the organization of women workers (Exact date uncertain) - 1913
The Kansas National Guard is called out to subdue from
2,000 to 6,000 protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking miners in the Pittsburg coal fields. The women made headlines across the state and the nation: they were christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times - 1921Eight days after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related plants for the duration of World War II - 1941
Meeting in its biennial convention, the AFL-CIO declares “unstinting support” for “measures the Administration might deem necessary to halt Communist aggression and secure a just and lasting peace” in Vietnam - 1967
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone aged 40 or older - 1967
(The Essential Guide To Federal Employment Laws, 4th edition: This is a well-indexed book, updated in 2013, offering the full text of 20 federal laws affecting workers’ lives, along with plain-English explanations of each. An entire chapter is devoted to each law, explaining what is allowed and prohibited and what businesses must comply.)California's longest nurses’ strike ended after workers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole approved a new contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., ending a 13-month walkout - 2003
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers union organizer Clinton Jencks, who led New Mexico zinc miners in the strike depicted in the classic 1954 movie Salt of the Earth, dies of natural causes in San Diego at age 87 - 2005
Monday, December 14, 2015
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 13 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
Death in San Antonio, Texas, of Samuel Gompers, president and founder of the American Federation of Labor - 1924
December 12
A U.S. immigration sweep of six Swift meat plants results in arrests of nearly 1,300 undocumented workers - 2006
Death in San Antonio, Texas, of Samuel Gompers, president and founder of the American Federation of Labor - 1924
December 12A U.S. immigration sweep of six Swift meat plants results in arrests of nearly 1,300 undocumented workers - 2006
Dean French Rest in Peace
Long time Los Angeles Times Composing Room employee, Dean French, passed away on Wednesday, December 9th from COPE. Dean was a very jovial man and had friends from many different departments at the newspaper. And he would join the pressmen at Anthony's on First Street for a few beers, or the writers at the Redwood on Second Street.
An avid fan of the annual USC-UCLA football game, he mustered up enough strength to root his team on.
As per Dean's request, there will be no funeral service.
If you would like to send his wife a sympathy card, please let me know so I can supply her address.
Hal Siepe Rest in Peace
Hal Siepe, front row third from the left.
Former pressman at the Los Angeles Times for many decades, Hal Siepe, passed away on December 3rd, 2015 from an apparent heart attack. Hal was a gentle man that was very quiet and did his job well at the newspaper. Hal left the newspaper through one of the numerous buyouts offered through the past twenty three years.
I currently have no further information at this time.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 11
A small group of Black farmers organize the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union in Houston County, Texas. They had been barred from membership in the all-White Southern Farmers’ Alliance. Through intensive organizing, along with merging with another Black farmers group, the renamed Colored Alliance by 1891 claimed a membership of 1.2 million - 1886
Ten days after an Illinois State mine inspector approved coal dust removal techniques at New Orient mine in West Frankfort, the mine exploded, apparently due to accumulated methane gas, killing 119 workers - 1951
The U.S. Department of Labor announces that the nation's unemployment rate had dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest mark in 15 years - 1968
Forty thousand workers go on general strike in London, Ontario—a city with a population of 300,000—protesting cuts in social services - 1995
Ten days after an Illinois State mine inspector approved coal dust removal techniques at New Orient mine in West Frankfort, the mine exploded, apparently due to accumulated methane gas, killing 119 workers - 1951
The U.S. Department of Labor announces that the nation's unemployment rate had dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest mark in 15 years - 1968
Forty thousand workers go on general strike in London, Ontario—a city with a population of 300,000—protesting cuts in social services - 1995
Michigan becomes the 24th state to Adopt right-to-work legislation. The Republican-dominated state Senate introduced two measures—one covering private workers, the other covering public workers—by surprise five days earlier and immediately voted their passage; the Republican House approved them five days later (the fastest it legally could) and the Republican governor immediately signed both bills - 2012
Ron Doerr Has Left the Los Angeles Times
After spending forty years working at the Los Angeles Times Ron Doerr decided to take the latest buyout offer from the newspaper. Ron worked in the Operations Department, keeping the thirsty presses quenched with newsprint. One of his favorite pastimes is buying and selling rare stamps at trade shows throughout Southern California, and hiking. I'm certain Ron will enjoy his retirement.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 10 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
First sit-down strike in U.S. called by IWW at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. - 1906
(No Contract, No Peace: A Legal Guide to Contract Campaigns, Strikes, and Lockouts is a must-have for
any union or activist considering aggressive action to combat management’s growing economic war against workers. No Contract, No Peace! updates information contained in the first edition, entitled Strikes, Picketing and Inside Campaigns, to include reference to recent union activities and NLRB decisions that have affected the labor relations environment. Schwartz’s familiarity with labor and employment law combines with his activist spirit to provide innovative yet practical tips for mounting and maintaining meaningful campaigns designed to build union and workers’ power.)
Int’l Human Rights Day, commemorating the signing at the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, in part: “Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” - 1948
American Federation of Teachers Local 89 in Atlanta, Georgia, disaffiliates from the national union because of an AFT directive that all its locals integrate. A year later, the AFT expelled all locals that refused to do so - 1956
First sit-down strike in U.S. called by IWW at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. - 1906
(No Contract, No Peace: A Legal Guide to Contract Campaigns, Strikes, and Lockouts is a must-have for
any union or activist considering aggressive action to combat management’s growing economic war against workers. No Contract, No Peace! updates information contained in the first edition, entitled Strikes, Picketing and Inside Campaigns, to include reference to recent union activities and NLRB decisions that have affected the labor relations environment. Schwartz’s familiarity with labor and employment law combines with his activist spirit to provide innovative yet practical tips for mounting and maintaining meaningful campaigns designed to build union and workers’ power.)Int’l Human Rights Day, commemorating the signing at the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, in part: “Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” - 1948
American Federation of Teachers Local 89 in Atlanta, Georgia, disaffiliates from the national union because of an AFT directive that all its locals integrate. A year later, the AFT expelled all locals that refused to do so - 1956
Wednesday, December 09, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 09Ratification of a new labor agreement at Titan Tire of Natchez, Miss., ends the longest strike in the history of the U.S. tire industry, which began May 1, 1998, at the company's Des Moines, Iowa, plant - 2001
Tuesday, December 08, 2015
Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere
McDonald's in Guangzhou, China
Print media to revive, attention spans to grow - PR Week
For newspapers, a painful look back - Media Life Magazine
Will Eli Broad Finally Step In And Save The Los Angeles Times? - IBT
Life in newspapers: Constant change but same mission - Statesman Journal
In Tribune’s Hands, The L.A. Times Will Continue to Get Worse - DT News
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Tribune Media Co. - Insider Monkey
Does Tribune Publishing Have Any Gas After Forming Bearish Double Bottom? - FM
Dean Baquet On Why The New York Times Ran a Front Page Guns Sermon - Daily Beast
‘Killing Ourselves': 35 years of newspapers making statements about gun violence - WaPo
Small Town Newspaper Stories: Universal Truths of Corroded Capitalism - Dissident Voice
Today in Labor History
December 08 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
Twenty-five unions found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Columbus, Ohio; Cigarmaker’s union leader Samuel Gompers is elected president. The AFL’s founding document’s preamble reads: “A struggle is going on in all of the civilized world between oppressors and oppressed of all countries, between capitalist and laborer...” - 1886
(There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America: This thoughtful and highly readable history of the American labor movement traces unionism from the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1820s to organized labor’s decline in the 1980s and struggle for survival and growth today. Illustrated with dozens of photos, posters and more.)
114-day newspaper strike begins, New York City - 1962
President Bill Clinton signs The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - 1993
Nearly 230 jailed teachers—about one-fourth of the 1,000-member Middletown Township, N.J., staff—are
ordered freed after they and their colleagues agree to end a 9-day strike and go into mediation with the local school board - 2001
Faced with a national unemployment rate of 10 percent, President Barack Obama outlines new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, saying the country must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work. Joblessness had soared 6 percent in the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency - 2009
December 07
Heywood Broun born in New York City. Journalist, columnist and co-founder, in 1933, of The Newspaper Guild - 1888
Steam boiler operators from 11 cities across the country meet in Chicago to form the National Union of Steam Engineers of America, the forerunner to the Int’l Union of Operating Engineers. Each of the men represented a local union of 40 members or fewer - 1896
More than 1,600 protesters staged a national hunger march on Washington, D.C., to present demands for unemployment insurance - 1931
United Hatters, Cap & Millinery Workers Int’l Union merges into Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union - 1982
Delegates to the founding convention of the National Nurses United (NNU) in Phoenix, Ariz., unanimously endorse the creation of the largest union and professional organization of registered nurses in U.S. history. The 150,000-member union is the product of a merger of three groups - 2009
Twenty-five unions found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Columbus, Ohio; Cigarmaker’s union leader Samuel Gompers is elected president. The AFL’s founding document’s preamble reads: “A struggle is going on in all of the civilized world between oppressors and oppressed of all countries, between capitalist and laborer...” - 1886
(There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America: This thoughtful and highly readable history of the American labor movement traces unionism from the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1820s to organized labor’s decline in the 1980s and struggle for survival and growth today. Illustrated with dozens of photos, posters and more.)114-day newspaper strike begins, New York City - 1962
President Bill Clinton signs The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - 1993
Nearly 230 jailed teachers—about one-fourth of the 1,000-member Middletown Township, N.J., staff—are
ordered freed after they and their colleagues agree to end a 9-day strike and go into mediation with the local school board - 2001Faced with a national unemployment rate of 10 percent, President Barack Obama outlines new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, saying the country must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work. Joblessness had soared 6 percent in the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency - 2009
December 07Heywood Broun born in New York City. Journalist, columnist and co-founder, in 1933, of The Newspaper Guild - 1888
Steam boiler operators from 11 cities across the country meet in Chicago to form the National Union of Steam Engineers of America, the forerunner to the Int’l Union of Operating Engineers. Each of the men represented a local union of 40 members or fewer - 1896
More than 1,600 protesters staged a national hunger march on Washington, D.C., to present demands for unemployment insurance - 1931
United Hatters, Cap & Millinery Workers Int’l Union merges into Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union - 1982
Delegates to the founding convention of the National Nurses United (NNU) in Phoenix, Ariz., unanimously endorse the creation of the largest union and professional organization of registered nurses in U.S. history. The 150,000-member union is the product of a merger of three groups - 2009
Los Angeles Times editor Davan Maharaj is pleased with smaller staff
Subject: Rising To The Occasion
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2015 20:20:39
From: Maharaj, Davan
To: yyeditall
Comrades,
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2015 20:20:39
From: Maharaj, Davan
To: yyeditall
Comrades,
For anyone wondering what the new Los Angeles Times was going to be like, they know now. You’ve been showing them all week. It’s good. Really good. Exceptionally good.
It’s like the old Los Angeles Times, but even faster and more digital.
When big news broke in San Bernardino – tragic, heart-wrenching news – our newsroom did what it does.
You swung into action and got scoop after scoop. You informed readers with live blog reports online. You crafted rich narratives. You wrote penetrating profiles. You shot memorable photos. You produced engaging videos and graphics.
You used social media to reach a huge audience.
Readers took note: “The LAT is demonstrating its enduring capacity to make sense of the chaos,” one wrote in an email, echoing what many others said. “I've seen hundreds of tweets crediting your collective work – the 16 reporters on the field filing LA Now posts and real-time tweeting whatever they learn... It's the one glimmering reassurance I lean on when I have no idea what the hell is going on. The big feature pages that you've introduced so far are rock solid, credible, informative, and genuine.”
Our competitors took note, too. “It’s amazing to see how the LA Times, after all it has been through, can bring it on a big story. Respect,” Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times tweeted.
Thanks, Lydia, for your kind words. But there was never any doubt here.
All of you should be very, very proud. We are.
-- Davan
h/t LAObserved
Friday, December 04, 2015
Today in Labor History
December 04 -- Union Communications Services, Inc.
President Roosevelt announces the end of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), concluding the four-year run of one of the American government's most ambitious public works programs. It helped create jobs for roughly 8.5 million people during the Great Depression and left a legacy of highways and public buildings, among other public gains - 1943
UAW President Walter Reuther elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations - 1952
Cesar Chavez jailed for 20 days for refusing to end United Farm Workers' grape boycott - 1970
President Roosevelt announces the end of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), concluding the four-year run of one of the American government's most ambitious public works programs. It helped create jobs for roughly 8.5 million people during the Great Depression and left a legacy of highways and public buildings, among other public gains - 1943
UAW President Walter Reuther elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations - 1952
Cesar Chavez jailed for 20 days for refusing to end United Farm Workers' grape boycott - 1970
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Teamsters Statement on San Bernardino County Shootings
Union Mourns the Loss of Victims, Vital Members of the San Bernardino Community
(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Union is deeply saddened by the tragic event in San Bernardino County, Calif., which has taken the lives of 14 people, injured 21 and shaken the community at large.
As the news continues to unfold, we are saddened to learn that some of the victims were members of Teamsters Local 1932.
“Today is a sad day, as we join the San Bernardino community with a heavy heart in mourning this tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and everyone impacted by this senseless tragedy,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President.
Teamsters Local 1932 in San Bernardino represents more than 11,000 San Bernardino County public employees working at hospitals, in public works, health services departments, correctional facilities and in dozens of other public positions throughout the county.
“San Bernardino County public employees go to work every day to serve, protect and provide for our county. It is heartbreaking that innocent lives have been lost to a gruesome act of violence,” said Deirdre Rodriguez, General Manager of Local 1932. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and loved ones, and we express our gratitude to the first responders who rushed to the scene to help.”
“We are distraught by the violence that has claimed the lives of hardworking San Bernardino County public employees and that has injured many,” said Randy Cammack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Pomona, Calif., the parent body to 22 local unions, including Local 1932. “Our condolences go to all who have been affected.”
Teamsters Joint Council 42 will be setting up a fund for families of the victims. More details will be provided as soon as they become available.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.
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