Executive Board Member
Working Grievances
Leaving Work
Let your CC or a Supervisor know if you leave work. If you use FMLA to leave, fine. You will let a CC or Supervisor know. If a family emergency, let a CC or Supervisor know. Safety for yourself and crew is the number one priority. Leaving and not letting anyone know puts others in danger if there is an incident at work. It is not fair to your crew to put in to leave, and you just leave. The company is going to do APS if that happens, and there will be write-ups to follow those if needed, per the company.
Rumors
That’s what most are, 98.9% of the time, as you hear someone else tell a story or ‘opinion’that’s been shared over two times. It’s a proven fact that a story grows after the 1st time it is shared. If you were not in the room, you do not know. Better to talk to the source and have a ‘hard’ conversation to clear up questions you have. Whether you have complaints or questions, please contact TWU-514.
Did You Know:
Most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Change to Win Federation (2005). Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics, fighting for workers’ rights.
A poignant story illustrating the importance of unions comes from the early days of labor organization in the United States, particularly the plight of Philadelphia shoemakers in 1794. These workers, known as cordwainers, faced dire economic conditions, earning barely enough to support their families. Their desperate strike for better wages and working conditions ultimately ended in failure, highlighting the need for collective bargaining and the establishment of unions to protect workers’ rights and improve their livelihoods.
The Struggles of Early Labor Organizing
The early labor movement faced significant challenges, underscoring the necessity of unions.
* Cordwainers’ Strike — In 1794, Philadelphia shoemakers went on strike due to insufficient wages, marking one of the first organized labor actions in the U.S.
* Economic Hardship — These workers struggled to earn enough to feed their families, illustrating the dire conditions that prompted their collective action.
* Failure of the Strike — The strike ended unsuccessfully, demonstrating the vulnerability of individual workers without union support.
* Legacy of Organizing — This early struggle laid the groundwork for future labor movements, emphasizing the importance of solidarity among workers.
Like any movement that’s been beaten back, you need a strong personality to step in and take that risk, lead the way, said Cornell University Law School professor Charles Craver, a former union arbitrator. That person was a poverty-stricken Jewish kid born in London in 1850; Samuel Gompers – a force for workers!
Samuel Gompers was charismatic and gregarious, with hard-knock formative years that made him a movement leader straight out of Central Casting. A few months after his 10th birthday, his family forced him to quit school so he could work as a cigar maker’s apprentice to help pay the bills.
The young Gompers was fascinated by his co-workers. They taught him that employees can wield power if they are united. Gompers joined a union in his teens but was uprooted when his family (which historians say was a household of 11) emigrated to New York City in the early 1860s. They lived in tenement slums. He continued working in cigar making but watched fellow craftsmen be replaced by machines.
By the time he was in his early 20s, Gompers was elected president of a large cigar craftsmen’s union and led it through a period of national high unemployment in the late 1870s when bosses lowered wages, counting on workers not complaining for fear they’d get fired and not be able to find another job. Gompers got tough with management, eventually winning benefits for workers.
Gompers’ story is now being revisited. His name is trending high on Google, and the father of the 19th century U.S. labor movement is getting shout-outs on Twitter. Dozens of people with varying opinions about the protests in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana shared some of his famous quotes, such as: “Where trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of people most respected.” A young man from Glenville, New York, tweeted, “Samuel Gompers…You are the BOSS!”
In 1886, Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor, which decades later would merge with a federation of industrial unions called the Congress of Industrialized Organizations. Today, the AFL-CIO is one of the most influential bodies in the country, with a 12.2 million-strong membership. There are 66 unions from industry and government jobs under their umbrella, ranging from the Screen Actors Guild, the American Postal Workers Union to the Transport Workers Union & more. YOU are the difference…visit www.twu514.org for more information on TWU Local 514. Don’t be one that stirs up conflict or uses situations to twist issues with poor assumptions. People who do that are only out to divide. ‘KNOW YOUR HISTORY and hold on to your worth!
Linda
(918) 954-4709
LDill@twumail.org