Tag Archives: labor day

Labor Day 2018

Los Angeles, CA | Local 47

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Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) members joined with fellow union members for the annual Labor Day Parade and picnic organized by Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition.
Photo: Clifford Tasner
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Detroit, MI | Local 5

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In Detroit, Local 5 (Detroit, MI) musicians marched alongside thousands of their union brothers and sisters.
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New Orleans, LA | Local 174-496

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Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO President Robert “Tiger” Hammond (left) announces the Treme Brass Band, while AFM Local 174-496 Board Member John Bassich stands by the stage.
Photo: Cindy Mayes
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Members of Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO unions enjoy the Treme Brass Band, members of Local 174-496 (New Orleans, LA).
Photo: Cindy Mayes

Hamilton, ON | Local 293

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Local 293 (Hamilton, ON) members (L to R) Paul Panchezak, John Morris, and Kyle Pacy march in the Hamilton Labor Day Parade.
Photo: Brent Malseed
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Local 293 (Hamilton, ON) musicians pose for a photo at the Hamilton Labor Day picnic.
Photo: Brent Malseed

Nashville, TN | Local 257

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Local 257 (Nashville, TN) Secretary-Treasurer Vince Santoro, Nashville Symphony Steward Laura Ross, and accompanist Barbara Santoro at the Central Labor Council Labor Day Parade, September 1 in Nashville.

New York, NY | Local 802

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Local 802 (New York City) member musicians pose for a photo following the New York City Labor Day Parade.
Photo: Todd Weeks
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In New York City, Local 802 members marched and rode a float in the city’s annual parade.
Photo: Rochelle Skolnick

Washington, DC | Local 161-710

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Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) members Clarence Mitchell, Jan Duga, Dennis Ferry, Zenas Kim-Banthe, and Doug Rosenthal march with sheet metal workers in the Greenbelt, Maryland, Labor Day Parade, Monday, September 3.
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Local 161-710 members Mark Hughes, Fred Marcellus, Dennis Ferry, Doug Rosenthal, and Jan Duga with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (center) at the Northern Virginia Labor Day Picnic, Sunday, September 2.

On Labor Day Workers Demonstrated for Minimum Wage Raise

During Labor Day, the Fight for $15 movement organized protests in 300 cities across the US. In Chicago, hundreds of fast food workers, hospital employees, and airport workers advocated for higher wages and better benefits through a series of walkouts and marches. Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) demonstrated with supporters of the national Fight for $15 movement. Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner recently vetoed a bill that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, arguing that it would negatively affect businesses and reduce jobs.

Fast food workers in Boston went on strike Labor Day to highlight their demand for a $15 minimum wage. In Massachusetts, the $15 minimum applies to home care workers and select companies that have chosen to offer it. A planned November 2018 ballot proposal would incrementally raise the minimum from $11 to $15 by 2022.

The $15 minimum wage has been implemented in New York City, California, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis.

Trump Taj Mahal to Close after Labor Day

Trump Taj Mahal, the beleaguered Atlantic City, New Jersey, hotel-casino once owned by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, will close for good after Labor Day weekend. The Taj Mahal’s owners—including billionaire investor Carl Icahn—blame striking UNITE HERE Local 54 workers for preventing a “path to profitability.” WARN Act (layoff) notices were sent to the casino’s more than 2,400 workers announcing they would lose their jobs October 10. The Taj would be the city’s fifth casino to close since 2014.

A thousand of the casino’s service workers have been on strike since July 1. According to Local 54 President Bob McDevitt, “For a few million bucks, [Icahn] could have had labor peace and a content workforce, but instead he’d rather slam the door shut on these long-term workers just to punish them and attempt to break their strike.”

In a statement, McDevitt called out Icahn for his promise to put $100 million into the Trump Taj Mahal. “He told the workers they were the most important asset of the property. Now, rather than negotiate with those same workers, he decided he would rather close down. We have not had an offer from Icahn since the evening of June 30, when workers rejected that proposal and voted to strike. It has been nothing but the usual my way or the highway from Carl Icahn. That’s not trying to reach an agreement; that’s punishing working people for standing up to injustice.