Cleaners with 32BJ SEIU at American University win new contract

This is the September 30, 2024 edition of our twice-weekly newsletter about labor movement news in the DC region. Sign up to get our newsletters delivered straight to your inbox.

Cleaners with 32BJ SEIU at American University were ready to take a vote to strike last Friday. Instead they’re celebrating! Workers ratified their best-ever contract with the university, including wage increases of over 30%! Congrats, AU workers and 32BJ!


National Symphony Orchestra strike ends after less than a day

The musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra, represented by Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Federation of Musicians, Local 161-710, American Federation of Musicians, went on strike Friday morning, and reached an 18-month labor agreement with the Kennedy Center by midafternoon. The work stoppage, which lasted approximately four hours, had threatened the orchestra’s Season Opening Gala, scheduled for Saturday. Read more »


Thank you, CSA golf tournament participants!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 27th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament for the Community Services Agency last week! Together we raised nearly $19,000 for CSA and the Emergency Assistance Fund, and we had a fantastic time doing it. A special thank you to Alex Thompson who chaired our Golf Committee, and to all the committee members, volunteers, sponsors and prize donors. See photos from the event » 


Remembering Bill Lucy

William “Bill” Lucy, who served as secretary-treasurer of AFSCME for nearly four decades and was one of the most respected and revered Black labor leaders in the world, died Wednesday at his D.C. home. He was 90. Lucy was a heavyweight of the American labor movement in the second half of the 20th century and a fierce defender of civil and human rights. In 1968, he traveled to his hometown of Memphis, TN, to help resolve the sanitation workers’ strike, marching shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as the workers sought the city’s recognition of their union. Read more about Bill's life »


Upcoming Actions + Events

Night of Labor at Commanders Field
October 20, 2024 — 4:05 PM
Due to popular demand, we are announcing Union Day Part 2! The Washington Commanders are proud to support the Community Services Agency through our second Union Day of the season. Come out to see the Commanders take on the Carolina Panthers. All tickets purchased include a $10 donation back to the Emergency Assistance Fund. Get tickets »

Canvass in Prince George's County for Kamala Harris and Angela Alsobrooks
Join the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO and the Maryland State/DC AFL-CIO to engage our fellow union members and members of their households about the importance of November's election. Sign up to walk with us every Saturday between now and November 5.


Around the Region

Top left: The Metro DC Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) honored Pride at Work, Baltimore-DC Chapter with one of this year's Gloria T. Johnson Awards. Top right: On Friday the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters hosted the quarterly meeting of DC Builds DC, an initiative to strengthen the talent pipeline to careers in construction. Thank you to the Carpenters for inviting CSA Interim Director Kathleen McKirchy to be a guest at this event. Bottom left: The DC Nurses Association convened with fellow nurses from across the country at the National Nurses United convention in New Orleans last week. Bottom right: Second-year apprentices with Insulators and Allied Workers Local 24 practice their skills at the Insulators' training facility in Laurel, MD. 


Today is Monday, September 30, 2024.

37 Days
until Election Day

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34 days to go = Time to knock doors with labor

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Unions and elected leaders call on DDOT to transition Circulator workers