By John McNamara (Re-posted from 2023) Labor Day is not a time to be nostalgic about the struggles of the last century to organize factory floors that turned New Britain into a "union town" with its many thousands of factory jobs, most of which have been long lost to offshoring and globalization. On Labor Day … Continue reading New Britain’s Union Organizing History Is Worth Retelling on Labor Day
Category: labor
The National “Fight For 15” Will Continue After COVID Relief Act Passage
Connecticut and other states are on a path to $15 an hour but the federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour, an amount that keeps the working poor in poverty or juggling multiple jobs to survive. By Eshawney Gaston | March 3, 2021 I’m one of America’s … Continue reading The National “Fight For 15” Will Continue After COVID Relief Act Passage
Art Perry’s Fighting Spirit and Boundless Optimism Will Not Be Forgotten
New Britain's and SEIU's Art Perry died this week after an extended and brave battle with cancer at the age of 63. I knew and will not forget Art as a union organizer of fighting spirit and boundless optimism through too many political and union organizing campaigns to count. He worked at it for 34 … Continue reading Art Perry’s Fighting Spirit and Boundless Optimism Will Not Be Forgotten
Remembering 4/4/1968: 48 Years Ago On Monday
By John McNamara So far the campaign of 2016 -- thanks mainly to Donald Trump and his cohorts in the GOP field --is a disturbing reminder that any progress achieved on civil and voting rights made over the last 60 years is threatened. The Supreme Court's recent ruling weakening provisions of the landmark Voting Rights … Continue reading Remembering 4/4/1968: 48 Years Ago On Monday
Labor Day 2015: When “The Saturday Night Club” Remembered The Rise of New Britain Unions
By John McNamara The New Britain Saturday Night Club, founded in the 19th century, is an organization of professionals, industrialists, educators and the civic-minded whose members regularly gathered for some home-grown culture and education. None other than the "Learned Blacksmith" Elihu Burritt was a member starting in 1875 . The longstanding group is kind of … Continue reading Labor Day 2015: When “The Saturday Night Club” Remembered The Rise of New Britain Unions
What Would a 21st Century Rev. King Be Saying and Doing in 2012?
Our national day to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is an opportunity to focus and ramp up the political debate in 2012 on "saving the middle class" and addressing "income inequality" that has been, from all reports, getting worse since the early 1970s. Over the last year "Tea Bag" politicians, lavishly funded … Continue reading What Would a 21st Century Rev. King Be Saying and Doing in 2012?
Remembering Rev. King and the Labor Movement – Again
Ultra-conservative radio host Dan Lovallo was distorting the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. the other day. He joined a caller in bashing labor unions by objecting to unions' honoring and remembering King for his strong support of organized labor generally and public employee unions specifically. It's all part of Lovallo's and his … Continue reading Remembering Rev. King and the Labor Movement – Again
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