Dallas Labor is Hub of Progressive Movement

Strategic plans to advance working families were made at the January AFL-CIO Central Labor Council meeting on January 17.

Stop the Shutdown

Heads of three government employees’ locals spoke to the council. They thanked the broad labor movement for support in public actions and discussed future activities. Efforts are underway to help the 800,000 people who are not getting paid. 

There are photos and videos of recent activities, including the rally at DFW airport on January 16, on our Facebook page. The TSA workers in AFGE Local 1040 have more photos and videos.  Leaders of Dallas and Tarrant AFL-CIO are prominent. AFGE leaders said to expect more public actions soon.

March for Progress 

There will be almost 300 women’s marches in America this weekend, including in Dallas, Denton, and Fort Worth. The Dallas march steps off at 2 PM from 1816 Routh Street.

The Dallas AFL-CIO has drawn spot #11 for the MLK march on January 21. We start forming our contingent at 8 AM at Holmes Street and MLK Blvd. The march steps off at 10. Signs should reflect the needs of working families and should be appropriate to the occasion.

Win a Fair Shot for Texas Workers

The Texas AFL-CIO has published a comprehensive legislative program for working families. Stay up to date with ed@texasaflcio.org and we will fight for it together through this legislative session. 

Meanwhile, we have elections coming. Among the candidates who came to the January Central Labor Council were mayoral candidates Albert Black, Scott Griggs, and Regina Montoya. City Council candidate Tiffini Young was there along with State Representative candidates Tom Irvin and Brandy Chamberlain.

One candidate, Scott Griggs, also attended labor's rally at the DART headquarters on the next day. Again, he pledged to support working families. Dallas labor’s careful candidate screening process will begin as soon as possible after the filing deadline on February 15, according to Political Director Lorraine Montemayor.

Help Those Who Need It Most

At the council meeting, ATU 1338 President Kenneth Day gave a rousing talk on behalf of disabled people who are at the mercy of the Dallas Area Transit (DART) Board. Day asked everyone to attend a rally on the next day because DART proposes to privatize its paratransit services. Disabled people would not be transported by trained professional drivers with modern equipment, but would be left in the hands of whichever Uber or taxi driver comes along. In one case, Day said, a taxi dropped a medical patient at a facility that was closed. The patient was lost for three days!

The rally on January 18 drew support from the AFL-CIO, several individual unions, and the North Texas Transit Riders support organization. Everyone was asked to come to the DART Board meeting at 6 PM on Tuesday, January 22, to testify.

Defend Democracy

Labor-related immigrants will be filling out their citizenship applications at 334 Centre beginning at 10 AM on Saturday, January 19. Volunteers who will assist them will arrive at 8 AM.

Labor Council President George Rangel says that the reason many people don’t try to become citizens is because it’s so difficult and expensive. So far, the Dallas Council and other labor organizations have agreed to pay the $725 application cost for 6 of the workshop participants.

During the January council meeting, Brother Herb Keener of CWA Local 6215 led everybody in calling congresspersons at 888-848-4824 to advocate for House Resolution #1 to re-institute democracy in America. 

The January council also agreed to send a message of solidarity to the striking school employees in Los Angeles, California. 

More Actions Coming Up

Jan 19, 10A: Citizenship Workshop at 334 Centre Street in Oak Cliff

Jan 19,10:30A: Women’s march meets at Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square, Denton, Texas 76201. 

Jan 20, 10A: Gather at Tarrant County Courthouse, 100 E Weatherford in Ft Worth to participate in national Women’s Marches  

Jan 20, 2A: Gather at 1816 Routh Street,Dallas 75201, to participate in National Women’s March 

Jan 21, 8A: Gather at Holmes Street and MLK Blvd in Dallas for Martin Luther King march. It steps off at 10A 

Jan 31: Postmark deadline for applications to be sent to Texas AFL-CIO for college scholarships for union members families

Feb 1:  second statewide Summit, a labor conference developing young workers as unionists, to be held in Austin, February 1st-3rd, YALL Contact Angi  at Angela.m.defelippo86@gmail.com or Travis at cantwelltravis22@hotmail.com