![A good contract [provision] with a good union is good business. E.g.: TEMPORARY PROMOTION: If a bargaining unit employee is assigned to a higher graded position, the employee will be paid at the higher grade if: a. The employee meets the basic qualifications of the position; b. The employee is performing at an acceptable level of competence in his/her permanent position; and c. The employee’s assignment is in excess of 30 days. -U.S. Dept of State & NFFE Local 1998 Master Agreement: Article 15, Provision 9](https://nffe1998.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/A-good-contract-with-a-good-union-is-good-business-NFFE-CBA-Article-15-Provision-9-e1724859550395.png)
Category: Labor History
Happy Juneteenth: Freedom Day!
NFFE Local 1998 wishes a “Happy Juneteenth!” to all of our members, and their friends and families, and to all Americans!
Juneteenth became a Federal holiday in 2021 thanks to an Act of Congress signed into law by President Biden.
However, Juneteenth has been celebrated since June 19, 1865. That is the day that U.S. (Union) Army troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which had freed all enslaved people in Confederate states. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect on January 1, 1863, it could not be enforced in Confederate-controlled areas, and enslavers in Texas—far from the Civil War’s front lines—had collaborated for years to keep the Emancipation Proclamation a secret from the people they enslaved. So when 2,000 U.S. Army troops arrived in Galveston and began to enforce the freeing of the approximately 250,000 enslaved people in Texas, this was cause for huge celebration, and the celebration came to be known as “Juneteenth.”
Juneteenth has also been called “Freedom Day,” and “America’s second Independence Day.” It has been an important holiday in the African American community for 159 years, and has recently become more widely known, particularly since it became a Federal holiday.
NFFE Local 1998 celebrates Juneteenth. We celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), which freed millions of Americans enslaved in Confederate States, and the 13th Amendment (1865), which banned slavery nationwide. We celebrate the progress—painfully slow though it has been—towards treating all people in the U.S.A. with dignity and respect for their human rights, and the civil rights heroes–those known and those unknown–who worked so hard to make it happen. And we celebrate those who continue to work hard to further advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility!
A Note About Slavery In Modern Times:
All workers deserve to be treated with respect, to have safe working conditions, to be paid fairly, and to have the choice of where they are willing to work. Slavery is the antithesis—the exact opposite—of everything that union members believe in.
Sadly, slavery did not end in 1865. It continues to this day in forms such as state-sanctioned legal forced prison labor, and illegal sweatshop labor, forced commercial sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are currently 28 million people (adults and children) enslaved/subject to forced labor worldwide, whereas Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index puts the number at 50 million. The ILO estimates that $236 billion U.S. dollars of illegal profits are generated from the work of forced laborers worldwide each year. Some estimates are much higher.
The ILO’s 2024 report, Profits and Poverty: The economics of forced labour, revealed that worldwide “An estimated 6.3 million people were in situations of forced commercial sexual exploitation on any given day in 2021. Gender is a key determining factor: nearly four out of every five (78 per cent) people trapped in these situations are girls or women. Children account for one in four (27 per cent) of the total cases.” In the U.S., “more than half of the victims identified in all new criminal human trafficking cases in 2021 were children, including sex trafficking cases where they accounted for 66 per cent of victims,” according to The 2021 Federal Human Trafficking Report.
All forms of slavery and forced labor are devastating human rights abuses, and sometimes people feel hopeless that their actions could help solve such a major worldwide issue. But there are things that each person can do to help chip away at this enormous global problem.
One thing you can do is to avoid buying products made with child labor or other forced labor, and The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) keeps a list of such products, which you can view on the U.S. Department of Labor website, here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods. Another way is to support legislation to protect workers and to combat forced labor, human trafficking, and forced commercial sexual exploitation.
Being a member of a trade union is another way to do your part to protect the rights of workers (including yourself), both in your workplace, and outside of it. The stronger unions are, the stronger protections are for all workers in a state or country, and worldwide, and union members are much less likely to face pay disparity based on their race or gender.
Once again, NFFE Local 1998 would like to wish everyone a Happy Juneteenth!
Today is a day to feel happiness for the joyous time in U.S. history when hundreds of thousands of Black Americans learned that they were finally being freed from slavery. Perhaps it is also a day to reflect on what we can do to help free children and adults who remain in bondage in modern times.
Happy Juneteenth, everyone!
SOURCES
To learn more about Juneteenth, the outlawing of slavery in the U.S., modern day slavery/forced labor, and how unions work to combat it, visit these sites:
The National Museum of African American History and Culture:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth
June 17, 2021: Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/06/17/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-the-juneteenth-national-independence-day-act/
A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance, 2024:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/06/18/a-proclamation-on-juneteenth-day-of-observance-2024/
The Emancipation Proclamation:
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
The 13th Amendment:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment
Modern Day Slavery/Forced Labor:
https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploitation-of-incarcerated-workers
https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/#the-scale
https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/country-studies/united-states/
https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-trafficking-persons
https://www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/profits-and-poverty-economics-forced-labour
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods
Unions Work to Combat Slavery/Forced Labor:
https://www.goiam.org/news/departments/hq/trade-and-globalization/ilo-online-trade-globalization/international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery/
https://globalmarch.org/never-work-alone-trade-unions-and-civil-society-fighting-against-slavery-and-trafficking/
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-unions-are-crucial-for-building-working-class-economic-power/
https://www.epi.org/publication/unions-and-well-being/
Happy May Day! Happy International Workers’ Day!
Happy May Day! Otherwise known as International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day in some countries.
In the U.S. we now celebrate Labor Day in September, but one of the most famous “May Day” strikes happened here. In May 1886, American workers in Chicago went on strike to gain the 8-hour workday. (At that time, a lot of workers had to work 10-16 hour days in dangerous conditions.)
“8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for what we will” was the slogan of the workers.
Thousands of workers banded together in trade unions to demand the reduction in hours without a cut in pay. Business owners and the police tried to quash the strike, violence broke out, and many workers and police officers were injured and some were even killed.
Eventually, the workers in the labor movement were successful, and we have them to thank for the 8-hour workday, and eventually for getting paid overtime for working more than 40 hours a week. (And many other worker protections.)
So Happy May Day to all of the hard-working NFFE Local 1998 union members, and to workers everywhere!
~NFFE Local 1998
Some articles for anyone who is curious and wants to learn more:
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/30/1095729592/what-is-may-day-history
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-haymarket-affair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day
Celebrating Women’s History Month
During Women’s History Month, we celebrate and honor the invaluable contributions of women like Mother Jones, Dolores Huerta, and Addie L. Wyatt to history and society, recognizing their pivotal role within labor unions. From organizing for fair wages and workplace rights to championing gender equality and representation in leadership, women have been at the forefront of the union movement.
May the 4th Be With You – Happy International Workers’ Day – Haymarket Affair
Hi everyone, this is Emilie, your NFFE 1998 Communicator. Two ideas I have recently been in the back of my mind over the past few months is “it could be worse,” and “it should be so much better.”
I’d like to share a little bit of history – related to it could be so much worse. This past Sunday was May Day – International Workers Day! International Workers Day, was designated in 1889 to support workers and remember the 1886 Haymarket Riot. The day celebrates history of struggle and gains made by workers and the labor movement.
Haymarket Affair aka Haymarket Riot aka Haymarket Massacre
Background: In the 1870’s and 1880’s a large number of Europeans and Chinese immigrated to the US. The majority of these new arrivals were fleeing financial and economic hardship. During these decades industrialization was transforming workplaces into a more mechanized environment. Jobs that required specialized training and special skills, that were paid more, were being replaced my mechanization. That resulted in more lower paid, less skilled jobs.
Additionally, workers were often required to work 10-12 hour shifts, with no overtime, and worked 6 days a week. Some factory shift work even had 16 hour shifts. Nationwide, laborers spent decades trying to lower the number of hours worked per day to 8 hours. The 8 hour movement pushed for 8 hours work, 8 hours rest, 8 hours recreation.
Chicago was a city experiencing massive changes in the workforce due to industrialization. Days were long, wages were decreasing. Chicago laborers were protesting, demanding for the right to unionize, and demanding an 8 hour work day.
On May 3rd, 1886, police officers killed several protesting workers at the McCormick Reaper Plant in Chicago. Labor organizers called for a meeting at Haymarket Square the following day. Then on May 4th, when police moved in to shut down the rally, and someone threw a bomb at the police, killing seven officers. There were no real suspects, and no evidence for who had thrown the bomb, but 8 men were arrested, 4 of whom were sentenced to death. The way the men were arrested and sentenced without evidence caused public backlash, and the men became martyrs. The Haymarket Riot is associated with May Day and the international struggle for workers’ rights.
In conclusion, I’m thankful our labor struggles are non-violent. I value our ability to have civil conversations, hold management accountable, and come to agreements without the use of force. I’m also very aware that if we don’t continue to work to understand our rights, and continue to hold management accountable to our rights, that we could lose them. The contract has been repeatedly breached by management and it is everyone’s responsibility as bargaining unit employees to report these occurrences to our union so we can take actions to prevent future contract violations and work to reverse the harm done against us.