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Cincinnati
AFL-CIO
Labor Council
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Working People Help Deliver Historic Win in Georgia! |
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They told us it was impossible. That Georgia was a lost cause. But the history of America’s labor movement is the story of defying the impossible. Working people delivered Georgia—and the presidency—for Joe Biden. We elected Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. Thank you for defying the skeptics, meeting the moment and demonstrating our collective power.
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Thank you Georgia. Thank you Labor! |
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The voices of working people were once again heard loud and clear with the election of two pro-union champions: Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock. After delivering the 2020 election for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, America’s labor movement regrouped and remobilized to keep the momentum going in Georgia—so our elected officials will no longer profit from our pain, but fight for real COVID-19 relief and economic empowerment. It won’t be easy, but we now have a generational opportunity to work with a pro-union president, a pro-worker House of Representatives and a new Senate that will have the courage and conviction to take on issues critical to our lives and livelihoods. And this starts with the PRO Act, so workers who want to form a union can do so freely and fairly; and it includes workplace safety, voting rights, infrastructure investment, pensions, paid family leave and more. Today, we celebrate our democracy, and tomorrow we can once again get back to working and fighting like hell for all of America’s working families.
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We did it. We won.
Led by folks on the ground in Georgia, working people across the country went above and beyond to get the vote out. We elected the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff: two pro-union champions who will become our newest senators and will fight for working people.
Now, we will have a pro-labor majority in the U.S. Senate and a chance at getting the real labor law reform and COVID-19 relief we’ve been fighting for.
- Workers made nearly 750,000 calls.
- Workers (safely) knocked on more than 1.5 million doors
- Workers sent more than 400,000 postcards to union members and nonunion members in Georgia.
Our Labor Coalition for Community Action built bridges between the labor movement and the Black, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, women, Latino and LGBTQ communities in Georgia. The coalition led its own campaign on the ground with phone banks, literature drops and postcards.
We did all that together. And we won.
We still need laws that protect workers’ rights, which have been under attack for so long. We still need real relief during this pandemic, which is months overdue. We’ll have actions for you to take and opportunities to be heard in our continuing fight to improve the lives of working people.
But that’s for tomorrow.
Today, we celebrate the people who worked for this victory—including you.
In Solidarity,
Rich
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Richard Trumka
President, AFL-CIO
P.S. I also recorded a video message highlighting workers in Georgia who delivered this victory for all of us. Watch it here.
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A Statement from Richard Trumka on the Assault on our Nation's Capitol
Jan 6, 2021, 6:36 PM: We are witnessing one of the greatest assaults on our democracy since the Civil War. Today’s attempted coup has been years in the making as Donald Trump consistently spews venom, conspiracies, hate and lies to his supporters. They are carrying out his wishes, and far too many Republican lawmakers have enabled and even encouraged this violent threat to our republic. Emboldened by an Electoral College system that creates an avenue for insurrection instead of simply certifying the candidate with the most votes, this is an effort to violate the constitutional rights of every law-abiding American and the labor movement will not stand for it. Not today. Not ever.
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"One of America’s darkest days..."
A Statement from Ohio AFL-CIO President, Tim Burga
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Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol and on our democracy at the hands of law-breaking thugs will forever be remembered as one of America’s darkest days and those responsible must be held accountable. This tragic event was years in the making, as so many of us in the house of Labor had warned against, by the coddling and enabling of a lying, corrupt, and dangerous President.
Let this serve as a catastrophic lesson as to what can happen when those elected to public office traffic in conspiracy theories, misinformation, and lies, to benefit their own narrow political fortunes or twisted personal agendas, at the expense of what’s best for the country. We must never forget this tragedy and what led to it and now must come together to restore trust and faith in our democratic institutions. We also call on Congress to get to the bottom of what appeared to be an unacceptable lack of building security and how this happened.
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"...The he best and worst of American democracy and values..."
A Statement from Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Peter M. McLinden
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On January 5th and 6th, our nation witnessed the best and worst of American democracy and values. On Tuesday, Georgia voters went to the polls, elected officials and Board of Election workers did their jobs with fairness and full transparency, all votes were counted; American democracy worked! With the help of Union leaders and members from across the country, Georgia voters were brave and courageous enough to break the Labor unfriendly, anti-working families, partisan political blockage which has hurt working people and harmed our country’s battle with and recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic and consequential economic depression. Looking forward into 2021, we joyously celebrate the upcoming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ new administration, to work for and represent all Americans, in one common and united front.
On Wednesday, we watched the national disgrace and indignities as an armed, pro-Trump militia/mob attacked our Capital building, threatened the lives of our elected leaders and Capital Police, carried and waved Confederate flags in Capital building hallways, and ransacking the Ohio Senate floor and government office. As angry and upset as I and many others are at these seditious, traitorous and un-American terrorists, we must focus our attention on those elected officials who encouraged, incited and literally called-to-arms this terrorist militia/mob: President Donald Trump and his Senate/Congressional Republican leaders/followers.
We must hold these un-American, un-patriotic leaders fully accountable and responsible for their words, actions and misdeeds. Laws must be upheld and Justice should prevail: investigations should be made, charges issued and criminal trial proceedings held in our courts of law.
Sadly, the world watched the worst of American hypocrisy on Wednesday.
In 2020, we saw, countless, unarmed and innocent African-Americans being killed by police officers; peaceful protesters and Black Lives Matter advocates threatened, gassed and forcefully attacked by riot-geared police and angry, racist and armed white mobs, while exercising their First Amendment rights. Now, we watched hundreds of armed insurgents attack Capital police (over fifty injured, some with life threatening injuries); occupy, steal and destroy government property in our Capital building; and causing such chaos/unrest to lead to the deaths of at least four individuals. However, at this time, only 40-45 of these terrorists have been arrested for attacking/invading the Capital building. The racial and justice hypocrisy between these two police/law enforcement actions is both obvious and clear. So, we must ask ourselves: If the mostly white, armed and pro-Trump militia/mob who attack the Capital building and police had been African-Americans, how would the outcome have differed and why is that so?
Such questions hard to ask, even harder to contemplate and answer in the United States of America in 2021.
In the late hours of Wednesday and early hours of Thursday, American democracy and constitutional principles worked once again; certified election results from the fifty states were counted and affirmed, electing President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris. On Thursday morning, the sun rose once again in the United States of America, and everyday people went to work, kids went to school (some online) and our lives continue on.
So, sisters and brothers, in the year 2021, let us now come together and be united, celebrating our strengths as a nation, recognizing our weakness and failures, reconciling our committed injustices and past grievances, and healing as one country and people, on a greater path of hope and justice. Thank you, and May God’s Blessing be with us all!
In Solidarity, U and I . . .
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Charles Dickens, Thomas Jefferson and a little Bob Dylan Thrown in Will Get You ‘Truth’
A Reflection on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 from Brian Griffin
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities
On Wednesday of this week, the absolute best and worst of our Nation were on full display simultaneously. While an armed rabble of seditionists breached and occupied our Nation’s capital in what is arguably the greatest threat to our democracy this nation has ever known, in Georgia – yes, I said Georgia – the very spark of that same democracy was being rekindled and casting light on what we must all now pray is a new era of American greatness. I would truly never have believed either of these stories if I hadn’t been witness to them as played out right in front of me on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.
The first of our two stories is how, after four years of his lies, deceit, greed, and indifference, an immoral, would-be tyrant lead a small, but dangerous band of misinformed followers to our nation’s capital building – “The Peoples’ House” – to try to take and keep what he had lost in a safe, fair and solemn election. There, they breached the doors of that sacred shrine to freedom, occupied, vandalized, and desecrated its hallowed rooms and halls. Even after the people had spoken and said no…not you…and not this anymore. Nature will write the remainder of that story, but It was, hopefully, the final act of a maniacal autocrat and his last trampling of the long-respected principles, practices, traditions, and laws that set our nation apart.
The second of our two stories is one of triumph. Of longshots paying off. Of the mighty being brought down by the lowly. A story where two champions of democracy, against all odds, are triumphant in their pursuit of victory in their races for the US Senate, becoming two crucial stones in the great wall defending our republic. It is the story of how sanity, stability, reason, and safety are restored to a nation savagely abused and neglected for four long years, but ultimately unbowed.
Yes, Wednesday, January 6, 2021 may well be the second date on the awful, but thankfully very short list of days that will “live in infamy,” but I cannot help but wonder if in the longer arc of history, we won’t look back and recognize it as a day that may well have ended in the tragic death of the greatest experiment in representative democracy the world has ever known but was instead given a rebirth. I wonder if the tragedy of that day will be the near-death experience that was needed to shock this nation into recognizing the weakened and ignoble state in which we now find ourselves because of our own corrosive, petty, spoiled, child-like actions.
It has been said that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants.” And like so many things of late, this quote is most often used badly out of context and far from its initial meaning. It comes from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Stephens Smith on Nov. 13, 1787 regarding Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts. While Jefferson was sympathetic to that cause, he did go on in his letter to note that such seditious acts were all too often fomented by treasonable actors to enrage ill-informed factions, and that the remedy to these uprisings, was to “set them right as to facts...” In short, truth!
As did Jefferson, I too believe that democracy must be vigilantly protected, and truth be the sword it wields against the mischaracterization and falsehoods of those who would have us ultimately lose our freedoms by telling us that they alone are the only means by which they can be protected and defended. History is replete with tyrants who subdued and subjugated a people in the name of protecting and defending them. Our only hope against such evil is the cold, glaring light of truth, so that we may never fall prey to the darkness and fallacy of specious promises ever again… Vagaries and platitudes such as those we have heard, over and over, these past four years.
Okay, I’ve given you Dickens and Jefferson, but I also promised some Dylan, so I will finish with this: “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call. Don't stand in the doorway. Don't block up the hall. For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled. The battle outside ragin' will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. For the times they are a-changin'. Wow! Could he have been more prophetic? Less than a month after Dylan recorded that song, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. The next night, Dylan opened a concert with "The Times They Are a-Changin'." He later told biographer Anthony Scaduto, "I thought, 'Wow, how can I open with that song? I'll get rocks thrown at me.' But I had to sing it, my whole concert takes off from there." What Dylan didn’t yet fully understand is how truth is democracy’s only real defense.
Democracy requires “the truth,” however good or bad it may be. And it must be repeated with more volume and greater frequency than the corrosive falsehoods of the would-be tyrants and depots who are always circling democracy, looking for a chink in its armor. Because the greatest truth is that democracy is fragile, and beautiful, like a glimmering piece of crystal or a small, delicate bird. If we learn nothing else from these past four years, we must come to understand that democracy is tenuous at best, and always, always under threat. Then, when the vigilance of true patriots becomes the very sunlight, air, and water that feeds that same “tree of liberty, precious democracy may be kept from crashing down around us. Because, as Bob Dylan told us, "The Times They Are a-Changin'."
(Brian Griffin is Director, Communication and Technology for Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council and Program Manager for the Greater Cincinnati Occupational Health Center (GCOHC))
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Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO Statement on the Insurrection at the Capitol |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO denounces today’s attempted coup in Washington D.C and at the U.S. Capitol building. This assault on our democracy and on the safety of U.S. citizens was fueled by the venomous rhetoric of President Donald Trump and his continued refusal to acknowledge his loss in November’s election, and enabled by many Republican lawmakers who have followed the President’s every whim. As service members, we fought for the safety of our democracy and the sanctity of our constitution, and we will not stand to see violent extremists and political enablers attack both.
The Union Veterans Council calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice under the full force of U.S. law.
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The Union Veterans Council brings working-class veterans together to speak out on the issues that impact us most, especially the need for good jobs and a strong, fully funded and staffed VA. Additionally, we hold private enterprise and elected officials accountable for their words and actions. We believe wholeheartedly that the ability for someone to self-identify as “pro-veteran” isn’t determined by what lapel pin they don or what catchphrase they employ; veterans face real issues that require real actions—constructive actions that lead to positive solutions.
At the Union Veterans Council, we fight every day for those who have fought for us.
(William Attig is Union Veteran Council Executive Director)
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A Very, Very Happy New Year!
Don't Miss A Moment!
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Sisters, Brothers, Community Partners and Friends,
As you are also well aware, the circumstances of the first six months of this year are still quite opaque. Best case scenario, most of the information from the absolute best resources available are saying that it will likely be sometime in the third quarter of this year that we may (hopefully) begin to see something that resembles normalcy.
So, we have had to make some difficult decisions and move some events further back into the year in order to make our planning and scheduling as manageable as possible. What you have here is what we are publishing as the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council 2021 schedule of meetings and events,
Thank you for all you do and for all we do together for this community we are honored and proud to serve. We look forward to seeing you online until the time when we can all gather safely in person again.
In unity and solidarity forever!
The CLC Staff
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Reinventing Metro Community Meetings |
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Beginning next week, we are having a series of community meetings to discuss the Reinventing Metro plan. I am reaching out to ask if you will help promote and spread the word about the upcoming community meetings. Below you will find a graphic that can be shared via social media, a one pager with additional information and links to register.
We are encouraging both bus rider and non bus riders to join meeting and learn about the Reinventing Metro plan and the benefits to the community over the next 5 years. We are also as you know looking for final feedback to help fine-tune our plans before the June roll-out!
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Queen City Certified: New Year, New Speaker Series
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An associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, Dr. Johnson studies and teaches at the intersection of leadership and diversity, focusing on (1) how unconscious bias affects the evaluation of leaders and (2) strategies that leaders can use to mitigate bias. She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, has presented around the world (including at the White House for National Equal Pay Day in 2016), and her work has been featured in Forbes, The Economist, Newsweek, Time, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, HuffPost, Washington Post, CNN, ABC, NBC, CNBC.
THIS EVENT WILL PREMIER LIVE ON FEBRUARY 3, 2021 AT 11:00 AM EST
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Sen. Brown's Latest Work for Working People |
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Sherrod blasts Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans for killing $2,000 stimulus checks for every struggling American - despite overwhelming support from President Trump, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the American public.
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JANUARY 07, 2021 — Brown Statement on Georgia Runoff and the Incoming Democratic Majority — WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) incoming Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs today released a statement following the news that Senate Democrats have clinched the majority by winning two historic Senate races in Georgia: “I welcome my future colleagues Senator-elect Raphael Warnock and... READ MORE
JANUARY 07, 2021 — Brown Statement on Domestic Terrorism at U.S. Capitol Yesterday — WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released a statement following the violence at the Capitol yesterday: “Yesterday was a dark day for our country. Domestic terrorists attacked our seat of government, at the behest of the President of the United States. This was his last, desperate attempt to overturn the will of the American... READ MORE
JANUARY 05, 2021 ─ Brown, Warren Applaud Google Workers’ Decision to Unionize in Joint Statement ─ WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in a joint statement, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) applauded news that more than 225 workers at Google have formed a union. The news comes after the senators had been pushing Google to do right by its workers and step-up worker protections. “After years of activism, Google workers took an... READ MORE
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Keep up with Sherrod:
Sherrod is the Ranking Member on the Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee. Keep up with his work on the Committee here: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/senatebanking WEBSITE: https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/minority-press-releases
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A Few Important Items from our Friends at RetireMEDiQ
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For Members Approaching Age 65
Are You Approaching Retirement? Here’s What You need to Know About Medicare!
If you are approaching age 65 (or retirement past age 65) , you likely have questions about how your health coverage will change once you retire. We have partnered with RetireMEDiQ who offers health insurance resources to simplify your transition to Medicare.
To learn more about your eligibility, enrollment, and options with Medicare, we invite you to attend an educational webinar: Navigating Medicare and Your Retirement Healthcare Costs.
Please click the link to join us at 6:00 PM on January 21st for this informative webinar.
During this webinar, we will introduce the basics of Medicare and answer your questions directly. That way, you can start planning ahead as you look forward to retirement. Register today!
For Retirees
Subject: Medicare’s Open Enrollment is Here!
As a Medicare beneficiary, you understand the value of getting simple answers to your health insurance questions. To lessen the confusion around Medicare, we have partnered with RetireMEDiQ to communicate the latest updates for Medicare in 2021.
Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period for individuals on Medicare Advantage Plans runs from January 1 through March 30, 2021. If you did not review your Medicare plan last fall, there is still time to see if there are plans with enhanced benefits or lower prescription drug prices.
If you’d like a refresh on your health care options or an update on the latest in Medicare, we invite you to attend our upcoming webinar: Is Your Medicare Plan Right for You?
This webinar will provide a resource for reviewing your Medicare plan, highlight changes for 2021, and revisiting your Medicare benefit options.
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Fresh FMCS Institute courses for the New Year─ Register today!
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Gathering Input & Fostering Engagement in the Virtual World
The challenges that organizations and teams face have not gone away despite the recent transition to virtual meetings. Now, more than ever, bringing people together to adapt to change, resolve conflicts, solve problems, and make plans that include everyone's input is paramount. Using familiar workplace examples, this workshop will get you ready to work together more effectively no matter how far apart you are!
In this interactive workshop, we will be using a variety of processes and technologies to demonstrate best practices for gathering input, prioritizing, and problem-solving. We will discuss how these tools can be applied, whether online or face-to-face. This course is offered as a two-part, live webinar on February 17 and 19, 1-2:30 pm Eastern Time. Register Now.
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Additional Courses Available Now |
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Mediation Skills
1/5 - 1/7 &
1/12 - 1/14 2021
David Moora, Kevin Hawkins, & Gemma LoPresti
$1,300 ($1,200 for early bird)
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Funny You Should Ask:
The Art and Science of Asking Questions
1/13, 1/20 & 1/27/2021
Heather Brown and Valerie Harragin
$225
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Gathering Input & Fostering Engagement in the Virtual World
(2 session series)
2/17 & 2/19/2021
Shane Davis, Rachel Lev, & Moira Caruso
$150
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To learn about custom-tailored courses for your organization taught by seasoned labor-relations practitioners, or to inquire about discounted group rates, contact Valerie Harragin at fmcs_institute@fmcs.gov
The FMCS Institute for Conflict Management delivers practical, experience-based, conflict resolution training for individuals and groups. Institute training is specifically designed to meet the real-world challenges of labor-management relations and organizational change. Programs provide participants the opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced practitioners. The Institute staff is comprised of FMCS Mediators, FMCS Office of Strategy and Development staff, and private-sector arbitrators. Sessions are held at locations nationwide.
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FMCS Institute is a SHRM Recertification Provider.
For additional details, contact FCMS at 202-606-FMCS (3627) or www.fmcs.gov
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COVID-19 is Unpredictable
Four Ohio nurses share their pleas for help against COVID-19.
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COVID-19 Update: Vaccination Phases
Nursing Home Vaccinations, Virus Variant, Vaccine Redistribution
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(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff today provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
VACCINATION PHASES
Governor DeWine today recapped Phases 1A and 1B of Ohio's vaccine distribution plan. Because the availability of the vaccine remains limited in Ohio and across the country, Ohio is taking a phased approach that prioritizes the most vulnerable citizens, those in the healthcare field, and school staff members.
Phase 1A, which is currently underway, includes approximately 1 million Ohioans.
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Protect yourself and others from COVID-19 by taking these precautions.
- Stay home
- Practice Social Distancing
- Get adequate sleep and eat well-balanced meals
- Wash hands often with water and soap (20 seconds or longer)
- Dry hands with a clean towel or air dry your hands
- Cover your mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth with unwashed hands or after touching surfaces
- Clean and disinfect "High-Touch" surfaces often
- Call before visiting your doctor
- Practice good hygiene habits
CLEAN ALL "HIGH-TOUCH" SURFACES EVERY DAY
High touch surfaces include counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables. Also, clean any surfaces that may have blood, stool, or body fluids on them. Use a household cleaning spray or wipe according to the label instructions. Labels contain instructions for safe and effective use of the cleaning product including precautions you should take when applying the product, such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.
If you have questions regarding Coronavirus/COVID-19
please call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634)
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NIEHS Webinar "Addressing the Role of the Vaccine in Workplace COVID-19 Prevention |
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Addressing the Role of the Vaccine in Workplace COVID-19 Prevention: How to Weed through Misinformation, Mistrust, and Improve Worker Protection
It is difficult to weed through all the noise online, in the news, on social media, and in
our communities about the impact of the vaccine, especially in the workplace. It is also
intimidating to interpret data that is presented and available from federal, state, and local
organizations including departments of health, academic institutions, and advocacy groups
about what the vaccine will mean.
This webinar will address why the vaccine will not be an immediate answer for preventing
exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace and what that means for staying true to the
industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls. It will help attendees to sort through information,
fears, and mistrust and use it to build safer environments for workers.
English/Spanish interpretation will be available during this webinar.
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COVID - 19 By The Numbers |
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Global Confirmed: 74,378,599
Global Deaths: 1,652,235
U.S. Confirmed: 16,985,170
U.S. Deaths: 307,552
(As of 3:00 PM, Thursday, January 7, 2021)
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Ohio COVID-19 Dashboard
Current Trends
Below are the current reporting trends for key indicators calculated from data reported to the Ohio Department of Health. The graphics and information were taken from the Ohio Department of Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) website Thursday, December 10, 3:30 PM.
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Hamilton County
Cases
55,652
Hospitalizations
2,191
Deaths
423
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Clermont County
Cases
13,398
Hospitalizations
567
Deaths
92
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Brown County
Cases
2,642
Hospitalizations
49
Deaths
15
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Butler County
Cases
27,360
Hospitalizations
863
Deaths
211
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Warren County
Cases
17,135
Hospitalizations
522
Deaths
124
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More Important Headlines: |
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Cincinnati AFL-CIO
Labor Council
Bill Froehle, President
Pete McLinden,
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Brian D. Griffin,
Director, Communication & Technology
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