March 2016


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Latest Victory in National Fight for $15: Security Officers Win $15 an Hour, Up to 50% Raise


The Hampton Roads Messenger 3


Smithsonian Museum Commemorates Life and Music of Ray Charles


MINNEAPOLIS — In the


latest victory for working people in the national Fight for $15, security officers have won a tentative agreement that will raise wages to at least $15 for thousands of Minnesota families. Minnesota janitors, who are going on strike, could be next.


The security officers are living


proof that sticking together in a union works. Their agreement will increase pay for 2,000 security officers united in SEIU Local 26 to at least $15 in three years. With some of those officers currently paid just $10 an hour, the raise represents a dramatic 50 percent increase.


“Going from $10 to $15 will be


a huge step for me,” says Minnesota security officer Dean Walters, who helped negotiate the contract. “Our union means we have strength in numbers.”


The national Fight for $15 movement—which unites fast food workers, airport workers, security officers, janitors, laundry workers, home care workers, child care workers, laundry workers, college faculty and others—has won impressive victories across the country, raising wages in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York state (for fast food workers) and for home care workers in Massachusetts and Oregon.


These victories gain increasing


importance as the 2016 election focuses on economic imbalances in our country and millions of voters are making increased wages a top priority. Minnesota’s caucuses are scheduled for “Super Tuesday” on March 1. And as the post-Scalia Supreme Court continues to consider Friedrichs vs. the California Teachers Association—a case sponsored by billionaires who want to strip working people of the ability to stick together in a union—the security officers’ victory shows that no court case will stop working people from working together to win higher wages.


Janitors in Minnesota are looking


to score the next Fight for $15 victory. They are striking against Unfair Labor Practices by their employers—which include contractors ABM, Harvard Maintenance, and Marsden Building Maintenance. More than 4,000 union


janitors in Minnesota are fighting for $15 for both full- and part-time cleaners. They clean, for example, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport and properties owned by corporations including Best Buy, United Health Group, Medtronic, USBank, and Wells Fargo.


More than 130,000 janitors across the country have been negotiating new collective bargaining agreements since early last year. A majority (57 percent) of janitors will be paid a minimum of $15 by the end of their current contracts. A new contract for Minnesota janitors would represent an important step toward racial justice in Minnesota. More than 90 percent of Local 26 janitors are people of color and the raises proposed by janitors would pump an additional $12.5 million into local communities.


In addition to higher wages, the


new security contract includes many provisions that improve family life: 3-5 sick days per year, single-cover- age healthcare for $35 per month, sin- gle-plus-kids healthcare for $200, six paid holidays, 1-3 weeks of vacation, and more rational work schedules.


Such achievements show


why working people’s unions are increasingly popular. A recent poll showed 72 percent of workers paid less than $15 an hour believe unions can make a real difference in whether they get raises. A Gallup poll shows a strong majority—58 percent—of Americans approve of labor unions.


Security officers are part of a


national trend of people forming unions in not-traditionally-union industries. In 2015 alone, 2,100 security officers in Baltimore, Sacramento, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh formed new unions and won their first contracts. In Silicon Valley, security officers have also recently won major job improvements from companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook.


SEIU represents 375,000


property service workers—including security officers, janitors, laundry workers and airport workers—across the country.


Service Employees International Union


Known as “The Genius,” Ray Charles was one of the most innovative and influential musicians of the 20th century, creating such groundbreaking hits as “Georgia On My Mind,” “Unchain My Heart” and “Hit the Road, Jack.” His musical talent and flair for performance made him an icon, but his ability to overcome the odds—blindness, poverty and segregation—makes his story even more compelling. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will showcase the life and inimitable impact of the celebrated singer, pianist and composer with “Ray Charles: ‘The Genius,’” a display open through June 30.


During a career spanning more


than five decades, Charles earned worldwide acclaim and received countless honors, including 12 Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the National Medal of the Arts. His hits crossed and combined genres, developing a unique style that found a wide audience and left a lasting influence on American culture. Artists such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson found inspiration in Charles’ music.


“Ray Charles: ‘The Genius’”


will feature personal items highlighting his 53-year career, including his signature Ray-Ban sunglasses, a keyboard MIDI controller, sheet music for “Georgia on My Mind,” tuxedos worn during performances in the 1990s; braille editions of Reader’s Digest and Playboy, and concert programs. The objects were donated by Charles’ longtime business manager and emcee Joe Adams in a ceremony Sept. 21, 2005, two days before what would have been Charles’ 75th birthday.


Through of incomparable


collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum


American History


explores the infinite richness and complexity of American history. It helps people understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. The museum is continuing to renovate its west exhibition wing, developing galleries on democracy, immigration and migration and culture. For more information, visit www.americanhis- tory.si.edu. The museum is located on Constitution Avenue, between 12th and 14th Streets N.W., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000.


National Museum of American History. You are cordially invited to attend...


City Council meetings... Norfolk - regular meetings are held on the first and fourth Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and the second and third Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.


Chesapeake - regular meetings are held on the second, third and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.


Newport News - regular business meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m.


Suffolk - regular meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Hampton - typically take place on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m.


Virginia Beach - meets on the first four Tuesdays of each month. In July the meetings are scheduled on the first two Tuesdays only. Formal session begins at 6 p.m. Portsmouth - meeting dates are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.


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