Labor had a well-deserved Christmas celebration on December 15. Lou Luckhardt and Jason Tomlinson headed a group of volunteers who set up decorations, food, and a mock gambling casino. Thanks to our many sponsors, labor came out "in the black" financially. Participants reported that they wanted it to go on and on!
Making Predictions?
Most New Years' predictions say only that current trends will continue. So if temperatures are climbing, one might safely predict that temperatures will continue to climb in 2024. Here are some trends from recent news reports to help with your predictions:
- The number of U.S. labor strikes increased to nearly 400 in 2023
- Inflation is decreasing and real wages are rising
- Americans are getting heavier and slightly shorter
- Satisfaction with health care is decreasing
- President Biden and other leaders of the Western World are getting lower approval ratings
- American presidents have been seeing their approval ratings drop since the Eisenhower era
- Young Americans increasingly disapprove of the handling of the war in the Middle East
- The stock market has risen to an all time high
- Homelessness has risen to an all time high
- Texans are now working longer hours than workers in other states
We Make Our Own Future
A great deal of our future prospects depends on getting organized and winning elections in 2024. Your Dallas AFL-CIO's Political Committee has already been meeting for several weeks. We will have screened candidates and chosen our state candidates before the Texas AFL-CIO political conference January 28-29. Our Jason Tomlinson has already sent confidential questionnaires to those candidates. They have until December 31 to fill them out and return them to jtomlinson.dallasaflcio@gmail.com or lluckhardt.dallasaflcio@gmail.com.
To compete for labor's endorsement, candidates will physically face panels of affiliated union members. Our first screening is set for January 6. Contact Jason Tomlinson or Lou Luckhardt for more information.
Please Join our Solidarity Brigade
We update the action calendar on our web page as new events are set. You can combine labor’s Google calendar into yours. For text reminders of immediate actions, text the word “action” to the phone number 235246.
Please Join our Solidarity Brigade
MORE ACTIONS COMING UP
Dec 23, 9A: Rosie Curts of YALL and Gene Lantz of TARA will give "Young and Old" perspectives for 2024 on KNON.org and 89.3FM radio
Dec 31: Deadline for state candidates to return their questionnaires to the Dallas AFL-CIO
Jan 1: Eat Black-eyed peas for good luck. Tamales, too
Jan 2: Retirees and disabled may begin applying for annual vote-by-mail status
Jan 6: Dallas labor begins screening candidates
Jan 10, 12:30P: Dallas Chapter of Texas Alliance for Retired Americans meets at 334 Centre. Contact Judy 214-729-0063
Jan 15: Martin Luther King march and parade in Dallas
Jan 17: Key decision on the Albertson-Kroger merger opposed by unions
Jan 18, 7:30P: Dallas Central Labor Council for all affiliated members at 1408 N Washington
Jan 19: New partial government shutdown crisis probable
Jan 27, noon: Texas Alliance for Retired Americans convention at Doubletree Hotel in Austin
Jan 28-29: Texas AFL-CIO political conference at Doubletree Hotel in Austin
Jan 31: Deadline for Texas AFL-CIO college scholarship applications