ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Summer of climate catastrophes brings risks for workers
The Hill
By Rachel Frazin and Saul Elbein
July 14, 2023
While heat risk isn’t new, “It’s certainly getting worse with climate change and as temperature and other factors really have exacerbated the issue,” said Rebecca Reindel, director of occupational safety and health at the AFL-CIO, the largest federation labor unions.
JOINING TOGETHER
Picketing Begins Today After SAG-AFTRA Board OKs Strike
CBS Los Angeles
BY KCAL-News Staff
July 14, 2023
The strike order took effect at midnight Thursday, and starting Friday morning, SAG-AFTRA strikers will join picket lines with the Writers Guild of America, which is in the 11th week of its own walkout against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The AMPTP represents studios, networks and streaming services. The actors union represents about 160,000 performers.
Actors join writers on strike, shutting down Hollywood film and TV productions
NBC Los Angeles
By City News Service
July 15, 2023
Members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union have joined writers on picket lines in the greater Los Angeles area, marking the first time in 63 years both unions have been on strike at the same time. Many Hollywood observers fear the labor impasse could last for months with the unions and production companies far apart on key issues, which could end up costing more than $3 billion.
United reaches preliminary, 4-year labor deal with pilots, with up to 40% raises
CNBC
By Leslie Josephs
July 15, 2023
United Airlines and its pilots’ union have agreed to a preliminary labor deal that includes pay increases of as much as 40.2% over four years, ending months of tense negotiations and airport pickets. The deal makes United’s aviators the latest from a major airline to reach an agreement for higher wages amid the post-pandemic travel boom. The preliminary deal, which the Air Line Pilots Association announced Saturday, comes months after Delta Air Lines pilots ratified a new contract that included 34% raises over four years, the first of the top four airlines to reach a new agreement. American Airlines and its pilots’ union reached a new labor deal with 40% raises over four years, though it still faces a ratification vote by members.
Deadline
By Greg Evans
July 14, 2023
Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle is urging stage actors to “proactively and aggressively avoid breaking” the SAG-AFTRA strike by inadvertently accepting struck work. In a message to members of Equity, which reps stage actors and stage managers, Shindle writes, “Know this: the other side will try to pit us against each other to keep churning out content. Don’t fall for it.”
Schnucks seafood, meat, deli workers approve contract, avoiding strike
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Annika Merrilees and Hannah Wyman
July 14, 2023
Schnucks seafood, meat and deli workers approved a new contract this week, averting a strike at the St. Louis County-based grocery chain. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 88 had rejected a previous contract offer in June, and voted to authorize a strike if negotiations failed. UFCW Local 88 President Dan Telle said Friday that 87% of members voted to approve the new proposal. "We're ecstatic about it," Telle said. "No one wants a work stoppage." UFCW Local 88 represents about 11% of Schnucks' workforce.
Actors Picket From Coast to Coast as Strike Gets Underway
The New York Times
By Corina Knoll and Matt Stevens
July 14, 2023
Outside Netflix offices in Hollywood, a festive, buoyant mood had taken over the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue. It was a workers’ strike, to be sure. But as smiling protesters eagerly joined in chants and high-fived their picket signs, it felt a little like a summer Friday street party. One with a few famous guests. The actors and writers have been unable to agree to new contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios and streamers. Pay is a central issue, but the negotiations around compensation have been complicated by the emergence of streaming services and the rise of artificial intelligence.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Labor unions support our communities (Opinion)
The Gazette
By Rick Moyle
July 14, 2023
Sure, the list of things being in a union provides on a daily basis to union members is long. Unions also set the standard on everything non-union workers receive for pay, benefits, overtime, workplace safety, retirement and much more. In the midst of all this, the positive impact unions have on their community always seems to be overlooked. Unions run the country’s largest one-day food drive through the Letter Carriers union. Unions donate money to area nonprofits and have members who volunteer all across the land. That volunteerism could be coaching a Little League team or assisting in a building project that will help homeless people. The list of veterans organizations that unions support is long. The Hawkeye Area Labor Council and the Cedar Rapids Iowa City Building and Trades along with affiliated unions have donated a large sum over the years to Honor Flights just to mention one.