MUST READ
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to Studios: “Come to Your Senses” and “Get Back to the Table”
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
July 27, 2023
Liz Shuler is no stranger to strikes. The president of the AFL-CIO — the U.S.’ largest labor federation, which counts unions from SAG-AFTRA to the United Mine Workers of America to the American Federation of Teachers as members — has seen her fair share, but in at least one respect she believes that the current actors’ and writers’ work stoppages are noteworthy. “The writers and the performers are holding the line for all of us,” Shuler told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. “Especially when it comes to the use of technology and artificial intelligence. Which not a lot of workers are fully read into, and know the impacts of that on their work that’s coming, and how we can use our collective bargaining to be a guardrail and a protection for working people.” The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, meanwhile, have made it a top priority in their current negotiations to codify protections against potential incursions on their work by A.I. tools — one of many factors in both guilds’ present stalemate with studios and streamers.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Biden takes on extreme heat as climate change wreaks havoc
The Grio
By Gerren Keith Gaynor
July 27, 2023
Rebecca Reindel, director of occupational safety and health at the labor union AFL-CIO, told theGrio that Thursday’s actions are an “important step forward in the recognition that employers play a critical role in mitigating workers’ heat exposures.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Women Leaders Of WGA, SAG-AFTRA & AFL-CIO Join Picket Line Outside Fox Studios In L.A.
Deadline
By David Robb
July 27, 2023
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and SAG-AFTRA national board members Frances Fisher and Shari Belafonte joined hundreds of striking writers and actors on the picket line today outside the main gate of Fox Studios in Century City. Also on hand were Yvonne Wheeler, the newly elected president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
Sports Unions Join the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in Fight Against Studios: ‘All They Care About Is Power’
The Wrap
By Kayla Cobb
July 26, 2023
As Marty Walsh, the former labor secretary under President Biden and current executive director of the NHL Players Association, took the microphone, he grinned at the CBS Broadcast Center behind him. “Let’s make sure we give them something to talk about in the boardroom today,” Walsh said to a roaring crowd. That was the tone of the WGA’s sports solidarity strike, a distinct event during which members of some of the biggest unions in the sports world came out to show their support to Hollywood’s two ongoing strikes. Bruce Meyer, the deputy executive director at the Major League Baseball Players Association, also had a turn at the mic. Meyer, who has had a great deal of experience with negotiations and who has practiced sports law for over 30 years, focused on the executives on the other side of the table. “All they care about is power. They don’t care about the strength of your arguments. They don’t care what’s fair or what’s right,” Meyer said during his speech to WGA members. “The power you have is what you’re doing right now. The power you have is the ability to withhold your services. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not easy. It’s not fun. But what you’re doing here is what gives you power.”
Workers Walk Out: Third wave of hotel strikes reaches Pasadena, derailing operations
Pasadena Weekly
By Morgan Owen
July 27, 2023
The third wave of hotel strikes hit hotels in Pasadena as cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front desk agents at the Hyatt Place Pasadena and Hilton Pasadena walked out. The workers are part of Unite Here Local 11, which first authorized the strikes in June with the hope that a series of walkouts would inspire better wages, health care benefits and adjusted workloads. The first wave of strikes took place over Fourth of July weekend, impacting mainly hotels in Downtown Los Angeles and the Westside. The second wave of walkouts were July 10 through 11, reaching locations near LAX. This third wave impacts Pasadena and West Hollywood.
The Strike Is One of Workers’ Most Powerful Weapons Against Exploitation
Jacobin
By Caitlyn Clark
July 27, 2023
Hollywood writers and actors are on strike together for the first time in over 60 years, and they could be joined soon by a UAW strike at one of the “Big Three” automakers. It’s a good time to remember: the strike is one of workers’ greatest weapons.
Thousands of San José City Workers to Vote Next Week on Strike Authorization
KQED
By Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman
July 27, 2023
More than 2,500 full-time employees have already signed a petition indicating they plan to vote next week in favor of the walkout, an organizer with Staff Up San Jose, a coalition of four unions involved in negotiations, told KQED. Voting concludes next Friday. John Tucker, of the Municipal Employees’ Federation (MEF-AFSCME) Local 101, the largest union at the table, said that if workers vote to strike, they wouldn’t walk off the job until after the City Council returns from its summer recess, on Aug. 8, to give the city “every possibility to come to an agreement.” The unions adjusted their demands significantly during mediation this month, he said, but the city has yet to make any meaningful change to its existing proposal.
IN THE STATES
Striking Workers Could Get Federal Food Benefits Under New Bill From John Fetterman
The Keyston
By Sean Kitchen
July 27, 2023
Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, also heaped praise on Fetterman’s effort. “Right now, union members exercising their right to strike are excluded from getting the same SNAP nutrition benefits that other workers are eligible for. John Fetterman’s bill changes that,” Kelly added.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
IATSE to Host L.A. Food Drive to Support Entertainment Workers Amid Strikes
The Hollywood Reporter
By Abbey White
July 27, 2023
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees’ West Coast office is hosting a food drive in support of striking workers and other entertainment industry members. IATSE has teamed with the L.A. Food Bank and L.A. County Federation of Labor to host a three-hour food drive aimed at addressing the food insecurity among industry members amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA work stoppages. In May, the Writers Guild went on strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could not reach an agreement with the national union, with the actors union following in their footsteps earlier this month.