JOINING TOGETHER
University of Utah health care workers have unionized. This is what they want.
The Salt Lake Tribune
By Courtney Tanner
Nov. 14, 2023
Health care workers across the University of Utah’s hospitals and clinics have unionized — a move that comes, representatives say, as employees have been sacrificing their own health to take care of patients in a system that they feel is critically understaffed. Utah Health Workers United (UHWU) Local 7765 will be the first of its kind in the state: the only union directly tied to a specific health care system. Its members are calling for higher and safer staffing ratios per patient, as well as wage increases. “We believe our working conditions are our patients’ healing conditions and will fight for substantial changes,” the union wrote in its announcement Tuesday. Taylor Almond, a member of the union and a psychiatric technician at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, said more than 500 employees have signaled their intent to join Utah Health Workers United. That was enough for the group to form as an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America without requiring a vote or petition.
Illinois State Board of Education workers picket for fair pay
WICS
By Caroleina Hassett
Nov. 14, 2023
Illinois State Board of Education employees picketed outside of the ISBE building Monday night demanding fair pay and no more delays from ISBE. Employees represented by AFSCME Local 2811 said ISBE has struggled to keep staff due to wages that they claim are below the market average. Union workers argue that the current wage proposal won’t even keep up with inflation.
American Airlines workers rally at T.F. Green for new contract as part of national day of action
ABC6
By Samantha Latos and Yanni Tragellis
Nov. 14, 2023
Passenger service workers at American Airlines rallied for better working conditions in airports across the country on Tuesday. Two demonstrations were planned outside Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. Workers picketed at 10 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. by the doors of the first and second floor. The workers are calling for better pay, worker safety, and job security. The Communications Workers of America and American Airlines have been in negotiations for over a year, seeking a new contract for union employees.
Hotel Union Gears Up to Picket Major Hollywood Awards Ceremonies
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Nov. 14, 2023
Unite Here Local 11, the major hospitality union that is currently in a labor dispute with dozens of hotels in the Los Angeles area, is gearing up to picket major entertainment awards shows set to take place at these venues if their settings do not change. Among the events that could see picket lines at ceremonies are The Golden Globe Awards, the American Cinematheque Awards Tribute To Helen Mirren, the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards, the ASC Awards, the International Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards Luncheon, the CAS Awards, the Voice Arts Awards Gala, the 2023 HRTS Foundation Gala and the Unforgettable Gala, the Asian Pacific Islander Awards, which are all set to take place at The Beverly Hilton, according to a list provided to The Hollywood Reporter.
Low pay forces anti-union Maximus call center workers to strike
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Nov. 14, 2023
How do you choose between going to the hospital for needed regular medical treatment for a chronic condition and buying food for yourself and your family? That’s the dilemma Katherine Charles, a bilingual call center worker in Tampa, Fla., for a top federal contractor, Maximus, faces when she needs health care. “It’s a struggle,” Charles said during a Zoom press call with other workers, Communications Workers President Claude Cummings, and Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, a native with a load of family members in Hattiesburg, Miss., site of one of the call centers. As a result of that dilemma and the low pay she gets, Charles was one of hundreds of Maximus workers, all of them organizing with the Communications Workers, who walked off their jobs for a one-day strike on November 9 at eight call centers around the U.S. More would have done so, Charles said, had not Maximus intimidated them.
IN THE STATES
'Do it yourself': Unions switch from Democrat allegiance to running for office
Indy Star
By Kayla Dwyer
Nov. 14, 2023
Unions have long helped decide elections, often in favor of Democrats. But the coordinated effort pairing Jones with union members was not a partisan one: She was part of the first class of an Indiana AFL-CIO program called Path to Power, in which unions recruit, train and hit the streets for their own members running for office ― including "household" members, like Jones ― regardless of political party.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Tower Of Toys Teams With Toys For Tots To Bring Milford Joy
Patch
By Saul Flores
Nov. 14, 2023
For the third year running, Toys For Tots is teaming up with the Milford Firefighters IAFF Local 944 to hold the Tower of Toys and provide children with gifts this holiday season.