MLK
King's dream: rooted in labor’s rising (Opinion)
Raw Story
By Bob Hennelly
Jan. 15, 2024
This Martin Luther King Day comes just weeks after a year that’s been dubbed "the year of the strike" because in 2023 there were well over 300 such work stoppages involving 450,000 union workers willing to take the risk of walking out on their employer — a 900 percent increase from just a few years earlier. Automakers, actors, writers, nurses and a long list of other occupations were fed up enough that they walked off their job by the tens of thousands. Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board reported in 2022 receiving over 2,500 applications for workplace union representation, a 53 percent increase over the previous year.
Annual IBEW breakfast honors MLK and promotes strength of organized Labor
The Atlanta Voice
By Itoro N. Umontuen
Jan. 15, 2024
Friday morning, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local Union 613, hosted their annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast at their Pulliam St. headquarters. Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock were in attendance. They were joined by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman. Additionally, Ambassador Andrew Young and Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, were in attendance.
At MLK conference, unionists strategize on organizing the South
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 16, 2024
Unionists at the AFL-CIO’s annual Martin Luther King conference, held January 12-14 in Montgomery, Ala., tackled what one panelist called a decades-long problem for the labor movement: Organizing the South. And that means both for more union victories, and members, and politically, too. “Dr. King said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Together, we are building a multiracial labor movement that fights for ALL working people to dismantle structural racism, protects our democracy, and defends our right to organize!’” Shuler said.
SUPREME COURT
US Supreme Court Rejects Alaska's Bid to Let State Workers Avoid Union Dues
U.S. News & World Report
By Daniel Wiessner
Jan. 16, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away Alaska's bid to revive a Republican-backed policy to make it easier for state workers to opt out of paying union dues in the latest case aimed at limiting the influence of unions representing public-sector employees. The justices declined to hear the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling that found that a union's collecting of dues from public employees who it represents without receiving their explicit written consent did not violate their free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
ORGANIZING
Denver Art Museum Staff Move to Unionize
ArtForum
By News Desk
Jan. 16, 2024
Workers at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) on January 11 publicly announced their intention to unionize under the auspices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Cultural Workers United Council 18. According to a press release issued by the organizing staff, a supermajority of roughly 250 eligible employees have agreed to unionize as Denver Art Museum Workers United (DAMWU) in an effort to gain better wages, which take into account worker experience and tenure as well as inflation. The workers pointed to the rapidly rising cost of living in the metropolitan area as a key driver behind their unionization effort. Also at issue are improved transparency on the part of management and better safety procedures. No specific details have yet been revealed regarding any of the above demands.
Tentative Agreement with UO halts GTFF strike
Daily Emerald
By Tarek Anthony
Jan. 15, 2024
On Monday, Jan. 15, GTFF announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with the University of Oregon on a new 3-year contract, avoiding a large-scale graduate employee strike that was slated to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 17. According to GTFF, the deal will bring a substantial pay raise to graduate employees, raising the minimum wage of half-time GE’s to $2,550 a month in the first year. Those raises are set to be retroactive to the beginning of fall term back in September 2023.
Nurses at University of Chicago Medicine demand staffing, safety improvements
Yahoo! News
By Staff
Jan. 15, 2024
Nurses at University of Chicago Medicine held an informational picket Monday, calling for their demands to be met. They are calling for action on staffing, safety and the settlement of some additional contract disputes. The nurses union says it has been at the bargaining table for three months with no progress.
Houston-area Kroger workers considering strike as union negotiates for new contracts
Houston Public Media
By Adam Zuvanich
Jan. 16, 2024
Now, as United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 455 tries to negotiate new contracts for its 13,000-plus members who staff more than 100 Kroger stores in the region, union president Brandon Hopkins said it hopes to undo some of the issues its members have with the current deal. And because little progress has been made on that front, he said Tuesday, Houston-area Kroger workers are again considering the possibility of going on strike. The union has called a strike vote meeting for Thursday, when it will ask its members to authorize a potential strike if a new agreement with Kroger cannot be reached by Feb. 24, which is the expiration date of the existing contracts. Union members previously voted in favor of a strike during negotiations for the current contracts, but one did not end up materializing.
IN THE STATES
Washington state sues to block merger of Kroger and Albertsons
CBS News
By Kate Gibson
Jan. 16, 2024
"The UFCW International opposes any merger that would negatively impact our members. It is clear that more information on this merger is critical to provide more clarity on this merger's short and long-term impacts," UFCW International Secretary-Treasure Milton Jones said Tuesday in a statement.
New Jersey gives unions green light to file lawsuits against employers
The Gazette
By Christian Wade
Jan. 15, 2024
New Jersey has given labor unions the legal authority to file litigation against companies over alleged labor violations despite claims from business groups that it will result in a slew of lawsuits. The legislation, recently signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, will allow unions to represent workers or a third party in wage claim lawsuits against contractors and subcontractors for any debt owed for construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration and maintenance projects.