MUST READ
Georgia Is Trying to Make It Harder for Workers to Unionize
Jacobin
By Alex N. Press
March 26, 2024
Labor has been stirring recently. That’s unacceptable for bosses, who never rest in their attacks on unions. Case in point: a new bill in Georgia that seeks to ensure the unionization process is as difficult for workers and favorable to bosses as possible. The Georgia legislation passed in the state senate last month 31-23 and in the House on Wednesday 96-78, in votes that fell almost entirely along party lines, with Republicans backing the bill. It’s sure to face legal challenges for violating the NLRA’s protection of workers’ right to voluntary recognition. As American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) president Liz Shuler said of the bill, it “violat[es] long-held precedent established by the NLRA.” Only 4.4 percent of workers in Georgia are unionized, the eighth-lowest union density in the United States. The bill is “a solution in search of a problem,” James Williams of the Georgia AFL-CIO said.
After Warrior Met Coal strike, miners’ union, AFL-CIO urge reforms from stockholders
AL.com
By William Thornton
March 26, 2024
The union that organized the longest strike in Alabama history, along with the AFL-CIO, is urging stockholders of Warrior Met Coal to support a package of proposals it says would eliminate some of the conditions that resulted in the strike. The United Mine Workers of America today announced the slate of proposals for the company’s April 25 shareholders meeting. “In our view, Warrior Met’s poor labor relations have cost the company’s stockholders and coal miners dearly while its management has been insulated from these costs,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “Having an entrenched corporate management is never a good thing for the sustainable financial performance of a company,” Carin Zelenko, Director of Capital Strategies for the AFL-CIO. “Our stockholder proposals seek to better align the interests of Warrior Met’s management with the long-term interests of the company, its investors, and employees.”
POLITICS
Teen Vogue
By Julie Su
March 25, 2024
The fire spread quickly. On that Saturday in March of 1911, black smoke billowed out of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory near Washington Square Park in New York City. The panicked workers inside, many of them young immigrant women and some as young as fourteen, cried out for help and tried to flee, but they found locked exit doors and broken fire escapes. So they climbed out of the windows and onto the ledges of the building, jumping to their deaths to be spared from the engulfing flames. Soon, hundreds of bystanders looked up in horror and began hearing thud after thud of bodies hitting the street below. Among the bystanders was a young woman named Frances Perkins. Today, we know her as the first woman to serve as United States Labor Secretary—the first woman to serve in the Cabinet of any U.S. President – and she is widely regarded as the most consequential leader to ever hold the post. This Women’s History Month, I’m reflecting on Frances Perkins’ legacy and how she turned the unheard voices of those immigrant women into a call to action.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Wisconsin utilities pledge to use union labor for clean energy construction.
Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
By Karl Ebert
March 26, 2024
Union workers will build most utility-scale renewable energy installations in Wisconsin under an agreement between the state's investor-owned utilities and five labor unions. Each of the utilities has signed a pledge to use union labor "to the fullest extent possible," cementing existing relationships and ensuring that contractors use Wisconsin union workers on billions of dollars of future solar, wind and battery storage projects. The agreements include unions representing the building trades, electricians, laborers, carpenters and equipment operators.
ORGANIZING
UNH Graduate Student Workers to Vote in Upcoming Union Elections
The New Hampshire
By Alexander Rapp
March 26, 2024
On March 27 and 28, graduate student workers from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) will participate in union elections in the Memorial Union Building (MUB) Granite State Room from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Graduate employees have organized around some key issues, such as the need for higher wages in the face of rising housing and overall living costs, and broader and better dental and health insurance coverage. The union election will be conducted by the New Hampshire Public Employee Relations Board and will ask graduate student workers to complete a ballot to choose their representative, between the UNH Graduate Employees United – United Auto Workers (GEU – UAW), or no representative.
Medical school residents at Western Michigan University vote to unionize
WDET
By Colin Jackson
March 26, 2024
Residents at a medical school associated with Western Michigan University have voted to unionize.
The WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, or WMed, is a partnership between WMU, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Healthcare. The vote among residents at WMed could allow them to form the Resident and Fellow Alliance. Jamil Khondker is a resident physician in psychiatry and a member of the organizing committee. He said residents can often find themselves in vulnerable situations.
JOINING TOGETHER
Iron Workers Union Statement on Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
Fox 44 News
By Iron Workers Union
March 26, 2024
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers is deeply saddened by the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this devastating event. In these moments of sorrow, our thoughts and prayers are with the community. We commend the first responders and rescue teams who act bravely in the face of danger to save lives. Their courage and dedication in these critical moments reflect the best of us. We stand in solidarity with the city of Baltimore and all involved as they navigate through this incredibly challenging time. In times like these, we must come together, ensuring the safety and security of our infrastructure for all. Our leadership team is in close contact with local and state authorities to offer our assistance and support in the recovery process. When the time comes, we are committed to mobilizing our members to restore this crucial piece of Baltimore's infrastructure. Together, we will rebuild and, in doing so, honor the memory of those we have lost.
IATSE Local 695 Reaches Tentative Deal With Studios on Craft-Specific Issues
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
March 26, 2024
Another IATSE Local says it has reached an agreement with studios and streamers on issues specific to its members. “Today, our Local’s Bargaining Committee sat down with representatives from the AMPTP and reached a tentative agreement in our Local negotiations,” IATSE Local 695 — which represents production sound crew members, video engineers and projectionists — told members in an email on Monday night. “Our presentation focused on issues of adequate staffing, equitable pay, and on-set safety. It was supported with testimony from rank & file members about the types of challenges you face at work every day.”
NLRB
After unionized strippers accused club owner of violating deal, federal labor board intervenes
Los Angeles Times
By Suhauna Hussain
March 26, 2024
After strippers at Star Garden, a topless dive bar in North Hollywood, won the right to unionize last year, the club’s owner agreed to reopen the club, hire back dancers he had fired, and run the club as it had been before the labor dispute. Now, however, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against the club, alleging it failed to fully follow through and violated the terms of a May 2023 settlement it reached with Actors’ Equity Assn., the union representing the group of about a dozen dancers.
UNION BUSTING
Alabama Mercedes-Benz Workers Accuse Company of Union-Busting in NLRB Complaint
Common Dreams
By Julia Conley
March 26, 2024
A month after the United Auto Workers announced that a majority of workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama had signed union cards, employees struck a defiant tone Tuesday as they filed official complaints of union-busting by the company with the National Labor Relations Board. Workers detailed the illegal disciplinary measures management has taken against them for taking leave and objecting to anti-union materials that have been shown in captive-audience meetings since most of the plant's 6,000 workers indicated they want to join the UAW.