MUST READ
AFL-CIO Report Exposes Deepening Racial Disparities In Workplace Safety
Seattle Medium
By Stacy M. Brown
April 30, 2024
“These alarming disparities in workplace fatalities among workers of color are unacceptable, symptomatic of deeply ingrained racial inequity and the need to pay increased attention to the dangerous industries that treat workers as disposable,” remarked AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a statement.
POLITICS
Citing infrastructure spending and jobs, Philly construction union endorses Biden
WHYY
By Carmen Russell-Sluchansky
May 1, 2024
Union leaders from the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council announced their endorsement of Joe Biden for president at an event at their headquarters. The endorsement comes on the heels of a major national union endorsement, the North America’s Building Trades Unions. Leaders and members pointed to the Investing in America plan as the catalyst for the endorsement. “A lot of my members have been out working on the infrastructure bill,” said Francis McLaughlin Business Manager for International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 21 (IUPAT). District 21 represents over 6,000 members in Northeastern and central Pennsylvania, as well as in New Jersey and Delaware, including drywall finishers and painters. “I can’t tell you how good it is to have leaders that stick to what they say and they take care of our members, not corporations.”
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
EPA to ban most uses of methylene chloride
Safety + Health Magazine
By Staff
May 1, 2024
The Environmental Protection Agency will ban most industrial and commercial uses of the carcinogenic chemical methylene chloride, under a final rule announced April 30. A solvent widely used in bathtub refinishing, as well as in paint strippers, cleaners, adhesives and sealants, methylene chloride has contributed to the deaths of 88 workers since 1980, EPA says. Most of the cases stemmed from exposure during home renovation contracting. In some instances, the workers were fully equipped with personal protective equipment.
INTERNATIONAL
Urge DHS to protect, empower immigrant workers
The Stand
By AFL-CIO
May 1, 2024
Around the world, workers’ lives, livelihoods and rights are under attack. Climate disasters and conflicts are displacing people from their homes, and are increasing risks for working people and all our families. In the face of those challenges, we stand united in our fight for justice for all workers at home and abroad. Immigrants and refugees have always helped to build, feed and care for our nation, and we will not allow them to be treated as a second class of exploitable workers. The AFL-CIO is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take action today to help tear down barriers to worker organizing and empowerment, so that all working people in our country can live and work safely and with dignity.
Boston Globe
By Esha Walia
May 1, 2024
It’s the first day of May, which marks International Workers’ Day. And for many employees, that means it’s a day to advocate for their labor rights. Several workers groups plan to rally in Boston on Wednesday, ranging from Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses, to hotel workers, to teachers, to Uber and Lyft drivers. The groups are calling for changes, including better wages and better workplace conditions. The rallies are meant to bring attention to issues faced by these workers, with some expected to draw hundreds of people.
May Day rallies, marches set to be held across Los Angeles area Wednesday
ABC 7
By City News Service
May 1, 2024
Rallies and marches are planned in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights Wednesday to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day, continuing a tradition dating back to the 19th century. One of Wednesday's most-attended events will likely be a rally beginning at 2 p.m. at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Gower Street in Hollywood, with a march to follow at 3 p.m., ending with a second rally at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. The theme of the march is "Solidarity is Power: The People United." The Los Angeles May Day Coalition says the demonstration will bring together support for better wages, housing for all, a path to citizenship, the right to strike, and calls for a ceasefire in war-torn areas and an end to all wars.
How Housekeeper Concerns Drive Hotel May Day Rallies
Skift
By Elizabeth Casolo
May 1, 2024
Some unionized hotel workers will participate in May Day rallies across the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, pushing for more employee fairness and wage increases, especially as the hotel industry bounces back from the pandemic. According to Unite Here — a labor union representing about 300,000 workers, including hospitality staff — about 230 union contracts will go up for renegotiation this year, covering around 40,000 hotel workers. But one role on the hotel staff is key to what’s driving these rallies: the housekeepers.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
US union members see record pay raises, outpacing nonunion workers
Press Telegram
By Bloomberg News
May 1, 2024
Unionized workers in the U.S. saw record raises, while nonunion workers’ pay barely beat inflation over the past 12 months, the latest government data show. Wages of private sector union workers rose 6.3% in the year ended in March, the largest increase in data back to 2001, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics employment cost figures released Tuesday. Meanwhile, nonunion workers in the private sector saw a 4.1% bump in their salaries over the past 12 months, not much higher than inflation. Union leaders have led strikes against firms to push for more cost-of-living increases. Last week, a last-minute wage agreement was reached with Daimler Truck Holding AG in three southern U.S. states to avert a strike. The accord includes pay increases of more than 25% over the next four years.
Trader Joe's must pay union's legal fees for 'weak' trademark lawsuit
Reuters
By Blake Brittain
May 1, 2024
rader Joe's must pay more than $100,000 in attorneys' fees for bringing an "exceptionally weak" trademark lawsuit against its employee union, a California federal judge has determined.
U.S. District Judge Hernan Vera said on Tuesday, opens new tab that Trader Joe's case was meritless and that "the obvious motivation behind the suit" was to influence the grocery store chain's fight with Trader Joe's United over its drive to unionize Trader Joe's employees.
ORGANIZING
Workers at Portillo's Food Production Warehouse Vote To Unionize With the Iron Workers Union
PR Newswire
By Iron Workers Union
May 1, 2024
Workers at Portillo's Food Service in Aurora voted this week to be represented by Iron Workers Local 853. This comes after six months of workers coming together to speak out against disrespect on the job. During this time, Portillo's management campaigned against the Union by having meetings with employees to try to convince them not to unionize. Despite all odds, workers were able to come out victorious.
JOINING TOGETHER
University of Alaska announces initial agreement with graduate workers on contract through 2026
Alaska Public Media
By Andrew Kitchenman
May 1, 2024
The University of Alaska and the Alaska Graduate Workers Association have reached an agreement on a labor contract that would last from July through the end of 2026, the university announced on Tuesday. The university described the pact as a “tentative initial agreement” that must go through more steps. The agreement must be approved by the university board of regents and the state Department of Administration, as well as be ratified by the union. The university plans to submit the request for the Legislature to fund it before the end of the legislative session, scheduled to happen by May 15.
Hollywood Pantages Ushers Ratify First Contract
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
May 1, 2024
A little over a month after reaching a tentative agreement with management, unionized ushers at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre have ratified their first labor contract. Thirty-eight union members voted “yes” on the proposed pact while 13 voted “no” in a vote that took place on Monday, the ushers’ union IATSE B-192 shared with The Hollywood Reporter. The three-year agreement, which covers 70-odd workers, is retroactive to April 1 and will expire on March 28, 2027.
‘One Day Longer, One Day Stronger’
The Stand
By Staff
May 1, 2024
More than 100 striking IBEW 46 Limited Energy (LE) Electricians and their supporters gathered Tuesday at Gas Works Park for a Solidarity Rally to send a message to the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) that they will stay out “One Day Longer, One Day Stronger” until they get a contract that improves their quality of life. Contract negotiations are scheduled to resume today.
Rhode Island hotel workers to rally for new contract
ABC6
By Christopher Boardman
May 1, 2024
Rhode Island’s unionized hotel workers will rally Wednesday to demand higher industry standards and wages, workplace safety and benefits according to UNITE HERE Local 26. The rally is set to take place at Omni Providence Hotel in Providence at 5 p.m. As part of the rally, workers will share stories about service and amenity cuts affecting their lives and those of their families as cost of living continues to rise.
NLRB
Amazon CEO’s comments violated labor law, NLRB judge rules
The Seattle Times
By Josh Eidelson
May 2, 2024
Amazon.com Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy made comments to the media in 2022 that violated federal labor law, aaf U.S. National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday. Remarks that Jassy made to reporters about the downsides of unionization told “employees that, if they selected a union, they would become less empowered and would find it harder to get things done quickly,” NLRB administrative law judge Brian Gee wrote. Gee cited various comments Jassy made, including telling CNBC that making workplace improvements is “much slower” with a union and saying at a New York Times conference that employees without a union are “better off” because “it’s not bureaucratic.”
STATE LEGISLATION
New legislation will allow Maryland library workers to form unions
CBS News
By Jessica Albert
May 1, 2024
Monumental legislation is now in place for library workers across Maryland. "It gives us a voice," Harford County Library Worker Morgan Michael said. Governor Wes Moore signed "The Library Workers Empowerment Act" into law last week. The bill gives all library workers across the state the power to form unions and collectively bargain with their employees. "Since library workers are not county employees, they're not state employees, it's kind of like that convoluted gray area so that's why we had to get legislation," Harford County Library Worker Megan Baker said. A group of Harford County library workers are the brains behind the bill. They've been working with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union to get it passed.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Local electrician honored as IBEW Journeyman of the Year
Minot Daily News
By Staff
May 1, 2024
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has announced Stephen Henderson as its 2024 IBEW Journeyman of the Year. The award was formally presented at the IBEW Construction and Maintenance Conference on Saturday, April 20, by Kenneth Cooper, IBEW International president, in Washington, D.C. Henderson, a master electrician with 18 years of experience, has distinguished himself in the field not only through his professional conduct but also through his remarkable workmanship, according to IBEW. His nomination came following high praise from Malek Asfeer, who witnessed Henderson’s exceptional contributions during the construction of a new hospital in Minot.
Father-daughter ironworker duo champion the rise of vocational learning
Fox6 Milwaukee
By Taylor Penley
May 1, 2024
Vocational enrollment is up among younger Americans as the toolbelt generation takes shape, and one nurse-turned-union ironworker thinks it's a good opportunity for students to secure their futures. "I think going into a trade school is a great opportunity because, with a lot of trade schools and especially apprenticeship programs for the union, by the time you're done, and you turn out as a journeyman, you don't have any debt that you have to worry about," Tiffany Younk, a Michigan-based ironworker, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.