AFL-CIO Press Clips: June 3, 2022
MUST READ
Microsoft tries collaborating with unions to avoid ‘public disputes’
The Washington Post
By Caroline O'Donovan
June 2, 2022
“We know labor and management can be true partners in a company’s success, and it’s important for companies to respect workers’ rights.” AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement. “Microsoft’s collaborative approach to working with its employees who seek to organize is a best practice that we look forward to seeing implemented at Microsoft and other companies.”
It’s official: Steelworkers union says yes to Arconic deal
WWNYTV
By 7 News Staff
June 2, 2022
Union workers at the Arconic plant in Massena have a new contract. The United Steelworkers Union announced that the union membership has approved a four year deal with the company. The newly ratified agreement covers workers in Massena, as well as those at Arconic facilities in Davenport, Iowa; Alcoa, Tenn.; and Lafayette, Ind. In Massena, 125 workers are covered by the new deal. Across the country, the total is 3,400.
Vox Media Union Takes Next Step Toward Potential Strike
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
June 2, 2022
A union at Vox Media has taken the next step toward a potential strike against management as the expiration date for the group’s current contract draws near and negotiations for a successor agreement continue. The governing council at the Writers Guild of America, East, which represents around 350 editorial and video staffers at the Polygon, The Verge and Eater publisher, voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize a strike for members at the company to start at 12 a.m. ET on June 13, as soon as the union’s first contract expires. “The council of the Writers Guild of America, East takes strike authorization votes very seriously. Almost every one of us has experienced the stress of a work stoppage,” WGA East president Michael Winship said in a statement. “But we also fully understand the issues our members are fighting for at the bargaining table — from fair pay increases to successorship language protecting workers if their employing company is sold. Therefore, unanimously, we have voted to authorize a strike should the company not agree to a fair contract by June 13 at 12:00am ET.”
Pebble Beach lodge workers approve union contract, win improvements for 450 members
Monterey Herald
By James Herrera
June 2, 2022
The Lodge at Pebble Beach and its 450 union members have a new three-year contract that includes economic improvements, extended return-to-work rights, and additional health and safety protections. On Wednesday, members of Unite Here Local 483, the union representing workers at the Pebble Beach Lodge, the largest union hotel employer in Monterey County, voted to accept the new contract. Of those who cast a vote, nearly 100% voted to ratify. The Lodge at Pebble Beach is owned and operated by the Pebble Beach Co. The 450 members of the union include housekeepers, food and beverage workers, valet services and maintenance engineers. “We’re pleased to peacefully settle a fair union contract during this pandemic and recession that has devastated our members’ lives and the hotel business,” said Hector Azpilcueta, chief negotiator of Unite Here Local 483, in a press release. “I’m proud of our union leaders for stepping up.”
Workers Picket Outside Atlantic City Casino, Seeking Raises
NBC Philadelphia
By Wayne Parry
June 2, 2022
Hundreds of Atlantic City casino workers picketed outside the Tropicana on Wednesday, as the union for employees at nine casinos is pushing for a new contract giving them a share of gambling halls' post-COVID recovery. The old contract between the casinos and Local 54 of the Unite Here union expired early Wednesday. Union leaders and workers said they will demonstrate as often as necessary to show the casinos they’re serious about their demand that workers are able to make up ground as the casinos are trying to do so. “We are united, we are ready to fight, and we have very specific asks in a new contract, number one of which is a raise that matters,” said union president Bob McDevitt. “Our hope is the individual casinos will recognize that these are really big numbers that they are racking up, and that the workers have not had a cost-of-living raise in a while.”
News Journal newsroom union ratifies first contract
Delaware Business Times
By Jacob Owens
June 2, 2022
In a first for the newsroom of Delaware’s largest newspaper, the newsroom of The News Journal/Delaware Online have ratified a two-year contract with national owner Gannett. The local members of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia, the local unit of the Communication Workers of America that represents 19 News Journal workers, voted 14-3 to ratify the contract, while three workers at associated state weeklies also unanimously supported the deal.
IN THE STATES
Missouri representatives work to save 1,000 GKN jobs
Fox2Now
By Ala Errebhi
June 2, 2022
GKN Aerospace announced in February it will shut down its factory in Hazelwood by the end of 2023. Some area lawmakers are trying to save those jobs. 1,000 jobs are at stake, and GKN Aerospace said those layoffs are starting soon. When leaders announced the closure, they said the company would start reducing positions in mid-2022 and would be completely closed by the end of 2023. Congresswoman Cori Bush from St. Louis and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver from Kansas City have asked GKN leaders what they can do to prevent the plant’s closure. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers responded to the letter from representatives Bush and Cleaver saying it will “work to educate elected officials on Capitol Hill on the importance of keeping the facility open and maintaining this highly skilled workforce.” The union said its members currently produce aircraft parts for a wide variety of U.S. Department of Defense platforms, and many of the members are U.S. military veterans.
Alexander Jones: Whither, organized labor? (Opinion)
Salisbury Post
By Alexander Jones
June 1, 2022
For the first time in at least a decade-and-a-half, union activity is crackling across the country. Workers at such firms as Amazon, Starbucks, and other, less prominent companies are asserting their right to form collective bargaining units to claim a more just share of the profits that their labor helps create. Even in North Carolina, Amazon workers are fighting back against the company’s egregious labor practices with a unionization drive. This has got to be one of the most important breakthroughs for progressive politics since the rise of Black Lives Matter in 2014.