MUST WATCH
President Shuler Discusses Strike Activity on CNN Newsroom
CNN
October 14, 2021
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler joined CNN to talk about how workers are standing up for a better deal and a better life through strikes across the country.
MUST READ
COVID pandemic exposes worker inequality, says AFL-CIO president
The National Press Club
By Chris Teale
October 13, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic is showing how inequitable the current labor system is, and workers are right to advocate for better working conditions, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said during a Headliners Newsmaker event at the National Press Club on Wednesday. Shuler said COVID-19 has made the public realize the lack of safe, well-paid jobs, even though millions were called “essential workers” yet faced with stagnant wages, inadequate benefits and a lack of health protections while working during the worst of the pandemic.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Workers Want More to Rejoin Economy: AFL-CIO Chief
Investopedia
By Mark Kolakowski
October 14, 2021
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the U.S., has stated that workers "are not going back to how it was before" COVID-19. She notes that the climate crisis and technology have had huge impacts on the workplace, and she points to polls showing growing public support for unions amid a favorable political climate for organized labor given a supportive Biden administration in Washington, D.C. This article presents highlights of a discussion between Shuler and Julia Love, labor and tech reporter for Reuters. This took place in a session on Oct. 14, 2021, called "Help Wanted: Workers Demand More to Rejoin the Economy," part of a virtual conference organized by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW), "The Future of Work: The Changing Global Workforce and How It's Reshaping Business."
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Green Cars of the Future Must Be Made by Workers in Union Jobs (Opinion)
Newsweek
By Ray Curry and John Podesta
October 13, 2021
There is a path forward. We simply must have the commitment to do things right and create jobs of the future in a smart, sustainable way. With the right investments in the American auto industry and the right priorities in this manufacturing and mobility transition, we can effectively address these monumental issues.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Washington’s Most Powerful Women 2021
Washingtonian
By Jane Recker
October 13, 2021
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. Shuler was recently voted in after the death of longtime head Richard Trumka, becoming the first woman to lead the 12.5-million-member federation of unions.
JOINING TOGETHER
'Striketober' signals 'tremendous sacrifice' — but workers say it has been a long time coming
NBC News
By Ahiza García-Hodges
October 14, 2021
Schlittner said: "No worker wants to go on strike. These are strikes of necessity, of refusing to settle. It's a tremendous sacrifice to walk off the job along with the pay and security that that comes with. It's an act of courage to go on strike."
Local unions join Kellogg's workers on the picket line
3News Now
By Jessika Eidson
October 14, 2021
Kellogg's workers have been on strike for eight days, and in Omaha, the local labor union community is coming together to stand with them on the picket line. Around 1,400 workers across the country walked out last Tuesday when the company and the union failed to come to an agreement. On Wednesday, members of several local labors unions came together for a rally outside the plant. Sue Martin, president of the Nebraska AFL-CIO, says they are standing with the workers who have continued to work throughout the past year and a half. “Throughout the pandemic, these have been essential employees, coming to work every single day because of the labor shortage in the state of Nebraska," Martin said.
Portraits of IATSE: Medical Scares and Car Crashes — Why Members Voted Yes on Strike Authorization
Variety
By Jazz Tangcay and Dan Doperalski
An overwhelming majority of film and TV workers have given the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees permission to strike if the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers doesn’t offer them a better deal. The 60,000 crew members representing 13 Locals who often work 16-18 hour days are seeking shorter hours, wage scales and better health and pension benefits. But those are just a few of the issues on the negotiating table.
Hollywood crews to strike next week unless deal reached with producers
Reuters
By Reuters
October 13, 2021
Behind-the-scenes workers on Hollywood films and television shows will launch a nationwide strike next week unless contract talks with producers are resolved, their union said on Wednesday. If no agreement is reached by 12:01 a.m. PDT on Oct. 18, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) which represents some 60,000 off-screen workers, including camera operators and make-up artists, will launch a work stoppage threatening to devastate major studios, IATSE President Matthew Loeb said.
NWSL players’ fight for change is our fight too
NW Labor Press
By Graham Trainor
October 13, 2021
Professional athletes are workers too, workers with a platform who have worked their entire lives to achieve their career, and workers who have a unique connection to their communities. As an activist, it’s always refreshing to see athletes use their platform to engage in important, timely social justice discussions. From Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem protesting racial injustice and police brutality to WNBA players wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts during warm-ups, or the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks refusing to take the court to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In these and so many other examples, players have used their stature to help elevate and draw attention to important struggles for justice.
Workers at One of the Country’s Biggest Bourbon Producers Have Been on Strike for a Month
Jacobin
By Alex N, Press
October 14, 2021
The workers are members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 23D. In a statement on the strike, the UFCW said the company’s proposed contract “removes a cap on health insurance premium increases that reduce take-home pay, cuts overtime, and drastically changes work schedules which makes it harder for employees to support and care for their families.” The UFCW also represents other bourbon-industry workers in Kentucky, including those at Jim Beam.
More than 10,000 John Deere workers go on strike after failing to reach a contract
NPR
By Joe Hernandez
October 14, 2021
More than 10,000 workers at 14 different John Deere locations went on strike at the stroke of midnight after the United Auto Workers union said it was unable to reach a new contract with the tractor company. "Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules," Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW's Agricultural Implement Department, said in a statement.
Fox8
By Associated Press
October 14, 2021
The union representing film and television crews say its 60,000 members will begin a nationwide strike on Monday if it does not reach a deal that satisfies demands for fair and safe working conditions. A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend well beyond Hollywood, affecting productions in Georgia, New Mexico and other North American shoots. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees International President Matthew Loeb said Wednesday that the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday unless an agreement is reached on rest and meal periods and pay for its lowest-paid workers. Loeb cited a lack of urgency in the pace of negotiations for setting a strike date. “Without an end date, we could keep talking forever,” Loeb said in a statement. “Our members deserve to have their basic needs addressed now.”