AFL-CIO Press Clips: July 13, 2022

MUST LISTEN

The Perri Peltz Show: Labor and the Workforce (Audio)

Sirius XM

July 9, 2022

"But coming together in unions collectively, that's where you get the power. That's where you can make the change and actually have a contract that you negotiate, that you sit across the table from an employer, and bargain your fair share of the wealth that you are helping create and to make these companies profitable." - Liz Shuler

ORGANIZING

Union Organizing Efforts Rise in First Half of Year

The Wall Street Journal

By David Harrison and Heather Haddon

July 12, 2022

The number of U.S. workplaces where employees have started trying to organize unions jumped this year to the highest level in half a dozen years, a rise that reflects warming public attitudes toward unions amid a strong labor market. In the first half of the year, workers at 1,411 U.S. workplaces filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board, the first step in joining a union, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data. That represents a 69% increase from the same period in 2021 and the most of any year since 2015. The union push comes as public opinion about organized labor is the most positive in decades. A Gallup poll last year found that 68% of Americans approve of unions, the highest share since 1965.

JOINING TOGETHER

Workers OK Contracts At 5 Atlantic City Casinos; 2 More Remain

CBS Philly

July 12, 2022

Workers at five Atlantic City casinos have ratified new contracts giving them significant raises, and are now turning their attention to the two that have yet to settle, their union said Tuesday. Officials with Local 54 of the Unite Here union said 99% of workers who voted in ratification elections Monday approved the new pacts, under which housekeeping employees will immediately see their hourly salary increased to $18, up from varying levels at different casinos.

Workers at five Atlantic City casinos cash in on new four-year deal

WHYY

By P. Kenneth Burns

July 12, 2022

A four-year deal will give a number of casino workers what they’ve long wanted: a raise. Nearly all of the workers at Atlantic City’s five biggest casinos voted Monday to ratify new agreements billed by their union as “historic.” The “yes” vote tally was 99% among members of Unite Here Local 54, the union that has been negotiating a deal since the end of May. More than 6,000 workers at Borgata, Caesar’s, Hard Rock, Harrah’s, and Tropicana are covered by the agreement. An additional 3,000 workers at Bally’s and Ocean Casino Resort are covered through “me-too” agreements. Raises for workers across all classifications include tipped and non-tipped workers and are retroactive to June 1. The deal also features agreements to fully fund family health care and pension plans, includes new language to protect jobs, and brings improvements to housekeeping workloads.

VETERANS

Deported Army vet becomes naturalized US citizen

El Paso Matters

By Marisol Chávez

July 12, 2022

The Union Veterans Council and the AFL-CIO became aware of Ocon’s work with other veterans and put him in touch with the Yale Veterans Legal Services Clinic in early 2021.