AFL-CIO Press Clips: July 14, 2022
POLITICS
White House fixes union pension rescue program
Northwest Labor Press
By Don McIntosh
July 13, 2022
Help really is coming for over 2 million union members, retirees, and family members who are participants in distressed union-sponsored multiemployer pension plans. Last year, Congress included a pension rescue program when it passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package known as the American Rescue Plan. But in July 2021 when the government announced the initial rules to implement the pension rescue program, national AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler and others complained that the way the rules were written, they’d still leave pension plans in trouble. Approximately 10.9 million union workers, retirees and spouses are owed pension benefits by about 1,400 union-sponsored multiemployer pension plans.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Unions Jockey For Offshore Wind Leasing Wins in Hostile States
Bloomberg Law
By Paige Smith and Stephen Lee
July 12, 2022
Creating equitable work conditions for all workers—including those not in a union—is a priority for labor leaders like Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “has the power in its own hands to shape the direction of this new technology forever,” said Levy. “It would be more than a shame—whatever word you would use—if we let this opportunity pass us by.” Congressional Democrats, organized labor, and advocates want to see all offshore wind development completed with union labor, and project labor agreements linked to more future leases, actions that the Interior Department’s BOEM could take.
TRANSPORTATION
President Biden faces deadline in U.S. railroad labor standoff
Reuters
By Lisa Baertlein
July 13, 2022
"People in the executive branch and in Congress know how vital our freight rail system is to our economy," said Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department that represents several railroad unions.
IN THE STATES
Hany Khalil Talks Union Power In The Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Signal
By Fernando Ramirez
July 13, 2022
Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Executive Director Hany Khalil was recently appointed to the AFL-CIO General Board, a main decision-making body at the AFL-CIO where he will serve as a regional representative. Khalil tells the Signal the appointment to the general board is a sign AFL–CIO President Liz Shuler recognizes how important Texas is as a battleground, both electorally and for building union power. He said it also shows that the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation (TGCALF) has been particularly effective among labor councils in the South.
Wis Politics
July 13, 2022
Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, released the following statement on White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu’s Visit to Milwaukee. “Wisconsin’s working men and women are working hard to replace lead pipes in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin so that every child can have safe, clean drinking water,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. “Lead poisoning in children in Wisconsin is a real and serious problem and we have no time to waste to ensure quality drinking water in our homes. We proudly welcome White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to a lead pipe replacement work site this afternoon to see firsthand the vital work being done thanks to President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Not only does infrastructure investment create good jobs and life-long career opportunities, it means building stronger and better communities with safe water, high-speed internet, better roads and bridges, healthy ports and waterways, expanded public transportation, reliable power and more. This once in a generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure would not be possible without the leadership of President Biden.”
Heat/smoke rules must be defended
Northwest Labor Press
By Graham Trainor
July 13, 2022
There are two new rules at Oregon OSHA that will protect Oregon’s workers on the job. One protects workers from heat exposure, and the other protects workers from smoke exposure. The heat rule went into effect on June 15, 2022, and the smoke rule went into effect on July 1, 2022. Throughout the process to define these new rules, the Oregon AFL-CIO and advocates for workplace safety worked to ensure the rules reflected the needs of everyone who is exposed to high heat and wildfire smoke while working. As we saw with the heat wave in June 2021, the stakes are too high: Human lives are on the line, and it is absolutely critical that we have strong rules in place.
INTERNATIONAL
Unions Protect Democracy. How Do We Protect Unions?
The Nation
By Karen Nussbaum
July 13, 2022
Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation sees authoritarianism accelerating. “In every democracy there’s a feeling among working people [that] they’ve been left behind. So the overall state of the world is that the labor market is broken. And if you have a broken labor market, there’s no rule of law.”