Skip to main content

AFL-CIO Press Clips: July 2, 2021

Berry Craig
Social share icons

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

The Heat Wave Shows Climate Change Is a Workers' Rights Issue
In These Times
By Mindy Isser 
July 1, 2021
While the 100 million computer workers in this country are more likely to be able to work safely indoors, other urgent and necessary work must continue outdoors, no matter the severity of the weather. The entirety of the working class is (or will be) affected by climate change, but it’s farm workers, letter carriers, construction workers, sanitation workers and other outdoor workers who are unable to escape to air conditioning, and are on the front lines of the environmental crisis. This clarifies the fight against climate change as one not just for environmentalists: Rising temperatures are a workplace safety issue. Relatedly, there is growing awareness among climate activists that workers’ rights and the future of the climate are inextricably linked. Continuing to connect these two existential issues is our best shot at a livable world in which we can all work safely and with dignity.

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Heat Waves Prompt Workers To Walk Out: ‘We Weren’t Going To Tolerate It’
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
June 30, 2021
“Most of the heat is in the kitchen and at the fryers,” she told HuffPost. “Even if we open the window, it’s still too hot.” Lara was one of several workers affiliated with the Fight for $15 who protested outside the restaurant on Tuesday, saying they were walking off the job because the air conditioner still wasn’t working properly. They also filed complaints with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and Sacramento County Public Health, alleging their employer was endangering them during high heat. 

JOINING TOGETHER

HCA, Mission nurses reach tentative pact; vote comes next
Citizen Times
By Derek Lacey
July 1, 2021
Nurses at Mission Hospital have reached a tentative agreement on a first collective bargaining contract with the hospital, just nine months after organizing. National Nurses Organizing Committee-North Carolina, which represents 1,800 Registered Nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, announced the agreement July 1, with plans for nurses to vote on ratifying it July 1 and 2. “We are extremely pleased to have a tentative agreement that we believe will be a huge step forward for nurses, patients, and our entire community,” said nurse negotiator Sue Fischer, RN, in a statement. The Mission RN negotiating team will provide the details of the contract to members and recommend the nurses vote to approve the settlement, according to the NNOC, an affiliate of National Nurses United, which says details will be made available after the vote. 


NLRB

Union Alleges Chateau Marmont Management Surveilled Ex-Workers at Protests
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
July 1, 2021
A union’s battle against Hollywood hangout the Chateau Marmont on behalf of laid-off workers is heating up. On Wednesday UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents hotel employees in Los Angeles, Orange County and Arizona, filed an unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the Andre Balazs-owned hotel, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The charge alleges that the hotel, which last year announced its intention to become a private club, violated section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act and interfered with employee rights by “engaging in surveillance or creating impression of surveillance of employees’ union activities” during recent protests of the Chateau.


IN THE STATES

Score One for the Smithfield Workers of Sioux Falls
In These Times
By Maximillian Alvarez 
July 1, 2021
After suffering one of the worst COVID workplace outbreaks in the country last year, leading to four deaths and over 1,000 infections, workers at the Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls refused to back down on demands for better pay and for a 15-minute break during the second half of their shifts. When negotiations with Smithfield stalled, UFCW Local 304A members voted overwhelmingly (98%) to authorize a strike, and the company backed down. On this extended mini-cast, we welcome back beloved friend of the show and president of the South Dakota Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Kooper Caraway, to discuss this important victory and what lessons the labor movement should take away from it.

SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court Again Made It Harder To Challenge State Laws That Restrict How People Can Vote
BuzzFeed News
By Zoe Tillman
July 1, 2021
The US Supreme Court on Thursday upheld two Arizona voting laws that the challengers had argued discriminated against Native American, Latino, and Black voters, and in doing so applied legal reasoning that will generally make it harder to challenge state voting restrictions going forward.