Forward Kentucky story featuring Kirk Gillenwaters leads off today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Forward Kentucky
By Berry Craig
Oct. 16, 2024
The AFL-CIO unanimously switched its endorsement from Biden to Harris after the president announced he was ending his bid for a second term. “From day one, Vice President Kamala Harris has been a true partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in history,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “At every step in her distinguished career in public office, she’s proven herself a principled and tenacious fighter for working people and a visionary leader we can count on. From taking on Wall Street and corporate greed to leading efforts to expand affordable child care and support vulnerable workers, she’s shown time and again that she’s on our side. With Kamala Harris in the White House, together we’ll continue to build on the powerful legacy of the Biden-Harris administration to create good union jobs, grow the labor movement, and make our economy work for all of us.” She added, “The AFL-CIO is proud of our early and steadfast support for the Biden-Harris administration, and now we’ll ratchet up our mass mobilization of union workers to elect Vice President Harris as president,” Shuler continued. “Like Harris, the labor movement doesn’t back down – and we’ll never shy away from a tough fight when the future of workers and unions is on the line. Together, we will defeat Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and their devastating anti-worker Project 2025 agenda in November.”
Harris, Culinary Local 226 are mobilizing their efforts for Election Day push in Nevada
Las Vegas Sun
By Kyle Chouinard
Oct. 16, 2024
Before her nationally televised town hall in Las Vegas last week, Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a more private meeting. The Democratic presidential nominee made a visit to the headquarters of Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, taking photos with members and speaking about her proposals, including to tackle housing costs and price gouging. It was also an opportunity for her to remind the powerful union of their shared interests in continuing their work this fall to elect her to the White House.
‘Off the charts’: How Trump tariffs would shock U.S., world economies
The Washington Post
By Jeff Stein and David J. Lynch
Oct. 16, 2024
Former president Donald Trump is campaigning on the most significant increase in tariffs in close to a century, preparing an attack on the international trade order that would likely raise prices, hurt the stock market and spark economic feuds with much of the world. Trump’s trade plans, a staple of his stump speeches, have fluctuated, but he consistently calls for steep duties to discourage imports and promote domestic production. The former president has floated “automatic” tariffs of 10 percent to 20 percent on every U.S. trading partner, 60 percent levies on goods from China, and rates as high as 100, 200 or even 1,000 percent in other circumstances.
Stellantis should deliver on commitments to UAW, White House says
Reuters
By Reuters
Oct. 16, 2024
The White House on Wednesday said Stellantis (STLAM.MI) should deliver on commitments made to the United Auto Workers union and communities affected by plant closures in the United States. The deal reached between the UAW and Stellantis "included a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
IBEW Local 1316 members rally in support of VP Harris
41 NBC
By Taylor Gilchrist
Oct. 15, 2024
As early voting begins in Georgia, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) announced its support for Vice President Kamala Harris. Members of the union in Middle Georgia championed Harris’s record as the reason for their support of her run to the White House. “As Vice President, she helped pass the bipartisan infrastructure law to create thousands of good paying union jobs across the state, including here in Middle Georgia,” IBEW Local 1316 business manager Stacey Mixson said.
Judge Strikes Down Multiple Georgia Election Rules
The New York Times
By Nick Corasaniti and Johnny Kauffman
Oct. 16, 2024
A local judge on Wednesday delivered a sweeping ruling that rejected multiple new rules governing elections in Georgia, describing them as “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” Most of the rules knocked down by the court closely aligned with the priorities of right-wing activists and were approved by the Georgia State Election Board in recent months. They included mandates to count election ballots by hand, expand the monitoring of ballot drop boxes, require new identification for delivering absentee ballots and provide expanded access for poll watchers, along with new requirements and procedures that could disrupt the election certification process. In a swift, 11-page ruling, Judge Thomas A. Cox found each of the rules passed by the Georgia State Election Board to be unlawful, violating Georgia state law, the Georgia State Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
Harris slams Trump for claiming to be 'the father of IVF'
NBC News
By Nnamdi Egwuonwu, Annemarie Bonner and Megan Lebowitz
Oct. 16, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday slammed former President Donald Trump's recent comments on in vitro fertilization, pointing to his administration's impact on abortion restrictions across the country. Harris told reporters that she "found it to be quite bizarre" when Trump said during an all-women Fox News town hall that aired Wednesday morning, "I’m the father of IVF."
ORGANIZING
Casa Bonita Cast and Crew Members Look to Unionize With Actors’ Equity, IATSE
The Hollywood Reporter
By Caitlin Huston
Oct. 16, 2024
Entertainers and crewmembers at the Casa Bonita immersive restaurant, owned by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are looking to unionize with Actors’ Equity and IATSE. The restaurant, based in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, recently reopened after being bought out of bankruptcy by Parker and Stone. The restaurant features cliff divers, actors, puppeteers, magicians and more as part of the dining experience, supported by crewmembers.
Grad Students Are Unionizing in Droves. Can Postdocs Lead the Next Wave?
The Nation
By Marie-Rose Sheinerman
Oct. 16, 2024
When Marjorie Levinstein, 35, began working as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2021, she knew from the outset that she wanted to advocate for her fellow postdocs. At the University of Washington, where she had received her PhD in neuroscience, she saw firsthand “how the union really fought to improve our lives.” But the unionization movement at her new employer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), didn’t have that infrastructure. In July 2021, it amounted to “five people on a Zoom call,” Levinstein told The Nation. Now, she’s fighting for her union’s first contract in an over-5,000-strong collective bargaining unit, which won its vote by a nearly 98 percent margin last year.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Boeing strike enters second month as workers rally in Seattle
NBC News
By Reuters
Oct. 16, 2024
Boeing factory workers held a large rally in Seattle on Tuesday to demand a better wage deal, mounting pressure on new CEO Kelly Ortberg to end a bitter strike that has plunged the planemaker further into financial crisis. Hundreds of striking workers packed the main hall at their union’s headquarters chanting “Pension! Pension! Pension!” and “One day longer, one day stronger!”
Strike at Miller Brewing Co. ends after contract reached with parent company
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Nick Rommel
Oct. 16, 2024
Workers at the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee ended their week-long strike last week, according to a statement by Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — part of the national AFL-CIO organization — represents mechanics and machine repair workers at the brewery. When the strike started, workers told WPR that Molson Coors had made it harder to schedule vacations, and that they hoped a wage increase would attract new employees to their shrinking workforce.
Stanford Health nurses approve new contract with Tri-Valley hospital
Pleasanton Weekly
By Christian Trujano
Oct. 16, 2024
An overwhelming majority of the nurses at the Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley in Pleasanton recently voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract with the hospital that their union said will improve patient safety and staff retention, among other things. According to a press release over the weekend from California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, the Tri-Valley nurses voted to ratify the new contract on Oct. 9. The union, one of the largest associations of registered nurses in the country, represents 550 nurses at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley.
Saratoga, Belmont backstretch workers to negotiate first labor contracts
Times-Union
By Rick Karlin
Oct. 16, 2024
With hundreds of potential members signed up, the union representing backstretch workers for the Saratoga and Belmont horse racing tracks are about to start bargaining for what will be their long-sought first labor contracts. “It takes time but it’s working,” said Gilberto Mendoza, organizer for the Westchester County-based IBEW Local 1430, which for more than a year has been organizing backstretch workers such as groomers and walkers at Saratoga and Belmont.
KTVZ
St. Charles Bend
Oct. 16, 2024
Nearly 200 employees from the technical bargaining unit at St. Charles Bend have ratified their next union contract that will establish conditions for workers and ensure continuity of care, union officials said Wednesday. They said 100% of those workers who voted chose to ratify this contract, signifying a universal level of support for the agreement. These health care workers, who are members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP, AFT Local 5017), were fighting over issues like living wages and a voice on the job, according to a union statement.
Frontier pilots vote to authorize strike
9 News
By Analisa Romano
Oct. 16, 2024
Pilots working for Denver-based Frontier Airlines have agreed to strike if contract negotiations with the carrier continue to run awry. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said Tuesday that Frontier pilots voted 99% in favor of authorizing a strike, giving the union what is says is a "significant lever" in negotiations should the two sides fail to reach an agreement for a new pilot labor contract.
Boston hotel strike grows to nearly 1,300 workers
Axios
By Steph Solis
Oct. 15, 2024
Nearly 700 hotel workers joined a strike against some of the biggest names in Boston hospitality. The big picture: Thousands of hotel workers were already on strike at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels in Hawaii, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston. Their numbers grow as the employers and the unions fail to reach contract agreements. Catch up quick: Nearly 600 workers at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza in the Back Bay and the Hilton Boston Logan Airport walked off the job earlier this month, per the Boston Business Journal. They vowed to strike until Hilton leaders and their union, UNITE HERE Local 26, reach a deal that includes higher pay, pension increases and better benefits.
Machinists Union strike enters fourth week as new offer is reviewed
KAKE
By Staff
Oct. 16, 2024
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers continues to strike against Textron Aviation for a fourth week after receiving an updated offer from the company. The IAM Local Lodge 774 said Wednesday that the negotiating committee has met with Textron and received an updated offer.
JOINING TOGETHER
In Dallas, an Entire Dance Troupe Was Fired. Now They’re Protesting.
The New York Times
By Javier C. Hernández
Oct. 16, 2024
The renowned Dallas Black Dance Theater opened its 48th season with a showcase of African dance on Friday. It should have been a night of celebration. But as audience members filed into Moody Performance Hall in Dallas that evening, they were greeted by a group of dancers, musicians, teachers and union activists who denounced the company’s recent decision to fire and replace its main troupe of nine full-time dancers. A giant inflatable rat, a symbol of union protest, glowered on the sidewalk. “Dallas Black, bring them back!” the demonstrators shouted. “Tear up your ticket, join our picket!”
Union Intensifies Boycott Actions Against CVS
OB Rag
By Staff
Oct. 16, 2024
UFCW Local 135 continues to amplify customer pressure on CVS Pharmacy with a series of three boycott actions this Wednesday, October 16, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at three nonunion CVS locations in Downtown San Diego: 402 Fifth Avenue, 645 Market Street, and 101 Park Plaza. Union members, alongside labor allies, will be engaged in informational picketing at the pharmacies, urging customers to boycott CVS, transfer their prescriptions to unionized grocery pharmacies, and cancel their CVS ExtraCare+ memberships. The boycott actions come after CVS workers across California overwhelmingly voted to authorize an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike.
Illinois prison employees to picket for safer working conditions
Lincoln Courier
By Erich Murphy
Oct. 16, 2024
Government workers will be picketing outside Illinois prisons Thursday afternoon to demand safer working conditions. Members of the AFSCME Could 31 union will hold an informational picket from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Members will be outside the Pontiac Correctional Center and other prisons throughout the state, according to local AFSCME President William Lee.
NLRB
UFCW files NLRB complaint against Clemens Food Group
Meat + Poultry
By Ryan McCarthy
Oct. 16, 2024
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UCFW) Local 152 filed a labor complaint against Clemens Food Group (CFG), owner of the Kunzler & Co. plant. In a statement, the union alleges unfair labor practices and filed its complaint to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) earlier in October.
LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT
SAG-AFTRA Steps Up Advocacy Efforts for Disabled Performers With ‘Time to Get Real’ Video Series
Variety
By Emiliana Betancourt
Oct. 15, 2024
SAG-AFTRA has produced three advocacy videos putting a spotlight on the challenges disabled actors face in pursuing and auditioning for jobs in the entertainment industry. The videos were produced as part of the union’s “Inclusion: Time to Get Real” campaign launched in connection with National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The goal is to demonstrate how people with disabilities are underrepresented in TV and film, and when they are on screen, they are often misrepresented. In 2022, people with disabilities accounted for 8.8% of screen time, but those with visible disabilities made up only 0.4%, according to a Nielsen study.
DIVERSITY & EQUITY
More Black and Latina Women are Starting to Lead the Biggest Unions in The U.S.
Black Enterprise
By Jeroslyn JoVonn
Oct. 16, 2024
Although women remain underrepresented in top-tier union leadership roles, a growing number of Black and Latina women are asserting their presence at the executive level. As more Black and Latina women secure leadership roles in major U.S. unions, their influence led to enhanced family-friendly benefits for union workers, including parental leave, improved healthcare coverage, and stronger protections against sexual harassment, The Philadelphia Enquirer notes. As more women and people of color join unions, with Black and Latina leaders at the helm, union members actively advocate for equitable treatment and their fair share in the workplace. These advancements are significant, especially as labor unions face challenges from the Supreme Court and various policy changes.
UNION BUSTING
News Guild’s Schleuss: Give big labor law breakers fines and jail terms
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Oct. 16, 2024
Big labor law violators among corporate honchos should face “strong fines and potential jail terms” for their law-breaking, says News Guild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. He wants the Block brothers of Pittsburgh to feel that lash. “We’ve got CEOs paying millions of dollars to attorneys to violate the law,” Schleuss said of the union-busters whom the likes of the Blocks, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Howard Schultz of Starbucks and the Walton clan of Wal-Mart routinely hire. The Economic Policy Institute calculates such union-busters reaped $433 million in 2022, the last year for which figures are available. Schleuss singled out the Block brothers, owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as an example. The Guild’s Pittsburgh local and several other unions have been on strike against the Post-Gazette for two years and counting.
VOTING RIGHTS
Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Voting Rights for Felons
The New York Times
By Mitch Smith
Oct. 16, 2024
The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered the secretary of state on Wednesday to allow people with felony convictions to vote after finishing their sentences, resolving confusion about who can participate in this year’s election and rejecting an argument by the state attorney general that lawmakers overstepped in extending voting rights to those with convictions.