MUST READ
Senate confirms Walsh as labor secretary; Janey becomes acting Boston mayor
Boston Globe
By Jim Puzzanghera
March 22, 2021
“Because he’s a friend of Joe Biden, he’s going to have a higher standing at the Cabinet table and at the White House with the president,” Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions, said in an interview. “We’re really excited about him being there, about everything we can get done.”
CORONAVIRUS
Nurses, Teachers, and Experts Push Back Against Rush to Reopen Schools as Covid-19 Cases Spike
Common Dreams
By Jessica Corbett
March 23, 2021
NNU executive director Bonnie Castillo, RN, warned in a tweet that the three-foot recommendation "will unnecessarily put millions at risk." American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten and National Education Association (NEA) president Becky Pringle had shared concerns last week about the three-foot recommendation, with Pringle saying that "the CDC has changed one of the basic rules for how to ensure school safety without demonstrating certainty that the change is justified by the science and can be implemented in a manner that does not detract from the larger long-term needs of students." Weingarten said that "while we hope the CDC is right and these new studies convince the community that the most enduring safety standard of this pandemic—the six-foot rule—can be jettisoned if we all wear masks, we will reserve judgement until we review them, especially as they apply in districts with high community spread and older buildings with ventilation challenges."
POLITICS
Unions eager for swift action from new Labor secretary
The Hill
By Alex Gangitano
March 23, 2021
“Millions of workers still do not have the strong COVID-19 protections they need to be safe at work. Marty Walsh’s strong leadership will be needed to urgently issue a strong, comprehensive OSHA COVID-19 emergency temporary standard to set workplace safety rules, accompanied by strong enforcement to ensure workers are protected,” said Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO’s safety and health director. Reindel said new rules and strong enforcement are “essential to President Biden’s promise to protect workers from COVID-19.”
AMAZON
Organizing Gravediggers, Cereal Makers and, Maybe, Amazon Employees
The New York Times
By Michael Corkery
March 23, 2021
This month, a group of 5,800 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., are voting whether to join the R.W.D.S.U. It is the first large-scale union vote in Amazon’s history, and a decision by the workers to organize would have implications for the labor movement across the country, especially as retail giants like Amazon and Walmart have gained power — and added workers — during the pandemic.
The Amazon campaign, said Stuart Appelbaum, the union’s president, “is about the future of work and how working people are going to be treated in the new economy.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Black workers, hammered by pandemic, now being left behind in recovery
Politico
By Megan Cassella
March 23, 2021
When unemployment spiked in April, the gap between Black and white rates of joblessness narrowed significantly, indicating the losses were spread across the board. But it has steadily grown since then as white workers have returned to work faster — which William Spriggs, chief economist at the AFL-CIO, said he took as “proof” of the effect of discriminatory hiring practices.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
St. Paul unions’ free food giveaways pass million-pound milestone
Workday Minnesota
By Michael Moore
March 23, 2021
The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation and its nonprofit Labor Studies and Resource Center (LSRC) have taken a leading role in connecting Minnesotans with fresh food available through a new USDA program this winter. And on March 20 in St. Paul Park, their efforts hit a major milestone: 1 million pounds of food distributed into local communities. “With demand for emergency food assistance at an all-time high during the pandemic, it’s been amazing to see local unions step up this winter to connect more Minnesota families with free, fresh food available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program,” Regional Labor Federation President Kera Peterson said.
Free food giveaway slated for March 24 in Fargo
Inforum
By News Staff
March 23, 2021
The North Dakota AFL-CIO and the Red River Valley Building Trades Unions, in partnership with the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, will be hosting a free food giveaway at noon Wednesday, March 24, at the Fargo-Moorhead Labor Temple, 3002 First Ave. N.