MUST READ
Democrats Want A Tax Hike For Corporations And High-Earners - But Local Newsrooms Would Get A Break
Forbes
By Andy Meek
September 13, 2021
“Most importantly,” the letter notes, “the AFL-CIO is pleased that the bill would protect local news jobs, by providing a five-year tax credit of up to $25,000 against the payroll costs for local news journalists. In addition, we support the bill’s provision that would create a tax credit for consumers of up to $250 to cover as much as 80% of the cost of a subscription to their local newspaper or website, including nonprofit news organizations.”
Letter: Activism gives unions their place at bargaining table
Financial Times
By Ramon Becerra
September 13, 2021
Oren Cass’s Labor Day “fiction” piece (“American labour unions should stop playing politics”, Opinion, September 6) misses the mark in more ways than can be summarised in this letter. But I’m reminded of what the legendary United Automobile Workers’ president Walter Reuther warned: “There’s a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table can be taken away in the legislative halls.”
POLITICS
Senate Democrats unveil new voting rights bill
The Hill
By Celine Castronuovo
September 14, 2021
A group of Senate Democrats unveiled new voting rights legislation on Tuesday in another attempt by the party to pass sweeping changes to federal elections in the face of a GOP filibuster. The new bill, called the Freedom to Vote Act, was released by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), along with several co-sponsors, including Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Raphael Warnock (Ga.), according to a statement from Klobuchar’s office shared with The Hill. The legislation builds on a framework proposed earlier this year by Manchin as well as the sweeping For the People Act, which was blocked in June by Senate Republicans.
JOINING TOGETHER
Thorns Players Join Nabisco Workers on Picket Line
Portland Monthly
By Margaret Seiler
September 14, 2021
More than a month into the multistate walkout at Nabisco and its parent company, Mondelez International, the picket line on NE Columbia Boulevard had some new faces joining with the striking workers from Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union: the Portland Thorns. In what BCTGM Local 364 president Jesus Martinez called “a big morale boost,” players mingled with workers and union reps at the edge of the Nabisco property. Union members walked out of the facility, which straddles the line between North and Northeast Portland, on August 10 after contract negotiations broke down with Chicago-based Mondelez, with issues including a schedule of longer shifts with no overtime pay. The action has since spread to other Nabisco facilities across the country, and drawn support from local and national politicians. And, now, the sporting world.
WHYY union votes to approve its first contract
WHYY
By Meir Rinde
September 14, 2021
Unionized reporters and content creators at WHYY voted overwhelmingly in favor of their first contract with the public radio and TV broadcaster on Monday. The vote was 71-2, with one member not voting. The three-year agreement covers 74 reporters, editors, producers, hosts, marketing specialists, and other staff, and includes employees who work at WHYY-TV, WHYY-FM radio, WHYY.org, PlanPhilly, and Billy Penn. They organized in October 2019 as a unit of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
IATSE is gearing up for a possible strike
People’s World
By David Trujillo
September 14, 2021
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) fear that a possible strike action against the film and TV industry could take place within a couple of months depending on how future negotiations develop. Can progress be made or will a strike authorization be necessary to force management to make concessions? The current contract deal expired on September 10, but both sides have returned to the bargaining table. According to recent IATSE communications “the two sides are far apart” on reaching any new deal. In an attempt to keep its members informed, the union recently released a statement indicating that a strike could be forthcoming.
NLRB
Activision Blizzard employees file unfair labor practice suit against company
The Washington Post
By Shannon Liao
September 14, 2021
Activision Blizzard employees and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a major media labor union, have filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against Activision Blizzard accusing the video game company of worker intimidation and union busting. The union claims that Activision Blizzard is using coercive tactics to stop employees from unionizing. The lawsuit is one of several against Activision Blizzard, which was previously investigated by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) over claims of widespread sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. The DFEH sued Activision Blizzard in July, alleging the company had a “frat boy culture” that included gender-based discrimination and harassment. It was followed by a class-action suit from shareholders in August that claimed the company had violated federal securities laws.