MUST WATCH
AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka on Unions & Transitioning to Green Jobs | Sustainability Imperative
The Hill
April 15, 2021
Richard Trumka (President, AFL-CIO) talks with Bob Cusack (Editor-in-Chief, The Hill) on the relationship between green jobs and labor unions, the minimum wage debate and Biden's infrastructure plan, and the Pro Act.
AMAZON
Rep. Andy Levin: Here's what Amazon got away with in union battle. Here's how to change that. (Opinion)
USA Today
By Andy Levin
April 15, 2021
I organized a congressional delegation to Bessemer, Alabama, last month to show solidarity with the Amazon warehouse workers organizing a union and view their working conditions firsthand. Amazon's abusive employment practices have been widely reported, but it wasn’t until I talked to the people who clock in for 10 hours every shift that I truly understood how completely Amazon dehumanizes warehouse workers. Amazon has a long history of prioritizing production demands over safety and forcing workers to endure grueling conditions or risk losing their jobs. The company, which had 14,000 serious injuries in 2019 alone, has repeatedly tried to downplay injury rates at its warehouses — and sometimes even failed to report them at all. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon required employees to work without proper PPE, did not give them time to wash hands and sanitize equipment, and sent warehouse workers with fevers home without pay. Amazon has repeatedly and unjustly fired employees who called out the company’s coronavirus response.
Lessons from the Amazon unionizing defeat (Opinion)
National Catholic Reporter
By Michael Sean Winters
April 14, 2021
It is also by now an instance of willful ignorance to fail to recognize that the rules are stacked against union organizers and you need a strategy for overcoming that fact. Last month, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which would level the playing field for union organizers, but companies like Amazon that have figured out how to make billions of dollars are not going to spare any effort to subvert worker democracy. Unions need to be prepared for a fight each and every time.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Food giveaway to occur at noon Friday in East Grand Forks
Grand Forks Herald
By Herald Staff
April 15, 2021
A food giveaway will take place Friday in East Grand Forks. The Northern Valley Labor Council, in partnership with the North Dakota AFL-CIO, the Red River Valley Building Trades Unions, and the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, will host the event at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at noon, Friday, April 16.
JOINING TOGETHER
URI's part-time faculty join a new union
The Providence Journal
By Linda Borg
April 15, 2021
The part-time faculty at the University of Rhode Island has voted to join a new union, Rhode Island Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. The adjunct faculty, totaling 412 members, voted overwhelmingly by secret ballot to join Council 94. The adjunct faculty had previously belonged to the American Association of University Professors. The vote was held on April 14. J. Michael Downey, president of Council 94, said it represents more than 770 classified/non classified employees at URI.
Chicago’s Latin School Educators Step Towards Unionization
Lawndale News
April 15, 2021
On Wednesday, the majority of educators from the Latin School of Chicago filed cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affirming their intent to organize the Latin School Union. “With our action today, the teachers at Latin School have demonstrated our collective desire to form a union,” said Elissabeth Legendre, an upper school Latin language teacher. “We know that organizing will help us raise a powerful voice that will benefit our students and the entire school community.” The card filing positions the 185 teachers and educational staff (including assistant teachers, nurses and counselors) to better advocate for the needs of their students and to regain an effective voice in important decisions about teaching, learning, and student well-being at the acclaimed institution. Latin School educators will now hold an election to finalize the formation of their union; ballots are expected to be cast sometime in June, 2021. With a majority “yes” vote, the Latin School Union will be affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers/AFL-CIO.