MUST READ
Business Insider
By Juliana Kaplan
November 30, 2021
When Liz Shuler rides on an airplane, she often has an experience that will be familiar to most travelers: Her seat mate asks, "What do you do?" Five years ago, after saying she worked for a labor union, Shuler said, most people would put their noses back in their books. Today, she's met with reactions like "awesome" and "amazing." "There's a genuine excitement out there," Shuler said. It's not just airplane riders who are excited. More than 100,000 American workers at companies like John Deere and Kellogg's voted to authorize strikes in October and November to demand better pay and working conditions.
IN THE STATES
Utah workers finding new careers in construction, trades
KJZZ
By Cristina Flores
November 30, 2021
Apprenticeship programs for construction trades like electrical wiring and plumbing have been booming across Utah. In part, workers have sought apprenticeships because the construction industry in Utah is in a boom and has been recruiting workers to deal with the labor shortage. The surge in apprenticeships is also a result the current times. “It’s kind of a phenomenon since the pandemic. People were getting laid-off jobs they thought they had to have to survive. It gave them time to reset and really analyze their lives,” said Jeff Worthington, president of the Utah AFL-CIO union. Worthington said the electrical wiring apprenticeship enrollment has gone from 250 to 878.
JOINING TOGETHER
Kellogg talks to resume Tuesday as union strike nears 8 weeks
Detroit Metro Times
By Laina G. Stebbins
November 30, 2021
Negotiations between union workers and cereal giant Kellogg are set to restart this week, as workers at the company’s four cereal plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Tennessee near two months of striking for better wages, better hours and the end of a two-tier pay scale. Last week, the Michigan AFL-CIO released a statement highlighting the pay disparity between Kellogg CEO Steve Cahillane and a median worker at his company before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Special Metals, union workers return to the bargaining table
WOWK
By Natalie Wadas
November 30, 2021
United Steelworkers Local 40 Union representatives met with Special Metals officials today to resume negotiations for the first time since Nov. 3. According to the union’s president, Chad Johnson, they’ve exchanged proposals, but there’s been no real movement just yet.
Alabama poultry workers walk off the job ahead of Wayne Farms contract vote
AL.com
By William Thornton
November 30, 2021
Workers at Wayne Farms Albertville poultry processing facility walked off the job this morning, the second such demonstration in the past two months as employees are set to vote on a new collective bargaining agreement. A similar walkout took place on Oct. 6, as workers are demanding better working conditions, fewer overtime hours and better pay. The plant’s negotiations with representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers union local 1995 have been ongoing, and a vote on a new three-year contract is scheduled for Wednesday.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Firefighters collect food for local families
North County Outlook
By Nathan Whalen
November 30, 2021
Firefighters in Marysville will be busy in December helping families in need. They will be standing outside the entrance to the Safeway store on State Avenue collecting food for the Marysville Community Food Bank. “That has been very successful in the past,” said Ben Williams, a firefighter with the Marysville Fire District who is organizing the food drive through Marysville Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 3219.