MUST READ
JC Tretter was elected NFLPA president. Then came the ‘whirlwind.’
The Washington Post
By Mark Maske
December 12, 2021
Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, called the pandemic-related health and safety protocols negotiated by the NFLPA “a model for the rest of the labor movement. And so we can learn from each other, more closely collaborate and really be each other’s advocates and have each other’s backs.”
INFRASTRUCTURE
Youngstown labor leaders praise infrastructure bill
The Vindicator
December 11, 2021
Valley labor and state Democratic Party leaders on Friday celebrated passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and discussed what it means for communities like Youngstown. They said the legislation will create good-paying jobs and rebuild Ohio’s crumbling infrastructure. Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters and Youngstown workers participated in the Building Ohio Together Tour, organized by the Ohio Democratic Party and For Our Future Ohio.
JOINING TOGETHER
Starbucks unionization vote is 'tip of the iceberg,' organizers say
NBC News
By Ben Popken
December 10, 2021
Labor organizers say the unionization of a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, could be “the tip of the iceberg.” “The pandemic has laid bare the typical lip service that workers get,” said Christian Sweeney, deputy organizing director of the AFL-CIO labor union. “There’s been lots of praise for people doing grunt work,” but few worker gains, he said. “Workers doing essential work have higher expectations that they’re going to see wages and benefits reflect the essential nature of their work,” Sweeney said. More organizing activity is growing at restaurants, food retail establishments and among e-commerce delivery and distribution center workers, he said.
Reddit Crashes Kellogg Site After Contract Fails
Memphis Flyer
By Toby Sells
December 10, 2021
The Kellogg Co. labor dispute is gaining national attention, especially after Redditors crashed the company hiring site, flooding it with false applications for jobs to replace striking workers. About 1,400 employees at four Kellogg plants — Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis — have been on strike since October 5th. The striking workers say they want equal pay and benefits for new hires.
From Striketober to Strikemas, San Diego workers are making themselves heard (Opinion)
The San Diego Union Tribune
By Jim Miller
December 9, 2021
There’s been a lot of talk in the national media and elsewhere this fall about the new worker militancy. From #Striketober to #Strikesgiving to #Strikemas, many inside and outside the American labor movement have been celebrating the emergence of an ongoing wave of rebellion in the workplace. Everywhere from hospitals and factories to colleges, workers have been organizing, striking and, in many cases, winning.
The worker revolt comes to a Dollar General in Connecticut
The Washington Post
By Greg Jaffe
December 11, 2021
All over the country, workers who had labored through a global pandemic for low pay and meager benefits were concluding that they deserved better from their bosses. Wages were rising and a wave of strikes was sweeping across the country, hitting iconic American brands such as Kellogg’s and John Deere. And now Parsons’s phone call was setting off one of the most lopsided battles of the ongoing low-wage-worker revolt. On one side: six Dollar General employees, most of whom were making the minimum wage or just slightly above it. The group included a community college student, a struggling musician who had recently moved back home and two single moms, one of whom was Parsons. On the other: a company with yearly revenue approaching $34 billion, more than 157,000 employees and 17,683 stores, not one of which was unionized.
Fred Meyer, QFC grocery workers authorize strike
The Oregonian
By Douglas Perry
December 12, 2021
Grocery workers at Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers stores in Oregon have voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 said Saturday night. Workers plan to go on strike beginning Friday morning if union leadership and management don’t reach an agreement on key bargaining issues. “Fred Meyer and QFC have repeatedly violated their legal duties to negotiate in good faith with Local 555, with the most blatant example being Fred Meyer’s refusal to provide information necessary for the union to negotiate a new agreement and to process grievances,” UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay said in a statement. “The way these employers have violated the National Labor Relations Act has left grocery workers no choice but to take action.”
Sparrow healthcare workers ratify new 3-year contract
Fox 47 News
By Lauren Shields
December 12, 2021
Sparrow Hospital healthcare professionals — including nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists — voted "overwhelmingly" on Friday night to ratify a new three-year contract, effective immediately. The new contract between Sparrow Hospital and the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association, which represents more than 2,000 caregivers at the hospital, is the first in the region to guarantee fixed nurse-to-patient ratios, regardless of whether or not there is a pandemic.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Labor Temple Helps Families in Need with Food, Christmas Gifts
Fox21
By Arman Rahman
December 11, 2021
Volunteers over at the Labor Temple on London Road helped make the holidays a bit happier for families in need. They gave out food, books, and holiday gifts in their parking lot Saturday. 28 kids were signed up for holiday gift assistance. Kids could wave hi to Santa on the balcony, while he sent some goodies down his candy cane chute. Organizers say labor union members went above and beyond donating food and gifts this year. “Especially with budgets being so strained this year wanted to make certain this event went on as planned and that people were able to get the help they needed,” said Corey Cusick, AFL-CIO Community Services Director.