AMAZON
Organizing Amazon Affects Us All (Opinion)
The Progressive Magazine
By Sharon Graham, Christy Hoffman and Stuart Appelbaum
December 17, 2021
Christmas trees, Hanukkah candles, New Year’s countdown clocks — these are some of the ways we mark the holiday season. But Amazon workers have other, more brutal metrics this time of year. The company demands that they pick, stow, pack, ship and deliver at a faster rate and for longer hours. The holidays, workers in Amazon warehouses tell us, is not a time of cheer, but backbreaking labour and relentless pressure. It can cost them their health and rob them of time with their families. In many ways, the “holiday crunch” is all that is wrong with the company’s labor model, but amplified.
POLITICS
Lead pipes have contaminated water for decades. Biden's new plan will replace them
NPR
By Deepa Shivaram
December 17, 2021
It's been 35 years since Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to prohibit the use of pipes that were not lead-free in the country's water systems. But for decades, lead pipes and lead paint have continued to impact millions of people in their homes, schools and daycare centers, contaminating drinking water and producing toxic chemicals in the air. On Thursday, the Biden administration announced its plan to remove lead pipes and lead paint within the next decade. "There is no reason in the 21st century for why people are still exposed to this substance that was poisoning people back in the 18th century. There is no good reason," Vice President Harris said during a speech at the AFL-CIO in Washington.
JOINING TOGETHER
Sen. Bernie Sanders rallies with striking workers outside Kellogg Co. HQ in Battle Creek
Battle Creek Enquirer
By Nick Buckley
December 17, 2021
Standing in the shadow of the Kellogg Co. World Headquarters in downtown Battle Creek on Friday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders addressed hundreds gathered in support of the company's 1,400 striking workers. "All over this country, working people are looking at you and they are saying thank you for your courage," the two-time presidential candidate and independent senator from Vermont told the crowd. "You're sending a message; not just to Kellogg's, but to every corporate CEO in this country. And what we are saying is that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, you have to give workers a fair shake."
Vice Media, Writers Guild East Reach New Contract Deal
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
December 17, 2021
Vice Media and its Writers Guild of America East-affiliated union have reached a new three-year contract agreement that consolidates four previously separate contracts. Vice Media’s 160-person bargaining unit has voted to ratify the contract.
MBTA and Boston Carmen’s Union agree on two-year contract intended to address staffing shortages
Boston Globe
By Jeremy C. Fox
December 17, 2021
The MBTA has reached an agreement with the Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589 on a new two-year contract that will offer signing bonuses to new hires and convert many part-time positions into full-time jobs in an effort to bolster recruitment and retention amid serious staffing shortages, officials said.
Union grocery workers reach tentative agreement, ending strike at Fred Meyer, QFC stores
Oregon Public Broadcasting
By April Ehrlich
December 18, 2021
The union representing thousands of Oregon grocery workers reached a tentative labor agreement with management Friday night, ending a strike that was scheduled to run through Christmas Eve. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, representing many employees at Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers stores, says the new agreement provides significant wage increases and workplace protections, new retirement and healthcare benefits. The union has been in negotiations for months with the Kroger-owned supermarket chains. Last weekend, UFCW announced its members had authorized a strike, which began Friday morning at stores in Portland, Bend, Newberg and Klamath Falls.