MUST READ
GM workers in Mexico elect independent union, pushing for higher wages
Reuters
By Daina Beth Solomon
Feb. 3, 2022
The vote by several thousand workers was required under a Mexican labor reform that underpins a trade agreement with the United States and Canada, and was closely watched by the U.S. government. The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor organization, celebrated the vote as a win for workers across the auto sector. "Workers will advocate for higher wages and improved health and safety standards ... helping to set new standards in the automobile industry," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.
TRADE
G.M. workers in Mexico pick an independent union, a trade deal test case.
The New York Times
Feb. 3, 2022
The union, called the Independent National Autoworkers Union, won 78 percent of the votes cast at the plant in Silao, where more than 6,000 workers assemble Chevy Silverados and G.M.C. Sierra pickup trucks. The vote pushed out the Confederation of Mexican Workers, which had held the contract for the last 25 years. Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement that the election “set a hard-won precedent and came only after workers voted to throw out a previous contract that had poor benefits and was negotiated without the workers’ input.” “Workers overcame gross intimidation and election meddling, and their triumph is an example of what happens when workers stand together. This vote represents a rejection of the past and a new era for Mexican workers’ right to associate freely,” she said.
POLITICS
Biden's Infrastructure Bill Could Change Rural America's Alliance With GOP
Newsweek
By Alex J. Rouhandeh
Feb. 3, 2022
Matt Biggs, president of the IFPTE, was adamant, like Hersh, about how significant an impact the infrastructure bill will have on both the country and the lives of his fellow members in his union. The IFPTE represents over 90,000 workers across the United States and Canada, including dam and lock operators like Arent. He said that jobs created by the bill and the infrastructure that will remain operational because of it will have a tremendous impact on the lives of the union members and other workers they collaborate with who live in rural America. "In this day and age, it's nice to see a bill that will impact millions and millions of people for the better pass like this," Biggs told Newsweek. However, despite his happiness with the bill being passed, he feels frustrated with how the victory has been so quickly passed over as the news media has refocused on the failure to pass the Build Back Better Act, voting rights legislation and filibuster reform. Instead of celebrating the bill as a federal achievement, both parties and much of the nation's media have moved toward the next legislative debate.
JOINING TOGETHER
Minor League Umpires To Receive Significant Pay Raise In 2022
Baseball America
By J.J. Cooper
Feb. 1, 2022
For the first time in nearly two decades, minor league umpires will receive a significant pay raise beginning in 2022. The Association of Minor League Baseball Umpires (ALMU) has approved a new four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. The new agreement will see umpires paid $2,800 a month in the rookie complex leagues, $3,000 in Low-A and $4,500 in Triple-A. That’s up from $2,000 for rookie-ball umpires and as low as $2,100 in Low-A under the previous agreement.
Culinary Union, hospitality workers to picket at Palace Station
8 News Now
By Ana Rodriguez
Feb. 3, 2022
Hundreds of hospitality workers and community supporters are scheduled to picket for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in front of Palace Station on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. Station Casinos workers are continuing to push for a first-time union contract following incidents with the company allegedly interfering with union election. In October 2016, workers of Station Casinos property Palace Station participated in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, and Palace Station later recognized the union when complaints were filed by the Culinary Union about illegal conduct committed by the property and its managers in alleged attempts to sway the union election.
Florida A&M University employees go public with demands for higher wages
Tallahassee Democrat
By Shamonee Baker
Feb. 3, 2022
The current contract for nearly 400 employees represented by AFSCME at Florida A&M University doesn’t expire until June 30, but union representatives aren’t waiting that long to make their stance known. The main focus is getting higher hourly wages for employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees within the union, such as groundskeepers, maintenance workers, support staff and secretaries. This week, several employees and supporters gathered at the northern entrance of campus to make it known some employees have not had raises in 10 years. Andre Crumity, the AFSCME Local 3343 president, calls the protest “symbolic” as the union selected Feb. 1 — the first day of Black History Month — to make their cause known beyond the confines of Florida’s only public historically Black university.
UNION BUSTING
Workers organizing at McLean Hospital face staunch resistance
Boston Globe
By Katie Johnston
Feb. 3, 2022
When executives at McLean Hospital in Belmont found out late last summer that nurses and other clinical staff were seeking to form a union, the leaders of the world-renowned psychiatric hospital launched a full-throated defense. They hired a California firm charging $400 an hour, plus expenses, to set up shop on campus and hold meetings to dissuade employees from supporting the effort. They sent out a steady stream of messages about how the union could restrict pay raises and flexibility. They also raised questions about the fate of another group of McLean workers who organized with the same union in June. A flier posted in mid-October noted that the clinicians should wait to see what happens in those contract negotiations “before signing a union card and exposing yourself to the risks of collective bargaining.”
IN THE STATES
Lorena Gonzalez Is Ready To Unionize California
MIC
By Ray Levy Uyeda
Feb. 1, 2022
California has always led the way when it comes to worker protections. We have rights to work outlined in our state laws that no other state has — like with laws regarding farm workers [which guarantee a minimum wage and overtime pay]. But going forward I think California needs to utilize its position as the leader in workers rights and make sure that we continue to push for workers to actually have a voice on the job and make sure that they’re supported. Organizing in the private sector especially is very hard, but we're seeing workers across the states do it and I think California could see success there as well.