POLITICS
Biden in Race Against Time, GOP to Overhaul Labor Law for Unions
Bloomberg Law.
By Ian Kullgren
Feb. 4, 2022
“We want to unpack everything that’s been accomplished so that people do see what a difference this administration has made, and then also hold folks accountable,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in an interview. “We want to see things like the Pro Act passed, but the outdated rules in the Senate are what’s holding everything up.”
AMAZON
Amazon Warehouse in Alabama Set to Begin Second Union Election
The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber and Karen Weise
Feb. 4, 2022
Mr. Appelbaum, the union president, said the on-the-ground presence of other unions was substantially higher than last year, thanks partly to the urging of Liz Shuler, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., of which the retail workers union is a part.
At an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, a milestone union election is set to begin all over again
CNN
By Sara Ashley O'Brien
Feb. 4, 2022
This time, like last time, the stakes are high not just for Amazon and its vast workforce, some of whom are looking to unionize at least two other facilities, but for American workers broadly. RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum told CNN Business late last month that the campaign has received "more attention than any other organizing campaign in recent years." Appelbaum attributed this to the "broader significance of the fight which is really [about] how workers are going to be treated in the future."
JOINING TOGETHER
The market starts speaking out on a tech worker union effort at The New York Times
CNBC
By Eric Rosenbaum
Feb. 1, 2022
Behind the scenes, though, the fight for a union among technology workers at the Times is sending a different signal: tech workers linked to digital success are seeking greater workplace rights and protections, and to date have not found a management counter-party which they say is valuing their contributions properly. Now, the workers — roughly 600 in all, representing one of the largest tech unionization efforts in the market — have a new ally: a group of institutional investors representing over $1 trillion in assets under management who sent the Times’ management a letter on Tuesday saying that the interests of long-term shareholders require management to honor workers’ right to organize.
IN THE STATES
Gonzalez Elected President of Sioux Falls AFL-CIO
SD AFL-CIO
By South Dakota AFL-CIO
Feb. 4, 2022
At the regular delegate meeting of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO on Feburary 2nd, Tina Gonzalez (UFCW) was elected President in a contested race with incumbent President AL Carlson (APWU). Tina brings a lifetime of working class activism to the Labor Council. As a high school and college student she was instrumental in organizing student walk outs over the issues of immigration reform and school funding. As a community activist she has organized support for immigrant families facing discrimination and deportation, she was also instrumental in developing several community groups dedicated to defending woman and non-male workers from gendered and patriarchal violence.
Connecticut’s Essential Worker Relief Fund a model other governments should follow
People’s World
By Richard Duluth
Feb. 4, 2022
The creation of the relief fund was spearheaded by organized labor in the state, with Sal Luciano past president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, saying “This fund will help potentially thousands of essential worker—healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store workers, bus drivers, corrections employees, and many others—who contracted the novel coronavirus on the job through no fault of their own. Many ended up with out-of-pocket medical expenses and lost wages.”
Mills administration cracking down on employer wage and hour violations
Portland Press Herald
By Peter Mcguire
Feb. 6, 2022
Since Gov. Janet Mills took office three years ago, the Maine Department of Labor has escalated its pursuit of illegal workplace practices including wage theft, child labor and false record keeping, a significant departure from past practices at the agency. “I think it is really significant and important that the department is making this information public and really trying to move forward with smart, strategic enforcement,” said Matt Schlobohm, executive director of Maine AFL-CIO, a coalition of labor unions that represent 40,000 workers in Maine. “I think it is also true that there is much more across the board that all of us need to do to create a culture of compliance and make sure the law is respected in the workplace.”
INTERNATIONAL
Mexican Auto Workers Just Made History By Taking Back Their Union
The Real News Network
By Maximillian Alvarez
Feb. 4, 2022
Mexican auto workers in Silao, Guanajuato, just scored a huge victory that has been years in the making. After first ridding themselves of a corrupt, business-friendly union last year, 6,500 workers at the massive General Motors plant in Silao voted this week on which union would represent them moving forward. On Thursday, Feb. 3, news broke that workers overwhelmingly voted to join the Independent National Auto Workers Union (Sindicato independiente nacional de trabajadores y trabajadoras de la industria automotriz), securing a major victory for rank and filers who have been fighting for a more independent and more democratic union.