Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
For these L.A. fans, work, work, work is their ticket into the Super Bowl
Los Angeles Times
By Brittny Mejia
Feb. 12, 2022
Williams is one of thousands of workers who will descend on the stadium Sunday, some in the pre-dawn hours, to work as bartenders, dishwashers, janitors, servers and cooks. Unlike the more than 70,000 fans expected to attend, they’ll catch a peek at the game during their shifts or while on break. Collectively, they’re the engine that keeps the stadium running. As part of its development agreement, SoFi pledged to hire local workers, according to Inglewood city officials. More than 1,200 Inglewood residents helped build the stadium; SoFi staff did not release the number of Inglewood residents currently employed there.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Business Booms at Kroger-Owned Grocery Stores, but Workers Are Left Behind
The New York Times
By Sapna Maheshwari and Michael Corkery
Feb. 12, 2022
Business has boomed during the pandemic for Kroger, the biggest supermarket chain in the United States and the fourth-largest employer in the Fortune 500. It owns more than 2,700 locations, and its brands include Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Smith’s, Pick ’n Save and even Murray’s Cheese in New York City. The company, which is based in Cincinnati, said in December that it was expecting sales growth of at least 13.7 percent over two years. The company’s stock has risen about 36 percent over the past year. But that success has not trickled down to its vast work force of nearly 500,000 employees, a number of whom have reported being homeless, receiving government food stamps or relying on food banks to feed their families. A brief strike in Colorado last month by workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, at dozens of Kroger-owned King Soopers locations brought renewed scrutiny to the issues of pay and working conditions for grocery workers, who have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic.
IN THE STATES
Culinary union icon retires after 32 years
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Colton Lochhead
Feb. 11, 2022
Geoconda Argüello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, has retired after 32 years of advocating for hospitality workers with the influential union. Argüello-Kline, who has served as the secretary-treasurer of the union for the last decade, retired on Feb. 3, the union announced Friday. “It is with so much love in my heart that I say it has been an honor of my life to represent Culinary Union members as an elected officer,” Argüello-Kline wrote in a letter to union members. Nevada State AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez said that workers across Nevada “are better for having Geoconda Argüello-Kline’s service in our labor movement.” “In Nevada, we often look at our Culinary union siblings for inspiration on what can be achieved. Just the past two years with the odds stacked against them fighting the pandemic they set national precedent on how to fight for worker safety and job protections under the leadership of Argüello-Kline,” Martinez said in a statement.
JOINING TOGETHER
United Steelworkers Union picketed in Utah on Friday for better contracts
KSL
By Martha Harris
Feb. 11, 2022
Members of the United Steelworkers Union picketed in Utah on Friday for better contracts. Union members stood outside the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in Salt Lake City and picketed three times. Truck drivers honked in support as they drove by. The United Steelworkers Union wants to renegotiate their contracts, that expired on February 1. And this is happening nationwide. Their negotiations are with Marathon Petroleum, which is representing other oil companies. Local union leader Casey Wardell says it is all about safety.
Duke University Press Workers Union Wins Union Election
Indy Week
By Sarah Edwards
Feb. 11, 2022
In a tweet earlier today, the Duke University Press Workers Union announced that, with a final count of the three outstanding votes, it has now won its election to unionize. "We are excited to finally have all the votes counted and to have the support of a majority of the workers at Duke University Press! We're looking forward to starting negotiations with Duke University to make Duke University Press the best publisher it can be," a representative from the union said in a statement to the INDY, noting that the university had intent to appeal the results and push for a second election. Employees at Duke University Press (DUP) had announced intent to unionize in March of 2021as a unit of The NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 3203. A day after the announcement, Duke University hired the multinational law firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart.
YOUNG WORKERS
Young workers give unions new hope
ABC News
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Feb. 13, 2022
Workers in their 20s —— and even in their teens —— are leading ongoing efforts to unionize companies large and small, from Starbucks and REI to local cannabis dispensaries. The Alphabet Workers Union, formed last year and now representing 800 Google employees, is run by five people who are under 35. Multiple polls show union approval is high —— and growing —— among the youngest workers. And U.S. union membership levels are even ticking upward for workers between 25 and 34, even as they decline among other age groups. Young workers say they see unions as the best way to combat wage inequality and poor working conditions. For some, personal heroes like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders —— a vocal labor advocate —— have piqued their interest in unions. Others say the coronavirus pandemic caused them to rethink what they deserve from their jobs.