JOINING TOGETHER
Business Insider
By Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff
Feb. 22, 2022
As workers quit at near-record rates and wages grew higher as employers competed for talent, 2021 marked a year where workers were rethinking what their labor means — and new data shows just how many decided to walk out in search of better conditions. In 2021, about 140,000 workers were involved in work stoppages. In total, there were 265 work stoppages last year, according to researchers at Cornell University's ILR School, who created the ILR Labor Action Tracker and compiled the data used in its first annual report. Cumulatively, that means there were about 3.27 million "strike days" in 2021 — which the researchers define as how long strikes lasted, multiplied by the number of strikers.
The Morning Call
By Anthony Salamone
Feb. 22, 2022
Dining services workers at Kutztown University who have been trying to unionize for months will hold a rally Thursday to publicly state their case. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Joint Board of Workers United, which wants to represent approximately 85 workers, has filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against food service contracting giant Aramark for thwarting at least one employee’s attempts to organize workers.
Teachers unions in Minneapolis, St. Paul plan to file intent to strike
Star Tribune
By Mara Klecker
Feb. 23, 2022
Leaders of teachers unions in Minneapolis and St. Paul said they plan to file separate intent to strike notices Wednesday afternoon. The action would set the stage for a strike if contract agreements cannot be reached. State law requires unions to give the districts at least 10 days' notice before the first day of a walkout. Members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and Education Support Professionals and the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers voted on Feb. 17 to authorize a strike.
Lockout of almost 300 Collins Aerospace workers in Troy continues
Dayton Daily News
By Thomas Gnau
Feb. 23, 2022
The lockout of unionized workers from Collins Aerospace’s Troy plant continues with no word as to when contract negotiations might resume, Joe Konicki, president of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 128, said Wednesday. “It’s going as good as it can,” Konicki said. “We’re still locked out — wanting to work, willing to work, wanting to get back in there and wanting to sit back down and negotiate something.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Lorain, Lordstown could become sites for new naval submarine dry dock, equipment depot
WKYC
By Dave "Dino" DeNatale
Feb. 23, 2022
Thousands of jobs may soon be coming to two Northeast Ohio communities as part of a plan to address a shortage of naval shipyards across the nation. Bartlett Maritime Corporation is seeking to build a submarine dry dock for the U.S. Navy in Lorain and a naval equipment depot in Lordstown. According to The Bartlett Maritime Plan™, 2,000-3,000 new jobs would be created in Lorain, with an additional 500-1,000 in Lordstown. Response to the proposal has been enthusiastic. On Monday, Lorain City Council passed a resolution in support of the dry dock. Last month, the Metal Trades Department (MTD) of the AFL-CIO, which has represented the vast majority of shipyard skilled trades personnel in the United States since 1908, signed a cooperation agreement with Bartlett Maritime Corporation. “The Metal Trades Department and its affiliated international unions are proud to join Bartlett Maritime in its efforts to become the next public-private U.S. Navy maintenance and repair shipyard," said MTD President James Hart. "We look forward to this partnership and the impact it will have on creating and sustaining good, unionized jobs in Ohio."
IN THE STATES
Firefighters Union To Represent Workers In Collective Bargaining
Patch
By Emily Leayman
Feb. 23, 2022
n Alexandria firefighters union won the right to participate in collective bargaining, the first time in 40 years this has happened for a public sector employees union. Collective bargaining for public sector employees had not been allowed after a 1977 Virginia Supreme Court ruling stopped local governments from collective bargaining with their employees. That changed when a Virginia law effective on May 1, 2021 allows counties, cities and towns to adopt ordinances to recognize labor unions or employee associations as a bargaining unit and enter into collective bargaining. Alexandria was the first locality to adopt a collective bargaining ordinance in response to this state law. "This is a monumental day for the members of our department" said IAFF Local 2141 President Josh Turner in a statement. "But it's also a monumental day for all working people and communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia — we've shown that when workers come together, whether they're first responders, teachers, sanitation workers or anything else, that when we work together, we have the power to have a say in the decisions that impact our lives and the lives of the communities we serve."