APPRENTICESHIPS
Ironworkers: Use Pre-Apprenticeships To Boost Industry Diversity
Engineering News-Record
By James Leggate
Feb. 23, 2022
Contractors and unions looking to recruit more women and people of color need to take the first step of reaching out through pre-apprenticeship programs, industry experts told attendees of the North American Ironworkers/IMPACT Conference in San Francisco on Feb. 22. The way that workers learn trades has changed, according to Mike Anderson, business manager at Ironworkers Local 46L in New York City. His local has turned to direct entry programs targeting veterans and people of color, he said, adding that partnerships with high schools and churches have helped find apprentices while also building new connections with contractors, politicians and others in the community. “When we were younger, there were a lot of trade schools out there,” he said. “Over time, they all disappeared. So, it’s up to us to get out there and show what we can do for their future.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Jon Donaire bakery strike is over: Workers vote yes on a contract
People’s World
By David Trujillo
Feb. 24, 2022
The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Mills (BCTGM) Local 37 in Santa Fe Springs has been settled. Management offered a tentative agreement on Tuesday after a four-month strike. The Union reviewed the proposals in the new contract and recommended that the membership ratify it. Wednesday afternoon the vote was tallied, and the contract is approved. The working-class heroes at the Jon Donaire plant, mostly Latina, organized a bottom-up labor and community campaign to force the Rich Corporation to negotiate a fair and just contract. The company was under tremendous pressure to bargain in good faith. With workers still out on strike, the company agreed to a new contract. Major labor leaders such as National AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Ron Herrera walked the picket lines with the workers. Jobs for Justice donated money and supported the strikers.
Sappi union workers plan rally amid contract negotiations
News Center Maine
By Alex Haskell
Feb. 24, 2022
For months, members of the union United Steelworkers Local 9 who work at the Sappi North America mill in Skowhegan have been fighting for what they call a fair employment contract. On Thursday, Maine Senate President Troy Jackson and other elected officials are expected to join union members at a rally in Skowhegan in an effort to secure a better contract.
iHeartPodcast Network Union Secures Voluntary Recognition From Management
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Feb. 24, 2022
Workers organizing a union at the iHeartPodcast Network have secured voluntary recognition from management after what the group said was “weeks of negotiation.” The voluntary recognition came after an independent union card check demonstrated that “an overwhelming majority of employees in the bargaining unit signed union cards” to be represented by the Writers Guild of America East, the union said on Thursday. The bargaining unit, comprised of 110 people, includes writers, producers, editors and other people in storytelling roles who are based in Atlanta, L.A. and New York. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to iHeartPodcast Network for comment.
Coffee Tree Roasters employees vote to unionize
WTAE
Feb. 23, 2022
Employees at Coffee Tree Roasters stores in Pittsburgh voted to unionize Tuesday. The vote was 17-3. Last month, workers at the location in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood were making a push for a union with the UFCW Local 1776's help. The workers are demanding adequate staffing, meal and rest time, paid sick time and more. The next step is to start bargaining a contract.
IN THE STATES
Zoom conference on 2022 Selma-to-Montgomery March to be held today
Selma Sun
By Nathan Prewett
Feb. 24, 2022
Today a panel of speakers will discuss plans for the 2022 Selma-to-Montgomery March that is to be held on March 6-11. The theme of the upcoming march is #Fight for the Vote and echoes the marches of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Labor groups, House Democratic Caucus urge inclusion of COVID bonuses in budget
WTVQ
By Steve Rogers
Feb. 24, 2022
“Whether they are in a meatpacking plant with thousands of co-workers standing 12 to 18 inches apart or they are in a grocery store coming into contact with thousands of customers a day, these hard-working people exposed themselves and their family members to the virus so that all of us could stay fed,” said Bob Blair, President, UFCW 227. “It was and, in many ways, still is a tremendous challenge that our people did not shy away from, not once. While they didn’t sign up to be frontline workers, that’s what they are. Grocery store workers and meatpacking workers deserve an essential worker bonus for the sacrifices they have made to be there for their communities when we needed them.”