MUST READ
Labor unions gather in Bessemer for rally ahead of Amazon vote
AL.com.
By William Thornton
Feb. 26, 2022
Among those speaking was AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, representing 12 million active members in 56 unions. “You have captured the attention of not just the country but the world,” Shuler said. “And something is happening in this country. Do you feel it? Working people are standing up all across this country. They’ve sacrificed during this pandemic, they’ve worked overtime, they’ve been called essential but treated as dispensable.”
Labor leaders praise Biden SCOTUS pick as win for workers
The Hill
By Karl Evers-Hillstrom
Feb. 25, 2022
"Being the first is never easy and Judge Jackson is doing what so many women have done before her, breaking barriers to ensure that she is not the last," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. "We call on the U.S. Senate to deliver a speedy and fair confirmation process."
SUPREME COURT
AFL-CIO, union leaders, call for fast confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS
People’s World
By Special to People’s World
Feb. 27, 2022
The following statement issued by the AFL-CIO was prepared by Liz Shuler, the president of the federation: “We applaud the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Jackson has had a distinguished legal career, and she is eminently qualified for this critical lifetime position. Working people need a champion on the bench who will defend and protect our civil rights, including our right to organize in the workplace. Judge Jackson has a strong legal track record of fighting on behalf of working people, including during her tenure as an assistant federal public defender in Washington, D.C., and we are confident that she will bring that leadership to the highest court in the land.”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Iron Workers Local 7 Union Gives Away School Supplies To Teachers And Families In South Boston
CBS Boston
By CBSBoston.com Staff
Feb. 26, 2022
The Iron Workers Local 7 Union donated thousands of dollars in school supplies to students in South Boston on Saturday. Members of Iron Workers Local 7 provided shopping bags filled with pencils, crayons, notebooks, and other educational supplies to anyone who showed up at the Union Hall on Old Colony Avenue.
JOINING TOGETHER
Skowhegan paper mill workers rally for better wages, benefits
Maine Public
By Nicole Ogrysko
Feb. 25, 2022
Several dozen members of the United Steelworkers Local 9 stood outside their union hall Thursday afternoon to rally for a new contract. The old one expired in August, and union leaders have been negotiating with the Sappi mill since then. They say the company wants to cover less and raise out-of-pocket health insurance costs for union workers. Pat Carleton, Local 9 president, said Sappi proposed raising wages by 3% annually for the next three years. But he says it's not enough. Health care improvements are another big sticking point for the paper mill workers, said Cynthia Finney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO. Cynthia Finney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO, said health care has been a sticking point for union members at the paper mill, and the topic has vexed many labor organizations and their employers at the bargaining table. The pandemic, she said, has inspired labor action from workers at the Sappi mill and at other organizations across Maine. "We're at a moment when workers are really coming together to say, 'We're worth more,' and standing up to say, 'We're worth more, and it should show in our paychecks, our conditions and our benefits,'" Finney said.
Duluth city workers host picket, call for fair contract agreement
Duluth News Tribune
By Abigael Keely Smith
Feb. 26, 2022
A group of 300 workers rallied on City Hall steps to protest current contract negotiations between Local 66, a part of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME), and the City of Duluth on Saturday. The group is asking for a more "fair, equitable" contract that treats city workers with "dignity" and "respect." Max Hall, external relations and planning director of AFSCME, said city worker safety and fair wage increases are some of the concerns it wants the city to fully address.
CIVIL, HUMAN, AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
WSLC’s Cherika Carter, CBTU boost voices of Black workers
The Stand
By Amrine White
Feb. 27, 2022
In honor of Black History Month and Black excellence, we at the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, want to take the time to highlight influential individuals and organizations who carry forward the work of racial justice and organizing in our community year round. Today we are uplifting the incredible work of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and CBTU Chapter President Cherika Carter.